COSC411-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015

Advanced Topics in HCI

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2015
End Date: Sunday, 15 November 2015
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 24 July 2015
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 9 October 2015

Description

An introduction to research in human-computer interaction.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementa- tion of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. It is an extremely active and broad-ranging research area, with contributions varying from inventive systems that demonstrate new ways of interacting with computers through to the use of formal methods for specifying interface behaviour.

This course investigates current research topics in HCI, with a focus on the methods that are used to evaluate user interfaces. Recent research papers in the area will be reviewed. Students will carry out a small research project in an HCI topic. Their project will be presented in the form of a paper suitable for submission to a research conference.

Learning Outcomes

  • This course is intended for honours and graduate students, researchers, and practitioners interested in Human-Computer Interaction.
  • Major areas will be introduced by the lecturer.
  • For each area, students will be assigned readings, and the readings will be discussed in class.
    Students must submit short written reviews of all assigned readings.
  • Each student will choose a research topic that involves the following:
    – Background research on the area.
    – The design, implementation, and evaluation of a user interface. – A comprehensive written report.

Prerequisites

1) COSC368, 2) Subject to approval of the Head of Department. BE(Hons) students must have completed COSC363.

Course Coordinator

Andrew Cockburn

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Final Exam 40%
Course Participation 10%
Research Project 50%

Textbooks / Resources

Materials for the course will be made available on Learn

Additional Course Outline Information

Grade moderation

The Computer Science department's grading policy states that in order to pass a course you must meet two requirements:
1. You must achieve an average grade of at least 50% over all assessment items.
2. You must achieve an average mark of at least 45% on invigilated assessment items.
If you satisfy both these criteria, your grade will be determined by the following University- wide scale for converting marks to grades: an average mark of 50% is sufficient for a C- grade, an average mark of 55% earns a C grade, 60% earns a B- grade and so forth. However if you do not satisfy both the passing criteria you will be given either a D or E grade depending on marks. Marks are sometimes scaled to achieve consistency between courses from year to year.

Aegrotats
If factors beyond your control (such as illness or family bereavement) prevent you from completing some item of course work (including laboratory sessions), or prevent you from giving your best, then you may be eligible for aegrotat, impaired performance consideration or an extension on the assessment. Details of these may be found in the University Calendar. Supporting evidence, such as a medical certificate, is normally required. If in doubt, talk to your lecturer.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $917.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Computer Science and Software Engineering .

All COSC411 Occurrences

  • COSC411-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015