There are is one TA who will provide support for CS220.
Learning Goals
After completing the course, you should be able to:
Demonstrate empathy for users and advocate for their needs through software design.
Demonstrate competency in Human-Computer Interaction styles and principles.
Apply methods from the Human-Centered Design process to create interactive systems.
Practice design, implementation, and evalluation skills for software interfaces.
Explore and discuss the use of AI for the design, implemetnation, and evaluation of interactive systems.
Communicate design rationale and operate in a team-based setting to solve problems collaboratively.
CS Department Policies
As a part of this course, students and faculty are expected to adhere to the
Computer Science Department Guidelines,
which are designed to create a positive and productive learning environment.
These guidelines emphasize respect, integrity, inclusivity, and transparency,
ensuring that our department prepares students to
lead in a world shaped by computation and data. For a detailed description of
these principles and guidelines on attendance,
timeliness, respect for others, exam policies, and how to share your thoughts with us,
please refer to the Computer Science Department Guidelines.
Equipment and materials
Notetaking.
It is recommended to bring either a paper notebook and pen, or tablet and stylus, to take handwritten notes during class.
In CS220, you will not be constantly using a computer. Handwriting and rough sketching will also be essential tools.
Computers.
It is recommended to have a personal laptop for this course.
Contact LTS if you need to borrow a laptop this semester.
Textbook.
There is not required textbook for this course. Readings will be drawn from a variety of sources.
You are expected to read the assigned materials before coming to class.
Slides. In the detailed schedule, each lecture is linked to class slides.
Please note that the slides linked on the syllabus are not intended to be fully-fledged notes for each class.
They are starting slides that you can expand on during class, when you take your own notes (as such, some of the slides might contain blanks).
It is expected that you will be taking notes on the content covered during class and not rely on the slides for completeness of what we discuss.
Grading
Class Participation. Active class participation is expected of every student who wants to succeed in the course,
and includes (but is not limited to) attendance, participation in class discussions, and completing in-class activities and assignments.
Please note that if you miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to obtain the class notes and topics from fellow peers.
Final Grades. Your final grade for the course will be computed as a weighted average of several components.
The relative weight of each component is shown below:
Project: 40%
Assignments: 20%
Attendance/participation: 10%
Quizzes: 30% (4 total but will drop the lowest score)
There is no arbitrary limit on the number of A’s, B’s, C’s etc., and every student will be assigned the grade they earn and
deserve according to the grading standards of the college.
In general, the mapping from numerical score to letter grades looks like this: 95.00+ is an A, 90.00 is an A-, 86.67 is a B+, 83.33 is a B, 80.00 is a B-, 76.67 is a C+, 73.33 is a C, 70.00 is a C-, 60.00 is a D.
Absences and late submissions
Absences. I appreciate knowing ahead of class if you cannot attend.
There are two 75-minute in-class meetings each week that will introduce the main content of the course.
We will be frequently doing small group activities, reviewing assignments/projects, and discussing topics that may not be covered in the readings/slides.
Missing a class will require you to catch-up on the content covered. Please come to my office hours to review what you missed.
If your attendance is tardy or irregular, your participation grade will be affected.
Late submissions. You must let me know prior to the deadline if you need to submit an assignment late due to unexpected circumstances and
it will not be penalized. If your late submission is not excused, you will receive 50% of your grade on the assignment.
Due to the pace of the course, I will not be able to grade late work as quickly as if you submit it on time.
Caveats to both of these policies include situations with a documented accommodation or unexpected circumstances.
Please be pro-active in communicating with me about your needs for adapting these policies.
Collaboration Policy
The Wellesley College honor code applies to CS220.
This course emphasizes collaboration, as working effectively within teams is an important
part of innovation culture. Working with a team provides you with opportunities to
develop and improve interpersonal, communication, leadership, and follower-ship skills.
Group assignments and team project are also important for learning integrative skills
through the development of a complex system.
I strongly encourage you to get to know all of your classmates and to collaborate
extensively with them. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this course, you
may be strong in some areas but weak in others. Please share your strengths, and
feel free to ask others for help.
Here is a summary of the collaboration policy:
In-class activities and discussion: This class requires your active contribution during our time together. Please
come to class prepared and ready to contribute to our learning community.
Homework assignments: No collaboration with peers. You may discuss these at a high level with
peers but not show your work or view theirs. You can show your work and discuss with the instructor and TA.
Project: Teams of 3-4 students work together to complete and submit project milestones. You will be assigned to a team.
Quizzes: Absolutely no collaboration.
AI usage policy
Aligned with its learning goals, this course encourages students to explore responsible and
critical engagement with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools such as ChatGPT, DALL·E, Midjourney,
Claude and Gemini within the context of interaction design. The use of GAI or AI powered tools is only allowed
on specific assignments or activities.
You need to be mindful about the following aspects of these tools:
They can produce incorrect information in a very believable way (known as “hallucinations”), if you take the output of generative AI for its word you might learn incorrect information.
They are trained on old information and might not have the most up-to-date information that we discuss in class.
Generative AI is trained on large volumes of data from the Internet and the ethics of its usage and proper attribution to originators is a controversial topic.
We draw your attention to the fact that different classes at Wellesley implement different AI policies, and it is the student’s responsibility to conform to expectations for each course.
This policy is subject to being updated during the semester .
Accessibility and disabilities
Every student has a right to full access in this course.
If you need immediate accommodations, please arrange an appointment with me as soon as possible so we can discuss immediate arrangements.
You can also ask your dean to email me directly if they are familiar with your situation and you would prefer they reach out.
If you have a disability or condition, either long-term or temporary, and need reasonable academic adjustments in this course, please ensure that
I receive a note from Disability Services. Additionally, schedule a meeting with me to discuss these plans in person.
If you are unsure but suspect you may have an undocumented need for accommodations, you are encouraged to contact Disability Services.
They can provide assistance including screening and referral for assessments.
Doing this as early as possible will help since some situations can require significant time for accommodation design.
Disability Services can be reached at disabilityservices@wellesley.edu, at 781-283-2434, or by scheduling an appointment online.
Wellesley College considers diversity essential to educational excellence, and we are committed to being a community in which each member thrives. The College does not allow discrimination or harassment based on race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or any other protected status under applicable local, state or federal law.
If you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or harassment, support is available to you:
Non-Confidential Reporting: You can let your CS 220 instructor know. As faculty members, we are obligated to report allegations of sex-based discrimination to the Non-discrimination/Title IX Office.
You can report directly to the Non-discrimination/Title IX Office (781-283-2451) to receive support, and to learn more about your options for a response by the College or about reporting to a different institution.
You can report to the Wellesley College Police Department (Emergency: 781-283-5555, Non-emergency: 781-283-2121) if you believe a crime has been committed, or if there is an immediate safety risk.