Input and Interaction

About this course: In this course, you will learn relevant fundamentals of human motor performance, perception, and cognition that inform effective interaction design. You will use these models of how people work to design more effective input and interaction techniques. You’ll apply these to both traditional graphic and gestural interfaces.

Created by:  University of California, San Diego

• Taught by:  Scott Klemmer, Associate Professor

  Cognitive Science & Computer Science

Basic Info Course 4 of 8 in the Interaction Design Specialization Commitment 3 weeks, 2-3 hours/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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University of California, San Diego UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 10 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Innovation is central to who we are and what we do. Here, students learn that knowledge isn't just acquired in the classroom—life is their laboratory.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Input



There’s more to interfaces than what’s on the screen. While often overlooked, input deserves to be on equal footing with its more popular sibling, output. Also, input is a rare case where we can model user behavior mathematically. In this module, you’ll learn how good input is more than just preference, trace input from the fingertip to the screen, and think about the diversity of possible input devices and their relative merits.


4 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: The Interaction Design Specialization
2. Video: Modeling Human Input
3. Video: From Fingers to Screen
4. Video: Character Study
5. Reading: Lecture Slides

Graded: Fitts' Law

WEEK 2


Search & Navigation



We live in an information-rich world. Consequently, the hardest part of interaction is often finding what we want or finding something that we didn’t know what to ask for. From e-commerce to digital libraries, good search design is central to human-computer interaction in the 21st century.


3 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: Finding, Filtering and Foraging
2. Video: Designing Effective Search
3. Video: Dan Russell, Director of Search Quality at Google
4. Reading: Lecture slides

Graded: Search Interaction

WEEK 3


Gestural Interfaces



The graphical user interface with windows, icons, menus, and pointers (WIMP) was a massive advance beyond the command line. It also took 20 years to go from research labs into people’s homes. We’re in the midst of a new sea change now. Gestural interfaces can be even more direct and more natural. They can also be even more frustrating. In this module, you’ll learn how to tell the difference and design gestural interfaces that work.


3 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: Don Norman Introduces Gestural Interaction pt 1
2. Video: Don Norman Introduces Gestural Interaction pt 2
3. Video: Bimanual Input
4. Reading: Lecture slides

Graded: Your Minority Report
Graded: Cumulative Quiz