This module introduces students to analysis and design, particularly 'interaction design' (designing the interaction between a software system and the user) through the construction of a small system which appropriately employs a range of media. It also offers a first introduction to the importance of team working in software construction, project management, and of preparing reports and presentations.
For formal details about the module aims, learning outcomes and assessment you should look at the official Module Description Page and Syllabus Page.
Assessment is 100% continuos assessment based on a multimedia product, a presentation and a written report produced by a team of five students.
The Assessment Specification details exactly what is required, the deadlines, and so on.
Some Suggested Milestones will give you an idea of how your work should proceed to meet the deadlines.
Please check the provisional Assessed Presentation Timetable and advise the lecturer of any clashes with other timetabled activities.
The final assessment mark awarded to each individual will depend on the mark awarded to their team, their contribution to the work of the team, and their attendance at the weekly meetings with the Team Tutor. The Work Contribution Form allows each team to specify what they believe to be the relative contributions of the individual team members to the team's overall performance.
There will be a small number of lectures during the first three weeks of term to introduce the problems, tools and techniques. All the module handouts will be made available here as pdf files shortly after the paper versions have been distributed in the lectures.
| Week | Day | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday Tuesday Thursday |
Lecture 1 - Introduction
[pdf] Lecture 2 - Continuous Assessment Specification [pdf] Team and Tutor Allocations [pdf] |
| 2 | Monday Tuesday Thursday |
Lecture 3 - Example Projects
[pdf] Lecture 4 - New Media Design [pdf] Lecture 5 - New Media Tools [pdf] |
| 3 | Monday Tuesday Thursday |
Lecture 6 - Project Management
[pdf] Lecture 7 - Working as a Team [pdf] Lecture 8 - Presentation and Report Preparation [pdf] |
Weeks 4 to 11 will be fully devoted to working in teams of five on the continuous assessment projects. Throughout the term, each team will have a 20 minute meeting each week with their team tutor to report on progress and to be given any advice that may be needed. At the end of term, each team will give a presentation on what they have produced.
The recommended books for this module are:
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher, Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design for New Media | Lon Barfield | Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2004 | Covers the design issues for multimedia |
| Team Roles at Work | Meredith Belbin | Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003 | Looks at working as a team |
| Essential Communication Strategies: For Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals | Herbert Hirsch | Wiley, 2003 | Tricks of the trade for becoming a great technical communicator |
| Digital Multimedia (2nd Edition) | Nigel Chapman & Jenny Chapman | Wiley, 2004 | Covers the core technologies used in multimedia |
| Web Design (1st Edition) | Nigel Chapman & Jenny Chapman | Wiley, 2006 | A complete introduction to web design |
| Digital Media Tools (2nd Edition) | Nigel Chapman & Jenny Chapman | Wiley, 2003 | Covers the main tools used for multimedia |
For your convenience, here are the recommended web links referred to in the lectures, plus a few more that you might find useful:
Nielsen's Usability Heuristics
Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
XHTML2 Working Group Home Page
DTD (Document Type Definition)
XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language)
Free editor for XML, DTD, and XSLT
SMIL (Sychronized Multimedia Integration Language)
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)
PhotoPlus 6 - Free Image and Photo Editing Software
GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program
DrawPlus 4 - Free Graphic Design and Vector Drawing Software
Guide to more free graphics software
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash)
Flash Tutorial
Anim8or - Free 3D Animation Software
3DPlus 2 - Free 3D Animation Software
Top free video editing software products
WavePad - Free audio editing software
Apple iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD)
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
CVS (Concurrent Versions System)
Subversion (Version Control System)
Please let me know of any bad links, and feel free to suggest further useful links to add here.