| Unit name | Advanced Topics in Human-Computer Interaction |
|---|---|
| Unit code | COMSM0148 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Paul Marshall |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Computer Science |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is this unit important?
Human-computer interaction is fundamentally about the design of interactive technology, but what types of technology are being designed varies significantly. This unit will cover a diverse range of HCI and UX design/research to show the contexts in which it matters, and the challenges and opportunities for interactive technologies. Students will understand how HCI research is influencing topics such as: HCI in health and care, decolonisation, sustainability, finance, education, etc. Students will be exposed to a diversity of perspectives through a wide range of presentations from local and external speakers.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is fundamental to students looking to complete a postgraduate degree or diploma in HCI. It will introduce contemporary and emerging ideas and approaches. It will introduce students to the current state of the art in industry and academia and expand their understanding of different application areas.
An overview of content
This unit will involve taught material fusing industrial practice and state of the art HCI research on domains such as health and care, sustainability, education finance, and decolonisation. There will also be a range of invited speakers covering these different domains from both academia and industry. The focus of this unit is to understand the state of the art in different topics related to interactive technologies, and students will engage in discussion, debate and active listening to different perspectives on these topics. Masters-level critical reading will also be involved, with students reading HCI publications, industry reports on best practices and industry research reports.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will give students a wide understanding of the different ways interactive technologies are deployed in different application areas. It will show both opportunities for interactive technologies to make positive change, for instance in health and care, but also how they might negatively influence areas such as the environment or sustainability. Students will be able to think critically about the approaches to the design of interactive technologies, and will be able to link their academic education with current industry best practices through invited talks. This will also give the deeper knowledge of professional networks both in HCI and UX industry.
Learning Outcomes
1. To critically a range of contemporary and emerging topics in HCI research and practice
2. To review academic and professional literatures and compare them with approaches and concepts presented in the unit
3. To be able engage in discussion about the relative merits of different perspectives in HCI
Weekly topic lectures
The approach to teaching will be online and synchronous, and therefore will be interactive. Through a site for the unit, students will be able to engage with the lecture materials, reading materials, the teaching staff and their peers.
Weekly seminars
Students will also participate in weekly seminars, where they will participate in structured discussion of the topic presented that week as well as other related work.
Individual reading
Further reading will be suggested for each topic, but students will be encouraged to go beyond reading lists to form their own interests and perspectives. Formative feedback will be given by both peers and teaching staff in response to posts made. Students will use this individual reading to decide upon a topic to focus their literature review.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
This unit will be taught online and synchronously with significant engagement directly from lecturers and teaching assistants in class orally and visually, but also through online chat. Ongoing engagement will occur on MSTeams, which will help students to reflect on their understanding. Weekly invited talks will be followed by weekly discussion seminars on an application area or topic, where students will participate in discussion and debate.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
20% of this
online synchronous unit will be discussion (ILOs 1-3). Students will be expected to critically engage with 75% of the discussion seminars through relevant questions, answers, chat or asynchronous discussion on MSTeams. Contributions to the seminar will be assessed on level of critical engagement with the discussion.
40% will be a literature review (ILO 2). Students will be asked to complete a 2000-word literature review on a topic of their choice from those presented in the unit that year. They will research and write this up as an individual coursework.
40% will be an oral examination (ILOs 1, 3) conducted after the course material has been delivered and the coursework handed in. This will be scheduled for the end of the exam period. Two members of staff will have an individual MSTeams meeting with each student to discuss different aspects of their literature review topic and about different topics presented over the term.
When assessment does not go to plan
In the case of required reassessment, the student will need to undertake the assessment component(s) as above which they have not passed.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. COMSM0148).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
