Amsterdam, April 14 2015
The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) is about to launch the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) of its kind about prototyping interaction. It will be hosted on the online course platform iversity.org from April 27.
Lecturers Frank Kloos and Maaike van Cruchten from the Communication and Multimedia Design department developed this MOOC, since they strongly believe that prototyping is a skill every designer should master. In this free online course, everyone who has some experience in UX design and/or interaction design will learn how to visualize his or her ideas, how to do a usability test and iterate on a design.

During this six-week course participants will learn to think by using their hands by sketching, experimenting, making and testing. They will be supported and inspired by a variety of teaching materials including specially recorded interviews with experts such as Bill Buxton, Brendan Dawes and Dave Gray who talk about their design practice and share their insights.
In a world where we have to deal with new technologies on a daily basis, the prototyping process will help participants understand the user and the way he or she interacts with these new and existing technologies. Understanding and executing the prototyping process will help in creating designs which are more valuable to the end user.
About the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam
The AUAS is a hotbed of education and research in all conceivable areas: culture and society, trade, logistics, aviation, shipping, ICT, sports, healthcare, education and much more. Communication and Multimedia Design (CMD) puts design at the core of its program. It sets out to help students learn how to think and act like designers, and aims to give its interactive media design graduates the best possible preparation for today’s – and tomorrow’s – professional practice.

Practical information
Participants can join by subscribing to the website of iversity: iversity.org. The MOOC lasts six weeks, the workload is approximately 5 to 7 hours per week for watching videos, mastering the different tools and completing the assignments. Watch the trailer here.

For further information, please contact: prototypinginteraction@hva.nl
Note:
Throughout the course, participants can choose to design digital media solutions that help seniors to stay involved in their community and reduce social isolation. To that end, participants will learn to create various prototypes, from paper prototypes to digital and eventually physical prototypes. The developers of the MOOC are looking for seniors who are willing to give feedback on these concepts. If you are interested to do this or if you know someone who will be, send an email to prototypinginteraction@hva.nl and you will be further informed.