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

Lecture Notes

The table below contains a list of lecture topics, the various discussion points included in each lecture, and lecture notes.

WEEK # TOPICS DISCUSSION POINTS NOTES
1 Mobile Applications Overview / Generative Research Methods Overview of research areas in mobile computing. Discussion of the domains and structures of mobile applications. Discussion of how mobile technology is changing communication patterns. Overview of methods used to create new concepts based in field observations. (PDF)
2 Qualitative Data Analysis / Android Fundamentals Performing analysis of user data to generate concept ideas. Fundamentals of programming on Android devices. Differences from desktop Java. Small overview of iPhone programming. Outline for proposals. (PDF - 1.1MB)
3 Proposal Presentations Students present proposals for semester projects.  
4 Mobile Design / Paper Prototyping Going from requirements to an interaction model down to the design of screens. Rapid prototyping and evaluation. Discovering usability problems early. 3-4 screens prototyped  
5 Usability / Paper Prototype Testing Usability testing of paper prototypes.  
6 Mobile Location / Networking Novel applications of location in social, media tagging, and public safety applications. Mobile location technology including GPS/CellID/Wifi localization. Networking capabilities of mobile devices. Best practices in writing mobile networking code. (PDF)
7 Poster / Demo Session Share current progress on project with the class.  
8 Mobile Persuasion / Urban Computing Mobile applications that encourage positive behavior changes (exercise, diet, social, etc.). Systems that combine physical interaction in the world with mobile technology. (PDF - 3.0MB)
9 Large Scale Research / Distribution / Instrumentation Launching research projects in app stores. Business models for mobile services. Instrumenting applications to collect analytics data. (PDF)
10 Final Project Triage Get help with any remaining issues for final projects.  
11 Final Presentations    
12 Final Presentations (cont.)