Hello All, I’m looking forward to seeing you all on Friday and hope you had a well earned break!

We had a bunch of absences last Wednesday – understandable given that Thursday was TG –but this is the time of the year when things really start to go fast. Blink and it’s already finals. Please come to class prepared to discuss your paper topics and subject reviews. See the menu tab: Tech papers for details and feel free to slack me if you have any questions.

On Wednesday we discussed your final projects and did a group brainstorming activity to get you thinking about your final tech papers. Although, of course, you are not bound to these ideas I’m posting the results here:

In order to be on track for your final projects please make sure you have your paper topics selected and subject reviews well underway. We will discuss them in class.

All new research is built on the work of others and a subject review is the first step. You should research, collect links, articles etc. and summarize existing research in order to refine your ideas which will ideally add to the existing body of research.

What is research? What is Knowledge Production? Discuss.

Class Challenge:

  • Independently write down your greatest fear about the future’s environment and then under it a value that would combat that fear. 
  • Draw an image of an plant, micro-organism, animal etc.  that embodies the value you just wrote down
  • In small groups – pool the animals, plants etc. and using Image Creator from Microsoft Designe create a “hybrid orginism” that represents a combination of the values you stated.
  • Class Feedback

The Gaia Theory

James’ Lovelocks Daisy World explained: NASA | This World Is Black and White

Lynn Margulis presents the Gaia Hypothesis at NASA

The Anthropocene – why we can’t just go back.

“Man in the Anthropocene”: Lecture by Elizabeth Kolbert, winner of the 4th Biophilia Award

Or maybe we should stop overshooting? Rex Weyler is the co-founder of Green Peace International, a journalist and activist.

Rex Weyler

Resource: Planetary Health Check

Homework:

First drafts are due.

Final Research Paper Road Map:

Nov. 27 – The Idea/Concept/Project: What problem are you addressing? We will discuss. For next Friday please complete the research for the related work section.

Subject review: You must research all related work this is called a subject review. Who else has done similar research? What research/project are you building on? How is your project similar? How is it different? Please gather your references now. You will need them for your bibliography.

December 6– Research is due. If your project/game/experience needs to be tested, prototyped please complete by next week. Don’t forget to document the process.

December 13th – First Draft is due (in class peer review)

December 20th– Final paper due and presentations – power point/wireframes/site maps/diagrams/tech specs/models/images/video demo etc. IN PERSON!