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DESIGN 243 : Design and Assistive Technologies
Creative Arts and Industries
2025 Semester Two (1255) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Capabilities Developed in this Course
Capability 1: | People and Place |
Capability 2: | Sustainability |
Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
Capability 6: | Communication |
Capability 7: | Collaboration |
Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Develop familiarity with the historical, cultural, economic and political contexts around New Zealand design and its health sector. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4)
- Develop familiarity with international historical and recent developments in health sector assistive technologies in relation to the development of new interfaces, materials, processes and user experiences. (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 8.1, 8.3 and 8.4)
- Develop an understanding of the application of design tools, methods and processes to a specific industry sector in the development of a new interface, material, process and user experience for health sector assistive technologies. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4)
- Develop a traditional and/or digital skill-set in addition to requisite health sector assistive technology skills to convincingly prototype a new interface, material, process and user experience. (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 5.2, 8.1 and 8.2)
- Develop familiarity with presenting work and critiquing the work of others in a studio pedagogical context. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3)
- Demonstrate ability to pitch or succinctly and compellingly present a project. (Capability 3.2, 6.1, 6.2, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3)
Assessments
Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
---|---|---|
Research | 10% | Individual Coursework |
Project | 30% | Group & Individual Coursework |
Prototype | 40% | Group & Individual Coursework |
Presentation | 20% | Individual Coursework |
4 types | 100% |
Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
Research | ||||||||||
Project | ||||||||||
Prototype | ||||||||||
Presentation |
The grade of DNC (did not complete) is assigned a grade point value of zero and is used when a student fails to complete compulsory coursework despite earning over 50%, or when coursework is incomplete and a fail grade would misrepresent their achievement.
Teaching & Learning Methods
The course will be a combination of learning modules, project and assignment work, and workshops and will be delivered over 12 weeks in a design studio. Each week there will be a 3 hour lecture + tutorial + project work combination that will vary depending on the specific module being taught. Classes may include guest lecturers, debates, peer-reviews and feedback sessions.
Students are expected to attend every week as each session has been designed to equip students with the necessary skills to complete all assessment activities to receive a passing grade. A thoughtful and active engagement in group work and feedback sessions will contribute to achieving higher than a passing grade.
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 12.5 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, each week you can expect 1 to 2 hours of lectures, 1 hour of tutorial, 4 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 5.5 to 6.5 hours of work on assignments and/or project.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is required at scheduled activities including studios to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials may not be available as recordings.
The course may include live online events including group discussions and tutorials.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Health & Safety
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
One key area of feedback from the 2021 course that was improved in 2022, was to increase the amount of contact with people who have a variety of disabilities, to hear their stories, aspirations and frustrations with the technologies that they have to choose from to help them in their daily tasks. Feedback from 2022 has been that this has been inspirational and has become a regular feature of the course, repeated in 2023, with additional direct contact and experience of disability.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Where a student faces unavoidable personal circumstances (e.g. illness or a death in the family) that mean the student is unable to submit a component of coursework, they may apply for an extension. Requests for extensions of time must be submitted and approved using the online Extension of Time Application form available on Canvas:
https://www.forms.auckland.ac.nz/en/student/creative-arts-and-industries/design-programme-extension-of-time-application-form.html
Students should notify the Course Director/Course Coordinator of their situation as soon as practicable, and preferably before any due date. Notifications received after an assessment due date will be accepted, where this is reasonable, within the context of the course. If possible, students are encouraged to seek medical, counselling or other support from the most appropriate sources.
No extensions will be granted for problems such as accidentally erased computer files, which should always be prevented by keeping backup copies.
Learning Continuity
We undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions, the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. In the event of a disruption, the University and your course coordinators will make every effort to provide you with up to date information via Canvas and the University website.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.