Class Meetings

MWF 3-4:15pm
Hackerman B17
Roughly two-thirds of the class sessions will include content delivery, student participation and/or assessment. All students are expected to attend class in person those days, except when ill. The extra class sessions will provide opportunities to work with teammates or learn optional material. Lecture materials for lesson days (including slides) will be available in some form(s) on the canvas course site, but they will not include active learning exercises and discussions that take place during class. A full schedule will be made available for student planning purposes.

Instructor

Dr. Joanne Selinski, joanne-at-cs.jhu.edu, see her webpage for coordinates and hours.

Course Assistants

Information on course staff and office hours will be posted on Piazza.

Online Resources

• We will use Canvas for homework submission and grades, Piazza for Q&A, and both for class materials. You will be enrolled in Canvas and Piazza automatically with your course registration. If you already have a Piazza account with a different email address, you can link your emails/accounts through the Piazza account settings. Once enrolled, you can access it at https://piazza.com/jhu/spring2024/601290/home.
  
• The primary resource for Android development will be the Android Developer's Website. You are welcome to scope out other resources as well. Content on user interfaces and design principles will be presented in class lectures.

Course Information

• Description: This course will provide students with a rich development experience, focused on the design and implementation of user interfaces and mobile applications. A brief overview of human computer interaction will provide context for designing, prototyping and evaluating user interfaces. Students will invent their own mobile applications and implement them using the Android SDK, which is JAVA based. An overview of the Android platform and available technologies will be provided, as well as XML for layouts, and general concepts for effective mobile development. Students will be expected to explore and experiment with outside resources in order to learn technical details independently. There will also be an emphasis on building teamwork skills, and on using modern development techniques and tools.

• Prerequisites: EN.601.220 Intermediate Programming and EN.601.226 Data Structures
• Selected Elective (oral/team component)

Course Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Work effectively on teams.
2. Use modern development techniques and tools.
3. Design user interfaces for mobile apps.
4. Implement mobile apps - frontend and backend - on the Android platform.
5. Use outside resources to learn technical details needed for app implementations.
6. Understand the impact of mobile applications and interface design on diverse users.
7. Present concept, design and implementation stages of mobile app development to peers.

ABET Outcomes

Each student successfully completing this course will be strengthened in the following areas:

• SO1. Analyze a complex computing problem and apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
• SO2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
• SO3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
• SO4. Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
• SO5. Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
• SO6. Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce computing-based solutions.

Course Topics

The topics will be heavily integrated with each other. However, the approximate number of required class meetings spent on each are provided in (). A full schedule will be posted on Piazza.

• (2) teamwork
• (2) introduction to HCI/UI/UX & design principles
• (6) user interfaces: design, prototyping, evaluation, implementation
• (6) Android technologies
• (2) accessibility & societal impacts
• (6) student presentations
• (2) midterms

Course Approach & Attendance

Think of this course as a guided independent study with both individual deliverables and teamwork. The format will be more workshop style than lecture style, with a heavy emphasis on active learning. Each student is asked to take ownership of their own learning and commit to colloboration with not only your team, but the class as a whole. As such you are expected to attend and actively participate in designated class sessions. You are responsible for all material presented while you are absent. Students who miss class due to illness, timezone, religious holidays, etc. should inform Joanne as soon as possible if requesting any (extra) accommodations as a result.

Team formation will be based partly on student preferences and partly on instructor discretion.

Students must attend two of three presentation days in each of the three presentation weeks.

Because of the significant group project in this course, disruptions due to illness or other circumstances will impact multiple students and must be handled carefully. Similarly, decisions to drop this course well into the semester can be very disruptive to group compositions. Please let the staff know as early as possible, and explicitly, if you are considering or decide to drop/withdraw from the course, or if you are not able to keep up with coursework for reasons beyond your control. Incomplete grades are largely infeasible for this course.

Course Expectations & Grading

A significant component of this course is completing tutorials and assignments to gain proficiency in designing and implementing user interfaces, along with the necessary back-end support and data management. We will primarily use instructor led class sessions for case studies, hands-on exercises, design reviews, discussions, and presentations. As such, it is important for students to plan to attend as many of these class sessions as possible. In-person participation is required for this course except when illness/circumstances prevent it. Optional class sessions will be used for make-ups, extra help sessions, special topics, and team meetings.

The grading breakdown is provided here. Each graded component in the course will be given a point value, and your overall grade for each element will be computed as points earned divided by total points possible. This course is not curved.

• 40% Individual/Paired Assignments: You will have a combination of readings and tutorials, surveys, design assignments, and implementations to complete as individuals or in pairs, as specified by each assignment. The goal of these assignments is to build a minimum level of proficiency with the course material. They must be completed in the first half of the semester.
• 45% Team Project: Starting early in the semester and dominating the 2nd half, you will work in teams of 3-4 students to conceive, design, build, and present a unique mobile app.
• 5% Participation: Students are expected to actively participate in class sessions as well as on the Piazza Q&A forum. In-class activities will include design reviews, discussions, and coding exercises. Some of these will earn 2 participation points (design reviews) and others will earn 1 each.
  Nuggets: on Piazza each student must contribute at least one "nugget" of information through a post that introduces a concept or how-to, ideally with references for more exploration. Nuggets for credit must be posted by the deadline listed below, and must not repeat content covered in lectures or other nuggets.
• 10% Assessments: 2 midterms will be given during the semester to assess understanding of concepts. One will focus on design and the other on implementation, each worth 5% of your grade.

Key Dates

A detailed schedule will be posted on Piazza and updated as the semester progresses.

• Midterms: design on March 12, implementation on April 2
• Team design presentations: March 3-7
• Team speed demos: April 7-11
• Nuggets posting deadline: April 19
• Team project demos: April 23-28 (last class days)
• Final project deadline: Thursday, May 8 (6p) [in place of a final exam]

Assignments & Readings

Readings will be integrated into the assignments. Assignments will be posted and submitted on Canvas.

Assignment Logistics

The recommended platform for developing Android applications is Android Studio. Downloads for this and related tools are available on Piazza and should be completed as soon as possible. The installs can take some time and battery life, so plan to do this in a comfortable and powered location. If your laptop cannot support the software for the course, then unfortunately you will not be able to continue in the course.

• Submission: All assignments must be submitted on Canvas for credit. You will have to option to submit multiple times on Canvas. Your final submission will be the only one graded and must include all assignment parts - no exceptions.
• Late Policy: Unless otherwise stated on an assignment handout, assignments will be due by 11pm on the duedate. However, for most assignments there will be a 12 hour grace period for late submissions, without any penalty. No assignments will be accepted after the grace period has ended. There is no grace period for the first team assignment (t0) or the final project submission (due 6pm).

Ethics

The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful, abiding by the Computer Science Academic Integrity Policy:

Report any violations you witness to the instructor.
You can find more information about university misconduct policies on the web at this site: Undergraduate Conduct. You can also contact:
For undergraduates: the associate dean of student conduct (or designee) by calling the Office of the Dean of Student Life at 410-516-8208 or via email at studentconduct@jhu.edu
For KSAS Graduate Students: rseitz5@jh.edu
For WSE Graduate Students: christinekavanagh@jhu.edu

For this course specifically: use of ChatGPT to generate significant content for a homework solution is considered an ethics violation. Use of it as a reference tool (like StackOverflow) is permitted, but any resulting code must include a citation as a comment in the relevant code.

Inclusivity

The following statement was provided by the Homewood Council on Inclusive Excellence and is incorporated into all WSE course syllabi.

Johns Hopkins University is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone here has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important because research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. Please participate us in creating a welcoming and vibrant classroom climate. Note that you should expect to be challenged intellectually by the instructor, the TAs, and your peers, and at times this may feel uncomfortable. Indeed, it can be helpful to be pushed sometimes in order to learn and grow. But at no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity.

If you ever have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to your instructor or the TAs who will take your communication seriously and will seek mutually acceptable resolutions and accommodations. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with the department chair, the Director of Undergraduate Studies (WSE Department Heads and DUSes), the WSE Associate Dean of Outreach and Belonging (Darlene Saporu, dsaporu@jhu.edu), the KSAS Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion (Araceli Frias, afrias3@jhu.edu) or the Office of Institutional Equity (oie@jhu.edu).

In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g., sexual harassment).

Disability Services

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions, and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

Mental Health Services

JHU has several resources to support students. Many students struggle at times with stress, anxiety, and depression. Mental Health Services has many resources available to students: Johns Hopkins University Student Well-Being (jhu.edu)

In addition, The Johns Hopkins University Behavioral Health Crisis Support Team (BHCST) pairs experienced, compassionate crisis clinicians with specially trained public safety officers for every shift on and around the Homewood campus, seven days a week. The BHCST will provide immediate assistance to those who need it and, just as importantly, link individuals in crisis to ongoing support services in the days and weeks that follow. Call Public Safety, 410-516-5600, and ask for a BHCST clinician.

If you have concerns about a specific student, please contact:

• For emergencies (threat to self or others): 410-516-4600 or 911
• For on-scene mental health support: BHCST at 410-516-4600
• For undergraduates: Student Outreach & Support at 410-516-7857 or  studentoutreach@jhu.edu (undergraduates)
• For KSAS Graduate Students: Renee Eastwood, Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training
• For WSE Graduate Students: Megan Barrett, Assistant Dean for Engineering Student Affairs and the Office of Engineering Student Support and Advocacy.

Academic Integrity

The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical violations include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments, improper use of the internet and electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and unfair competition.

Report any violations you witness to the instructor. You can also contact:

• For undergraduates: the associate dean of student conduct (or designee) by calling the Office of the Dean of Student Life at 410-516-8208 or via email at studentconduct@jhu.edu
• For KSAS Graduate Students: rseitz5@jh.edu
• For WSE Graduate Students: christinekavanagh@jhu.edu