L578(1237/1238): User Interface Design for Information Systems (Summer I, 2002)
This course will soon be renamed L575: Interface Design for Collaborative Information Spaces.

Course Description | Grade | Course Outline | Resources

While engineers can learn from structural mistakes what not to do,
they do not necessarily learn from successes how to do anything but repeat the success without change.
Henry Petroski (1985) To Engineer is Human, p.98
Instructor: Katy Börner | Email: katy@indiana.edu | Office: Main Library 019 | Phone: 855-3256
Assistant Instructor: Chris Hall | Email: cmhall@indiana.edu

Lecture:  Mon & Wed 1:45p-3:00p LI 001 Lab: Mon & Wed 3:45p-5:00p, LI 503
Office hours: Mon 10:00a-12:00p, Main Library 019 (Katy) | Wed 12:00p-1:00p, InfoVis Lab LI 020 (Chris)

Prerequisites: L548 or consent of instructor

Majordomo List: katy_L578@indiana.edu
Class Web Page: http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~katy/L578-Sum02
Project Handin Webpage: http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/classes/handin/L578-SI02

Textbook: Tom Negrino, Dori Smith: Javascript for the World Wide Web (Visual Quickstart Guide), Paperback, 430 pages 4th edition (April 26, 2001).

Web Resources: JavaScript, 3-D Modeling & Animation Tools, 3D Online Browsers, RWX Models for AW, AW WorldMapper, Bot Usage & Programming, ChatlogVisualization

Course Description
The explosion of digitally available information is driving the need for more effective, efficient, and natural user interfaces to intelligently support access to information, applications, and people. This course provides an overview about the state of the art in text based, 2-dimensional, and 3-dimensional (collaborative) interface design. It will cover task and user analysis, interface goals & interface design methods, empirical evaluation, and conclude with a discussion of remaining fundamental issues in the field.
Students will be expected to do readings, provide a presentation on specific readings, and participate in discussion. They will extensively use web design tools (e.g., Fireworks), Javascript, and a 3D Virtual Reality Chat & Design Tool to build a number of highly interactive user interfaces in diverse projects. Students will conduct task and requirement analysis, learn basic interface design principles using JavaScript and 3-D technology through application, and design, develop, implement, and evaluate collaborative 2-D and 3-D environments.
Read Using Active Worlds Technology to build an iUniverse of 3-D collaborative learning environments. Learning Technology newsletter (January 2001) to learn what students achieved in the Fall 2001 class.

Course Format
The course utilizes a combination of lectures, discussions, hands-on lab sections, and projects to help students understand theories, design strategies, and assessment techniques in developing 2-D and 3-D environments for learning.
Students will be encouraged to discuss, question, and clarify course content in lecture and lab and they will improve their collaborative skills by working in topic dependent teams.

Grades
Individual and group work will be evaluated according to how well the course material is understood and implemented into projects, as well as the quality of written and oral presentations. Students are expected to spent about 8h per week outside of class for readings and projects.
The final grade will be based on class participation (10%), presentation of selected readings (10%), projects (60%) and a written final test (20%). Grades are assigned according to the grading standards of SLIS.

Class participation:
The quantity and quality of contributions made to class (especially during the discussion of readings) and electronic discussions via the class majordomo list and handin web pages counts for 10% of the grade. Material refers to articles/book chapters that have been used to prepare the lecture and can be consulted for details & references.

Presentations, Readings, & Surf:
The 15 min presentation will address a specific topic/question and will be based on readings from the literature or internet. Sources will be provided. If you can find more that's great. See Preparation of Presentations for more details.
You are expected to use the office hours the week before you will give the presentation to discuss your preparation with the instructor. Prepare your presentation as well as any specific questions you may have in advance.
All students will be expected to participate in class by reading the assigned material plus asking and answering questions. Reading materials are assigned for study in preparation for class discussion. Thus, class 2 material should be completed before attending the second class. Please do surf the listed web pages so that we can discuss them in class.

Projects:
There will be a number of projects. Except for the first project, you will work on them in teams. Submit links to project results via the handin web page.
Final Test:
The final written test (open book) primarily tests your knowledge of the material presented in class and the assigned readings.

Policies
1. Class attendance: Email the instructor if you can't make it to a class.
2. Plagiarism: Clearly indicate if you use materials from other sources. Academic and personal misconduct by students in this class are dealt with according to the Student Disciplinary Procedures.
3. Late Handin Policy: Late assignments or incomplete assignments are allowed only because of an unforeseen emergency that is preceded by diligent work, not for a pattern of weak performance. No individual student will be allowed to do extra work to raise the final grade or to make up missing work. All grades become final one week after the material is returned to you. No claims, however justifiable, will be considered after this deadline. If there is a medical or personal reason requiring you to miss an exam, you must present your excuse in advance and in writing, and we require some physical proof. Course work handed in
  •  Within the first 10 min past 8 pm will receive at most 90% of the possible points.
  •  Between 8.10 pm  to 9 pm receive at most 50% of the possible points.
  •  Past 9 pm receive Z.

    • Make sure you handin in time and your handin is accessible and readable!

    Credits: 3 for L578

    Course Outline
    The class schedule may change as the course progresses. Changes will be posted on the L578 majordomo list.

    Introduction

    Class 1 (05-08-2002)
    Lecture: Course Description & Outline, Class Format, Grades, Resources
    User interface trends. Why should one design collaborative information spaces?
    Lab: Introduction to JavaScript and its relation to Java. Active World welcome party.

    Project 1: Personal Web page that tells about you and your expectations on this course.
    Readings: WebResults Guide to Web Planning: Essentials
    How Users Read on the Web
    End of Web Design
    Due Monday May 13th, 2002 at 8pm (no help after 4pm).

    Class 2 (05-13-2002)
    Lecture: Setting the Context - Human Factors and Usability, Software Development, Computer Graphics, Collaborative Environments.
    Material: The Promises and Challenges of Networked Virtual Environments [Singhal & Zyda, chapter 1]
    Introduction to Internet Networked Virtual Environments [Singhal & Zyda, chapter 2]
    Readings: The Knowledge Garden by Crossley et al, 1999.
    Presentations on "Creating Places not Spaces" (During Lecture)
    Distance Matters by Gary M. Olson & Judith S. Olson. In (Caroll, 2002), chapter 18.  (...)
    From Interface to Interplace: The Spatial Environment as a Medium for Interaction by Thomas Erickson (Joshua Moline)
    Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems by Steve Harrison & Paul Dourish (Sabrina Bonus)
    Lab: Java Script start up. Study Fireworks for Animation & Rollovers by Alan Lin.

    Project 2: Design of Web-Based JavaScript Resources
    Readings: Explore ThinkQuest web pages at http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/
    Due Monday May 20th, 2002 at 8pm (no help after 4pm).

    Task Analysis and Interface Design

    Class 3 (05-15-2002)
    Lecture: Task Analysis. What do Users Want? How to Build Successful Worlds.
    Readings: 9 Timeless Design Principles for Community-Building by Amy Jo Kim & Design Principles for Online Communities by Peter Kollack
    Presentations on "Sociability & Usability" (During Lecture)
    Guidelines: Sociability and Usability by Jenny Preece. In [Preece, 2000]. (Matthew Hottell)
    Building a Successful Community by Amy Jo Kim. (Hong Zhang)
    Lab: Assignment of Building Areas. Learn How to Build.

    Class 4: (05-20-2002)
    Lecture: Interface Goals & Interface Design Methods: User-Centered Design, Prototyping, Design Principles and Rules.
    Material: Designing the Functional Model [Olsen et al., 1998, chapter 2]
    Lab: Learn to Design Teleports, Use Sound, Video Streaming, Link 2-D Web and 3-D World, etc.  Introduction of Final Projects with Dale Newkirk and Tom Roznowski

    Project 3: Designing Collaborative Information Spaces
    Handin: Present your project in Lab 10. Finish your project the day before class 12 (test version) and day before class 14 (final version).  Present your project during class 15.
    Due Monday June 10th, 2002 noon.

    Class 5: (05-22-2002)
    Lecture: Technical Possibilities and Social Implications Required Surfing: Watch Ananova's virtual news speaker.
    Presentations on "Digital Places" (During Lecture & Lab)
    Designing Digital Communities. In (Thomas et al, 2000), chapter 3 (Xiaoying Han)
    Wiring Livable Regions. (Thomas et al, 2000), chapter 4 (Sidharth Thakur)
    Education, Commerce, and Communications: The Era of Competition. by Murray Turnoff, WebNet Journal, Jan-March 1999, pp 22-31. (Dan Hollinden)
    Guided tour with Mary Lou Maher of a virtual campus developed in the Architecture Faculty at the University of Sydney

    chat log

    Class 6: (05-27-2002) Memorial Day - No Class

    Technical Principles

    Class 7: (05-29-2002)
    Lecture: Texture, Lighting, 3-D Modeling, Threads, Level of Detail, Collision Detection
    Material: [Olsen et al., 1998, chapter 3 & 10; chapter 4, 6, 7]
    Lab: Discussion of Concepts & Initial Designs for Project 3

    Class 8: (06-03-2002)
    Lecture: Basics of Event Handling and Interaction & System Design Material: [Olsen et al., 1998, chapter 4 & 6]
    Widgets / Visual Interaction Design. Material: Widget Tool kits [Olsen et al., 1998, chapter 6], Interfaces from Widgets [Olsen et al., 1998, chapter 7]
    Lab: Interface Evaluation: Software Logging, User Observation, Benchmarks and Experiments. AW Treasure Hunt and compilation/analysis of results.
    Presentation on "Community Evaluation" (During Lab)
    Assessing Needs and Evaluating Communitites by Jenny Preece. In [Preece, 2000]. (Ron Miller)

    Class 9: (06-05-2002)
    Lecture: Networking, Scaling, and Complexity Issues Material: Networking Primer [Singhal & Zyda, 1999, chapter 3] & Communication Architecture [Singhal & Zyda, 1999, chapter 4] & Managing Dynamic Shared State [Singhal & Zyda, 1999, chapter 5] & Resource management for scalability and performance [Singhal & Zyda, 1999, chapter 7]
    Presentations on "Networking" (During Lab)
    The International Grid (iGrid): Empowering Global Research Community Networking Using High Performance International Internet Services by Brown et al., INET '99, San Jose, 1998. (Pil-Won On)
    Next-Generation Tele-Immersive Devices for Desktop Trans-Oceanic Collaboration by Johnson et al., Electronic Imaging '99. (John Wilson)

    Student generated test questions
    Select the 5 main topics of the course and write test questions and exemplary answers. This will give you the opportunity to evaluate the course topics, reflect on what you understood, and what are good test items for the upcoming final exam. Submit result via email to katy@indiana.edu by Friday June 7th, 8pm.

    Future Interfaces

    Class 10:  (06-10-2002)
    Lecture: The Future. Extending Social Space to Cyberspace & Reconciling Physical and Cyberspaces
    Material: Perspectives and Predictions [Singhal & Zyda, 1999, chapter 9]
    Lab: Discussion of Final Exam Test Questions. Preparation for Showcase. Put your 'Information Spaces' in action. Acquire data about and from your users. Send a short summary of your results to katy@indiana.edu by June 14th.

    Class 11: (06-12-2002)
    Lab & Lab: Showcase Your Brave New Worlds!

    Last Week: Final-Exam on Friday, June 14th at 3-4p.m. Room LI001.
    It will be open book. You can use all your notes etc. You will not be able to use a computer.

    Resources
    This section of the course web page will frequently be updated. Please suggest links to include.

    Additional Reading (all these books are on reserve in the SLIS library):
    2D User Interfaces:
    Jenny Preece, Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp, Jennifer Preece: Interaction Design, John Wiley & Sons, 2002, ISBN: 0471492787.
    Mark T. Maybury (Editor), Wolfgang Wahlster (Editor): Readings in Intelligent User Interfaces, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1998; ISBN: 1558604448.
    Dan R. Olsen Jr., Dan E. Olsen, Dan R. Olsen: Developing User Interfaces, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1998; ISBN: 1558604189.
    Jef Raskin: The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems. Addison-Wesley Pub Co, 2000, ISBN: 0201379376.
    Andrew Sather, Ardith Ibanez, Stefan Grunspan: Creating Killer Interactive Web Sites. Unknown, 1997, ISBN: 1568303734.
    David Siegel: Creating Killer Web Sites. Hayden Books, 1997, ISBN: 1568304331.
    Milly R. Sonneman: Beyond Words : A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas. Ten Speed Press, 1997, ISBN: 0898159113.
    Darcy Dinucci, Maria Giudice (Contributor), Lynne Stiles (Contributor): Elements of Web Design: The Designer's Guide to a New Medium. Peachpit Press, 1998, ISBN: 0201696983.
    Caroll, J. M. (2002) Human Computer Interaction in the New Millennium. Addison-Wesley, Reading Massachusetts.

    3D Virtual Environments:
    Peter Anders: Envisioning Cyberspace: Designing 3-D Electronic Spaces, 1998, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing; ISBN: 0070016321.
    Bruce Damer: Avatars: Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet. Peachpit Press, 1998, ISBN: 0201688409.
    Sandeep Singhal & Michael Zyda: Networked Virtual Environments: Design and Implementation, 1999, Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201325578.
    Peter Washer: Digital Space: Designing Virtual Environments, McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN: 007069611X.
    Jean-Claude Heudin (Editor) Virtual Worlds: First International Conference, VW '98, Paris, France, July 1-3, (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1434), 1998, ISBN: 3540647805
    Jean-Claude Heudin (Editor) Virtual Worlds: Second International Conference, VW '2000, Paris, France, July, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1834), 2000, ISBN: 3540677070.
    Stephan Diehl: Distributed Virtual Worlds, Springer Verlag, 2001, ISBN: 3540676244
    Thomas A. Horan, William J. Mitchell, Thomas A. Horan: Digital Places: Building Our City of Bits. Urban Land Inst, 2000, ISBN: 0874208459.

    Engineering Design
    Henry Petroski: To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (Reprint), St. Martin's Press, NY, 1985

    Online Communitites:
    Rae A. Earnshaw (Editor): Frontiers in Human-Centred Computing, Online Communities and Virtual Environment. 2001, Springer Verlag; ISBN: 1852332387.
    Amy Jo Kim: Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities. Peachpit Press, 2000, ISBN: 0201874849. (Online Companion)
    William J. Mitchell: City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn. MIT Press, 1996, ISBN: 0262631768. (Online Version)
    Derek M. Powazek: Design for Community : The Art of Connecting Real People in Virtual Places. New Riders Publishing, 2001, ISBN: 0735710759.
    Howard Rheingold: The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier Revised Edition, MIT Press, 2000, ISBN: 0262681218. (Online Version)
    Chris Werry (Editor): Online Communities: Commerce, Community Action, and the Virtual University. Prentice Hall PTR, 2000, ISBN: 0130323829
    Ralph Schroeder: The Social Life of Avatars. Springer Verlag, 2002, ISBN: 1852334614

    Usability Issues:
    Jakob Nielsen: Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity. New Riders Publishing, 1999, ISBN: 156205810X.
    Jeff Johnson: GUI Bloopers Don'ts and Do's for Software Developers and Web Designers. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2000, ISBN: 1558605827.
    Deborah J. Mayhew: The Usability Engineering Lifecycle: A Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999, ISBN: 1558605614.
    Jenny Preece: Online Communities: Designing Usability and Supporting Sociability. John Wiley & Sons, 2000, ISBN: 0471805998.

    Online Resources:
    Virtual-Worlds.net http://www.virtual-worlds.net/
    Digital Space http://www.digitalspace.com/
    DNA Music Central - Human Genetic Code in Sound http://dnamusiccentral.com/contents.htm

    Computing Services & Software:
    University Computing Services Help Online
    Personal Home Pages (Php) at Indiana University
    http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/communicator/jsguide4/index.htm
    Photoshop Basics
    Active Worlds http://www.activeworlds.com/

    Code Validators:
    BOBBY http://www.cast.org/bobby/
    W3C HTML Validation Service http://validator.w3.org/

    Related Courses on Campus:
    U539 and T730 taught by Margaret Dolinksy, FA
    T330/U539 Introduction to Interactive Multimedia (Computer Art II) taught by Arthur Liou
    M 595 Technology and the Customer Interface taught by Raymond R. Burke

    Other Related Courses:
    The Design of Virtual Communities taught by Amy Bruckman at Georgia Tech
    Designing Online Communities taught by Amy Jo Kim at Stanford University.
    Designing Characters for Computer Games taught by Katherine Isbister at Stanford University.
    The Psychology of Cyberspace taught by John Suler at Rider University
    The Sociology of Cyberspace taught by Peter Kollock at UCLA
    The Virtual Society taught by Judith Donath at The MIT Media Lab
    Intelligent Embedded Systems taught by Gaurav S. Sukhatme at University of Southern California


    HomeFacultyKaty BörnerL578

    http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~katy/L578
    Last modified: 05/20/2002