- professional role(s) -- design, development, management
- design -- aspirations & responsibilities
- innovation(s) -- societal problems & (technological) solution(s)
- technology -- creative potential of new development(s)
- game(s) -- creative exploration(s) in game design
session(s): orientation(s) -- everything is miscellanous
session(s): preparation(s) -- finding (y)our theme(s)
session(s): collaboration(s) -- tell (y)our story!
session(s): progression(s) -- narrative(s) & interaction(s)
session(s): reflection(s) -- what was (y)our message?
session(s): presentation(s) -- manifestation(s) & exhibit(s)
- remember (y)our -- dream(s) & itch(es)!
- mention -- group & name(s)
- state -- title & concept
- present -- your installation/application
- discuss -- issues for improvement
- emphasize -- (y)our message!
- aspire/demand -- final grading
workshop(s): identity & self-(re)presentation(s)
- question(s) -- what is (y)our identity?
- draw (y)our avatar -- with attributes in context
- draw avatar of peer(s) -- with attributes in context
- exercise(s) -- tell (y)our story!
- question(s) -- what is (y)our role?
- draw (y)our avatar in relation to group -- in space
- draw avatar for each role in the group -- in space(s)
- exercise(s) -- organise (y)our unit(s)!
content(s)
The goal of the course, which will take the structure of a group project, is to set a new group of students to work, to learn
about the topics of creative technology, to get to know eachother and the staff, and to find ways of expressing their
interests and viewpoints in a varietly of ways, including blogs, (interactive) videos, and wikis, using commonly available
Web 2.0 community services.
Facilities to be used include
Equally important is that students discover the means that are at their disposal to communicate and document their work,in
individual portfolios, using basic tools for web development and content creation.
prerequisite(s):
admission to curriculum
goal(s) & attainment target(s)
The course aims at providing
- awareness of personal motivation(s) and the societal context of the curriculum
- familiarity with the concepts and topics of creative technology
- fluency with standard social network tools and content-creation
- full literacy in motivating what options are available to express opinions, technical information and knowledge
Students are expected to be well-motivated, and will be stimulated to find creative ways of expressing themselves.
place in curriculum:
Introductory course for all students, just after arrival.
application area & motivating example(s)
There are various way to create identity, from social networks and communicate personal and professional information
using the web
Students are encouraged to explore these means of expression, and select those that fit their needs, in discussiong with
supervising staff.
teaching methods
This first CA course will primarily be an exercise in self-organisation, with an important goal to create coherence in a group
of new students, with a variety of backgrounds. The course will be organised as a series of lectures and workshops.
In the lectures topics in creative technology will be presented by selected staff members. The workshops will deal with
planning, supervision of team work, and creative sessions in which the options for expressing opinions, technical
information and knowledge will be discussed.
Additional instruction may be needed to clarify issues of communication and presentation, and to prepare students for the
creation of an individual (digital) portfolio.
Feedback will be given in the workshops, and by assessing the products as made available online. Peer reviews will not
only be used for feedback, but will also form part of the procedure of assessment and grading.
Grading takes place by assessing the work in a presentation session, where students present and discuss their work and
contributions to the group project..
special facilities
computer lab, meeting room(s) & presentation facilities, as well as suitable software tools
topic(s)
- basic content creation -- editors, image tools, video
- use of blogging sites, and media content management systems
- topics of creative technology
-- mathematics, smart systems & new media
- communication and presentation issues
- presence in oral & written presentation(s)
- individual on-line (digital) portfolio(s)
CA1 target(s)
- skill(s) -- (digital) content creation
- knowledge -- information management & presentation
- theory -- relation technology, science & art(s)
- experience(s) -- presentation of ideas, concepts & plans
- attitude -- exploration, communication, discovery, presentation
course structure
- introduction of tool(s) and platform(s)
- topics in creative technology (1)
- teamwork -- identity as a group
- topics in creative technology (2)
- identity -- individual portfolio(s)
- topics in creative technology (3)
- presentation(s) -- individual & group work
- evaluation -- reflection(s) on we create identity
excursion(s)
individual
- create account(s) at -- google site, blogspot, flickr
- maintain blogs & records -- minimal 5, with pictures
- create personal portfolio -- with (symbaloo) start page
- prepare poster and pitch for final session(s)
small group(s)
collective assignment(s)
- create and maintain group site -- groups.google.com
- maintain creative technology wiki
- organize final poster exhibition
reference(s)
An initial set of references should include the list below,
although many more are available.
- Mitchel Resnick, Sowing the Seeds for a more Creative Society -- online video
- Facets of Fun -- On the Design of Computer Augmented Entertainment Artefacts,
available in online version
- Kress G. and van Leeuwen T. (1996), Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design, Routledge
- Geert Lovink and Ned Rossiter (eds), MyCreativity Reader, A Critique of Creative Industries, Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam 2007
- A. Eliëns, topical media & game development -- media.eliens.net
advice for the student(s)
As a student being a victim of this course, keep
in mind that most of these assignments are
an
invitation rather than an
obligation.
This does, however,
not allow you
not to do
these assignments, but
do allow you to do them as
you like, not to
please the instructor(s)
but to pleas yourself, and to find authentic ways
of
expression, where authentic simply means
no bullshit. For an optimal effect of this course,
you might even have to learn how to
unlearn.
PDF
Looking back, the high expectations raised
by the self-professed
competence(s)
of the students
did by no means come through, disregarding the excellent skills
and efforts of some individual students.
As I indicated in my comment(s),
all in all the atmosphere in the class was excellent,
for example have a look at youtube,
with most students willing to present there ideas,
and show their interests. However,
as the statistic(s) show,
getting online
took longer than expected, and even at the end of the course
some participant(s)
were still NOL (not online).
Taking up the (other) assignments was not only slow,
but did even not happen.
This might be partly due to the suddenly occurring
opportunity to have
an exhibit in SmartXP.
The SmartXP exhibit itself was a great success,
as testified by new(s) & blog(s), even though in reflection(s) some aspects were lacking, and should be improved
in any future exhibit(s).
The spirit of teamwork was well expressed in
the slogan and clip together we create.
Somewhat suprisingly, students were quite reluctant
to give the (obligatory) peer review(s).
The panel presentations, from both representatives of
EWI
and the regio
were well received by the students, and
were not only informative but also
instrumental for other courses, in particular
the projects for NM2.
All in all, I was happy with the course as it went, even
though some students did not see the point of it,
as expressed in the evaluation(s).
Ironically, the best evaluations came from students that
later became dropout(s).
In the future CA1 course(s),
apart from the identity theme(s),
storytelling,
will be one of the main topic(s),
with a stronger role for the co-instructor(s).
The technical requirements/assignments, however, should very likely
be keyed down significantly.
PDF
The size of the group, over 40 students, necessitaed a different
approach. Different in educational approach, as well as different
in, what I would call, mainting discipline and order.
Lessons learned from the previous year are, among others, that
a laissez-faire attitude does not work, so
tit-for-tat, this
year I switched to a much more strict approach.
Although one of the goals of the we create identity
is for students to learn to speak out, the size of the
group made that almost impossible. So I included the 20 seconds
speak out sessions,
see
sites.google.com/site/create10ca1site/workshop-s
20 seconds seemed to be a short time, but to my surprise after
15 seconds many students were already at the end, filling the rest
of the time, 5 seconds, with mumble, mumble.
In contrast to last year, all students were obliged to make
an interactive video, in groups of 4-5 students, using
ximpel.
This turned out to be a great success, both in terms of the enthusiasm of
the students as well as in the quality of the productions,
shown at the smart xp event of 29 november.
For the following years the use of XIMPEL is highly recommended.
Instead of two sessions introducing the faculty and the (creative)
outside world, this year there was only one session .CREATE meets ...,
with representaives from inside and outside UT.
Students were attentive and seemed to appreciate the
views of the various experts in the panel,
see creativetechnology.eu/wordpress/?p=590
Sooner than expected, students started exploring what google sites
had to offer, and were more willing to contribute
to what I, for convenience, call the CA1 commons, which are located at
sites.google.com/site/create10ca1site
In conclusion, students seemed to appreciate the course, and
came, some more than others, to the insight that they (indeed)
needed a change of attitude, which they indicated in their blogs
as well as their essays.
See grade(s), for the final assessment(s),
and creativetechnology.eu/wordpress/?p=622 for the interactive
video projects.
