Welcome to E330 Information Architecture!
Fall 1997
Professor M. A. Syverson
syverson@uts.cc.utexas.edu
Division
of Rhetoric and Composition
University of Texas at
Austin
| Important Information |
| unique #30910 |
| TTh 2:00-3:30 |
| PAR 104 |
| Office: PAR 124 |
| Hours: TTh 3:30-5:00 |
| Phone: 512.471.8734 |
Course Description
Information architecture is an emerging field which includes aspects of composition, design, cognitive science, information sciences, computer science, and social sciences. As computer technologies have expanded the possibilities for creating, organizing, storing, representing, and communicating information, the sheer quantity of information exchanged has exploded. The new field of information architecture studies this dynamic process, develops systems to help people better manage it, and plans for changes projected in how information is developed and organized. Theorists currently in the field, including Richard Saul Wurman and Edward Tufte argue that design, including typography and page design, use of graphics, and organizational structure are crucial to the delivery of information in ways that audiences find useful. These elements are often left to editors or publishers in formal publishing situations, or executed poorly in popular media and online communications. Yet they can determine whether information can be easily accessed, apprehended, and interpreted. There are many systems, from library catalogues to Web search engines, to research databases now in use to gather, store, and manipulate information, yet we still often feel overwhelmed, ill-informed, and lost in dealing with them. Wurman has termed our general apprehension ³information anxiety.² Writers need to develop a good understanding of these systems not only to assist in their own research, but as a heuristic for their own composing. Further, there are new and exciting professional opportunities in the field that may interest students. Students in this course will both read about and participate in current developments in information architecture.The course is divided into three main parts:
Part 1: Information Anxiety. Roughly August 28 through September 25. This part of the course focuses on current concerns about the explosion in the quantity of information available because of new technologies for composition and communication, and the limited time and energy we have to deal with it.
Part 2: Information Design. Roughly September 30 through October 24. Edward Tufte writes, "Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information. There's no such thing as information overload." For anyone who needs to compose and present information, appropriate design can help readers quickly and enjoyably locate, navigate, and use that information.This part of the course focuses on collection, organization, and navigation of information.
Part 3: Information Presentation. October 24 through the end of the course. An appealing presentation not only gives pleasure to readers, but also engages them actively and involves them as participants. It can also help assure that information is useful and remembered. This part of the course focuses on strategies for effective information presentation.
Prerequisites: Basic computer skills. This course does not teach fundamental computer skills; students who would like to enroll for the course, but lack computer skills can gain the necessary skills in classes offered by the computation center and the library. Students should be able to handle basic word processing, email, Web searches. They should be familiar with disk and file management including formatting, copying, and saving files to a disk.
Course Objectives:
The objectives for students include the following:
- Students will be introduced to a new field of study, which has the potential for transforming many real-world writing situations, and which presents new career opportunities.
- Students will gain experience with a variety of research methods and strategies for comparative analysis
- Students will explore implications of diverse information structures, including hypertext, text-based virtual reality, the Web, and databases.
- Students will experiment with design, for aggregating, organizing, and presenting information.
- Students will develop their own projects based on existing challenges in this field.
The CWRL classroom:
This course is held in a CWRL networked computer classroom, which offers a variety of resources for constructing projects, researching topics, and communicating with each other and with other researchers.Please note: Basic computer skills are not taught in this course. Students should be familiar with keyboarding, copying and saving files to disks, word processing, and sending and receiving email. Students are required to have a computer account with both email and web posting privileges.
I enjoy meeting with students to discuss concerns and questions about the class. Please feel free to stop by my office during office hours, or email me with questions or suggestions for the class.
Note: When sending email about this class, please put the class number (330) as the first item in the subject line of your message.
Grades in this course are determined on the basis of an Online Learning Record, which accompanies a portfolio of work presented at the midterm and at the end of the course.These portfolios present a selection of student work, both formal and informal, completed during the semester, ongoing observations about student learning, and analysis of student work and interpretations with respect to the student's development across five dimensions of learning: confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflectiveness. This development centers around the major strands of work in the course: rhetoric and composition, research, technology, and collaboration. Please review the information at the OLR web site carefully.
Please note: All assigned work, including informal writing, proposals, rough drafts, finished projects, peer critiques, the midterm OLR and final OLR must be completed and submitted on time to receive a passing grade in this course. Except under extraordinary circumstances, there will be no incompletes in this class.
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Computer Writing and Research Lab
Division of Rhetoric and Composition
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712