The course aims to give a broad exposure to issues related to user-centred design and implementation of services and products related to various information and communication technologies. The focus is in the application areas of education, healthcare, governance and rural development.

User-centred development of ICT applications; Professional issues in ICT application development; E-learning; E-health; E-government; ICT in rural development.

None.

I. User-Centred Development of ICT Applications

• Characteristics of ICT; software, data storage, telecommunications and networks
• User-centred development methodology
• User capabilities and design implications
• Analysis
• Specifications
• Design
• Evaluation
• Product and service development in emerging markets

II. Professional Issues in ICT Application Development

• Ownership and Intellectual Property Rights; Open source development
• Contracts and liability
• Privacy and misuse
• Professional codes of conduct; IEEE, IEE, ACM, BCS

III. E-Learning

• Online classrooms, training and education
• Theories for e-learning
• Course delivery systems and learning management systems
• Interaction in e-learning
• Evaluation and quality assurance of e-learning
• Research issues in e-learning

IV. E-Health

• From telemedicine and telehealth to e-health
• Telecommunication technologies in health care
• Clinical applications
• Privacy, confidentiality, security and data integrity
• Legal and ethical issues
• Research: issues, methods, outcomes

V. E-Government

• Transformation of government, politics and society
• Introduction to E-governance
• Restructuring public administration
• Citizen access
• Urban and regional online communities

VI. ICT in Rural Development

• ICT strategies for development
• Conditions for ICT adoption
• Connectivity and accessibility
• Impact assessment

Assignment1 : Human Computer Interaction
Assignment2 : User Centered Design
Assignment3 : User Analysis and Task Analysis
Assignment4 : Prototype in User-Centered Development and User (Human)
capabilities and Design Implementation
Assignment5 : E-Learning Part 1
Assignment6 : E- Learning Part 2
Assignment7 : E-Health
Assignment8 : E- Government
Assignment9 : Individual Project Design for Telecenters

Lecture notes, handouts from listed reference books

R. Ayres: The Essence of Professional Issues in Computing. London , UK : Prentice Hall, 1999.
T. Korhonen, A. Ainamo (eds.): Handbook of Product and Service Development in Communication and Information Technology. Boston , MA : Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
M. Maheu, P. Whitten, A. Allen: E-Health, Telehealth, and Telemedicine. San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass, 2001.
M. Malkia, A-V. Anttiroiko, R. Savolainen (eds.): eTransformation in Governance. Hershey , PA : Idea Group Publishing, 2004.
G. Salmon: E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning. London , UK : Kogan Page, 2002.
Gi-Soon Song: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Rural Households. Frankfurt , Germany : Peter Lang GmbH, 2003.
T. Tschang, T. Della Senta (eds.): Access to Knowledge: New Information Technologies and the Emergence of the Virtual University. Amsterdam , The Netherlands : Elsevier Science, 2001.
K. Vredeburg, S. Isensee, C. Righi: User-Centered Design: An Integrated Approach. Upper Saddle River , NJ : Prentice Hall PTR, 2002.

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications and Applications
ACM eLearn magazine
ACM Journal on Educational Resources in Computing
ACM Transactions on Internet Technology
IEEE Transactions in Education
International Journal of Man-Machine Studies

The final grade will be computed from the following constituent parts:
mid-semester exam (30%),
final exam (50%) and
assignments (20%).
Closed-book examination is used for both mid-semester and final exam.