This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

Course Description

This class offers students an opportunity to experiment with various forms and practices of cellphone communication and, most importantly, to propose and develop a semester-long project using advanced a780 cellphones donated by Motorola along with access to J2ME™ source code for programming cellphone applications. Class size is limited. Students in small collaborative groups will propose, implement and report on a semester-long project.

Assignments and Grading

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences will lower your final grade by one letter grade. Most assignments reflect the development stream of your semester-long project development.

Oral Reports

Oral Reports count 50% towards your final grade.

  • Oral Presentation of your Project Proposal, 20 minutes per group
  • J2ME™ "Hello World" coding assignment to demonstrate familiarity with J2ME™
  • Media Capture using cellphone: individual presentation of audio or video or still image or animated drawing using the capabilities of the a780 cellphone
  • Oral presentation of Mobile User Interface Prototype and usability test: paper prototyping and usability tests of the user interface for your final project
  • Collaborative coding session: discussion of coding difficulties, sharing code
  • Oral Progress reports, alpha demo of final project implementation
  • Final Oral Presentation: 20 minutes per group

Written Reports

  • Weekly posting to Class Blog: sharing readings beyond class requirements, code
  • Design Review (approx. 10 pages hardcopy, plus cellphone accessible format)
  • Final Written Report (approx. 15 pages)

Reading Material

Students are expected to consult the resources in readings and related resources.

Calendar

Lec # Topics Key Dates
1 Student introductions; cell phones distributed  
2 Informal discussion of project group ideas

Input and output features of mobile phones
Assignment 1 due
3 Oral Presentation of Project Proposals Assignment 2 due
4 Collaborative coding session Assignment 3 due
5 Video conferences with Motorola engineers on social communication strategies Assignment 4 due
6 Student presentations of media capture (audio, video, still image, drawings) Assignment 5 due
7 In-class test of paper mobile user interface prototypes Assignment 6 due
8 Collaborative coding session (cont.) Assignment 7 due
9 Progress demo showing how you resolved key roadblocks identified earlier in Lec #7 Assignment 8 due
10 Final Project presentations Assignment 9 due
11 Final Project presentations (cont.)  
12 Last class meeting, student evaluations, emergency final presentation time Assignment 10 due 3 days after Lec #12