Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

YEAR 2 Advanced topics in computing

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

To give students an understanding of Interaction Design practice and its application to a variety of application areas including ubiquitous computing, tangible interactions, and social interactions.
To give students an understanding of relevant Interaction Design theories.
To equip students with a skill set in practices of Interaction Design including understanding users, prototyping, and evaluation.
To expose the students to the issues of privacy and ethics in relation to digital technologies and how they relate to specific design decisions.
To give students experience in GUI design on multiple platforms.
To give students experience of, and to develop skills in, working in collaborative design teams.

Outline Of Syllabus

Understanding users and user requirements
Fieldwork for design and evaluation
Models, theories, and frameworks of interaction design
Design principles
Methods for designing with and for users
Design considerations for ubiquitous technologies, wearables, tangibles user interfaces, interactive surfaces, and natural user interfaces
Designing for specific application areas such as user experience and social interactions.
Prototyping
Expert and user evaluation techniques
Data, ethics and privacy.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

To understand principles and theories for interactive systems design and evaluation. To be able to justify the importance of designing for 'beyond usability'.
To be able to discuss current human computer interaction literature and its implication for the design and evaluation of digital technologies.
To be able to choose critically between methods for design and evaluation of interactive systems.
To understand basic methods for data collection and analysis.
To develop an understanding of the scope of human-computer interaction as a field and develop a more detailed understanding of some of its specific application areas such as ubiquitous computing, supporting group work, and tangible user interfaces.
To be able to explain issues of privacy and ethics in relation to concerns within digital technologies.
To develop a basic understanding of the potential, constraints, and implications for using Artificial Intelligence in the design process.

Intended Skill Outcomes

To be able to design and prototype interactive digital technologies using a variety of techniques.
To be able to engage users in the design and evaluation processes through user-centred and participatory design processes.
To be able to apply theories and concepts of interaction design to the design of digital technologies.
To be able to critique constructively students’ own design work and that of others.
To be able to use various field research techniques for requirements elicitation and system evaluation.
To be able to work and communicate effectively in collaborative design teams.
To be able to clearly document designs, prototypes, and the design process of digital technologies. To be able to read, critically review, and synthesise related academic literature.
To be able to responsibly use Artificial Intelligence tools in the design cycle.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

In each week, students will be provided with online learning material (short videos, slides and/or text) that will be used to introduce the learning material and for demonstrating the key concepts by example.

Lectures sessions will provide opportunities to discuss the materials covered in the week and for live questions and answers about these topics

Students will be expected to read suggested material or engage with suggested online media resources in preparation for seminar sessions. Students are expected to widen their knowledge beyond the content of lecture notes and seminar material through wider self-directed background reading.

Seminars will provide an environment to discuss published research and online material providing students opportunities to be exposed to different perspective about the covered topics and to engage in critical discussions around these topics.

Practical classes will develop skills through hands-on experience of interaction design techniques and developing GUI design on multiple platforms. These will also promote group working skills. Students will be expected to spend significant time in completing work between practical classes, which will be used towards their coursework.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The students will be given a design brief and are expected to submit a design report in response to the design brief.

The first submission is a group submission and showcase demonstrating the ideation process and initial design(s). This will give an opportunity to give early feedback on the design direction before proceeding with their ideas for the second coursework.

The second submission is an individual report demonstrating the application of knowledge and skills acquired throughout the module to the students designs.

The formative assessment will give students as much feedback as possible before submitting the final report.

These assessments will ensure that students have hands-on experience in advanced user-centred design process that is both field and theory informed. The hands-on practical nature of human computer interaction practice necessitates a coursework based evaluation, rather than a written exam.

General Notes

N/A