Assignment 13

This small assignment, which is due Wednesday November 19, is designed to prepare you for your final (self-directed) project that is due at the end of the semester. It forms part of a sequence of small “intermediate” assignments whose purpose is to make sure that you are on track, planning your project in advance.

Assigment 13-LO: A Looking Outwards.

Conduct a “Looking Outwards” in relation to your final project. Find your “precursors” — digital or otherwise — by identifying at least three projects by others that are somewhat/somehow related to what you would like to investigate. For each project, explain the way (however oblique it may be) in which that project is related to what you would like to achieve or investigate.

Be sure to consult with the professor or others about your area of interest. Others may be aware of search terms or specific projects that can help guide your thinking.

Assigment 13-Sketch: A Delineation of Thinking.

You are to begin thinking about a final project (which will be due December 3). Your options are:

  1. Extend and polish your concept from Assignment 12, a “Networked Object”: that is, a provocative “networked object” that sends an Internet message when some condition is sensed, and/or which performs an action-in-the-world when an Internet message is received.
  2. [OR] Obtain a sensor, actuator, Arduino shield, or other physical component which inspires you. (I strongly recommend the vendors AdaFruit.com and Sparkfun.com.) Develop a project which uses this component in an interesting way.
  3. [OR] Some combination of the above two possibilities.
  4. [OR] A 10-12 page paper about a topic, artist, or theme in new media arts.

In a blog post,

  • Describe two different ideas you have for a final project.
  • For each idea, provide approximately 100-200 words which describe what you’d like to make, and at least one drawing/rendering/photoshop/diagram/illustration depicting your concept.
  • Categorize your blog post with the category, Assignment-13-Sketch.

Be sure to consult with the professor about your concept(s).

Scaling your concept to what is both personally feasible and technologically feasible is one of the most challenging hurdles for new practitioners.  Don’t be offended if the professor encourages you to reduce the scale or scope of your project. Some ideas simply require more skill, time, or money than you have available.

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