What Will This Course Be Like?

Now that you have gone through the syllabus, along with its technical details and policies, lets talk about how this course will actually look like.

Text & Reading

There will be a lot of reading. Most of the information for this course will be text that I have written write here on this website or text from linked readings.

Code Examples

There will obviously, also be a lot of code examples. These will show up in your browser and allow you to see exactly what is occurring. In addition, there will always be download buttons for the code, so that you can play with it on your own.

Remember, you are learning a new language, this means you will need to take time to explore, play, dissect, rebuild, break, etc.

Videos

There will also be videos! There will be videos from me, your instructor. This are intended to discuss what is going on, demo how to do something, and talk about concepts.

Pace

This course will take a significant amount of time. We will ramp into the course slowly over the next few weeks. But, you should set aside time now in your schedule for course work.

This week is a chance for you to get [re-]familiarize yourself with tools on your computer, absorb the syllabus, revisit responsive web design, and schedule out time in your week for class work.

Dates & Weekly Flow

This course will mostly run as weekly modules.

When a module is released (i.e., it goes live on Moodle and this site), you will have one week to work through it, complete the homework, and submit your homework. You homework will always be due by 8AM, one week after the module opened.

For example, this module is opening on Wednesday, January 24th. Therefore, you have through next Tuesday, January 30th to complete the module. Likewise, your homework is essentially due Tuesday night. I set deadlines of 8AM the next day, as I do not intend to check or grade your homework at midnight Tuesday. In other words, you just need to get your homework in Tuesday night before the start of the business day on Wednesday.

Homework

You should consider anything within the course lecture content under a { TODO: } section to be part of your “homework”.

You will receive additional directives and notes about homework assignments on the Moodle Shell every week.

Most homework assignments will be a public website of some sort that you create. These links will then be submitted to a forum behind the Moodle firewall. This will allow you and your classmates to see each others assignments, as well as how you each chose to solve the set of problems, without posting links for the whole world to see. I think it is critical that you are aware of the work each other is making. This is my current solution to address this need. Further instructions will be provided about how to do this.

Getting Help

When you have problems in this course, you have a number of solutions available to assist you in solving them. The following list is the order I would suggest you follow for problem solving.

1. Google the problem.
   • A critical skill in creative technology is learning to problem solve. Part of this involves learning how to form a good google query. Your first go to for help should always be google.
2. Post to the course issues forum.
   • In a couple pages, you will follow along with a short tutorial that will help you signup for GitHub, then star and follow the “course repository”. Part of this repository is an “issues forum” where you can post questions and problems you are having. These “issues” will be e-mailed to you, and you can then respond to them.
   • The advantage to the GitHub issues forum is its advanced system for including formatted code. This will help with problem solving.
3. Go to the 127 Media Arts Lab
   • The Media Arts Lab in room 127 of McGill hall has daily “lab monitors” who are hired to assist with problem solving and class help. Take advantage of these people and this resource. The lab hours, along with who is in during specific times will be located under the “Help” tab above.
4. Contact the Teaching Assistant.
   • The TA for this class should be contacted with content/technical questions, or disputes about grades.
   • They will hold regular lab hours in 127 once a week.
   • They will also monitor the GitHub issues forum.
   • If you need to contact them directly, please use email
     • TBA
5. Get help from Dr. Musick
   • If you have a high level problem, or need help that no one can offer, please contact Dr. Musick (me, the one writing all of this).
   • The best way to get a hold of me is to swing by my weekly office hours. These are posted (and updated) under my office hours section. This is the BEST way to work with me. Just come by during one of those posted times.
   • If you are a distance student or cannot make one of those times, please email me. (I will check my email at least once per day)
     • michael.musick@umonatan.edu

{ NOTE: }

A quick list of these links is available from the “Help” menubar tab above.