Week 1 To-Dos

Back to Schedule

Week 1 Objectives:


(1) set up the tools that you would need to use in this course
(2) complete ethics training
(3) find a team and submit team information

Week 1 To-Dos

1. Ethics Training
Each student must individually complete the TCP2 Core ethics tutorial and upload the certificate of completion to LEARN. The tutorial takes 2-3 hours to complete, so don't leave it until the last minute. You cannot proceed in the course until you have completed this ethics tutorial. If you have previously completed the TCPS 2 Core ethics training before (e.g., for another course, or for a research project outside of courses), you can just submit the certificate of completion that you obtained previously. There's no need to re-do the training. More details are available on the Deliverables page under Deliverable 1.a.

2. Acquire Technology and Materials for the Course
● Download Slack app. Log in and join the CS449/649 Slack Workspace using the link provided to you in the email from the instructor.
● Download the Zoom app. The free version should suffice.
● For both Zoom and Slack, please set your display name to match your LEARN email (+ other names you'd like to be called by) and include both first and last name. This helps us identify who you are, and find you more easily, and assign grade to the right person.
● For both Zoom and Slack, we are using free versions, which have certain limitations. The free version of Slack only allows 10,000 viewable and searchable messages; the rest of the messages are archived. The free version of Zoom has a limit of 40 minutes, after which you have to disconnect and reconnect again. These limitations are not show-stoppers, but do require workarounds. For example, if there are any messages or links to files you want to persist forever, save it somewhere else. Also, please read the brief policy on online etiquette in the syllabus.
● We will be doing paper prototyping in mid-June. For that, you will need paper, pencils, eraser, rulers, glue, scissors, sticky notes. Please look into acquiring these materials in the next few weeks.

3. Lecture and Reading
Watch the week 1 lecture videos. The lecture videos are typically ~15 minutes, and teach you the basics about human-centered design, and information you would need to make progress in your design project. Access to lecture videos are available in Slack (the link is pinned to the #announcements channel). The lecture videos contain important information that you will need for your project, so do watch them.

Choose 1-2 of the videos or articles from the reading list this week. Reading reflections only starts next week, after you are assigned a team and given a design notebook; there is no reading reflections this week.

4. Review course website
Visit the project page on the course website. Review the project theme, 4 subthemes and 8 project topics under each subtheme on the course website.

5. Introduce yourself
Introduce yourself in the #introductions channel using a single message only. Don't be shy! State your name, a fun fact about you, and project topic (e.g., B4) you are most interested and why.

6. Find a team!
Find students to join your team, or find a team to join, using Slack. To form a team, I suggest partnering with other students that you know first, then look for additional teammates using the #search-for-teammates channel; when your team is full / you have found a team, you can put a strikethrough font on the post content to indicate that you are no longer looking for more people to join the team or a team to join. More details are available on the Deliverables page under Deliverable 1b: Team Formation. Finalized team information must be submitted by Friday May 14 using the Project Team Information form.

Due Friday (May 14)
● Ethics Certificate (upload completion certificate to LEARN)
● Submit team information using the Project Team Information form.