Course Description
This class offers students an opportunity to experiment with various forms and practices of cellphone communication and, most importantly, to propose and develop a semester-long project using advanced a780 cellphones donated by Motorola along with access to J2ME™ source code for programming cellphone applications. Class size is limited. Students in small collaborative groups will propose, implement and report on a semester-long project.
Assignments and Grading
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences will lower your final grade by one letter grade. Most assignments reflect the development stream of your semester-long project development.
Oral Reports
Oral Reports count 50% towards your final grade.
Oral Presentation of your Project Proposal, 20 minutes per group
J2ME™ "Hello World" coding assignment to demonstrate familiarity with J2ME™
Media Capture using cellphone: individual presentation of audio or video or still image or animated drawing using the capabilities of the a780 cellphone
Oral presentation of Mobile User Interface Prototype and usability test: paper prototyping and usability tests of the user interface for your final project
Collaborative coding session: discussion of coding difficulties, sharing code
Oral Progress reports, alpha demo of final project implementation
Final Oral Presentation: 20 minutes per group
Written Reports
Weekly posting to Class Blog: sharing readings beyond class requirements, code
Design Review (approx. 10 pages hardcopy, plus cellphone accessible format)
Final Written Report (approx. 15 pages)
Reading Material
Students are expected to consult the resources in readings and related resources.
Calendar
Calendar schedule.| Lec # | Topics | Key Dates |
|---|
| 1 | Student introductions; cell phones distributed | |
| 2 | Informal discussion of project group ideas
Input and output features of mobile phones | Assignment 1 due |
| 3 | Oral Presentation of Project Proposals | Assignment 2 due |
| 4 | Collaborative coding session | Assignment 3 due |
| 5 | Video conferences with Motorola engineers on social communication strategies | Assignment 4 due |
| 6 | Student presentations of media capture (audio, video, still image, drawings) | Assignment 5 due |
| 7 | In-class test of paper mobile user interface prototypes | Assignment 6 due |
| 8 | Collaborative coding session (cont.) | Assignment 7 due |
| 9 | Progress demo showing how you resolved key roadblocks identified earlier in Lec #7 | Assignment 8 due |
| 10 | Final Project presentations | Assignment 9 due |
| 11 | Final Project presentations (cont.) | |
| 12 | Last class meeting, student evaluations, emergency final presentation time | Assignment 10 due 3 days after Lec #12 |