01-21-2023, 07:54 PM
I'm writing this course review to answer some of the questions I had prior to taking it but couldn't find anywhere. Just trying to give back to the community that's helped me do more than I thought I could!
This course is worth 10 ACE credits and focuses on the process before and leading up to making user interfaces for mobile phone apps and websites.
The course is completely designed for beginners with zero experience so you will be taught everything you need to complete it. It's broken up into 7 courses with 4-6 weekly modules per course. You can finish the modules as fast as you want to, but there are some caveats covered below. The courses are primarily videos made by Google employees that are UX designers themselves as well as some short reading assignments between videos.
All graded quizes are unproctored multiple choice.
Pro tip, when watching the videos, they'll display key terms and points in text on the screen. Screen shot them and paste them into Microsoft OneNote. OneNote is free and let's you search for words even if they're in pictures. This will let you search for keywords from the video lectures if needed.
1) This course has many peer graded assignments. You'll be given assignments like needing to complete a user research study or creating a mockup of a mobile app user interface in the apps they provide and partner with. When you're done, you'll have to upload your work and 2-3 other students will grade it based on a provided rubric. The other students are usually pretty easy going with their grading, but you can't just completely fudge it because they will fail the submission and you'll have to try again. All of the assignments carry forward into future compiled assignments, so you have to complete all of them.
2) You will have to create 3 powerpoint (or Google Slides if you don't have powerpoint) based use case studies throughout the course which are compilations of the various other assignments you did. These can't be fudged as they'll be submitted as peer graded assignments.
3) You'll have to compile the 3 use case studies you already completed and add them to a new powerpoint "Portfolio" along with some new assignments that become your professional portfolio you can show to prospective employers. The portfolio gets submitted as a peer graded assignment.
4) The final peer graded assignment is to create a real website on one of several free hosts like Wix.com and put your portfolio online. It's all the assignments and work you've already done, so it's just a matter of getting it online. I took screenshots of each of my powerpoint slides from my portfolio and added the slide images in order on the website pages which did meet the rubric requirements and passed.
The course is not hard. They do a good job teaching you everything you need to be able to complete it and you do learn how to use some pretty cool and powerful tools, but this is not an easy speed run course. I spent a few hours a day after work and a full weekend on it and finished just under two weeks. My brain was cooked and I don't think I could have gone any faster with a full time job and life responsibilities.
All that said, it's still a heck of a lot faster than getting 10 credits the old brick and mortar way and you do pick up some useful skills.
This course is worth 10 ACE credits and focuses on the process before and leading up to making user interfaces for mobile phone apps and websites.
The course is completely designed for beginners with zero experience so you will be taught everything you need to complete it. It's broken up into 7 courses with 4-6 weekly modules per course. You can finish the modules as fast as you want to, but there are some caveats covered below. The courses are primarily videos made by Google employees that are UX designers themselves as well as some short reading assignments between videos.
All graded quizes are unproctored multiple choice.
Pro tip, when watching the videos, they'll display key terms and points in text on the screen. Screen shot them and paste them into Microsoft OneNote. OneNote is free and let's you search for words even if they're in pictures. This will let you search for keywords from the video lectures if needed.
1) This course has many peer graded assignments. You'll be given assignments like needing to complete a user research study or creating a mockup of a mobile app user interface in the apps they provide and partner with. When you're done, you'll have to upload your work and 2-3 other students will grade it based on a provided rubric. The other students are usually pretty easy going with their grading, but you can't just completely fudge it because they will fail the submission and you'll have to try again. All of the assignments carry forward into future compiled assignments, so you have to complete all of them.
2) You will have to create 3 powerpoint (or Google Slides if you don't have powerpoint) based use case studies throughout the course which are compilations of the various other assignments you did. These can't be fudged as they'll be submitted as peer graded assignments.
3) You'll have to compile the 3 use case studies you already completed and add them to a new powerpoint "Portfolio" along with some new assignments that become your professional portfolio you can show to prospective employers. The portfolio gets submitted as a peer graded assignment.
4) The final peer graded assignment is to create a real website on one of several free hosts like Wix.com and put your portfolio online. It's all the assignments and work you've already done, so it's just a matter of getting it online. I took screenshots of each of my powerpoint slides from my portfolio and added the slide images in order on the website pages which did meet the rubric requirements and passed.
The course is not hard. They do a good job teaching you everything you need to be able to complete it and you do learn how to use some pretty cool and powerful tools, but this is not an easy speed run course. I spent a few hours a day after work and a full weekend on it and finished just under two weeks. My brain was cooked and I don't think I could have gone any faster with a full time job and life responsibilities.
All that said, it's still a heck of a lot faster than getting 10 credits the old brick and mortar way and you do pick up some useful skills.