Course Syllabus

Welcome to Informatics 131!

Summer session 1 starts June 22, 2020, and will continue through July 28.

The class site will officially open on Monday, June 22. In the mean time, here are some things to be aware of as you get ready for the summer session:

Class format: This class will mostly use an asynchronous, online format. There will be no mandatory activities that will require you to be online at a specific time. We will have some optional synchronous discussions and office hours, but exact times and dates are being determined.

Exams: Any exams will be "take-home" exams and while they may have a time limit, they will be available for at least 24 hours. Exact dates for exams are still being determined.

Required textbook: For this class, you will need to have access to the textbook listed below. You can choose whether you want the digital or physical format, although renting the digital version is much less expensive. We are using the 6th edition. It has been significantly updated since the 5th edition, so be careful about which version you get. Any non-textbook readings will be made available digitally through Canvas.

  • Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction, 6th edition by Ben Shneiderman, Catherine Plaisant, Maxine Cohen, Steven Jacobs, Niklas Elmqvist, Nicholas Diakopou. ISBN: 978-0134-38038-4. Available from the UCI Bookstore, Amazon, or VitalSource.

Changed your mind? If you have decided not to take the class, please officially disenroll as soon as possible. We have a significant waitlist of students who are hoping to get into the class.

On the Waitlist? We are hopeful that we will be able to accommodate most waitlisted students who still want to take this course. If you still wish to join the course, you should follow these instructions:

INSTRUCTIONS: For Course Change Requests (Adds/Drops/Grade Changes) Requiring Approval

  1. Student is to complete the Course Change Request Form (http://summer.uci.edu/services/registration/forms.aspx)
  2. Student emails the completed form to the instructor with the subject line “Course Change Request” and cc: Summer Session at summer-coursechanges@uci.edu
  3. Instructor will “reply to all” with their approval or denial for the request
  4. Summer Session staff will process the request if approved

Once we hear from you, we will also add you to Canvas so you can access the course materials.

Instructors and Office Hours

Instructor:

Matthew Bietz
mbietz@uci.edu
Office Hours: T/Th 1pm-2pm PDT (Zoom Link)

TAs:
Jeffrey Bryan
jsbryan@uci.edu

Sarah Ng
ngsm@uci.edu

We are all happy to answer your questions via email or in discussion posts. We are also able to meet by appointment, just drop us an email to schedule a time. Please include "INF131" in the subject line of your emails, and for a fastest response, include all of us on the email. We strive to answer all emails within 24 hours, but be aware that we may not be available nights and weekends.

If you have a general question, consider asking it in a Canvas discussion for quicker responses.

Course Policies

Be sure to read the Course Policies page for more information.

The syllabus and policies are guidelines intended to help students plan their work in this class. However, the instructor reserves the right to make changes as needed.