TC 448: Info and Usability Design for the Web

SIRS Class Response/Rating...

2005-04-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Given the fact that we are nearing the end of the semester, its time to rate this class (and my teaching). Just go the URL below and do your thing. Remember, honest and constructive comments help improve future classes:

http://rateyourclass.msu.edu

1 Credit Class: Sounds, Images + Interactivity (April 22, 23, 24)

2005-04-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Norbert Herber, a friend and colleague who teaches in the Dept of Telecom at Indiana University – Bloomington, is teaching a 1 credit class on April 22, 23, and 24 called Sounds, Images + Interactivity. There are still some spaces left in the class. So, if you are interested, take a look at the description below and email me in order to get authorized to register.

Introduction & Background

It is essential for interactive designers and developers to have several channels of communication with their audience. Traditionally, the visual channel has been given the most attention. The recipe for immersion has relied on graphical wizardry in favor of creating an experience that is visually compelling and engaging. What is missing is this same kind of attention and focus on the audio components of an interactive experience. In the whole of interactive media this channel has been largely neglected. The audio elements and overall aural design of the interactive experience have not been fully considered.

Only through the thoughtful planning of interactive sound structures will there be the kind of audio and graphic synergy that enables the immersive experience to reach its full potential. This course aims to explore the concepts and techniques that bind the picture + sound relationship in an interactive environment.

Course Information

An understanding of audio and its relationship with images is essential to the success of an interactive production. The course will approach the material from both theoretical and practical perspectives. To discover the intricacies of this relationship, students will study the following topics:

audio-only media: radio theater and other spoken word productions
film music: role of music in cinema and film music techniques

Though interactive media is relatively young, there are traditions that are vital to the field. While traditional media provides a foundation for the picture + sound relationship, it is also essential to understand how audio is used in contemporary interactive media. Students will consider:

audio in computer games (classic and contemporary)
audio in CD-ROM based media
audio on the Internet

Careful study and consideration must also go with practical application for a full understanding of the interactive audio development process. Students will have the opportunity to work with contemporary digital audio and media authoring tools to practice implementing the techniques they study and develop individually. The experience of creating interactive sound schemes will bring their studies full-circle from

analysis to implementation.

Objectives

Introduce students to the power of audio as a means of communication and storytelling, and allow students to explore the interplay between sound and on-screen images

Provide students with a framework for thoughtful consideration of audio in an interactive environment Explore various techniques of implementing an interactive audio design concept in the context of an interactive media production

Recommended Skill Set

Students are expected to have a working knowledge of digital audio, and contemporary tools for computer-based recording and editing. Musical training or the ability to sing/play an instrument can be helpful, though not necessary. Students should be familiar with Flash-based multimedia development and have at least an intermediate-level knowledge of ActionScript or similar OOP language.

Woops...

2005-04-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hey folks – bit of a typo. Instead of putting the presentation dates as the 26th/28th, I put them as 19th/21st. I’ve fixed the presentation slots and given slots to those people who've sent me emails. Act now if you want a specific slot!

Final Project Presentations...

2005-04-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

A few people have expressed interest (perhaps even concern) about the format of your Final Project presentation. Originally, I wanted to have everyone present on the last three classes. However, since I’m out of commission tomorrow I wanted to reclaim one of those days for a lecture. So, Final Project presentations will be in the last two days of class. Now, given the fact that there are 20 projects to present (each of which will take up 5–10 minutes), things are going to be kind of tight in terms of time. So, I would ask that everyone makes sure that they make sure that their presentations are not any longer than 10 minutes. This still means that if everyone does a 10 minute presentation, we might run a little late. Given this, I would strongly suggest that if anyone has anything immediately after class, they schedule their presentation early in the class. As for the presentation, here are some guidelines:

Beyond handing in the final project to the instructor, students must prepare a short (5-10 minutes) presentation outlining their project which will be delivered in the final day of class. The presentation will account for 25% of their final project grade, and it must include visual examples/visual aides in the form of screenshots, PowerPoint slides, etc

Now, who is going to present on which day? 10 slots/class – first come first served basis. I’ll post all of the slots below, and as people email me with their preferences, I’ll fill in the slots (I’ll go be the time I the email was sent). If the slot is taken, I’ll give you the closest available slot.

April 26th

Ryan Torre
Jeff Siarto
Scott Harding
Jason Reichle
Kien Hunter
John Tuma
Kiran Belankar
Mark Santiago

April 28th

Kirk Berryman
Stanley Park
Hai Kyung Min
Jessica Boyle
Andrew Demey
Mi-Young Jo
Jay Lau
Matt Ponke
John Ellenich
Keith Anderson

So, when do you hand in the ~~factual~~ actual Final Project? I was going to have people hand them in when they present. However, I’m going to give everyone until the final day of class to hand it in.

Audience Profile Data...

2005-04-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve made the same survey results that should be used to generate your Final Project audience profiles available in PDF format in the resources section of the course website. My apologies for not getting this to you earlier.

Sample Usability Report...

2005-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hey folks – I’ve been looking around for an example usability report that you can look at. After much searching, I’ve found a student focused usability report of the new ~~University of Calgary~~ University of Alberta website (http://www.ualberta.ca) that was launched in 2003. The report is extremely comprehensive, and available in both HTML and PDF format. Check it out at:

http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/usability/

Thanks for the heads up on my mistake Paul.

Slides...

2005-04-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hey folks – I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve updated the course slides on the website. They are now all up to date.

Keyhole...

2005-03-30T05:43:00.000-08:00

A student of mine sent me this link:

http://www.keyhole.com

very cool! Whoever thought that U.S. government spy satellites would be put to this kind of use.

Final Project Options...

2005-03-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

As promised (and as discussed), here are the possible options for your Final Project:

Option 1: Fully Pre-Digital Design Document

Option 1 must, at the very least, include, but shouldn't be limited to, the following things:

Introduction : introduction to the website upon which you will focus. This should, at the very least, include a discussion of the website's topic/content. If the student is creating a design from scratch, they must provide a detailed discussion of their intended website's topic/content.

Audience Profile: A detailed audience profile that includes all possible characteristics that might impact upon the site's redesign. Ethan will provide the raw data that you’ll use to generate your audience profile by the end of this week.

Market Analysis: A detailed exploration of at least three other similar sites. The student should compare and contrast the site's to their site (as well as its redesign).

Design Analysis : a detailed analysis of the site's current design shortcomings (if you are redesigning a site opposed to creating a design from scratch). This section should include visual aids (diagrams, screenshots, etc.), your proposed changes. The Design Analysis should also take into account the site's audience (level of technology, accessibility, bandwidth, etc.).

Proposed Changes: Building on the design analysis, this section needs to include a detailed discussion of your proposed changes. You must justify any changes you wish made. As before, this section should include visual aids (diagrams, screenshots, etc.

Storyboards : Provide 2 sets of detailed illustrations (each with different designs) of the various different top level page layout schemes that you are going to be using. Be sure to clearly label different individual elements. In this section, it would also be wise to introduce your visual metaphor (i.e. color choices, images, etc). It is extremely important that your storyboards be presented in a very legible, detailed, and professional manner.

Information Architecture : Provide detailed information architecture diagrams that shows exactly how your site is going to be organized. It's very important that the diagrams are neat, understandable, and complete.

Option 2: Interactive Prototype with “lite” Design Document

Option 2 must, at the very least, include, but shouldn't be limited to, the following things:

Functioning Prototype: A functioning portion of the website. In building your prototype, you will want to choose one of the following approaches (or a combination of them):

Depth-First Approach - focuses on a small section of your web site and bring them to completion, leaving other areas incomplete.
Breadth-First Approach - focuses on a broad overview of all the sections of your project and the navigation between them with few details.
Onion Approach - focuses on the core elements of your project.

Option 3: Fully Functional Website

Option 3 must, at the very least, include, but shouldn't be limited to, the following things:

Storyboards : Provide 2 sets of detailed sketches (each with different designs) of the various different top level page layout schemes that you are going to be using. Be sure to clearly label different individual elements. In this section, it would also be wise to introduce your visual metaphor (i.e. color choices, images, etc). It is extremely important that your storyboards be presented in a very legible, detailed, and professional manner.

Functioning Website: This is pretty self explanatory

Visiting the USability and Accessibility Center....

2005-03-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Dr. Sarah Swierenga has graciously agreed to host the class for a visit to the center (http://usability.msu.edu). They are very busy over there, so this is a great opportunity. Since this isn’t our regular lecture, its important that I stress upon each and every one of you that Tuesday’s class is not optional. I expect to see every one of you there. I’ll be very displeased with those don’t attend.

So, here is how things are going to work. I’d like everyone to meet in the lobby of the Kellogg Center (where the Usability and Accessibility Center is housed). From there, we’ll go together to the center.

Sarah isn't going to prepare anything formal, but will talk informally about what they do over at the center as well as usability in general.

remember, I expect to see everyone there (or risk my wrath)

Thursday Class Cancelled...

2005-03-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

I’m cancelling tomorrow’s class – why? Well, I’m trying to arrange a visit to the new Usability & Accessibility Center in lew of a lecture about usability testing (which I was planning on delivering tomorrow) and a talk by Dr. Sarah Swierenga, the director of the center.So, you get tomorrow off – use it to work on your Final Project (use the time wisely).

Speaking of your Final Project, we had talked about the possibility of those who had the necessary skills producing something more digital than just a robust design doc. I’m going to write up a more detailed description of possible options for the Final Project - keep an eye on the blog for further info today or tomorrow.

Assignment #4...

2005-02-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – a couple of you have written expressing concern that they’ve gotten a grade in the ANGEL grade book for Assignment #5 (mobile interface), but not Assignment #4 (IA Diagram). Don’t worry, if there isn’t a grade, you haven’t received a zero or anything. I simply skipped ahead and graded Assignment #5 before I graded Assignment #4 (which I’m hoping to do mid week sometime.

Couple of Reminders...

2005-02-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – just a few reminders:

No meeting next week. Use this time to work on your Final Project Proposals.
The Final Project Proposals (the description of which can be found on the course website) need to be sent to me via email by 5pm on Friday (the 4th).
You have a regular blog due on the 4th.
You have a Bonus Blog due on the 11th. The Bonus Blogs are only for those who either missed or got partial grade on a previous blog. The grade from the bonus blog will simply replace the missed blog. If you have done all of your blogs, don’t bother doing the bonus blog.

So, I’ll see everyone after Spring Break.

Web Design Opportunity on Campus...

2005-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – here is a possible web design opportunity on campus. If you are interested, read on:

We are looking for a web designer/developer who might be interested in part-time work to develop the overall design of our web site for the Pileus* Project, a multidisciplinary project on climate variablity which is centered in the climatology lab in the Natural Sciences building.
Web Design skills include:
Working knowledge of Dreamweaver MX, Photoshop, Illustrator or similar, imovie, audio input (itunes or garage band?); some camcorder experience desired, but not necessary. We will also be looking for a Flash designer, who has experience with databases.
If anyone is interested, please contact Jeanne Bisanz at bisanz@msu.edu

ANGEL Gradebook...

2005-02-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – As some of you know, your ANGEL gradebook for this class hasn’t been showing up. This has been an ongoing problem that I keep on thinking I’ve fixed only to find that I really haven’t. Well, I think I’ve got it this time. So, go check out ANGEL and see if the course shows up. If it doesn’t, give me a yell.

Video Game Industry Guest Speakers Sunday, February 27th!

2005-02-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

Hosted by Spartasoft in conjunction with ACM

Spartasoft and ACM will be hosting a guest lecture / QA session with members of Volition, Inc., makers of the Red Faction game series and the recently released The Punisher. The speakers include Programmer and MSU alumnus Eric Arnold, and Artist/Designer Scott Phillips. Both will be speaking about their duties and experiences at Volition, along with answering any questions students may have about what it takes to make it in the game industry.

Here is the rundown:

WHO: Eric Arnold and Scott Phillips.
WHAT: Guest lecture and QA session (come with questions!)
WHERE: Rm 147 Communication Arts and Sciences Building.
WHEN: Sunday, February 27th, at 6:00 PM.

Assignment #3

2005-02-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

As I promised last class (though I’ve gotten to it a little late), I’ve updated the course schedule to reflect the Thursday (Feb 10th) due date of Assignment #3. Since we don’t have lecture that day, all you need to do is get the assignment to me (slip it under my door, put it in my mailbox, give it to me personally – if you see me) by 4pm. That means you’ve got a few extra hours to finish it off if you need to.

If anyone has any questions about the assignment, give me a yell.

Class Cancelled on Thursday...

2005-02-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – This week is a real doozy in the department. We’ve got two new faculty job candidates coming in (one at the beginning of the week and one at the end of the week), and there are tons of events going on. As a result, and unfortunately, this week’s lectures are going to suffer slightly. First off, I’m going to be letting you go a little earlier than usual tomorrow (probably around 9:20 or so). Second, I’m going to cancel class on Thursday.

My apologies for making you guys shoulder this burden – though I’m guessing that you won’t mind too much.

Due dates and lecture topics listed on the course website won’t change.

Interested in Documentary Films?

2005-02-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

From the MSU Documentary Film Club:

The MSU Doc Films club is back this semester with some interesting projects, experienced undergraduate and graduate students and contacts for video production. We need your help not only for guidance and support but also to inform any of your students. We are looking to recruit and expand our current membership to all of those who are interested in Video production, documentaries or experience. Please pass this information to any of your students who are interested in video or looking for experience outside of class.
Our next informational meetings will be Thursday, February 17th -- 7:30 in Rather Hall Lobby and Monday, February 21st at 7:30 -– in Rather Hall Lobby (Check in B 129 Rather)
If you can help our group in anyway please email us at docfilms@msu.edu

So, if you are interested in Doc films, drop them a line.

Tuesday's Office Hours...

2005-02-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – my office hours are going to be slightly truncated this week. Instead of 11–3, they will be 11–1:30. As usual, if this doesn’t work for someone, feel free to drop me a line and we’ll arrange an alternate time.

Use an Aggregator to Read TC448's RSS Feed.

2005-02-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Don’t know what RSS is? Don’t know how to aggregate an RSS feed? You are definitely missing out. As I’m running 3 separate course blogs this semester (and some of you are in more than one of these classes), I thought it might be helpful if I were to point you in the direction of a nice RSS/Aggregation primer.

For those who don’t know, RSS feeds automatically bring updated information straight to your desktop. You can monitor news, job listings, personals, and classifieds. More and more sites offer feeds (including all of the course blogs I’m running this semester), which you can identify by a small button that says either RSS or XML. However, if you click one of these links, you will most likely get a page full of code in your browser. To properly read the feed, you need an RSS reader.

To learn more about RSS readers, check out this link:

http://www.download.com/How-to-read-RSS-feeds/1200-2001-5123544.html

note: one of the easiest aggregators to use is actually built right into Firefox. The feature is called Live Bookmarks, and it allows you to read RSS feeds directly from within your browser. To find out more about Firefox’s Live Bookmark feature, check out this link:

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/live-bookmarks.html

2005 IDEAS Festival

2005-02-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

Announcing the 2005 Indiana Interactive Digital Environments Arts and Storytelling (IDEAS) Festival. IDEAS is a competition and juried show of interactive entertainment, 3D, 2D, aural, virtual, animated and still creative work which will be held April 23, 2005 at Indiana University – Bloomington, Indiana. This year we are accepting entries from Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Minnesota,and Pennsylvania.

Go to our website www.ideasfest.org for more information. Contact Elena Bertozzi ebertozz@indiana.edu with questions.

Possible Web Design Opportunity with Earth Share of MI

2005-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, I was just contacted by someone with Earth Share of MI inquiring as to whether a student might be interested in working with them on either updating or recreating their current website. Beyond that, I don’t have any additional information (i.e. is there cash involved). If anyone is interested, give me a yell and I’ll put you in contact with the person who sent me the email.

Feb 4th Seminar Open to Students - ChildrenÃÂs Software: Reinventing the Magic

2005-02-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Children’s Software: Reinventing the Magic

MSU alum and 20 year entertainment industry veteran Rob Martyn will talk about the current state of the children’s software industry, it’s glorious past, and what it may take to put magic back in to this industry, what the future could hold and how to get there.

About the Speaker

Rob Martyn has been in the interactive and online industries ever since his outstanding education in the College of Communications at Michigan State University. His career reflects areas of pioneering as well as areas of commercial success. He worked at North America's first commercial online service at Knight-Ridder Newspapers, managed the first commercial persistent world environment at America Online, and produced Living Books for Broderbund, one of the seminal products in early multimedia. In his 20 year career, he has managed production organizations responsible for some of the most highly branded products in the game industry, including EA Sports, The Sims and SimCity. He's currently engaged in trying to infuse magic back into children's software.

11am-noon in CAS room 151

Slides...

2005-02-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hey folks – I’ve updated the course website with the lecture slides for the past few weeks.

EPIC 2014 - The Future of Information

2005-01-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

EPIC 2014

For those who are interested, here is the link to the Google Epic (imagined future) piece we watched in class today.

Google Browser/OS Article

2005-01-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

John Dvorak's Second Opinion: A Google browser is just the first step

As Promised, here is the link to the article discussing Google’s plan for world domination.

Student Blogs...

2005-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

I've updated the Student Blogs section of the course website with all of your blogs. Go check out your fellow student's blogs.

URL Apologies...

2005-01-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Bit of a screw up on my part regarding the class URL. I had accidentally been uploading all of the new schedule material to a different URL than the one I had given you. As a result, if you had been looking at the website, you would have been sing something that has been out of date for about a week. Anyway, I've fixed everything with a simple redirect at the URL that I originally gave you. If anyone wants to update their bookmarks, here is the new course URL:

http://www.msu.edu/~watrall/tc448

See everyone on Tuesday.

Cheers,

Ethan

Welcome

2005-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the TC448 (Information and Usability Design for the Web) course blog. Here you'll find all your out of class announcements - ranging from schedule changes to interesting links and online resources. So, check this blog out on a regular basis (at the beginning of the week is best) so you can stay on top of all up to date class info.

TC 448: Info and Usability Design for the Web

SIRS Class Response/Rating...

1 Credit Class: Sounds, Images + Interactivity (April 22, 23, 24)

Woops...

Final Project Presentations...

Audience Profile Data...

Sample Usability Report...

Slides...

Keyhole...

Final Project Options...

Visiting the USability and Accessibility Center....

Thursday Class Cancelled...

Assignment #4...

Couple of Reminders...

Web Design Opportunity on Campus...

ANGEL Gradebook...

Video Game Industry Guest Speakers Sunday, February 27th!

Assignment #3

Class Cancelled on Thursday...

Interested in Documentary Films?

Tuesday's Office Hours...

Use an Aggregator to Read TC448's RSS Feed.

2005 IDEAS Festival

Possible Web Design Opportunity with Earth Share of MI

Feb 4th Seminar Open to Students - ChildrenÃÂs Software: Reinventing the Magic

Slides...

EPIC 2014 - The Future of Information

Google Browser/OS Article

Student Blogs...

URL Apologies...

Welcome

Feb 4th Seminar Open to Students - ChildrenÃÂs Software: Reinventing the Magic