DXH602 Embodied Interactions
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | DXH602 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | DXB212 or DXB501 or KIB314 |
| Equivalent(s): | KIB309 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| CSP student contribution | $1,118 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,104 |
| International unit fee | $4,788 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | DXH602 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | DXB212 or DXB501 or KIB314 |
| Equivalent: | KIB309 |
| Coordinator: | Leo Rezayan | l.rezayan@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit introduces the concept of embodiment and how to design and realise embodied interfaces in the Creative Industries. Interaction with technology has advanced beyond the desktop paradigm of mouse and keyboard to embodied interfaces that incorporate video tracking, audio input, and gestural interaction techniques. Applications range from wearable technology to tangible media installations. This unit introduces an experimental field of interactive media design through the practical application of the processes and techniques of tangible media. In order to work successfully as a designer in the field you will need to understand the ways in which people communicate and create meaning through embodied interactions. Designing embodied interfaces requires an understanding of how physical and social phenomena unfold across both time and space and how we interact with the world in which we are situated.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Articulate both in written documents and design practice the concept of embodiment as it relates to interactive media design.
- Develop project concepts and proposals for undertaking a program of design for embodied interfaces that reflect knowledge of the field.
- Apply technologies involved in the creation of embodied interfaces to implement demonstrations of designs in the form of design prototypes.
Content
This unit combines theory and practice. It provides lectures that address content such as the theories and principles of embodiment and embodied interaction, and the design methodologies employed in the realisation of embodied interfaces. In studios, you will also acquire the practical skills required to design and implement embodied interfaces, for example motion tracking techniques, physical computing and tangible media techniques, wearable computing, audio input and gestural interaction techniques.
Learning Approaches
The unit will consist of design studio, lectures, workshops and discussions. The focus is on problem-based learning and design-by-making in the design studio setting where your work will be supported by lectures, and individual and group design round table discussions. During the semester you will be required to present your work for discussion in a group situation where you will have an opportunity to explain your design and receive feedback from your peers and staff.
Therefore, a key component is the studio is the opportunity for you to interact with staff and peers collaboratively to learn about design. Your active participation in studio will develop your sense of personal responsibility and professionalism essential for success as a designer. You are also expected to pursue your own line of inquiry outside formal sessions.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways: formative feedback from teaching staff and peers; comments on summative assessment work in addition to criteria sheets; criteria sheet grading; feedback from teaching staff and peers. You will engage in critique sessions where you, your colleagues, and academic staff and visitors will discuss issues arising in the development and resolution of designs. You will also be required to attend progress reviews with teaching staff. These reviews will require you to present your progress towards the summative assessment items, and will provide you with an avenue for dialogue with teaching staff and feedback on your work.
Assessment
Overview
Assessment in this unit focuses on the completion of a single design project which is assessed at two stages.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Project Proposal
You will develop a proposal for an embodied interface addressing a specific brief. The submission must clearly describe the proposal, situate the proposal within the field, and provide an outline of the key design questions and how you will address them through a design process.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Prototype
Working in groups, you should create a demonstrable prototype for an embodied interface addressing a specific design brief. This includes the presentation and demonstration of the prototype to staff and students at the end of semester. The prototype must be supported by a written document, which outlines the design processes, how the prototype addresses the specific brief, and how it relates to the field of embodied interaction.
Individually, you will reflect on your role in the design process and draw out lessons for the design of embodied interactions, relating to relevant design research in the field.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Required Text
There is no set text for this unit.
Recommended References
Dawes, B. (2007) Analog in, digital out : Brendan Dawes on interaction design. Berkeley, CA: New Riders
Dourish, P. (c.2001) Where the action is: the foundations of embodied interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Greenfield, A. (2006) Everyware: the dawning age of ubiquitous computing. Berkeley, CA: New Riders
Igoe, T. (2007) Making things talk: [practical methods for connecting physical objects]. North Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media
McCullough, M. (2004) Digital ground : architecture, pervasive computing, and environmental knowing. Cambridge, MA; London: MIT Press
Moggridge, B. (2007) Designing interactions. Cambridge, MA: MIT PressDXH602 Embodied Interactions - Page 5
O'Sullivan, D. and T. Igoe (2004) Physical computing: sensing and controlling the physical world with computers. Boston, MA: Thomson
Wilson, S. (2002) Information arts: intersections of art, science, and technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Further resources can be found on the Canvas web site for this unit.
Risk Assessment Statement
Students may need to make use School of Design of workshop facilities in the construction of their design prototypes. Students will be required to undertake a Tier 2 Workshop safety induction for the School of Design workshop facilities at the start of the semester if they have not already done so. Any students wishing to use specific equipment within the workshop must prepare a sketch of their work and show it to workshop technicians for advice.
Students will receive level 3 inductions for other equipment under the direction of workshop staff as needed.
Design projects requiring site visits, or user involvement in evaluations must be discussed with academic staff and approved prior to being undertaken.