Web Usability

English 4200/8900 17371/16324 Spring 2008

Syllabus

Course Description

In this course we will examine and apply the concepts of web usability, focusing on web design and usability testing. We will employ usability testing to analyze how people use websites and various online texts and how well the sites and texts meet the user's needs. We will conduct usability tests (including the gathering of primary data), analyze website usability, and apply a user-centered design process. This course will teach you to:

• understand, identify, apply, and discuss the basics of web usability and user-centered design
• analyze, evaluate, and redesign websites for usability
• design and test websites for usability

Disclaimers

• You will need to be able to design website to be successful in this class. This class will not teach the “how to” of web design. That is covered in English 3120 or 8123. This class is not about the technical skills of web design & other forms of electronic publishing, although these skills will be necessary. We will be using Dreamweaver and other software & technology in class, but I will not be teaching you how to use Dreamweaver or other programs and technology.
• This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary.

Texts

• Nielsen, Jakob and Loranger Hoa,Prioritizing Web Usability, ISBN: 0321350316
• Barnum, Carol, Usability Testing and Research, ISBN: 0205315194
• I also recommend you subscribe to the UIE Brain Sparks podcast  http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/tag/podcasts/

Materials

You must have the following materials for this class:

• portable computer storage devices that will work in the lab formatted for IBM-compatible computers
• an e-mail account for communication
• access to a web browser & your student h: drive
• You may want your own copy of Dreamweaver, which you can buy from the school for fairly cheap (although various campus labs have copies you can use including the English lab, the Instructional Technology Student Computing Center (Education building room 200), and the Digital Aquarium). You can also download Dreamweaver free for 30 days.
• A copy of Adobe Reader to read the ERes readings, which you can download for free from: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Grading

Work will be due in various forms such as email, web, and paper. Work that is not submitted in the correct form will receive deductions. I will be happy to look over draft assignments and provide comments as long as I am given enough time. All assignments are due on the day indicated; assignments 1 day late will receive a lowered grade, after 2 days I will no longer accept the late assignments. If you think you might have a problem meeting a deadline, speak with me at least 48 hours in advance of the deadline.

The new Plus/Minus Grading system will be employed in this class. If you have not already done so, I suggest you review the explanation GSU gives of the new system: http://chhsweb.gsu.edu/docs/PlusMinusGradingOption.pdf.

Undergraduate Grading
Grading will be broken down into the typical A, B, C, D, F range with pluses and minuses. The following is a general description of expectations for each grade:

A: Professional quality work (considered exemplary in a real-word setting). Content and design are appropriate for the audience, purpose, and context. May contain only a minor flaw.
B: Professional quality work (considered adequate in a real-world setting). Your project is of high quality in most of the major areas. Content and design are appropriate for the audience, purpose, and context. Can contain a few minor errors.
C: Marginal professional quality (your supervisor would likely ask you to redo parts of it). Content and design consider audience, purpose, and context, but need adjustments to be clear, appropriate, well-developed. Contains a single major deficiency or many minor errors.
D: Not of professional quality and would need major revisions to become of professional quality. Content and design barely consider audience, purpose, and context. Contains some major deficiencies and/or many minor errors.
F: Unacceptable quality that ignores the standards of professional quality. Content and design lack consideration of audience, purpose, and context. Contains many major deficiencies.

Graduate Grading
A: This assignment is superior and is of a near professional quality. The paper meets or exceeds all the objectives of the assignment. The content is sophisticated, thorough, and well-suited for the audience; the style is clear, accurate, and appropriate; the information and design is well-organized, understandable, usable, and formatted to be accessible and attractive; the mechanics and grammar are correct. The assignment has publication potential.

B: This assignment is competent, but requires improvement in style, organization, design; or it contains easily correctable errors in grammar, format, or content; or the content is superficial.
 
C: This assignment is unsatisfactory for a graduate course. It may meet some of the objectives of the assignment but ignores others. The paper needs significant improvement in concept, details, development, organization, grammar, or format. It may be formally correct but superficial in content.

Grades will range in each letter from a plus to a minus. F’s may be given if work is unacceptable. Zeros will be given for assignments not turned in. 

Attendance and Tardiness

Due to the discussion- and workshop-based nature of this course your attendance is expected. You are expected to arrive on time, stay for the duration of class, and be ready to work when class begins.  If you have a good reason for missing class (I determine what a good reason is), you must make arrangements ahead of time. I take attendance by passing around a sign-in sheet. It is your responsibility to make sure you sign the sheet, even if late. If you do not sign the sign-in sheet you will not be counted present unless you "prove" to me you attended that class on the next class day. We may work on assignments in class that cannot be made up if you miss the class. Repeated lateness or absences will negatively impact your ability to complete these assignments and thus your grade. There is no substitute for your presence in class, thus your presence for every class meeting is desired and required. You are responsible for all material you may have missed while you were absent.  As a courtesy to me and other class members, please turn off pagers, text messaging devices, and cell phones during class.

Undergraduate Policy
You will earn participation points for your attendance: 5 points for being present and on time, 2-4 points for being present but late or leaving early, and 0 points for being absent. If you have excessive absences your grade will be impacted. Missing 4 classes will result in a letter grade deduction from your participation grade and any additional absences will result in letter grade deductions from your final class grade or an “F” in the class (at instructor's discretion).

Graduate Policy
Missing three classes will result in an “F” in the course. For any absences beyond your first absence, you must submit a 2000 word detailed reading response within a week of the missed class (not doing so will result in a letter grade deduction from your final participation grade). Talk with me about this so we can determine an appropriate topic. For a graduate course, “attendance” means more than showing up to class. It means coming to class with the readings done and participating in class discussions and activities, both electronic and physical. It also means bringing homework and examples when they are due.

Plagiarism & Ethics

Plagiarism is defined by the school as:

[P]resenting another person's work as one's own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects prepared by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the faculty member [This is specifically forbidden by me]. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism.

In other words, if you did not come up with the information or material completely on your own before doing any research, give credit to your outside sources and follow copyright & fair use policies. This policy includes the use of visuals (like photos or other images) and templates from the web. Don't Plagiarize. Within the class there are trust issues. I, as the instructor, trust you to hand in your own original work. You, as the student, trust me to grade fairly and appropriately. Plagiarism breaks this trust. It also breaks national laws and school policies.  At best you, and if applicable your team members, will fail the assignment and possibly the class. At worst you could be kicked out of school. To repeat: Absolutely anything in your work that is not created by you must be cited and must follow copyright & fair use policies. By anything I do mean anything: any text, any images, anything. In the past students have had issues using images (such as .jpg and .gif files), logos, photos, sections of text, and templates, and they have received appropriately severe penalties. If you have any questions on how to properly cite material and how to use material according to copyright polices, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help.

Course Policies

Cell Phones, Computers, et al.: Please turn off and put away any cell phones, pagers, text messaging devices, or other possibly distracting gadgets during class time, including newspapers and crossword puzzles. In addition, the class will be held in a computer classroom but the computers are for class-based use only. Do not use the computers during lectures, discussion or other activities where I have not said you may use the computer. Breaking this policy may result in deductions in your participation grade.

Questions & Availability: I am happy to answer your questions and discuss class related issues during free time in class, during my office hours, by appointment in my office, over Internet chats, or via email. Please do not ask me complicated questions about grades or attendance before class starts or during class activities, instead save these questions for a time when we both can focus on the issue, such as my office hours. I encourage you to make good use of my office hours.  I enjoy spending time talking with students and often have candy available for visitors.  If the office hours conflict with your own schedule, please email me to arrange an appointment.  This semester I will hold special lab office hours Tuesdays from 3:45-4:30 in our classroom.

GSU Writing Studio (976 GCB; 404-651-2906): I encourage any student needing additional assistance to visit the Writing Studio. Students can make the most of a Studio tutorial by dropping by at least one day before the due date, and bringing their assignment sheet and course syllabus with them, as well as a copy of their draft. The staff can assist you with all stages of the writing process, but they will not edit your papers or correct all of your grammatical mistakes for you. Students may make appointments in advance by calling the Studio, or they may drop in. Note: the Writing Studio does not have computers or printers available for student use.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs: Students who need accommodations are asked to arrange a meeting during office hours or at another mutually convenient time during the first two weeks of class. Bring a copy of your Student Accommodation Form to the meeting. If you do not have an Accommodation Form but need accommodations, make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services (Suite 230, New Student Center, 651-9044) to arrange for accommodations.

New GSU Withdraw Policy: Starting in the fall semester of 2006, all undergraduate students are allowed to withdraw with a grade of W a maximum of six times. If you exceed your limit of six, you will receive a grade of WF. All withdrawals before the Fall Semester 2006 will not count against you. The full policy on W is available at http://www.gsu.edu/es/20425.html and there is a link for more information. Previous Ws do not count towards the maximum of 6; all students start with 0.

Portfolio (Undergraduate)

Attention all English Majors: As part of your graduation requirement, you will be asked to submit, during your senior year, a portfolio of your work as an English major. You should collect several assignments each term to prepare your portfolio. To find the specific requirements for your concentration, contact the main office of the Department of English or consult information on the English department home page. Please feel free to ask any of your instructors or your advisor for advice about your portfolio.