In this course, we make stuff. Media stuff that communicates. We made it with a sense of the context that it will operate in. We work with an ecosystems approach: we relate diverse methodologies. We integrate theory and practice, analysis and intuition, science and art, technolgy and aesthetics. We integrate them according to the principle of equal value: none is more important, in advance, We adapt our focus interpretively, based on the situation.

We do this because the information age demands it. All sorts of representations connect in the nexus of the interface.

Demo Presentations

One of the most important ways we learn about interactive work, is to get feedback on our own. We will regularly spend time in class discussing people's work. Sometimes we will talk about everyone's work; other times we may only have time to talk about the best work. Be prepared to make a presentation, and look forward to it. We need to create a constructive environment, where people feel supported, yet critique is part of the dialogue. Please be gentle and direct.

Reading Critically

An important operational philosophy that underlies hypermedia and the ecosystems approach is that reading is active engagement, not passive reception. When you read, ask questions about context? Apply Trinh T. Minh-Ha's measuring stick: Who is speaking? Who is being spoken to? Contextualize your reading with critical perspective.

Experiments

The best way to find out how people will receive your interactive work is to try it out on them. Recruit a pool of friends who you can bounce stuff off of. Dont just give them demos. Get out of the way. Let them drive. Record your observations. Include quantitative results (e.g., how long people take, percentage of people who said "xxx," and qualitative results (e.g., people's comments, descriptions of their actions) in your work. Explain your decisions. Iterate your design.

Browsers

We're going to do quite a bit of hypermedia authoring this term. This puts a focus on web browsers.

As of November 2003, Browser News reports the leading browsers are 67% for IE 6, 18% IE 5.x,, Gecko (Mozilla variants, including Netscape and Safari) 9%.

For this class work will be evaluated in IE 6 and Mozilla 1.x, on Windows. You are encouraged to be more professional and support IE 5, Linux, and Mac OS, as well.