CPSC 610: Hypertext

Spring Semester, 2007
Time and place: T/Th 3:55 - 5:10 pm, Room 119A ZACH
Instructor: Dr. Frank Shipman
Office hours: HRBB 402B, TBD, or by appointment

Description of Course

This course covers topics related to hypertext systems, hypertext design, and hypertext theory. In particular, it covers the origins of the concept of hypertext, the development of the first hypertext systems in the 1960s, the explosion of hypertext systems in the 1980s, and the move to the World Wide Web and alternative models of hypertext (e.g. spatial hypertext) in the 1990s. Topics include open-hypermedia systems, notions of time and synchronization in hypertext, adaptive hypertext, design methods for hypertexts, and the theoretical implications of hypertext on human communication.

Prerequisites

Students should have some knowledge computer-human interaction (CHI). It is good to have taken one CHI class but this is not required. See the instructor if you are unsure.

Readings (all required) (discussant list)

collected journal and conference papers
copies of these will be purchased from the copy center during the semester

There might be slides from the discussants presentation on their web pages from assignment 1 ... here is the list of students.

Class Work

The class will include projects, readings, exams, and short assignments. Projects will be group projects (3-5 members, with more members indicating a larger project.) Individual student's grades for projects will be influenced by their teamwork as evaluated by the other project group members. Project topics can be most anything having to do with hypertext (e.g. building a new system, adding more advanced hypertext functionality to the Web, evaluating the use/impact of a hypertext, or creating a hypertext for a particular application.) Project topics must be approved by the instructor.

Grading

Grading will be based on reading and participation in class, homeworks, exams, and projects. Project grades will combine the overall grade for the project and team members relative effort.

    class participation    20%
    homeworks              10%
    exams                  40%   (sample questions)
    project                30%

Project Report Format

Your project reports are to be formatted according to the ACM Conference Format. You can cut and paste into this format and use the paragraph styles provided. Here is a link to the MS Word Template. You can find RTF and Maker Interchange File formats at this ACM SIGCHI page.