Online Course

The last ten years have seen a proliferation of screen-based interfaces and online content, most of which is interactive in some shape or form. However, interactive media are in their formative stages and although widely experienced, the processes and language of interactivity are still poorly understood. This poverty of understanding is particularly apparent when compared to the shared cultural understanding of the language of the moving image for example, in which elements such as camera angles, lighting, sound and editing are all used to deliver a crafted experience.

This fully online course comprises a series of lectures, learning activities and assessment tasks that seek to discover and understand the underlying 'language' of interactivity. The content includes a broad history of interactive media (from non-computer interactions to wireless devices). It questions existing conventions of interactivity and explores the notions of play and interactive design (in which new ideas are 'found' by generating successive versions of a project).

The course aims to develop a set of ideas, approaches and practices that are essential to the creation of engaging interactive experiences. This includes a series of online lectures and discussions in which you will play an essential role in analysing and defining these experiences. Your assessment tasks will include individual participation and online team projects to encourage group interaction and collaborative processes, which are essential to discovering and defining this new exciting paradigm.

Please note: Whilst there are some technical elements to this course, it is not intended to be a course that teaches Flash programming or web design but rather the ideas that should underpin these, and other practices. Whilst some existing knowledge of Macromedia's Flash or Director will be useful it is not essential for completion of the course.

NOTE: This course is conducted via the Omnium system (omnium.edu.au). Students will receive log in instructions via their UNSW email account prior to the commencement of the course. For international students: This 3 unit of credit (UOC) online course can only be undertaken in addition to the minimum 18 UOC face-to-face requirement per session.