Click on the links below for course assignments and information.

Syllabus (includes contact information, course requirements, and homework assignments with due dates)

First-Day In-Class Writing topic and reading: Excerpt from The Invisible Computer by Donald Norman

How to Write a Vocabulary Log (instructions and example in MS Word Document format)

Reading for Wednesday, October 1: "Where Edison Went Wrong" (Excerpt from The Invisible Computer by Donald Norman)

Reading for Wednesday, October 1: "Smart Clothing"

Reading for Wednesday, October 1: "Brain/Machine Interface"

Reading for Wednesday, October 1: "Usability"

Group project and writing topic instructions for the week of October 1-6

Reading for Wednesday, October 8: "Simplicity":
Read the article at John Maeda's site, www.simplicity.com
Or, if you prefer a printable version of the article, download it as a pdf document here.

Reading for Wednesday, October 8, "Apple and the Environment":
Read the article at www.apple.com
Or, if you prefer a printable version of the article, download it as a pdf document here.

Paper Format (Lab orientation, Friday, October 3)

Document: How to write your weekly Reflective Revising Log (Lab orientation, Friday, October 3)

"In an Age of Gadgets, Life Gets Complicated"
(Please print this document and bring it to class on Monday, October 6. You do not need to read it before class.)

Document: "Love at First Bite" (Lab, Friday, October 10)

Reading for Wednesday, October 15: "Creativity," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Reading for Wednesday, October 15: "Brainstorming," by Gerard I. Nierenberg

Reading for Wednesday, October 15: "Classifying Objects," by Gerard I. Nierenberg

Reading for Wednesday, October 15: "Forced Connections," by Gerard I. Nierenberg

Reading for Wednesday, October 15: "Examining Where You Want to Go," by Jordan Ayan
Note: Please print this document, fill it in with your answers, and bring it to class.

"Einstein"
(Please print this document and bring it to class on Monday, October 20. You do not need to read it before class.)

Reading for Wednesday, October 22: "The Creative Personality," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Reading for Wednesday, October 22: "Flow," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Lab tutorial for Friday, October 17: Internet Tricks for Great Vocabulary

Lab tutorial for Friday, October 17: How to Link Your Edits to a Reflective Revising Log in One Document

Writing topic for the week of October 17-23

Reading for Wednesday, October 29: "A Bolt from the Blue: Sudden Musicophilia," by Oliver Sacks

Self-guided tutorial for October 24, 2008

Reading for October 31: Richard Florida, "The Flight of the Creative Class"

Midterm In-Class Writing Topic for October 31. Good luck!

Reading 1 for Wednesday, November 5: "Why Working Less is Better for the Globe"

Reading 2 for Wednesday, November 5: "Are Shorter Work Hours Good for the Environment?"

Reading 1 for Wednesday, November 12: "Diploma at Hand, Japanese Women Find Glass Ceiling Reinforced With Iron"

Reading 2 for Wednesday, November 12: "Career Women in Japan Find a Blocked Path"

Reading 3 for Wednesday, November 12: "Are Women Happy Under The Glass Ceiling?"

Writing Topic for the week of November 5-11

Reading 1 for Wednesday, November 19: "This Friday, Make It Real Casual"

Reading 2 for Wednesday, November 19: "For Workers, It's Face Time Over PC Time"

Reading 3 for Wednesday, November 19: Interviews with Alice Wu

How to prepare your final portfolio

The self-evaluation essay

Topic for the final writing exercise