Office: Science Hall 328

Phone: 646-1980

email: pfoltz@crl.nmsu.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-10:30, or by appointment

This course is designed to provide a survey of research and issues in human computer interaction. The primary focus of the course will be on the interactions between humans (users) and computer systems, rather than just on the design of computers. Particular emphasis will be placed on the theoretical, empirical and methodological aspects of HCI. The course will cover issues of: the difficulties of using computers, techniques and tools used in the design of effective interfaces, methods for evaluating interfaces, cognitive models of users, social aspects of computer, and views of the future of computer interfaces. The course will be run more as a seminar than a lecture course. Some of the time I will lecture, some of the time we will discuss papers or students will present papers, and some of the time we will work on projects and demonstrations.

There will be assigned readings from a variety of books, journals and magazines. These readings will be available for photocopying in the main office of the psychology department.

There is one required book for the class. It is:

Norman, D. A. (1998) The Invisible Computer: Why good products can fail, the personal coputer is so complex, and information appliances are the solution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

This book is not available at the campus bookstore. However it may be ordered from Amazon.com. A direct link is available off of the course web site.

Additional readings will likely come from:

In addition to the text, some weeks there will be assigned readings from a variety of books, journals, and magazines. These readings will be available for photocopying in the main office of the psychology department.

Course Web page: The course web page is at:

http://www-psych.nmsu.edu/~pfoltz/hci.html

This web page contains a copy of the syllabus, information about the class, grades, answers to questions from class, links to ordering the Norman book, and links to other pages with information about HCI. It will be updated throughout the semester. It is strongly recommended that you know how to use the web to access this page in order to see about updates to the syllabus

Note: The schedule of readings and assignments will likely change during this course. I will keep you apprised of changes. If you miss class, please check with me, or check the web page for updates.

Prerequisites:

Officially: Psy 201 (Introduction to Psychology) or consent of instructor. This course is an advanced undergraduate and graduate course.

Unofficially: The prerequisite is to have some background in psychology, education, computer science, and/or a strong interest in technology and computers and how humans use them. Those without much background in some of these areas may find this class very challenging and should see me .

Homework Exercises:

Exercises will be assigned in class. Some of these exercises will be done in class, others will be take-home exercises. As there are no exams in this class, the exercises and final project comprise the bulk of your grade.

A final group project is due in this class. The projects should be done in groups of 2 to 4 people. I will approve individual projects under certain circumstances. The project will entail writing a very complete paper , including references. All project descriptions must be typed. There are three options for this project. You may do something else if you can think of a fourth option and you can convince me of it.

1) Use an iterative design cycle to develop a user interface. Perform an evaluation on the interface and revise the interface based on the findings. Detail the principles used in your design and your evaluation, describe the outcome of your evaluation and changes to your interface.

2) Evaluate a single user interface using at least two different evaluation methods. Provide a rationale for the evaluations, a description of the outcome of the evaluations and detail suggestions for improvements for the interface.

3) Evaluate two different user interfaces used for similar purposes. (e.g., two different spreadsheets).

Provide a rationale for the evaluation techniques, outcomes and suggestions for improvements for each interface. Describe advantages/disadvantages for each interface.

All groups must submit a 2 page proposal by March 27th describing their topic. You will then get feedback and suggestions from me on their topic. In addition, your group should contact me by March 18th to discuss your project topic. All groups will also make a presentation on their paper or project at the end of the semester. Presentations are expected to be 10-15 minutes in length.

More details on these projects will be provided later in the semester

Graduate students are expected to make one paper presentation. In their presentation, they will be responsible for summarizing the important points of the paper and then leading the class discussion on a particular paper or topic.

All students will be expected to make one presentation on one topic of specialization in HCI. For this presentation, you are expected to research one area/issue in HCI and give a 20 minute presentation. You will be able to choose the topic in consultation with me. I will also suggest books and articles that you should read for your presentation.

This course is designed to be a discussion course. Thus, all students will be expected to have read the required readings and be ready to discuss them in class. There will also be various experiments and demonstrations performed in class and you are expected to participate in them as well.

Attendance will not be taken in this class, except for in the first few weeks for paperwork purposes. However, your participation will be noted during the class discussions, experiments, and demonstrations.

Your final grade will be a weighted average of:

Undergraduates Graduate Students

Homework exercises 45% 35%

Final Project/Paper 35% 30%

Class Participation 10% 15%

Paper and topic presentations 10% 20%

I can usually be reached at my office phone (646-1980) and I check my email (pfoltz@crl.nmsu.edu) regularly. If you can’t make it to the scheduled office hours, please contact me and I’ll be happy to set up an appointment for another time. Some of these papers will be difficult. If you are having trouble understanding something, please feel free to come see me. I am more than happy to help you work through something that is difficult.

Withdrawals: To withdraw from this class, you must complete and turn in a signed withdrawal form. The last day to drop with a "W" is March 16th.

1. The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

2. Make-ups will not typically be permitted for exams. Exceptions will be granted with a note from the health center or your private doctor, or for other extenuating circumstances.

3. If a student is caught cheating, the policies described in the New Mexico State University Handbook will apply. Penalties could range from earning no points for the work to expulsion from the university. Academic misconduct results in a grade of F for the class.

4. If you have, or think you may have, a disability that interferes with your performance as a student in this class, you are encouraged for academic reasons to discuss this on a confidential basis with your instructor, the Disabled Student Programs Coordinator (Mary Thumann) at 646-1921, and/or the American With Disabilities Act Coordinator (Elena Linthicum) at 646-7795.