| Project 2
Learning Summary
For the second project, we will review and improve upon multiple existing
interface designs. We’ll draw on the information we have accumulated
in the first half of the class to make informed observations and detailed
improvements to a wide range of interface designs. This will be a weekly
activity and I will reorganize the teams you work with each week. The
final report for project 2 will take the place of a final exam and is
essentially a "learning summary".
In-Class Assignments
We will have in-class assignments for each interface review. These will
include usability tests, interface reviews, comparisons, and more. Some
of the interfaces we review will be provided by me, others will be selected
by individuals in the class.
At the end of class, each group will need to post a concise report
on their findings to a class bulletin board for that specific day's
project. These reports should reference concepts taught during the first
half of the course (readings, lectures, discussions). Be sure to include
each group member's name in your report.
I highly recommend you take detailed notes during our in-class "reviews"
to help you keep track of your observations for when it comes time to
write your final report.
Final Report
Each student will need to turn in a condensed summary discussing common
problems and principles they have observed in class and strategies for
how they can be addressed.
In crude terms this summary should say "Why I deserve an 'A' for
this course"
What you should do is put together pointers to the evidence you have
already provided me with that you have understood the broad ideas of
the course and pursued some of these in depth. I expect that it will
have the format of a series of bullet points of ideas/issues/concepts
paired with a reference to the piece of evidence that reveals that you
have understood it.
Your goals for the final report are:
- To provide me with evidence that you have mastered
the basic ideas covered in the course
- That you have read, reflected on, understood, and
can apply the ideas in the readings
- That you can specialize in an area of interest to
you, apply the results of the readings, integrate other sources of
knowledge and become a reflective self-learning practitioner
- That you can contribute to a learning community, learning
from your colleagues and helping them to learn from you
- That I have been rendered obsolete: at the end of
this course you can if needs be acquire any additional information
you need by interacting with peers, readings and other information
sources. (This doesn't mean that you have learned all there is to
learn about User Interface Design.)
The final report is a great way to encourage you to reflect on your
own learning and understanding and reveal which things you have now
mastered, which things you don't feel very confident with and which
things you feel on top of at the basic level but know full well have
more advanced issues that would take years of study to truly understand.
Your final report may be an interface redesign that showcases the skills
you have acquired; it may be an overview of the key concepts you have
learned; it may be a set of guidelines or metrics for applying what
you learned in class; and so on. The format is up to you providing it
meets the goals defined above.
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