Course Info:
Course Title & Number: Interactive Design for Developing World: IMM-470-03
Professor: Mark Thompson
Office Address: AIMM 312
Email Address: thompsom@tcnj.edu
Office Hours: Fridays, 9:30am-12:30pm or by appointment
Class Meets: Mondays, 9:30am-12:20pm
Room: AIM 222
Course Description:
For many in the United States and the developed world, Interactive Multimedia implies broadband and rich media. While this is true for some, broadband is still out of reach for many in the U.S. and most in the developing world. This class examines the distribution of broadband and device capabilities, locally and globally, and introduces a range of alternative technologies for designing interactive systems based on these capabilities. Working as a design studio, students will examine a target audience and prototype interactive projects using technologies appropriate for that audience’s needs and capabilities.
Course Materials:
- The Course Blog
- Freedom Fone User & Advocacy Guide
- Twilio Documentation
- Leaflet.js Documentation
- Frontline SMS Documentation
- Ushahidi Documentation
- Course Github Repositories
Alternative Messaging Platforms
- Vumi (Africa)
- GupShup (India)
- Plivo (US, International)
- Clickatell (International, South Africa)
- Textit (supports multiple gateways)
- Africa Talking (Africa)
- Nexmo (API, International)
- Telerivet (International)
Supplementary Course Materials
Design Process
Policy, News & Research
- ITU Development Website
- InfoDev Website
- World Bank ICT Website
- UN Millennium Goals & Beyond 2015
- The Gates Notes
- USAid
- allAfrica
- Kiwanja.net Blog
- Balancing Act
ICT Stats
- AudienceScapes
- Pew Internet Project
- ITU ICT Facts & Figures 2014
- ITU ICT Facts & Figures 2013
- MobiForge Mobile Market Share Stats
- MSU globalEDGE
Technology
Partner Organizations
- 1000 Hills Community Helpers (South Africa)
- CEWOD (Tanzania)
- TICAH (Kenya)
Hardware
- 3G USB Dongle (for Frontline SMS & Freedom Fone)
- Huawei e173 setup guide
- Huawei Mobile Partner for OS 10.10 “Yosemite”
- Prepaid Phone Card (for FrontlineSMS & Freedom Fone)
Suggested Books (Optional)
- Freedom Fone User & Advocacy Guide (hard copy)
- The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator
- Race, Technology, and Everyday Life
- It’s Our Turn To Eat
- Measuring and Improving Social Impacts
Course Requirements:
- Design Notebook
- User Personas, Flow Diagrams & Scripts
- Vision Document
- Functional Prototype
- Class Participation
Course Purpose & Learning Goals:
The purpose of this class is to expand the range of multimedia choices available to students for communicating with audiences, based on their bandwidth and communication capabilities, emphasizing voice & narrowband alternatives.
Using the Twilio API, Audacity, Freedom Fone, Frontline SMS and Ushahidi, students will develop prototypes using a range of multimedia components including:
- SMS messaging
- Interactive Voice Response systems (IVRs)
- Geolocation & Interactive Maps
- Open Data & 3rd Party APIs
We’ll also review case studies of needs & solutions in Healthcare, Emergency Response, Food & Agriculture, Conservation, Education, and Human & Civil Rights.
Course Schedule:
Jan 26 – Intros & Syllabus
Feb 2 – Twilio SMS
Feb 9 – Twilio Voice Menus
Feb 16 – Twilio Voice Recordings
Feb 23 – Twilio Polls
Mar 2 – Maps & Location Data
Mar 9 – Data & APIs
Mar 16 – Spring Break
Mar 23 – FrontlineSMS
Mar 30 – Vision Documents due, Ushahidi
Apr 6 – Partner Organization Concept Presentations, Freedom Fone
Apr 13 – Open Discussion
Apr 20 – Open Discussion
Apr 27 – Open Discussion
May 4 – Last Regular Class Session
May 14 – Final Presentations
Grading:
Grades with be determined according to the following formula:
- 25% Final demonstration
- 25% Vision document
- 20% User Personas & Scripts
- 20% Design notebook
- 10% Class Participation
Note: Details of how each of the above will be scored will be provided at the time of assignment.