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March 25, 2008
Student Projects - Part 2
So as promised this is the Part 2 of opportunities for student projects at SI.
I'll focus on classes with a considerable class project. Classes with a project component are wonderful because you actually get to practice what you are learning...immediately. Projects help cement your learning, you are better able to ask more educated and insightful questions to your professor as well as building a relationship with your team and finally....you are building your resume! Can it get any better??!
Why yes it can...!
Projects also allow you to learn a lot about your peers in SI and they provide an opportunity to learn from them (your peers I mean). If you are in Human Computer Interaction, Social Computing or Incentive-Centered Design, you will have more opportunities for in-class projects (compared to Library Sciences or Archives) and you'll probably want to get involved in projects outside of class (see Student Projects - Part 1). Team projects expose you to the motivations, skills and quirks of your team members. Successful work has as much to do with the skills of the team as with their relationship with each other. Being able to calmly and effectively communicate, recognize working and communication styles (including the strengths of your teammates) will take you far...oh going out for a drink or ice cream after a productive...or non-productive meeting won't hurt either ;) ...I brings a different level of understanding!
My philosophy is first assume no harm... So your group member sent you an email that just lit your fuse and you are about to go off!
Wait!...STOP right there...explain the situation to a neutral party and get their opinion. Consider what they might have been trying to say...its surprising how easy it is to take things out of context in email. Your group member may have written in the most loving yet unclear way.
I digress!!!! Here is a list of classes with cool project opportunities!
SI requires 6 (at minimum) Practical Engagement Program points (PEP) in order to graduate. Classes that have PEP points associated with it
allow the student to apply course concepts to real world settings via projects.
Three example of this include:
SI682 Interface & Interaction Design, SI501 Contextual Inquiry (this
course is a a foundations course and it is required for all incoming MSI students...so you're taking this one buddy!) and SI622 Evaluation of Systems and Services.
Each have semester long projects where the students work with a client from the real world and develop an end product for them based on the principles learned throughout the semester. Generally, these courses are based on incorporating the user into the design of product.
Contextual Inquiry is a development methodology based on bringing the
user into the development process. The course steps the student teams
through this methodology so that we can apply it to the project we are working on. SI500 is well known to companies who recruit out of SI and they seem to respect the knowledge and experience that the students gain as a result of it.
Interface & Interaction Design incorporates contextual inquiry as well as other methods (personas, scenarios) to gather requirements for a project (The design of the interface is the focus) develop a prototype, test it and provide the prototype and any report/recommendations back to the client.
You can check out the website my team created for this class here.
Both of these courses translate directly to tasks I would encounter in the HCI field.
Evaluation of Systems & Services Is also a great class taught by Mark Newman - a very good professor. SI622 is a far more cut and dry then SI682 but uses many of the same usability methodologies. I say that because you have multiple assignments back to back almost on a bi-weekly basis so that includes completing work for the method (such as Heuristic Evaluation or Survey Design) and then writing a report (rather detailed) about how you carried out the work and what your findings were. You will be sooooo tired of writing reports by the end of the semester ;) BUT! you will have some marketable skills that will help land you that fab internship/job.
And finally let me add...taking courses with a project component is NO JOKE. If you want to die feel free to take more than two courses with a project component. If you enjoy life and the ability to smile take no more than two.
Currently I am dieing. I naively didn't review the syllabi of my classes when I registered and I have three courses with considerable projects...Have you noticed that I failed to blog regularly like I said I would back in January... So have I. ;p
I must include this caveat...It is so hard to keep you group projects to two and under because so many courses have group projects (especially those HCI related ones)....soooo uuuhm you will be busy. I'm being facetious about "dieing"- you won't! ...and I'm not either! But if you are working part-time and have multiple projects you will be busy!
If I didn't mention it already, be sure to talk to more senior students to get their perspective on what to take and how to balance your courses.
Well...Hope this helps you out. As I say to those who I speak with via email...feel free to email me or reply directly through the blog tool (by posting a comment). It's a great way for all to see your question and my response!
Cheers!
Posted by krosalia at March 25, 2008 10:35 AM