Whether or not you have discussed your project with me in person, you still must hand in a good "requirements statement" for what you actually intend to do. By now you should be hard at work on your project.

Do not place answers in a public place (such as your website) until after the due date.

• Due 11 March:
  1. Pick 2 cartoons from the set handed out in class on 4 March and explain for each how some conceptual space has been recontextualized by adding new information, and show how the resulting new meaning is a blend (give and fill in the blend diagram).
  2. Write about 1 page on Aramis addressing: (1) What did Latour conclude about how the project died? (2) What do you think of of Latour's conclusion?
  3. Write about 1 page explaining some point that could be discussed in class on 11 March. Obviously it should relate to what we have been studying in this course; but also it should have some educational value for other class members. Explain not only your point, but also how it related to the course and how it will benefit others (unless these are totally obvious).
  4. Write a paragraph or so explaining how Andersen's notion of manifestation can be seen as a semiotic morphism; give a simple example, and describe what should be preserved.
• Due 4 March:
  1. Pick 3 "oxymorons" from the list on the class discussion page and explain their oxymoronic meaning as a blend of semiotic morphisms for their two parts. Because these are jokes, they are also supposed to have at least one non-oxymoronic blend, which should also be explained as blends (if they exist).
  2. Early versions of the CSE 271 class pages used "<hr>" to separate the various links at the bottom of pages, but now "<br>" is used instead; see the first meeting notes. Use semiotic morphisms to explain why that was a good idea - or why it wasn't, if you think it wasn't.
  3. Write about 1 page applying Shneiderman's ideas on user interfaces for search capabilities in chapter 15 to the yahoo websearch engine.
• Due 25 February:
  1. The first version of the popup explanation windows for the semiotic zoo included all the same links as the exhibit pages themselves; however, I soon deleted them. Explain why that was a good idea - or why it wasn't, if you think it wasn't.
  2. Give a careful discussion of the list of problems with video on p.491, paying careful attention to the fact that the list contains items of completely different character, for example, that some items have a social origin, whole others merely reflect short term limits of current technology. Explain why each item might be a problem.
  3. Use semiotic morphisms to explain why it is usually better to present a set of links to other webpages as a broad list rather than as tree, with non-trivial layering of indices (see p.575 of Shneiderman).
• Due 18 February:
  1. Explain the n most important things you have learned so far in class (n > 4); carefully consider how to organize this webpage (or pages) and explain why you organized it as you did. Provide hardcopy printout of the page(s).
  2. Write approximately one page comparing chapter 14 of Shneiderman with the Ackerman piece.
  3. Write approximately one page on dates and times and how they are represented.
• Due 11 February:
  1. Explain why Shneiderman's point 5 on p.209 doesn't belong on the same list as the previous 4.
  2. Explain why exactly repeating movements of an instrument in surgery would be undesirable (p.210 of Shneiderman).
  3. Recently I changed the ordering of items in the class "WHAT'S NEW" page from chronological to reverse chronological. Explain why that was a good idea - or why it wasn't, if you think it wasn't.
  4. Use CSCW to explain the phenomenon (described p.197 of Shneiderman) that users of computer games prefer a display of highest scores over computer generated feedback during play.
  5. Give me a proposal for your class project, including what percentage of your grade you would like it to be (not more than 75% and not less than 20%). You should start it as soon as I confirm your topic. The proposal should be on a separate piece of paper and should include your email address, so that we can discuss it together quickly and easily.
• Due 4 February:
  1. Answer the questions that appear in the notes for the 4th class on chapter 2 of Latour.
  2. Do a heuristic evaluation (p.126 of Shneiderman) using the "Eight Golden Rules" (p.74-76) and the 5 display organization guidelines (p.80) for the DTUI website; note that this will include a consistency inspection (p.126).
  3. Pick one other (non-trivial) website and do the same thing.
• Due 28 January:
  1. Discuss the design of the book Aramis as if it were a user interface.
  2. Write a social impact statement for Aramis, following the checklist on pages 113-114 of Shneiderman.
  3. Write about one page on the second chapter of Aramis; include something about how the technical and the social issues interact in the Aramis project.
• Due 21 January:
  1. Visit the "world-famous" UC San Diego Semiotic Zoo and write the best intuitive explanation you can for each of its exhibits. Note: This is just to set a baseline; you will be asked to do this again after we have covered some of the theory involved.
  2. Write about one page on the first chapter of Aramis; be sure to indicate which passages (if any) you think are fictional.
• Due 14 January:
  Note: Because I neglected to mention the first homework set in class on 7 January, it is entirely acceptable for you to hand it in on 21 January instead of 14 January.
  1. Select some interesting website and criticize its design. For example, you can find some very strange websites by first taking the Timothy Leary homepage link on my "Cool" page, and then clicking on various items on the house walls.
  2. Discuss Robert Morey's interactive applet proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. In particular, explain why letting the user size the triangle is a good idea.
  3. Set up a homepage for your work on this course; then optionally you may send me its URL by email, and I may link to it on the class homepage.