This is a 4-credit seminar course, which is designed to meet once per week for 3 hours. During class time, we will have brief introductions to each topic, discussions of both assigned and student-selected readings, and live demonstrations of various interaction paradigms. We will at several points throughout the semester invite guest speakers with expertise in particular modalities to share insights and “lessons learned”. Students are expected to commit approximately 9 hours per week outside of class to reading, conducting design critiques, and implementation of their course projects.
There is no required textbook for the course; excerpts will be provided for all required readings through the course reserves page. However, some students may find the following recommended book helpful:
The full-text eBook is available as a course reserve through the link above.
All written communication regarding this course will take place via slack (a cloud-based team collaboration tool used by many tech companies for internal communication). This includes:
Email is hard to search, response rate is slow, and messages are likely to get lost. Use slack!
There will be roughly weekly written reflections and one final group project long-form final reflectionin this course. Written assignments will take the form of responsive / reflective stories, which will be submitted to a dedicated publication edited by the instructor on the Medium.com platform.
It is my hope that students will take the opportunity to develop their public-facing writing through these stories, and in so doing become more comfortable discussing technology and related topics to a wide audience. Students may write under their own name, or may choose an appropriate pseudonym.
Students are strongly encouraged to form study groups and to engage in discussion outside of class on the assigned reading, though each student will be required to write up and submit their responses independently. The following information is required for all submitted work:
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written assignments | 50% |
| Final |
30% |
| Class participation | 20% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Due to the discussion-based format of this course and the cumulative nature of the material, no extensions will be given, and no late assignments will be accepted without a written request from the student’s Dean in the case of extenuating circumstances.
COVID-19 Policy Update
The transition to alternate modes of instruction necessitates an adjustment to our contract regarding late submissions. To facilitate time management, the 3 remaining reflections will have nominal due dates as originally planned. However, because access to resources is limited, no penalty will be assessed on R5, R6, and R7 provided they are submitted before May 1st. Do your best to submit by the deadline, because that will enable us to stay on track with our discussion as a group. However, you don’t need to worry if it’s a few days late.
Smith is committed to providing support services and reasonable accommodations to all students with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please register with the Disability Services Office at the beginning of the semester. To do so, call (413) 585-2071 to arrange an appointment with Laura Rauscher, Director of Disability Services.
COVID-19 Policy Update
I am acutely aware that the mid-semester changes to our mode of instruction may require accommodations that have not previously been verified by Disability Services (e.g. increased screen time may exacerbate eye strain, etc.) Please know that I am committed to figuring this out together. If there’s something I can do to make this material more accessible for you and you have the spoons to do so, please bring it to my attention.
Some of the materials used in this course are derived from lectures, notes, or similar courses taught at other institutions. Appropriate references will be included on all such material.
COVID-19 Addendum
Smith’s transition to alterate modes of instruction would not be possible without the round-the-clock work of the Covid-19 Digital Support Team.