INF 385K – Projects in Human-Computer Interaction
Fall 2009
Unique ID:
Room:
Time:
28023
UTA 1.210A
Wednesdays 9:00-12:00
Prof:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Luis Francisco-Revilla
UTA 5.532
512-232-2983
revilla@ischool.utexas.edu
1:00PM - 2:00PM or by appointment
T.A.:
E-mail:
YongYi Zhou
zhouyongyi@gmail.com
Last updated: 7/1/2016 3:52:21 AM
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Objectives ................................................................................................................... 1
Class Structure and Organization................................................................................ 2
Academic Integrity...................................................................................................... 3
Documented Disability Statement .............................................................................. 3
Amendments to Syllabus ............................................................................................ 3
Texts............................................................................................................................ 3
Online Resources ........................................................................................................ 3
Deliverables ................................................................................................................ 4
8.1 Class Participation (Individual) ........................................................................... 4
8.2 Course Project (Group) ........................................................................................ 4
8.2.1
Literature Review.......................................................................................... 4
8.2.2
Final Report .................................................................................................. 4
8.3 Peer Evaluation (Individual) ................................................................................ 5
9 Grading ....................................................................................................................... 6
10 Important Dates and Tentative Schedule .................................................................... 7
11 Writing Guidelines for Papers and Reports: ............................................................... 8
i
1 Objectives
In our information-intensive culture, technology and society are intertwined. Technology
changes in response to society changes, just like society changes in response to
technology changes. In this evolutionary process, the interactions between people and
systems play a crucial role. In order to become active participants and leaders in this
process, students need to know how to envision, design, and build new information
systems and interaction mechanisms.
Students in this course will learn and develop their skills to
envision, design and create novel information systems and interaction
mechanisms.
This course covers multiple aspects of conducting a research project in Human-Computer
Interaction, including understanding the problem/situation, envisioning a solution,
designing and implementing a system, evaluating the solution and presenting the results
for publication. Envisioning novel systems or interaction paradigms requires imagination,
reflection and a lack of fear of coming up with something completely new or different.
However, implementing those visions can be challenging and intimidating.
This course aims at helping students face technological challenges and
overcome any apprehensions they might have about doing so
by providing hands-on experience conducting a research project
in the area of Human-Computer Interaction.
1
2 Class Structure and Organization
This is a project-based course that uses a constructivist approach. Students work on a
semester-long project in which they consider a challenging informational situation and
they are asked to address it using novel technological approaches. In particular, students
will consider how multi-touch screens facilitate human-information interactions. Specific
details about the particular settings and access will be determined in class.
This course requires considerable out-of-class time
In addition, the course uses readings, presentations and activities to cover and examine
the course contents. The goal is to create a group learning environment in the classroom
where questions, concepts and skills are discussed, analyzed and developed
collaboratively. This format depends on the participation of all class members. The
semester-long project and in-class discussions and activities play an important part
and hence are strongly encouraged. Students are expected to:
 Participate actively in the course project and all group activities.
 Attend all class sessions; if a student misses a class, it is his or her responsibility to
arrange with another student to obtain all notes, handouts and assignment sheets.
 Read all material prior to class; students are expected to use the course readings to
inform their classroom participation and enable them to perform the class activities and
assignments.
 Hand in all assignments fully and on time. Late submissions will not be accepted
unless an emergency is involved. In the event of an emergency, the student must
contact the instructor as soon as possible.
 Educate themselves and their peers. The successful completion of this course and their
participation in the information professions depend upon the students’ willingness to
demonstrate initiative and creativity. Your participation in the professional and
personal growth of your colleagues is essential to your success as well as theirs. Such
collegiality is at the heart of professional practice. The in-class discussion of the
assignments is designed to encourage this kind of collaboration.
 Participate in all class discussions.
 Ask for help from the instructor or the Teaching Assistant.
2
3 Academic Integrity
University of Texas Honor Code
The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom,
leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is
expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect
toward peers and community.
Academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism, cheating, or academic fraud, will not be
tolerated and will incur severe penalties, including failure for the course. If there is
concern about behavior that may be academically dishonest, consult the instructor.
Further information about plagiarism and its consequences can be found at:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/plagiarism/
4 Documented Disability Statement
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic
accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact
Services for Students with Disabilities at:
471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone).
5 Amendments to Syllabus
The instructor reserves the right to make amendments to the syllabus as the semester
progresses in order to improve it and to respond to unexpected events.
6 Texts
In order to develop the project, it will be necessary to conduct a literature review (see
section 8.2.1). This should include books, research papers and other related materials that
can inform the design and development of the project. Since the specific details of the
project will be finalized in class, the list of readings is subject to change.
7 Online Resources
PEAU Productions http://www.peauproductions.com
This Web site provides information relating to multi-touch screens, including how
different types of multi-touch screens work. Furthermore, it provides guidance on
how to build your own.
Natural User Interface Group (NUI Group) http://nuigroup.com
It is a “collaborative environment for developers and scientists that are interested in
learning and sharing new HCI (Human Computer Interaction) methods and
concepts”. This includes information about multi-touch screens and several other
technologies.1
1
http://nuigroup.com/log/about/
3
8 Deliverables
There are three deliverables in this course:
1. Class participation…………………………………………………… (Individual)
2. Course Project……………………………………………………….. (Group)
o Literature Review
o Final Report
3. Peer Evaluation……………………………………………………… (Individual)
8.1 Class Participation (Individual)
All students are expected to participate in class activities and the semester long project.
This involves participating in discussions and brainstorming sessions, helping in
envisioning and designing the system, and collaborating in the implementation and
evaluation of the project.
8.2 Course Project (Group)
At the beginning of the course, students will form groups and define their idea for the
course project. Groups will work in their project throughout the course. The first project
delivery is the Literature Review. The second delivery is the completed Final Report.
8.2.1 Literature Review
The literature review consists of a comprehensive report of research papers and other
scholarly works that help understand the context of use and the related work previously
conducted by other researchers. It is expected that students base their literature review on
scholarly publications such as ACM or IEEE conferences or journals. The goal is to
identify the strengths and weaknesses of previous approaches, inform the design and
implementation of the project, and connect the project to the research field.
The Literature Review contains two parts:
1. 2 page written report
2. 25 minute presentation
Project Reports must follow the ACM conference format.
http://www.acm.org/sigs/publications/proceedings-templates
8.2.2 Final Report
The second delivery related to the class project is the final report. This is major
component of the course. It has 3 components:
1. Functional system
2. 25 minute presentation
3. Final Paper
Each project must have a prototype that demonstrates how the system addresses the
informational situation. It must be a functional system.
4
Each group has 25 minutes to present their work. The presentation is intended convey
the overall view of the work presented in detail in the final report and to showcase the
functional prototype.
The final paper must be written and submitted to a major conference such as JCDL 2010,
CHI 2010, UIST’10, or IUI’10. As such, reports must follow the specifications set by
the particular conference, including using the appropriate format.
The purpose of the final paper is to show the students’ capacity to communicate their
work in a professional way. In addition to be scholarly structured (using sections such as
Abstract, Introduction, and Conclusions), the report must have a coherent story and
convincing argumentation that explains:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is the challenge that the project addresses
Why is it important to solve the challenge
What have other people done in regard to the challenge
How does the project solve the issue/situation
How to assess the effectiveness of the system/service
(Introduction)
(Motivation)
(Related Work)
(System)
(Evaluation)
The communicative goal of the final report is to:
1. Introduce readers to the informational situation and the context of use.
2. Explain the problems and issues associated with the situation and settings.
3. Provide a convincing argument for the significance of addressing the situation,
issue or system. Support your claims with studies and observations that you or
other people have previously done (and cite their work).
4. Connect the present work to other scholarly work, presenting what have other
people do in order to deal with the problems and issues (and cite their work).
5. Present the system along with the justifying rationale for its design
6. Present the results that you have gathered from the initial evaluations and explain
any future evaluation plans.
7. Present the conclusions of the work.
Just like with any other academic communication, when making claims or
presenting design decisions, it is not sufficient to just present them. It is necessary to
support your claims with appropriate references and justify your design decisions.
8.3 Peer Evaluation (Individual)
During the course, students will work in groups or teams. In order to assess their
participation in the project, students will submit a brief evaluation of their teammates at
the end of the course. These evaluations are a critical aspect of the course that requires
the participation all class members.
Failure to submit a peer evaluation will result in a
10 point deduction from the final grade
5
9 Grading
The final numeric score for the course is computed as follows:
10%
30%
50%
10%
100%
Class Participation
Literature Review
Final Report
Peer Evaluation
_
Final Numeric Score
The Letter Grade for the course is determined by the final numeric score AND by
meeting the minimum requirements as specified in table 1 (higher grades must meet all
the minimum requirements of lower grades).
Table 1. Letter grade requirements
Letter
Grade
Numeric
Score
A
96 - 100%
A-
90 - 95%
B+
87 - 89%
B
84 - 86%
B-
80 - 83%
C+
77 - 79%
C
74 - 76%
C-
70 - 73%
D+
66 - 69%
D
60 - 65%
Minimum Requirements
Final Project must be complete. The system must be functional and
meet all the specifications
System must function at least partially, meeting the most important
specifications and providing a convincing proof of concept
Technological platform (multi-touch) must be functional
6
10 Important Dates and Tentative Schedule
Day
Topic
Aug 26
Introduction
Sep 02
Project Overview
Sep 09
Multi-Touch
Sep 16
Multi-Touch
Sep 23
Envisioning and Design
Sep 30
Envisioning and Design
Oct 07
Envisioning and Design
Oct 14
LITERATURE REVIEW
Oct 21
Design and Implementation
Oct 28
Design and Implementation
Nov 04
Implementation
Nov 11
Implementation
Nov 18
Implementation
Nov 25
Evaluation
Dec 02
Evaluation
FINAL
DAY
Deadlines
Create Groups
Presentation
Final Presentation
and Demonstration
FINAL PROJECT
Peer Evaluations
Final projects are due on the day of the Final Exam as scheduled by UT (Dec 9-15)
7
11 Writing Guidelines for Papers and Reports:















FOLLOW THE ACM GUIDELINES.
Proof read your paper. Proper spelling and grammar is expected.
Structure your paper properly. It is expected that the papers are properly structured
into sections and subsections.
Provide all required sections, including Categories and Subject Descriptions,
General Terms, and Keywords.
Avoid having empty sections between headings and subheadings (e.g., having the
heading for section 5.1 immediately after the heading for section 5 with no text in
between). This usually means that there is a missing introduction/overview of the
whole section, or that the paper can be structured and organized better.
Respect the copyright notice space. You can modify or delete the text of the
copyright notice, but respect the space allocated for the notice. When publishing a
paper, the copyright notice will be added, shifting the rest of the text, which in turn
can cause annoying layout issues (e.g., figures out of place, etc.).
Write a good abstract. The abstract should allow readers and reviewers to make a
first assessment of the paper quickly. Some people recommend having four sentences
in the abstract: The first states the problem. The second states why the problem is a
problem. The third is the startling sentence (the discovery, solution, or contribution).
The fourth states the implication of the startling sentence.
The reading should flow. Do not write the paper as bullet list or telegraph.
Provide a convincing argumentation. Authors have to present and argue for their
ideas in a convincing and coherent manner.
Encapsulate concepts into paragraphs. Avoid having overly long paragraphs. Short
paragraphs make the paper more accessible and give readers more places where to
stop and think about the concepts and ideas expressed in the paper.
Respect the specified length of the papers. The maximum number of pages is all
you get. Documents longer than the maximum page limit are not appropriate. Shorter
papers indicate a lack of content.
Papers should be self-contained. All the contents and argumentation should be
included in the paper without assuming the existence of appendices. If you wish to
provide additional information, you can publish your appendices on the Web and
provide a reference to the URL’s in the reference section or as a footnote.
Support your claims. When making claims or presenting design decisions, it is not
sufficient to just present them. It is necessary to support your claims, provide
references and justify your design decisions.
Respect the specified length of the papers. The maximum number of pages is all
you get. Documents longer than the maximum page limit are not appropriate. Shorter
papers indicate a lack of content.
Check your references. Format your references appropriately.
Think about the communicative goals for your paper and your target audience
8