Human Centered Design & Engineering
University of Washington
Web Design (HCDE 437)
Spring 2013
Professor David K. Farkas
Grading
Grading is based on the following:
- A website, your course project.
- A 15-minute presentation explaining the site’s design and construction. The presentation may be given to the entire class or only to the instructors.
- An exam covering all readings and class discussion
- A mid-quarter design document (creative brief) in which you fully describe your proposed website
- An analysis of selected Web pages
The grading will be calcucated on the basis of a scoring system with a mathematical maximum of 460 points. If you get 400 of the possible 460 points, you get a 4.0 for the course. If you get 360 of the 460 points, you get a 3.6. The current version of the scoring system may be modified during the quarter.
You may also receive “bumps” of 1-3 points for a successful oral presentation to the class or for other special course contributions.
Details on the course project
The course project will consist of a small-to-medium size website that must be complete by the end of the quarter. Good genres genres include these: a small-business website, a website for an organization (student, philanthropic, religious), or a professional portfolio website showcasing your professional skills and work samples.
You may want to create two versions of the same website: one a “real-world” version, the one you would actually deploy, and a “showcase” (or "show off”) version where you try out alternative design ideas and add features that you want to learn about and experiment with but which might not really belong in your deployable website. If you do this, your showcase variation can be part of the grading.
Details on the presentation
You will present this website either to the entire class or two the instructors—depending on class size and our schedule. The audience will need to be able to view your website(s) at least 24 hours ahead of the presentation, because the presentation will consist largely of questions from the audience/instructors.
You are also required to be able to explain any technology you have employed. So, for example, if you are using JavaScript for some special behavior, you might says this: "I found the JavaScript on this website and I make the following tweaks.” You don’t need to be able to explicate the code. Almost all of us use code we couldn’t have programmed, but you do need to be able to explain what you have done.
Details on the scoring system
Website |
|
Theme, style, mood Includes fonts and color |
40 |
Content Appropriate and polished text and graphic elements. |
30 |
Navigation global and local |
40 |
Page layout Choice and placement of page elements, padding, margins, etc. . |
40 |
Multimedia |
10 |
Responsive design |
20 |
Appropriate interactivity Simple show/hide, simple working forms, etc. |
20 |
Aprropriate use of extensive or advanced interactivity Includes galleries, more extensive use of working forms. Checkout. |
20 |
Effective site search |
20 |
New technologies Use of new HTML 5 tags and new CSS3 features. |
20 |
Possible Deductions |
|
No concern for accessibility |
-25 |
Incompatibility with currrent versions of major browsers |
-25 |
Chaotic and/or poorly commented code |
-25 |
Other |
-25 |
Subtotal |
260 (max. 200) |
Other Assignments |
|
Exam |
50 |
Creative Brief |
50 |
Web Page Analysis |
50 |
Oral Presentation |
50 |
Subtotal |
200 |
Possible Max |
460 |
Note:
Students may receive an increment of 0.1 to 0.3.points on their final grade for a high degree of class participation and helpfulness to other students.
The weighting of grades may be changed as the course proceeds. Minor assignments and readings may be added.
Each student is required to post at least once each week to GoPost on a topic related to the course. Points will be deducted for not posting.
Policies
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to work independently unless other instructions are given. Consult with the instructor if you think your work plan might constitute plagiarism. You should also acquaint yourself with the HCDE Plagiarism Policy.
Student Rights
Please read the HCDE statement on student rights.
Human Subjects Participation
Students registered in HCDE courses are part of the HCDE Human Subjects Pool. This means that students may be asked to participate in a research study. Participation in research studies is voluntary; students who do not wish to participate will be offered an alternative assignment. Please read the HCDE statement about human subjects.