This course is an undergraduate-level hands-on introduction to Maker Culture. It is a makers’ workshop, a design lab, and a creative-programming studio, intended to provide a supporting framework for students’ research and development as they build ambitious projects of their own design. This class will generate a shared research dialogue and space within which to pursue creative work that is conceptual and technical, and it is preeminently a place for students to ask questions, seek guidance and exchange ideas. Course meetings will consist of a combination of roundtable discussions, reflective writing, group “critiques,” 5-minute presentations, design thinking exercises, and focused topic-and-tool-specific workshops.
- Travis Feldman, travis.feldman at gmail dot com
- VMMC 211A, Fridays 11:30-12:30 and by appointment
- Regular and reliable access to the internet, email, and a computer for completing assignments.
- Flash drive (at least 1GB).
- Notebook or journal for in-class sketches, drawing, and response; also, pen or pencil.
To satisfy requirements of this course, students are expected to complete the following:
- RESPONSE PAPERS: Wiki/classlist short written reflections or responses on topics of interest
- WEEKLY WORKSHOP CHALLENGES: In-class design and building challenges
- TWO PRESENTATIONS: Medium/Slideshare/Prezi/Tumblr/Wordpress post and in-class quick presentation on select projects or concepts of “Maker Culture”
- TWO PROTOTYPES: Designing, documenting and building your own Maker Projects (Robot/Microcontroller, Wearable/IoT, 3D Printed/Digitally Fabricated)
- FINAL PROJECT: Creating a full “Instructables”-like How-To Demonstration for your own original Maker Project
Grades will be based on the following: * Roundtable Class Discussions and Class Participation (20%) * Response Papers (10%) * Presentations (10%), including Medium/Slideshare/Prezi/Tumblr/Wordpress post * Prototypes (20%) * Final Project (40%), Instructable or How-To Demonstration including Iterations and Prototypes, Product Narrative, Bill of Materials (BOM) Assessment, Design for Manufacture (DFM), Proof of Concept Model
- Additionally, satisfying the requirements of this class means:
- All reading/video/audio assignments completed on time and as assigned.
- You are required to participate in the daily activities of our class — because we are learning in “workshop” mode, your presence in class, on time, every meeting is crucial.
- Independent research projects should be completed with originality and an effort made to share learning with the rest of the class.
- Students are expected to push themselves utilizing what is learned and what is already known in ways that are new, useful, and interesting to themselves, the class, and to the world.
#Tentative Schedule
- Go over syllabus, discuss overview of class
- What is the Maker Movement?
- What is ‘Modular'?
- Maker
- Culture
- Play
- Education
- Knowledge
- "creativity"
- "originality"
- "Consumers" vs. "Makers"
- Makerspace
- Hackerspace
- Hack
- Citizen Scientist
- Autodidact
- DIY or Do-It-Together
- Extruder
- Set up your gmail and github accounts, join Google Group and post to Wiki
- watch "Changing Educational Paradigms"
- read "How the Makers Will Create a New Industrial Revolution"
- read "Death of the Artist -- and Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur"
- Optional watch: Maker
- Optional watch: John Cleese on Creativity
- Optional read: "Soldering is Easy!"
- Optional read: Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
- Is our understanding of ‘Making’ new, or is it the same old making we've had?
- What is ‘Design Thinking’?
- Physical Computing
- Digital
- Solder
- Circuit
- Multimeter
- Voltage
- Current
- Resistance
- Ohm's Law
- Microcontroller
- Microcomputer
- Arduino Homepage
- Sparkfun
- "What Is The RedBoard?"
- AdaFruit Learning System
- The Art of Electronics
- Forrest M. Mims III
- Write and post your project's Arduino code to github
- Include in the code comments detailing why you chose it and what you did
- watch "Hackschooling makes me happy"(2012)
- watch “Open Source Ed” (2013)
- watch Zizek in "Examined Life"
- watch Landfill Harmonic
Presentations Group A
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- Materials and Methods, Part One
- Landfill Harmonic
- Electric Waste Orchestra
- Circuit Bending
Synths
- Moog Werkstatt Kit
- Korg Monotron
- Lunetta Synths
- Serge Modular, unofficial page
- Caspar Electronics
- GetLoFi
Cameras
Robots
Events
- Upload photos and details in a short step-by-step write-up of how you did a circuit bend or break out
Presentations Group B
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- Write and post Processing sketch
Presentations Group C
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- Input
- Output
- DAC / ADC
- Analog
- Digital
- Taking Hardware Back to Software - Minecraft Hacks and Mods
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Presentations Group D
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- Machine Learning
- Autonomy
- Algorithm
- Prototype#1 Due
- Group Reviews & Feedback on Prototypes
Presentations Group A
- e-textiles
- wearables
- start-up
- crowdfunding
- crowdsourcing
- [Fitbit]
- [Pebble]
- [Lilypad]
- [Flora]
- [Kickstarter]
- [Indiegogo]
Presentations Group B
- Networks
- Networked Objects
- Connected
- Cloud
- AWS
- WiFi
- BluTooth
- Radio
- IoT
- AWS
- [Google Glass]
- Google Glass sales halted (1/15/15)
- Nest
- Yun
- Leonardo
Presentations Group C
- JavaScript
- Server-side and client-side
- API
- Web Sockets
Presentations Group D
- Big Data
- Data Visualization
- J
- Q&A and Open Discussion
- Proposal for Final Project Due (Sketch, model, BOM and description)
- watch Fibonacci Zoetrope Sculptures
- Draft of slide deck images and description Due (Iterations, BOM Assessment, DFM notes)
- Digital Fabrication
- Access to Manufacturing
N.B.: Your Final Project Must Be Uploaded and Viewable Online Before Scheduled Final Exam