This Course, Other Courses, Final Projects
Coordinating Projects across Courses
This course often works well in conjunction with courses with projects, and with iSchool final projects.
Many projects benefit from user experience research; and this course requires a project. So combining this course’s project with those for other courses often works well. You must, however, get the approvals of both me and the other instructor(s). I can’t speak for them.
One common approach for group projects for other courses or iSchool final projects is to have one (or more) member of the group taking this course be responsible for the user experience and evaluation research. That work then becomes the project for this course. Depending on the nature of the project and its final product, I may or may not require a separate paper.
Good courses to combine with this one may include:
- iSchool final projects
- i213. User Interface Design and Development
- i247. Information Visualization and Presentation
- i290. Mixing and Remixing Information
I213 and I214
In the best of all possible worlds, students would take both I213 and I214, and take i214 first.
You may have noticed that this is not the best of all possible worlds.
There is some overlap between these courses. How much depends on the specific decisions made by the 213 instructor any given semester, because s/he can’t assume that 213 students have had 214, and some elements of 214 are necessary to (or at least very helpful to) 213.
However, 213 covers only a handful of 214’s topics, more quickly, and not as thoroughly — a sort of quick-and-dirty for people who don’t have 214. If you’re serious about user-centered design, designing for user experience, evidence-based design, and understanding users and uses, you should take 214. The methods covered in i214 are also useful for justifying design decisions and communicating with others in your organization.
I214 next fall?
This course is currently scheduled to be taught again in Fall, 2010. It’s usually a fall course, but I was on sabbatical last fall.
Nothing is certain in the current campus budget climate, but I am currently scheduled to teach this course in the Fall, as well.