Gerontechnology in Smart Home Environments

Course
Identifier: 
COM S 414

Offered during Fall Semester each year.

  1. Credits and contact hours: 3 credits, 3 contact hours
  2. Instructor’s or course coordinator’s name: Carl Chang
  3. Text book, title, author, and year: None required
  4. Other supplemental materials: None

Specific course information

  1. Brief description of the content of the course: Interdisciplinary course designed for students interested in assistive technology, pervasive computing, mobile computing and principles of universal and inclusive design for end users, in particular, the elderly population. Students work in semester-long projects as interdisciplinary teams to apply knowledge obtained from lectures and mutual presentations. Research report and oral presentation required for graduate credit.
  2. Prerequisites or co-requisites: COM S 207 or COM S 227 or GERON 377 or ARTGR 271 or equivalent; for graduate credit: graduate standing or permission of instructor
  3. Required, elective, or selected elective? Selected Elective

Specific goals for the course

  1. Specific outcomes of instruction:
  • Work in an interdisciplinary team for the requirements, design implementation and evaluation of computer services and products that will be most useful for the again population in a smart home setting (3)
  • Apply knowledge to address a variety of socio-technical, health and humanistic concerns stemming from helping elderly people to age in place
  • Advocate and assess technological solutions to problems in gerontology and geriatrics (2)
  • Conduct research in gerontechnology to improve the quality of life in older adults

Brief list of topics to be covered

  • Aging Process – its social, psychological and physiological effects
  • Models of pervasive and ubiquitous computing
  • Software Service Life Cycle and Services Computing
  • The Agile Software Development Process (Scrum based)
  • Human Computer Interaction, Design Evaluation & Usability Study
  • Entrepreneurship
  • The IRB Process