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Topic: Processing course in berlin (Read 833 times) |
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amoeba
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Processing course in berlin
« on: Oct 23rd, 2003, 10:06am » |
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hi,
Just started teaching a 5 day workshop in Processing at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. The aim of the workshop is to give a working introduction to Processing and get the students working about computational form. So far it's been good, I just wonder if it's any point in trying to teach them about objects since they seriously slow down when the concepts get too abstract.
I'm "borrowing" Casey's ideas about the essential qualities of software:
- Dynamic form
- Behavior
- Gesture
- Simulation
- Adaptation
- Self-organisation
For those of you who haven't read his text for the Ars Electronica catalog, check it out here.
My course web site (with slides and source examples but no bells and whistles) is online at http://www.evolutionzone.com/udk/.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 23rd, 2003, 10:10am by amoeba » |
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marius watz // amoeba
http://processing.unlekker.net/
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arielm
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Re: Processing course in berlin
« Reply #1 on: Oct 23rd, 2003, 11:59am » |
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marius,
great to see all this!
concerning teaching oop or not, i see it more as a matter of how much confident with programming the students already are, rather than an abstraction issue, but for a 5 days workshop there might be some other, more important issues to approach first...
i've made a processing tutorial on simple oop programming: http://proce55ing.net/discourse/yabb/board_TheoryandPractice_ac_tion_display_num_1065619874.html
the idea is to demonstrate the utility of oop in the context of motion applied to a big number of elements (while showing that oop code structure can be simple and very similar to "standard" code).
(feedback wanted on this one!)
i also wanted to ask you a couple of things about your workshop (i'm actively cooking one too):
- what is the entry-level of the students, related to programming knowledge
- did some of the student "freaked-out" when entering too-much-math-oriented stuff (e.g cosinus)
- how many hours per day do you give them homework, or let them "recover" for the next day
--- side note ---
hey, i receive a:
"HTTP1.1 STATUS 403 Remote Access to this object forbidden This file cannot be directly accessed from a remote site, but must be linked through the Brinkster Member's site"
when trying to access casey's text from ars electronica!
is there any other way to access this paper
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Ariel Malka | www.chronotext.org
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amoeba
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Re: Processing course in berlin
« Reply #2 on: Oct 23rd, 2003, 10:12pm » |
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ariel,
Thanks for the link - I remember now that I'd seen it before. I'll link it from my course site.
The students are 3rd year or so, mostly aquainted with flash, director or similar tool but not "pure" programming. This workshop is happening right at the start of the semester, and is meant to be a 5 hours per day "boot camp" getting them to think about computational design.
Trigonometry went down ok, at least with simple examples. I'm finding that one of the more difficult aspects is to teach how to create interesting movement or interaction between objects, since this implicitly requires applied math.
Last semester I hoped that using classes for vector calculations would cause a flash of insight, but instead most people remained puzzled. I guess OOP is ok if you support it with plenty of example code, but the non-programmers don't get the concept so easily. You're right that large numbers of objects with special behavior is a good sample application, since that's where OOP really shines.
For Casey's text, just paste the full URL into your browser, i.e:
http://www32.brinkster.com/blueplane/aec03/reas_symp1.txt
It seems to block referred requests. Note that the site is a hack - someone downloaded the catalog texts for Ars and posted them without permission...
m
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marius watz // amoeba
http://processing.unlekker.net/
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arielm
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Re: Processing course in berlin
« Reply #3 on: Oct 23rd, 2003, 10:46pm » |
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www32.brinkster.com still refuse to connect but i got casey's page through saint google cache:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:yKNRn8Ejy24J:www32.brinkster.com/bl ueplane/aec03/reas_symp1.txt+%22reas_symp1.txt+%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
worth the efforts! feedback will follow (maybe) after digestion...
marius (and every other reader),
frankly, do you think it's possible to make an interesting processing workshop (~ 3 x 7 hours) targeted to total beginners in programming?
and that the workshop will not only give eye-candy (i.e wow effect) but also challenge (while avoiding frustration)?
my feeling at this stage is that it would require much more time (~10 x 5 hours)...
maybe it's a matter of defining the correct "mission statement" for the workshop (and being aware that it won't turn people into programmers)?
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Ariel Malka | www.chronotext.org
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amoeba
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Re: Processing course in berlin
« Reply #4 on: Oct 24th, 2003, 2:11pm » |
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3x7 hours does not a programmer make. But it might make a visual person think about form in a computational way.
My current philosophy is that I want to enable the less-technically inclined to experiment in a safe environment. This involves not forcing them to sit and listen to me lecture about too much "tech", because they will then use all their brainpower trying to understand technology rather than important design concepts.
My solution is to focus on the concepts and provide source code that give them basic tools, so that they can get to work in a hands-on way. I then spend my time helping them out. The whiz kids can always progress at their own pace by reading the documentation on their own.
Oh, and finally: When it comes to "eye candy", you're talking to the wrong man. I've long held the position that gratuitous beauty is ok... 
m
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marius watz // amoeba
http://processing.unlekker.net/
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