News Release

Improving Human-Centered Design Skills? There's a Class for That

San Diego, CA, June 27, 2014 -- More than 24,000 people have signed up to take a course on “Human-Computer Interaction” that the University of California, San Diego will offer through the Coursera online network this summer. The course begins Monday, June 30 and will run through August 24, 2014. [To sign up, click here.]

It’s the fifth edition of the online course originally developed at Stanford University by Scott Klemmer, prior to joining the UC San Diego faculty in 2012. Klemmer is a professor with dual appointments in Cognitive Science and Computer Science and Engineering. In 2013 he launched a multidisciplinary guest-lecture series, Design at Large – the videos are all online at http://d.ucsd.edu.

Scott Klemmer

“We’re trying to convey the principles and methods to create great interfaces with any technology,” said Klemmer. “Students will learn how to design technologies that bring people joy rather than frustration. You’ll also learn principles of visual design so that you can effectively organize and present information – as well as principles of perception and cognition that inform effective interaction design.”

The course is designed to appeal to a broad audience. Students who do the project should expect to spend 10-12 hours per week. It’s free, no textbook is required, and there are no prerequisites to take the course. Some students who may not have finished an earlier version of the course may take it again. In particular, students may do their assignments and quizzes, but fall short of doing the studio practicum, so they can do it this time without repeating all the quizzes. “The practicum is really useful because it allows students to practice their design skills and get feedback from their peers,” said Klemmer.

The video lectures are the same as those used in previous editions of the popular online course, and students can watch roughly two hours of video content each week, at their leisure. However, Klemmer says that he has “revised and updated the assignments and other materials based on the community feedback” (from previous courses). While some of the video lectures contain integrated quiz questions, there are also standalone quizzes as well as assignments that are peer graded (anonymously), and all students are required to spend some time for each assignment grading other students’ work.

The course also depends on students for the equivalent of the professor’s “office hours.” Students can pose questions in a Q&A forum, and students can vote on the most important questions – and answers – from Klemmer. The teaching staff will also monitor the Q&A to make sure that the consensus didn’t overlook an important question that should be answered.

Students can expect to come away from the course with a variety of design skills. According to the introduction on Coursera, “You'll learn several techniques for rapidly prototyping and evaluating multiple interface alternatives – and why rapid prototyping and comparative evaluation are essential to excellent interaction design. You'll learn how to conduct fieldwork with people to help you get design ideas. How to make paper prototypes and low-fidelity mock-ups that are interactive – and how to use these designs to get feedback from other stakeholders like your teammates, clients, and users.”

“In this course as with many online classes, you’ll get out what you put in,” said Klemmer in his teaser video on the Coursera site. “Some of you will join to watch a few videos. Others will want to participate in studio track, where you’ll have the chance to prototype your own design project. Some past alumni of the course have even continued their projects afterward, launching startups or getting Kickstarter funding, working with nonprofits and schools, or just using the project as a portfolio piece for their own fun.”

The summer course that begins June 30 is the only time Klemmer’s course will be available on Coursera in 2014. The late cutoff date for enrollment by students who want to work toward a Certificate of Accomplishment is July 15, 2014.

“Human-Computer Interaction” is one of four UC San Diego courses delivered this summer over the Coursera network. Biology professor Stephen Mayfield’s course, “Our Energy Future”, began in June and runs through August. On July 1, faculty from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and other campus divisions will begin co-teaching a new course, “Climate Change in Four Dimensions.” Then on August 1, Terry Sejnowski and Barbara Oakley will launch a one-month primer on “Learning How to Learn.”

Media Contacts

Doug Ramsey
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-822-5825
dramsey@ucsd.edu

Ioana Patringenaru
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-822-0899
ipatrin@ucsd.edu