Course description

CS 160 is the introductory course to the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). In this class, students will learn to design, prototype and evaluate user interfaces. Unlike most classes, CS 160 will not focus on any particular set of algorithmic techniques, instead students will learn techniques for user-centered interface design (e.g., prototyping, contextual inquiry, heuristic evaluation etc). This summer, we will use front-end web development technologies (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) and a backend for prototyping.

The course features two parts: (1) five weeks of curriculum and practice, and (2) three weeks of a final project.

Curriculum and practice

For the first five weeks, lecture occurs three days a week (Monday-Wednesday), studio once a week (Thursdays during lecture) and section occurs twice a week. While lectures and studio focus on core HCI concepts, sections reinforce these concepts and help students improve technical skills. Outside of class, students will work individually or in pairs on weekly projects. Weekly projects allow students to engage in the design cycle and develop technical skills.

Final project

Using design metholodologies and technical skills learned during the first five weeks, students will work in groups for the last three weeks to ideate, prototype and implement a final project. Students will choose their own design methologogies and project topic within a theme. During the last three weeks, final project studio will take the place of lecture and studio. Final project studio provides in-class time for teams to work together and recieve feedback from course staff. In addition, we will hold μHCI sessions covering technical and communication skills to aid students in implementing and presenting their final projects.

Credits

The syllabus, lecture slides, web content, and assignments of this course are only the most recent iterations of a long history of HCI classes. This iteration of the course, at the very least, draws from prior coursre materials by Cesar Torres, Bjoern Hartmann, Eric Paulos, Valkyrie Savage, Maneesh Agrawala, Scott Klemmer, John Canny, and James Landay.

Key logistics

Course staff