LIBR 251
Interface Design for Information Services
Spring 2003

Dr. Tassos Petrou
apetrou@ucla.edu


Course Links

Greensheet

Schedule

Term Project

 

 

GREENSHEET

Course Description:
Surveys the theory and practice of designing user-centered interfaces in information systems and services. Include theories of user information seeking, cognition, human-computer interaction, the design process, and application in information environments of virtual reality. Emphasis is on the design and evaluation of interfaces. Prerequisites: LIBR 202 and rudimentary HTML.

Course Objectives:
This course is intended to equip students with the theory, tools, and methodologies for developing effective user-centered interfaces in information systems and services. Through online interaction, readings and projects, the students will learn of the different mechanisms for interactivity and usability, and how to choose appropriate interaction methods for particular circumstances. It will also examine why some information technologies are easily adopted while many others are not.

This course supports the following SLIS objectives:

  • Teaching the major theories, important principles, and current practice in the area of human-computer interface design for information services.
  • Requiring students to evaluate and utilize relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines in their coursework.

Recommended Text(s):
Course TEXTBOOK: Shneiderman, Ben. (2002). Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Note: Other required readings and texts are detailed in the class schedule.

Course Requirements and Grading:

  • Class participation -- critical review of two sets of readings from the class textbook (20%)
  • Evaluation of usability features in a web site or software package (20%)
  • Attendance and Presentation on March 8, 2003 (10%)
  • Term project (50%) - please consult the schedule for multiple opportunities available to you for feedback from your instructor on the term / final project.

 


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It was last updated on January 7, 2003