About the Course Calendar
Texts are to be read/watched/listened to for day they are listed. Homework in addition to texts will be presented in yellow. The schedule is subject to change; it is your responsibility to check it regularly.
Week One: Introductions
W 1/19: Introductions, Syllabus; course blog, Cap Stones
Hand out Semester-Long Individual Project Assignment
Assignment for Friday, 1/21
Please read through the course web site carefully and post two questions you have about it to this anonymous form:https://forms.gle/q5yCgU6TVMg5DGgZ9
Please complete the form by Thursday at 1:00pm so I have time to go through them before class on Friday.
More may be added depending on what we get done in class on Wed. Yup:
In class we started brainstorming around what we completed in the COM and COM-adjacent courses we have taken (like, Digital Photography or Advertising). Please complete the following for Friday:
- What projects have you made or completed in your COM classes (required and special topics)?
- What projects have you made or completed in your COM-adjacent courses?
- For each on this list, what list the hardware and software you used. Be specific.
- Circle the ones that stand out to you that you’re most proud of, enjoy completing the most, and feel the most confident about in terms of the hardware and software.
- Jot down a few notes about what about each of those stand out to you, why you are proud, etc. This could be the project itself and/or the subject matter covered and/or anything else you think about it.
We’re going to talk about these in class on Friday as a jumping-off point to the semester project.
F 1/21: Brief intros, get to know each other; syllabus questions; past projects we like
Hand out Pitches Assignment
Week Two: Projects and Pitches
M 1/24: Discuss Pitches (round 1)
Pitches Due on Course Blog by Start of Class
Wed 1/26: Discuss Pitches (round 2)
F 1/28: Discuss Pitches (round 3) and consultants
Hand out Consultants Assignment
Week Three: Formal Proposals
M 1/31: Discuss formal proposals
Handout Formal Proposal Assignment
W 2/2: No class — Meet with Consultants/Work on Formal Proposal
F 2/4: No class — Meet with Consultants/Work on Formal Proposal
Week Four: Proposal Conferences
M 2/7: Class Canceled for Conferences
Formal Proposal Due on Class Blog by Start of Class
W 2/9: Class Canceled for Conferences
F 2/11: Class Canceled for Conferences
Week Five: Inclusion and Diversity
M 2/14: Design Justice Institute Design Principles; Designing for Diversity; notes-for-mantan-gao-design-justice-s22.docx
Hand out Consideration Post Assignment
Hand out First Consideration Post: Inclusion and Diversity
W 2/16: Class Canceled — Day of Dialogue
F 2/18: Discuss projects and inclusion; terminology; In the Heights, Friends, PBS, Boohoo, Pepsi, SJU (slide)
Project Consideration Post #1 Due by 11:00pm
Hand Out Background Research Assignment
Week Six: Research and Ethics
M 2/21: doing background research
W 2/23: consent forms and surveys; Sample Consent Form
F 2/25: more background research
Annotated Bibliography due by 11:00pm
Week Seven: Materiality and Technology
Assignment for Monday, 2/28
Jenny L. Davis, author of How Artifacts Afford: The Power and Politics of Everyday Things, writes:Technologies are intrinsically social. They reflect human values and affect human behavior. The social dynamics of technology materialize through design features that shape how a technology functions and to what effect. The shaping effects of technology are represented in scholarly fields by the concept of “affordances.”
Affordances are the ways design features enable and constrain user engagement and social action. This has been a central construct for designers and technology theorists since foundational statements on the topic from JJ Gibson and Don Norman in the 1970s and 80s. With the rise of digitization and widespread automation, “affordance” has entered common parlance and resurged within academic discourse and debate.
This week we’re going to talk about the social nature and affordances of the materials and technologies with which you’re interacting for your projects. To help us get started with that, I’d like you to watch a 5 minute video in which Davis introduces these ideas in more depth. (Interestingly enough, the web site constrains—that is, does not afford—the ability to embed the video and forces the user to turn on the volume.)
I’d also like you to bring with you a list of all technologies and materials you will or think you will be using to complete your project. When considering technologies, think broadly (a pen is a technology, paper is a technology and a material, etc.).
Choose what you perceive to be the most important 2 technologies and 2 materials from your large list and note how each:
- is social, including how it reflects your values, behaviors, and goals
- affords engagement, including what about it is affording that engagement
If you are able to, bring those 2 technologies and 2 materials with you to class, as well.
This can be more confusing than it seems, so take your time with it.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
M 2/28: technological affordances; Samsung Galaxy s22; iPhone 13 Pro; Daft Punk “Technology” iPod Ad; Black Eyes Peace “Hey Momma” iPod ad; Mac and PC Out of the Box ad
W 3/2: technological affordances; notes-for-technologies-materials.docx
Project Consideration Post #2 Due by 11:00pm
Assignment for Friday, 3/4
I have moved Consideration Post #2 to be due Friday by 11:00pm, so please complete that.If your project will require a consent form, please share it with me by class time on Friday so I can read it over before you start to use it. Add me as a writer of the form, don’t send me the public version.
Continue to work on your prep work and if you are ready to move into the project work, get started on that!
F 3/4: Project Updates
Share Consent Forms with Bill by class time
Project Consideration Post #2 Due by 11:00pm
Hand Out Progress Report Assignment
Week Eight: Accessibility
Assignment for Monday, 3/7
This week we are going to focus on the ethical and practical cases for creating content that is accessible for all users.Please read the Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit (.pdf) and “Inclusive Design for Social Media: Tips for Creating Accessible Channels” by Katie Sehl.
Come to class with a list of concerns your project might raise in terms of accessibility and what you might need to ensure it is accessible.
M 3/7: Inclusive Design and Accessibility
W 3/9: Class Canceled — work on projects
Project Consideration Post #3 Due by 11:00pm
F 3/11: Class Canceled — work on projects
Midterm Progress Report Due by 11:00pm
Spring Break 3/14 – 3/18
Week Nine: Midterm Conferences (Goal: 50% Completed)
M 3/21: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
W 3/23: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
F 3/25: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
Week Ten: Working on Projects
M 3/28: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
W 3/30: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
F 4/1: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
Week Eleven: Working on Projects (Goal: 60% Completed)
M 4/4: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
W 4/6: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
F 4/8: 10 Minute Online Check-in Meetings
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
Week Twelve: Working on Projects
Assignment for Monday, 4/11
On Monday we will be back in the classroom and as you’ll see on the course calendar, we’ll be talking a bit about case studies in preparation for the case studies we’ll be creating.To give us something to ground our discussion, I’d like you to read through these two design-related case studies:
When reading, note how the authors are telling the story of the design, how they are incorporating text and image, and what sections are being used.
Come to class with a list of visuals/screenshots/drafts that you have that could match up with the kinds of visuals that appear in the case studies. And if you could have the actual visuals easily organized on your computers that would be great.
We’ll use these as models for the ones we create, with some sections being the same and some being different.
M 4/11: Discuss Case Study Best Practices
Assignment for Wednesday, 4/13
I’d like you to come to class with a detailed wireframe of what you’d like your case study to look like. The more detailed you can be at this point the easier it will be when you come both the rough draft for next Friday and the final draft for later in the semester.Use the examples we discussed on Monday as inspiration for how you can tell stories via case studies.
Your wireframe should include the following sections, including blocked-off areas for visuals and very concise written text:
- Project Overview
- Prior Experience Related to the Project
- Challenge of the Project
- Prep Work and Background Research — this will be different for each of you, so create subheadings as appropriate
- Primary Technologies and/or Software
- Project Considerations (Ethics, Diversity, Inclusive Design)
- Creation Process — this should include multiple stages of the creating/design process and be thorough
- Final Deliverables — include examples of each kind of deliverable
You can create the wireframe using whatever software or technologies you would like (computer, paper, pencil, etc.). Do not just come to class with a quick series of boxes on one page of a notebook. Make it professional-looking. If creating it digitally, see what it looks like when you add the visuals in.
We will share and discuss these in class on Wednesday.
W 4/13: Discuss Case Study Best Practices
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
F 4/15: No Class — Easter Break
Week Thirteen: Working on Projects (Goal: 75% Completed)
M 4/18: No Class — Easter Break
W 4/20: Meeting with select students as requested or required
F 4/22: Discuss case study drafts
Case Study Drafts Due by Start of Class
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
Week Fourteen: Working on Projects (Goal: 90% Completed)
M 4/25: Discuss Presentation Best Practices
Hand out Presentation Assignment
W 4/27: Class Canceled for Conferences
F 4/29: Presentations
Presentations Drafts Due by Start of Class
Weekly Progress Report Update Due by 11:00pm
Week Fifteen: Presentations (Goal: 95+% Completed)
M 5/2: Final Preparations and Questions
Final or Very Close to Final Presentations Due by Class Time
W 5/4: Class Canceled — Project Presentations between 4:00pm – 8:00pm
F 5/6: Reflections and Feedback
Last Class Day of the Semester
Week Sixteen
Tuesday, May 10: All final deliverables completed and shared with Bill by 11:00pm
Wednesday, May 11: Final Progress Report due by 11:00pm (for this, you will answer two short reflection questions)
Thursday, May 12: Final Case Study due by 11:00pm on the SJU Capstone Case Study web site.
Friday, May 13: All missing work must be completed.
Sunday 5/15: Grades Due