EDC&I 583
Message Design
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Instructor: Prof. Stephen T. Kerr |
Office: 206 Miller Hall Box 353600 |
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Course
meets: 085 Mary Gates Hall |
Telephone: (206) 685-7562 |
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Wednesday, 4:30 - 6:50 p.m. |
E-mail: stkerr@u.washington.edu |
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Office
hours: By appointment§ |
http://faculty.washington.edu/stkerr |
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Session |
Date |
Assignment for Session |
Topic in Class |
|
1 |
|
--- |
Introduction--course,
participants; an overview of message design |
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2 |
4/7 |
Assess
three websites; see course site |
Typography:
When does it make a difference? Identify and discuss course projects |
|
3 |
4/14 |
ET 1-2 RW 1,
4, 5, Extras-Fonts |
Text: The psychological heritage of the
typographic world and the future of reading. Sample presentations: |
|
4 |
4/21 |
ET 3-5 RW 11,
12 |
Maps: Wayfinding in space and
on-line Presentations: Positive and Negative examples |
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5 |
4/28 |
Review
of literature due ET 4-6 RW 2,
6-8 |
Graphics (diagrams, charts,
graphs): Telling stories visually Present reviews of literature Positive and Negative examples |
|
6 |
5/5 |
ET 7 RW 3 |
Pictures
and photos: When does realism help? Presentations: Positive and Negative examples |
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7 |
5/12 |
ET 8 RW
9-10, 13-14 |
Visualization using animation,
video, sound: What can you do, and
why? Presentations: Positive and Negative examples |
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8 |
5/19 |
ET 9 RW Designers 1, 2, 4, TBA |
Critical perspectives on
information design: Against dancing
penguins Presentations: Positive and Negative examples |
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9 |
5/26 |
ET Epilogue RW Designers 3, 5, 6 TBA |
Emergent directions and trends:
Where have we been, where are we headed? |
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10 |
6/2 |
Final projects due (with
abstracts for class members) |
Final project presentations;
Conclusions |
§ To make an appointment, please
e-mail my assistant, Lynda Jensen <ljensen2@uw.edu>; times will generally
be ½ hr. slots Weds. afternoons 2-4 or Thurs mornings.
10-N.
*Texts: Tufte, Edward R. (2001). The Visual Display
of Quantitative Information. 2nd Ed.
Williams, Robin,
& Tollett, John. (2007). Robin Williams
Design Workshop. 2nd Ed.
Other handouts (TBA)will be distributed in class the week
prior to that in which the reading will be discussed.
1. Course Rationale and Goals
This
course deals with design principles for attractive and effective instructional
"messages" – materials for learning and education. The course
approaches communication for learning as an effort to construct shared
understandings and perceptions, what some call "meaning making." This means that we need to know how our
audiences think, what assumptions they make, how they see the world, and how
that world has influenced their assumptions.
We also need to know how to present information in ways that either
match or challenge those assumptions, in order to facilitate learning.
When we
design materials for learning, all of these factors come together in a mix that
also includes (or should include) information about graphic design, current
practice in the media arts and communication, and also research about
perception and learning. Since some of
the principles described above are aesthetic and others are empirically
derived, a further essential aspect of this course will be the attempt to achieve
an effective balance among these sources of inspiration and design.
We will
be examining how the heritage of our interaction with text
and printed materials have conditioned our ways of working with and
thinking about information. From there,
we will move to consider how this heritage and other forms of presenting
information are exemplified in approaches used in emerging digital media. While many of the principles involved are
constant from one medium to another, there are important differences; it will
therefore be critical as we proceed to distinguish what sorts of effects seem
to appear in common across environments and which do not.
The
course is in seminar format, with students actively engaged in discussion of
relevant materials, creating and presenting their own examples of materials,
reading and working in fields of individual interest, and presenting results to
classmates. At the end of the course,
you should have a keener grasp of the principles (both empirically-based and esthetic)
involved in effective message design, and you should also see more clearly the
implications of theory for preparing effective messages. I encourage you to see the course as an
opportunity to extend your own knowledge and skills in ways most significant
for you intellectually and personally.
As we
think about the approaches that are used to design instructional messages, try
to keep these perspectives at the front of your attention: (1) what is the range of materials,
documents, objects under each major heading that are used in learning
environments today (or that have been used in the past), and (2) what challenges
or difficulties (as well as benefits and opportunities) present
themselves as we increasingly put educational materials into digital formats?
2. Course Content and Sequence
The
substance of this course lies in the interaction among three related but
different sets of activities: readings, class discussions, and student
projects. How well we manage to meld
these together into a coherent whole will be our barometer for success. The task is made more complex by the diverse
backgrounds of those who typically enroll; it takes some effort, but we have usually
been able to find a way of working that's satisfactory for everyone! With these caveats in mind, let us consider
the requirements of the course in more detail.
3. Requirements
There are
four basic requirements for this course:
(1) Participate! Do the readings and other assignments;
come to class prepared to discuss and argue. Part of this includes paying
attention to the visual elements of your environment — watch for good and bad
examples of design; (2) Presentations: Present and critique the
readings; present a brief "re-design" of an item you choose; bring to
class positive and negative examples of message design; (3) Literature
review: Find five articles related to your interests, prepare a brief
review of them, and present that review in class; and (4) Project or paper: prepare a project or paper in which you design an
instructional message or otherwise use the principles discussed in the
course.
a.
Robin Williams & John Tollett's
Robin Williams Design Workshop.
While these works overlap in some areas, they have distinctly different
styles and areas of emphasis. We will
supplement these readings with other materials "To Be Announced" as
we move along. (If you have an item you
feel would be worthy of our common attention, let me know and maybe we can
include it!) These items will be posted
on the course web site (off my faculty URL; see top of syllabus).
Note that neither of the assigned texts is a traditional
review of empirical studies; the point is to expand your awareness into a more
esthetic appreciation of the elements that make for good graphic design, or to
at least allow to more ably critique design elements as your encounter them.
I assume that you will do the assigned readings and come
to class prepared to discuss them. As
you read, try to evaluate the authors ' positions and conclusions, and come to
class ready to analyze these in detail.
(Due throughout; 5% of final
course grade)
b.
In-class presentations and activities.
i.
Presentation of readings: On a date you choose at the start
of the course, present in class a brief (15-20 minutes total) analysis of how
the readings relate to a particular issue of interest for you, and lead a discussion. This does not mean that
you should simply summarize the points the author made. Instead, focus your attention on how the
author's basic assumptions connect with an issue you're interested in. The assessment of your work on this
assignment will be based on your ability to do these two things: (1) identify the author's basic assumptions,
and (2) make a practical link with an issue or topic you are pursuing in your
own work. (Note that this link does not
have to be tight or close; it may be simply that the reading has suggested some
new ideas or perspectives for you, or that it inspires you to look for related
literature in another field.) Provide
for the rest of the class a one-page handout with your summary of assumptions
and a set of connections or new ideas.
Be ready to talk for about 5-10 minutes, and then lead discussion for
another 10 minutes.
(Due throughout; 15% of final
course grade)
ii.
Presentations of re-design ideas:
On a date you choose at the start of the course, present in class a
brief (15-20 minutes total) example of re-design – that is, take an
existing item of educational material that you have some experience or
connection with (could be a text, handout, visual material, fragment of
animation, etc.) and show how you would re-design it to be more effective. This is not about your artistic skills – you
don't have to actually re-engineer a complex animation or produce a new graph
or chart! The idea is to take something
you have some familiarity with, and show how it could be improved. The readings may come into the discussion, or
not, depending on what you choose to present.
Be ready to talk for about 5-10 minutes, and then lead discussion for
another 10 minutes.
(Due throughout; 15% of final
course grade)
iii. Positive and
negative examples: During the quarter, bring to class positive
or negative examples of educational (broadly defined) message design; think
about why you selected what you did, and whether your choice has broader
significance! Bring in at least two during
the course of the quarter (can be either positive or negative).
(Due throughout the quarter; CR/NC
assignment)
c. Literature Review.
Prepare a brief report in which you identify several key research-based
references for one of the topics considered in the course. The point here is to become familiar with
relevant journals and on-line resources, to compare the merits of different
authors' perspectives and research methods, and to begin to become a "connoisseur"
of these kinds of materials.
Choose a subject area or topic
that is of interest to you. The review
may be related to the intended topic of your Course paper/project (see below)
or not, at your discretion. In previous
quarters, many students have found that it makes sense to combine efforts and
focus on one topic for both literature review and project, but a significant minority have found that there is a benefit to
exploring more than one topic during the course. You choose!
Do a search of the literature that
describes research-based studies related to your topic. Use the many databases and tools available to
you via the UW Libraries: ERIC,
PsycINFO, JSTOR, individual titles of journals available via electronic
subscription, and many other specialized resources in particular sub-fields
(for example, human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaborative
work, etc.). Also, search widely in
other databases accessible through the Web.
Select five (5) of those studies
that you believe present the best evidence or the most intriguing results. Summarize each of them briefly and then draw
conclusions about the value of that particular approach to message design for
learning and education. Provide a ½ page
introduction (what set of articles you surveyed, what you were looking for,
etc.) and a ½ page summary at the end (what do these studies tell you; how do
they hang together, or cover the field, as the case may be). Do this in no more than 6 double-spaced
pages. Each article you cite should be
preceded by the full APA citation, and should both summarize what the article says
and give your estimate of the value of the study.
We'll discuss your reviews and the
articles you found most significant in class on April 28.
(Due April 28; 15% of final course
grade)
d. Course project/paper. The course project or paper should present and
discuss the design for an educational or instructional "message." This could be in the form of text, graphic
materials, video, web-based materials, or some other combination. You are not
expected to produce all of the materials proposed; rather select a small segment of the material to
demonstrate your approach to the whole.
You should, however, prepare a comprehensive description of the entire
set of materials – include as appendices whatever sketches, storyboards,
outlines, scripts, screen shots, or any other information that will help me
know what you are proposing.
Most of your effort should go into
describing why you intend to present your message in the way you have proposed,
and to justifying your choices based on graphic design principles, research, and
theory (both as discussed in the course and as otherwise investigated by
you). If you are working on a particular
instructional design project as part of your job, it should be possible to join
the paper with that work; see me and discuss.
An abstract (1 page maximum)
should be prepared to accompany the paper, and enough copies of the abstract
made for distribution to each member of the class at the final session, at
which time we will discuss together how projects evolved as you worked, what
aspects of the work turned out to be especially problematic or rewarding, and
what approaches you would try (or avoid) if you were to undertake the next
step.
FORMAT:
Final projects may be either in traditional term-paper format or in some
multi-media combination. If you submit a
multi-media project (web site, CBI material, etc.), be sure that it is viewable
on hardware available in our classroom.
Regardless of format, all products should at least be
accompanied by a brief paper-based description of design elements and the
rationale for their choice (including relevant references). If submitting a traditional term paper,
please see that it is printed in a 12 pt. font, double-spaced, and stapled (no
binder or cover). All papers/projects
(including brief descriptions) should be prepared in accordance with the
guidelines contained in the Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.; 2009). Typical paper length: not more than 15 pages.
(Due 6/2; 50% of final course
grade)
4. Necessary Notices:
DUE DATES: Having assignments ready by the date due is
an essential requirement and a basic expectation of graduate study. Failure to observe this requirement can have
dire consequences! Grades of
"incomplete" will be given only for certifiable medical reasons or in
other extraordinary circumstances.
DISABILITY
ACCOMODATIONS: To
request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability
Resources for Students, 448 Schmitz, 206-543-8924/V, 206-543-8925/TTY, or at
http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/.
If you have a letter from Disability Resources for Students indicating
you have a disability which requires academic accommodations, please present
the letter to me so we can discuss the accommodations you might need in this
class.
If you have
questions or concerns about disability accommodation do not hesitate to contact
me or DRS directly.
PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism, submitting someone else's words
or ideas as your own work, is a serious academic offense. Cases of suspected plagiarism will be
referred to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs for adjudication. Possible penalties range from disciplinary
warnings to dismissal from the university.
All students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity at all
times, and to learn what constitutes plagiarism. A useful definition of plagiarism can be
found at:
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#plagiarism
A word on the oral presentations and discussions.
It is important to learn how to present ideas clearly and briefly, and
how to critique others' presentations incisively and positively. It is easy to criticize someone else's work;
it is harder (and more essential) to do so in a way that preserves that
person's self-image and dignity. The
most respected scholars are those who manage to combine helpful suggestions for
how things might be done differently with a tone that is constructive and
collegial. You should strive to attain
this kind of scholarly approach in your work here!
5. Grading
The
various requirements for the course will be weighted as follows when computing
grades:
|
Oral
presentation of readings |
15% |
|
Oral
presentation of re-design |
15% |
|
Literature
Review |
15% |
|
Positive/negative
design examples |
(CR/NC) |
|
Participation
in class discussions |
5% |
|
Final
project or paper |
50% |
STK