This is an analysis assignment and the question is intentionally more free form. Basically what I had in mind was an executive summary of the types of things that are supported in one site and/or the other. There are certainly going to be some apples to oranges comparisons that will need clarification. It think #2 sounds like more like what we were going for. I would like to know about what makes Facebook's blogging "psuedo" for example. And maybe noteworthy UI similarities or differences that hook into these features. I don't want screen shots of each web page with arrows telling me that I can search from this widget - that is something I can figure out.

 

As you do this assignment, consider me (Prof. Patterson) to be the audience. Assume that I know what you think I know, but have never used MySpace or Facebook before and want to get a snapshot of what functionality and UI techniques they employ.

What Apple guidelines are you talking about in Assignment 2 ?

I didn't have a particular list in mind. I suppose something from here is appropriate:
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/index.html

If you find something better, let me know.

 

Are the grades going to be scaled?

Letter grades will be assigned at the end of the quarter based on an examination of the overall quality of work. As a rough guideline, receiving a 13/17 on Test 1 is in the B+ range.

 

I was curious as to what kind of graphics I should include in my Design Notebook. Am I supposed to include samples of the user interface (i.e. screenshot of websites, etc.)? I had no idea we were supposed to include these?

You weren't penalized for not having drawings/screenshots. This review was to make sure that everyone has the same expectations. So feedback like this is exactly what we wanted to give people. As long as you made some reasonable entries it's okay to not know about drawings.

 

Drawings aren't strictly necessary, but after looking at some people's entries we felt like drawings would really have helped solidify the interactions that they had and communicate them better (ultimately to yourself, but also to us so we know what you are talking about). This was a suggestion for how to improve people's work. If they would like to improve the quality, this is something they can do.

 

Why is my grade for Test #1 greater than 9 points?

I forgot to scale them. I'm retroactively changing the grades in EEE. If your grade is X, then your grade in EEE, will be (X/17)*9

 

Where can I get a copy of Sterling's book?

Not from the textbook section of the bookstore. It is available from Amazon, or through normal book distribution channels, Barnes and Noble etc.

Where is the mid-term evaluation located?

On the EEE website. Try this link: http://e3.uci.edu/toolbox/eval/index.php?ccode=37080&quarter=W07

What is assignment "1A Extra Credit"?
For assignment 1A I gave 3 people one extra credit point for especially interesting solutions to assignment 1A. One person turned in a sequence of photos of the camera zooming in on himself. One person had a picture from UCLA. Another person was in the woods somewhere.

I feel like I am participating in class, but a 4/10 seems like a very low score.
The class participation score is a running total that changes after every class. The expectation is that people would get one point per week. Given that as of 1/22/2007 we are just into the 3rd week, having 4/10 is on track to have 20/10 by the end of the class - so that's really good. (The points are capped at 10 though)

I'm not a talkative person and I feel like I'm being penalized for not having things to say while other people are just talking a lot, but not adding anything.

My goal with class participation is to get people to express opinions, defend and argue their positions, and feel comfortable asking questions during the lecture time. I need you all to do this both because it helps to develop your understanding in a way that just listening to a lecture doesn't. It also helps me to understand how well people are tracking what I'm saying and what the content of the course is trying to illuminate. None of this strictly requires a quality interaction. I definitely don't want to be evaluating what people say during a lecture for the purpose of points: that would discourage the kind of interaction I actually want to foster. I also don't want students to be afraid of disagreeing with me or getting something wrong during a lecture.

 

Of course we also don't want the class to be dominated by people who just talk all the time. To that end, participants only get one little executive guy per class. If they get more I just ignore multiples. But just like real life, everyone has personality conflicts with other people. For the purpose of this class we need to give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they have something to contribute. If it gets really out of hand (I think we are far from that now) I'll talk to individuals outside of class.

 

I'm not a Informatics students and am therefore at a disadvantage for contributing during class.

Regarding Informatics vs. CS and the exposure to HCI. I don't think a CS major who has done the reading has any less of a platform on which to base their opinions than an Informatics major. I have Informatics majors saying the exact opposite thing in 132 (used to be 105) when students implement something. Generally the grades don't reflect that as being a substantiated concern in either direction.

 

There are actually four ways that you can get class participation credit, so being a quiet/C.S. person should be able to be managed:
1) Offer an opinion, question or answer in class.
2) IM the same
3) Volunteer to present in section

4) Participate in the online class forum to the same degree that would be expected in a class discussion.

Do non-computer interactions qualify for the design notebook?

Yes. Any interaction which has a computational component that catches your notice is fine. Ideally it would be something particularly interesting, particularly bad, or otherwise noteworthy. I would actually prefer interactions that happen in the world rather than just interactions that happen on a computer desktop, although either are okay. Your notebook should include diagrams, dates, times, people, suggestions for improvement, URLS, photos - anything that will help you catalog the interaction for future reference. Categorizing it as a "success" or "failure" isn't required, but may be relevant.

Can I use a different email account for the Google collaborative notes?

Yes just email it to me.

(This refers to one of the experiments that we are trying in this class. Google has a collaborative document editting site that lets you edit a document in a group setting. Although it's not being used much, we have a document to collect group notes from the class. It's like a wiki, but allows real-time simultaneous editting. To use it you need an account. Some people already have a google account, but it's not tied to their UCI email address.Try going here)

Regarding assignment 1a, Do we have to use a "publicly accessible security camera/ web-cam", or can we use our own webcams?

Yes you must use a publicly accessible security camera. Look at part b to understand why.

 

Is class mandatory?

Yes. Attendance will not be taken, but class participation is part of your grade. Class participation will be monitored by giving small plastic business executives to people who have things to say in class. Business executives can be traded in for class participation credit.

 

Is discussion section mandatory?

Yes. Attendance will not be taken, but during discussion section tests will be administered and advanced topics will be covered that are fair game on graded materials.

 

Can I use screen shots in the design notebook?

Yes. You might find it easier to have physical paper to quickly jot down interaction experiences quickly rather than incurring the overhead of using a blog or something like that. Although it is fine to use a blog if you want to.