SYLLABUS AAD 283L: DESIGN COMMUNICATION & SKILLS: Spring 2000

Graduate Assistant: Ash Johnston ( ashjohnston@yahoo.com )

Class: Room 203 Sogg Building, Architecture Studies Library

Purpose: This class is intended to teach and enhance information seeking and evaluation skills. Diverse electronic and print means of finding and accessing information, including reference books, Internet resources, journals and books, and associations are explored. By the end of the course the student should be able to identify, select, and physically locate appropriate resources in a variety of formats.

NAAB Criteria addressed by the course: be able to analyze and gather information across the range needed in architecture, including information on human requirements; be able to do basic research as it relates to all aspects of design; be able to use computer technology in the identification . . . of information.

     SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Week 2   Web navigation, citation format for web sites, evaluation of web sites

Week 4   Searching: reference tools

Week 5   Evaluation of information, citation format for non-web materials, architecture periodicals (the good, the bad, the ugly)

Week 6   Searching: periodical articles: Finding Journal Articles (Indexes)

Week 7   Architecture sites on the web: directories/guides

Week 8   Mid-term test

Week 9   Spring break

Week 10   Non-architecture sites on the web

Week 11   Searching: web search engines

Week 12   Searching: periodical articles: Avery Index

Week 13   Advanced searching techniques

Week 14   Searching: images

Week 15   Searching: strategies

Week 16   Review for final exam/ evaluation of course

Week 17   Final Exam

Class Attendance: It is important that you attend each class. Much of the teaching/learning for this class is by means of hands-on work during the class session. Unexcused absence at more than three classes qualifies the student for dismissal from the course. Acceptable excuses include: personal injury or sickness verified by a letter from a physician or a registered nurse, death in the immediate family, and car accidents.

Evaluation is based on performance on exams (mid-term and final) and on the semester project. The semester project must be submitted on time to be given full credit.

A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69

Failure to submit the semester project, or evidence of cheating or plagiarism, will result in failure of the course. Cheating includes copying someone else's work in exams and assignments, or allowing someone to copy. Plagiarism means using someone's ideas and/or words and presenting them as your own.

Class Project: Information Gathering and Evaluation Project

An Annotated Critical Bibliography, with the topic "Readings that Impact/Change/Inform Design." This is an ongoing project throughout the semester. Many of the homework assignments will ultimately be included in your semester project. This bibliography will include a variety of sources such as books, periodicals, web sites, and reference tools. The annotation should be both evaluative and informative, noting how the reading impacted a design. At least 15 sources should be included.

Graphic option: If you would like to show the impact of readings graphically instead of through the bibliography described above, consult your instructor Jeanne Brown.

********************** Project due date: week of April 17th. **************************

"The New San Francisco Museum of Modern Art." Domus 767 (Jan. 1995): 8-18.

This article out of Domus, a reliable architectural journal, provides a clear concise description of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as designed by Mario Botta. It lists the main objectives which Botta attempted to achieve in the project. These are: 1) to use "natural overhead light in most of the exhibition galleries," and 2) to "ensure that after entering the building, the visitor will capture its layout at a glance." The article contains large color photographs, sketches, and floorplans of the museum. The article was useful for my museum design in that it pointed me to a lighting solution I hadn’t previously considered.

An incomplete in the course will be given only if, for some reason beyond your control (hospitalization, death in the family) you cannot complete the course. Under no circumstances will you be given an incomplete because you are failing.

In order to borrow books or to use the materials on reserve, you will need to have a University Library Card. Be sure to take a photo ID and your social security number to the Circulation Desk in the Architecture or Main library to obtain a card. Note: if you have a student photo ID, this will become your library card as soon as you register it with the library.

If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the Disability Resource Center for coordination in your academic accommodations. The DRC is located in the Reynolds Student Services Complex in Room 137. The DRC phone number is 895-0866. (TDD-895-0652).

The campus policy states that the instructor be informed of anticipated absences for religious holidays by the beginning of the second week of school.

This syllabus is subject to change depending on class progress and interests. The current version of the syllabus can be found online at: http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/instr/aad283/aad283.html