These activities are designed to help prepare you for each unit’s final project. My hope is this: that you’ll find that the more focus you commit to the assignments, the more you’ll get out of lecture and discussion.
If you feel these activities aren’t preparing you, or if you find yourself devoting more than a few hours to each activity, please, reach out, and let’s talk. If you’re having a problem, quite likely so are your peers.
There will be 10 activities, which collectively count for 16% of your grade. Not turning in an activity results in a zero for that activity. Not submitting 3 or more generally results in an F for the Assignments portion of your grade, which can pull your overall grade down by a full letter grade.
Submitting them on time keeps you (and the whole class) on track, so make sure to mark the deadlines in your calendar.
See the Grading page for more details.
Throughout the semester, activities will be posted below in reverse chronological order…
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Tuesday, May 10.
Read and Respond. Read Max/MSP for average music junkies.
Write a response of roughly 250-500 words that thoughtfully and thoroughly addresses these questions:
•How is the Max interface described?
•How was Max software founded (who, why, and when)?
•How did Max software development/distribution evolve?
•What are the three precursors of Max software?
•How does one of the mentioned composers or musicians work with Max?
Extra credit:
Listen to two of the sounds in the Modalities (horizontal separator section; the middle link no longer works) and describe what you hear in relation to the written descriptions.
Watch Audio Facelyzer (horizontal separator section) and describe what effects you see and hear in relation to the written description.
Submit your response as a comment to the #activity09 channel on Slack.
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Thursday, April 14
Click the link above to see PDF explanation of assignment.
Read all three of these articles…
• Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits and Misses, written by Tom Igoe on his blog (Click through to read and view links for projects mentioned throughout — though some links are broken)
• A Day in the Life of Wearable Tech, in Time Magazine, written by Gee, Ho, and Raab
• UX for Wearables and Physical Computing, on the Adobe Blog, written by Andrew Smyk
Write a response of at least 500 words (max 1000 words), demonstrating that you’ve read all three articles by referencing and elaborating on at least one specific example from each article. Also reflect on the examples in relation to your current understanding and interest in physical computing.
Submit your response as a comment to the #activity08 channel on the MTEC1101 Slack.
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Thursday, March 31
Click the link above to see the PDF explanation of the assignment.
Read and Code
In Getting Started with p5.js, read and code along with the examples:
- Chapter 4: Variables (pages 41-50, through Example 4-7)
- Chapter 5: Response (pages 59-72, up through Example 5-12)
Make a paper sketch and write out the pseudocode for the interaction that you want to create. DM a photo of that (or a GoogleDoc link) to me via Slack
You can build off of your assignment 6 or start an entirely new sketch. You can draw a character, an object, create an illusion, etc., but your drawing and code must be original. Your sketch must include:
- All elements from A06 (canvas size of at least 400 x 400, 3 types of shape, 3 types of variation)
- 2 of your shapes must overlap (to demonstrate understanding of code order)
- Design with attention to visuals (compositon, color, strokes, shapes et c) – not accidental!
- Declare, assign & use one or more variables
- Make at least one of your variables change (over time in a for loop, and/or via an if statement with mouseIsPressed, keyIsPressed, or other user input)
- Comment your code extensively to explain your drawing elements + interactions
- Align all code with indents
- Fill out all relevant fields in OpenProcessing and update your snapshot image
- Submit before deadline to Activity 07, and adding sketch.
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Friday, March 24
Click the link above to see the PDF explanation of the assignment.
- Reference Chapter 3: Draw (pages 17-40) in the Getting Started with p5.js book.
- Reference my variation examples in Section 01 within the OpenProcessing class.
You can draw a character, an object, create an illusion, etc., but your drawing and code must be original. Your sketch must include:
- A canvas size of at least 400 x 400
- At least 3 different types of 2D primitive shapes
- At least 3 types of variation (e.g. scale, outline, color, transparency, corner treatment, etc.)
When it’s finished, submit it to the Activity 06 (Section 02) collection in our OpenProcessing class.
- Fill out these fields: Description; How to interact with it; Who can see you sketch? [choose: “My Class”]; Who can see the code? [choose: “My Professors”]
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Friday, March 18
Click on the link above to see the PDF explanation of the assignment, which in turn contains the link to the online article “What is Code?” (along with links to each section). Post your response in #activity05 on the Slack channel.
There is an Extra Credit portion on the bottom that will allow you to make up for one past-due activity. Post this as a separate response in #activity05.
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Tuesday, March 8
Click the above link to see the assignment PDF. Read, research and respond. Visit the Games for Change website, select a game that works for you. Do some research on it – what is it, what social issue is it addressing, what values does it express, what game mechanics does it use? Write a brief response and post it to #activity04 on the Slack channel by Tu 3/8.
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Tuesday, February 22
Click on the link above to see the PDF. Read and respond to the two articles linked in the assignment sheet, according to the prompts provided. If you have difficulty accessing the articles, consult the library’s instructions on how to register for a free academic pass to the New York Times.
Activity 2
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Thursday, February 17
Before watching the videos specified below, write a summary (around 100 words) of how you usually come up with an idea for a project.
Break this process into discrete steps. As an example of what I mean by ‘discrete steps’: if I were describing how I make a sandwich, I’d say: 1) I get a loaf of bread, 2) I get the fillings for the sandwich, 3) I assemble the fillings on a slice of bread, 4) I put another slice of bread on top.
Watch and respond: Watch two videos (embedded below and included in the assignment PDF) and respond to the prompts in the assignment PDF.
Read and respond: Read Speculative design: 3 examples of design fiction by Tony Ho Tran and respond to the prompts in the assignment PDF.
Follow the instructions in the assignment link for response & how to submit.
Actvity 1
Due ➡ by 3:59 PM, Thursday, February 10
Click on the link above to see the PDF, which contains the link to the video to watch and review (or see below — navigate to 36:51 and begin watching from there). Follow the instructions in the assignment link for response & how to submit.
