Fall Semester, 2008
Why does Facebook work? What does it do? What about MS Word's track
changes features? And what about the interface to MMORPGs? How are
they similar and how are they different? These are the types of
questions we will examine.
This class investigates the design of systems to support collaborative
activity. As such, the class will read papers and develop class
projects related to topics such as:
(1)
How do people use existing tools (word processors, email) to collaborate?
(2)
What issues play a role in the success of tools supporting collaborative
activity (critical mass, benefit/effort distribution, etc.)?
(3)
What characteristics of tools play important roles in these contexts
(awareness, reciprocity, synchronous activity)?
These topics will be discussed at both a conceptual and tool level. By
the end of the course, you will be able to look at an existing system
or design a new system with an understanding of the impact it may have
on collaborative activity.
This course will focus around discussions of the readings. We will
read assorted papers taken from a variety of conferences
and journals concerning computer-support cooperative work, groupware,
human-computer interaction, etc.
Selected papers:
The following links require access to the ACM Digital Library. Access to
ACM Digital Library is available from on-campus computers.
There will be a number of assignments due in class. These assignments
may require use of specific software outside of class time and will
take the form of short essays, written answers to questions, and
design documents. All material turned in should be printed using a
computer printer or typed except when noted otherwise.
Homework late policy:
The final project report (8-12 pages in ACM Format) will also require
the design of an evaluation procedure for refining the resulting
interface. The in-class presentations of project progress will be
about 10 minutes long and the final presentation on the project will
be approximately 20 minutes long and include a demo of your working
system.
Project grades will be determined by both the instructor's review of the
project and student's description of their and other member's work.
Programming for projects:
Students
There may be students from technical and non-technical disciplines
in this course. Projects and assignments are designed such that
each student can show off their own skills. Programming and
software development is part of the group projects so it is
recommended that students from outside of computer science join
project teams with students from computer science.Course description
Collaborative systems are all around us. They help us keep
up with friends and family, they help us write papers, and they
help us slay the evil beast in the woods.Prerequisites
Students should have a basic knowledge of computing and the
social sciences, and either the ability to program complex systems or
able to learn new software tools on their own. Ask instructor if you
have any questions.
Reading materials
Reading scheduleGrading
Short assignments 25%
Class participation 20% (and pop quizes, if necessary)
Team project 30%
Term paper 25%
Short assignments
List of assignments
10% is deducted from your grade for every
school day late up to a maximum of one week after the original due
date. Class participation
Most class periods will include a discussion of reading materials. One
student will be selected to present a brief overview of each paper and
another student will be assigned to have discussion questions ready
and lead discussion. All students are expected to have done the
readings and be able to participate in discussions. Keep up with the
readings so there will be no pop quizzes!Project
Students will form two-person teams and define a semester project or select
one from a list of existing ideas. There will be three preliminary progress
reports for the projects emphasizing particular phases of the interface
design process:
(1) identifying a topic, determining cognitive and social issues,
and determining an approach,
(2) creating an initial system design and mock-up, and
(3) instantiating the design in a prototype implementation.
done in language and operating system of your choice on
machines to which you have access. Term paper
Each student will select a topic on which to write a 10-15 page
term paper. These papers are to describe the current state of
practice and research with references to the current
literature. Topics need to be approved by the instructor. Students
should be careful to properly use quotation and citation for
information from all sources.General Note on Assignments
Important: All reports are to be printed on a word processor or typed
(no handwritten assignments will be accepted). All writing should be
the work of the student -- any text taken from other sources needs to
be quoted and referenced. It is expected that students will correct
grammar and spelling -- these are grounds to deduct from your
grade. (i.e. Use a spelling checker and reread what you write before
turning it in.)