Where are you all posting from Tuesday?  Don’t forget to write notes for each presenter today and please post on a new page which I will make now.  Thanks!  -Louisa

RESOURCES:

Related Work

• MakeyMakey : http://www.makeymakey.com/
• Arduino: http://www.arduino.cc/
• Lilypad: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardLilyPad
• Lego NEXT: http://mindstorms.lego.com/en–us/Default.aspx
• BOXES: Building Open Expandable Systems: http://makebox.es
• Technology Will Save Us: http://technologywillsaveus.org
• Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu
• Squishy Circuits: http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/SquishyCircuits/

Curriculum:

• Scrapyard Jr.: https://sites.google.com/site/scrapchalljr/
• Curriculum folder on our google docs site

Organizations

• NSF: Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) : http://nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DRL
• CAISE – Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education: http://caise.insci.org/
• IEEE / ISEC: http://ewh.ieee.org/conf/stem/
• ACM: http://www.acm.org/
• MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning (DML): http://dmlcentral.net/projects/3734

Reading: Katherine Moriwaki and Jonah Brucker-Cohen, “Lessons from the scrapyard: creative uses of found materials within a workshop setting,” AI & SOCIETY 20, no. 4 (March 15, 2006): 506-525.

http://www.scrapyardchallenge.com/scrapchall/wp–content/uploads/2011/08/Brucker.pdf

Katherine Moriwaki, Jonah Brucker-Cohen, Louisa Campbell, Joseph M. Saavedra, Liza Stark, Liz Taylor  “Scrapyard Challenge Jr., Adapting an Art and Design Workshop to Support STEM to STEAM Learning Experiences” (IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference 2012)

http://www.jr.scrapyardchallenge.com/ISEC_Scrap_Jr_Paper.pdf
“Archive of NSF/RISD Bridging STEM to STEAM Workshop,” STEM to STEAM, March 2011,http://stemtosteam.org/archive/?page_id=428.

Mitchel Resnick and Brian Silverman, “Some reflections on designing construction kits for kids” (ACM Press, 2005), 117-122,http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1109556.

Resnick, M. (2007). AllIReallyNeedtoKnow (AboutCreativeThinking) ILearned (ByStudyingHowChildrenLearn) inKindergarten. ACM Creativity & Cognition conference, Washington DC, June 2007.

Parsons The New School for Design MFA Design + Technology
Thesis Writing & Research 1 PGTE 5126 C; CRN 1848 FALL 2012
Wednesday, 12:10pm – 3:50pm, 6 E 16th Street, Room 1205

Professor Louisa Campbell
campbell.louisa@gmail.com Office Hours: by appointment

Thanks for many new ideas to Sarah Butler, Writing Instructor. And for this reference on user-centered writinghttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/624/01/

and for this excellent resource on citations and sources, thanks to Loretta Wolozin, Writing Instructor http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc

The goal of this workshop is to incorporate writing into your creative practice. Frequent short assignments, Prototype Briefs and Interviews, are used as production tools. A final deliverable is a reflective paper charting next steps. Ongoing blogging includes description of Impetus, a glossary (key words and terms), and an annotated bibliography, presentations.

Deliverables/Grade Breakdown
Briefs: Documentation of Prototypes 40%
Please document at least 4 prototypes this semester, in the format below. Illustrations (photographs, diagrams, drawings) are an important element of each brief. At the end of the semester, polish and collect these into one portfolio as a record of your experiments and discoveries.

Design Question(s) , 1 page
Research (including Domains and Precedents), 2 pages
Project Concept, 1 page
Methodology, including testing 1page
Findings; Next Steps (including Research Directions) 1page

Interviews 10%
Please conduct and document a minimum of 3 interviews over the course of the semester. Your subjects should include both experts and stakeholders in your domain(s). These brief includes
Biography of subject—details that relate to your project
Scripted questions prepared in advance and broad subject areas to cover
Transcript—significant portions of the convo to development of your project
Take-aways

Impetus 5%
What is your motivation? Why is your work important?

Key Words and Terms 5% (annotated glossary)
Define 15 terms essential to your project
(Emblematic Images—optional)

Annotated Bibliography 5% 
Ongoing

Final Paper (7-10 pages) 35%
Assess all you’ve accomplished this semester and delineate next steps. Must include:
Thesis Concept, in the form of a 2-3 page abstract describing you current idea for your Spring Project.
Envisioned Methodology
Precedents most relevant to work going forward. What is your community of practice? How will you contribute?
Use Scenario In narrative text or storyboard describe a typical user ‘s interaction with your final project, as currently envisioned.
Evaluation Hits and Misses. What were the strengths and weaknesses of your fall process?
Production Plan for January break and into the spring.
Proposal for final Writing Deliverable Please note that you will need permission from your spring thesis faculty to write in a format other than the Academic paper. Academic Paper? Conference submission(s)? Grant proposal(s)? Creative format?
(Portfolio of Briefs—see above)

DELIVERABLES
Please submit all assignments in WORD to me by email. Also post on your Thesis Blog in
9/18 Tuesday 8pm Brief #1
9/26 Wednesday Interview #1

10/3 Elevator Pitches

10/8 Monday 8pm Brief #2
10/17 Wednesday Interview #2,; Presentations: Use Scenarios, Target Audiences and Stakeholders
10/29 Monday 8pm Brief #3
11/7 Wednesday Interview #3; Presentations: Testing Methods
11/20 Tuesday Brief #4
12/5 Wednesday Final Paper Due
And the following assignments are ongoing on your thesis site in the Writing& Research Section.
Impetus
Key Words & Terms (annotated glossary)
Bibliography (annotated)
Presentations

Weekly Schedule—Please see class calendar.
This serves as a rough outline, and is subject to change depending on the progress, both individually and collectively, of the class.
Week 1: 8/29 Syllabus. Split into pairs. Interviews (15 mins). Profiles:Impetus (30 mins) Share. Special Guest. Assignment: Find thesis project(s) relevant to your work and prepare 5-10 min presentation –begin documenting on Thesis Site
Week 2: 9/5 -Reports on past thesis project(s) relevant to your work
-Split into pairs. Exchange no more than ten questions. Write a short description of your partner’s current concept. Re-group into full class. Each person reads the description written by partner and corrects and if necessary elaborates. Assignment: Key words and terms—begin documenting on thesis site
Week 3: 9/12 12:10-1:30 Break into two groups–Workshop Thesis Concepts, Design Questions. Break into editorial pairs due to similarity of projects.
1:45- 3:00 Research: Find a good relevant non-fiction piece from the general press (The New Yorker? NYTimes Magazine? Salon? The Economist? Rhizome? Instructables?….) relevant to your editorial partner’s work. Analyze the piece. Discuss.

Assignment: Brief #1. Please create a section on your thesis site called Writing and Research. Post the brief, as well as your thesis concept, key words and terms, on your thesis site. Also begin annotated bibliography. Post first version of Impetus statement on blog.
Week 4: 9/18 TUESDAY 8 pm Brief #1 Due, by email
9/20 Thursday 3:50-6:30 Individual meetings with Louisa
In class work: Continue to work on Concept, Design Questions, Domains and Precedents
Interviews

Week 5: 9/26 Interview # 1 Due by email. NO CLASS : Work on Elevator Pitches, Target Audience Research, Use Scenarios
Week 6: 10/3 Give Elevator Pitches; In class work on Audience, Stakeholders

Week 7: MONDAY 10/8 8PM

Brief #2 DUE

Wednesday, 10/10 Individual meetings with Louisa

Week 8: 10/17 Interview #2 Due Presentations: Use Scenarios, Target Audience +Stakeholders
Week 9: MONDAY
10/29 8PM Brief #3 DUE

Wednesday, 10/31 Individual meetings with Louisa

Week 10: 11/7 Interview #3 Due Presentations: Testing
Week 11: 11/14 TBD depending on class needs
Week 12: 11/21 Pecha Kuchas—Tuesday at 12:10 Brief #4 DUE
Week 13: 11/28 Individual Meetings with Louisa
Week 14: 12/5 Final Paper Due. And be sure Portfolio of Briefs, Key Words and Terms, Bibliography, Impetus, are all polished and on your thesis site
Week 15: 12/12 Meetings with Louisa as needed

Rules of Thumb
Use writing as a development tool for your studio work. To take full advantage of this tool your thesis papers taken together as a body of work will show
• continuous exploration into your motivation (Why are you spending a year on the project(s)? Why are you taking up your peers’ and your instructors’ and ultimately your audience’s time? Why is your thesis work important to you and to the world?)
• due diligence and resulting discovery demonstrating serious research into your evolving subject matter as well as deep knowledge of domains and precedents (What is your field of inquiry? Where does your work live within the tradition? How does or will your work expand and strengthen its domain?)
• rigorous design process showing continuous experimentation as well as testing of forms (What are your design questions? How are you making your piece(s)? How are you testing your assumptions and your projects and what are the results of these tests?)

Tips on Craft
Writing is rewriting. Draft and redraft your briefs and papers.
Always use expert sources to support your assertions. Cite your sources correctly according to MLA.
Work toward smooth flow of thoughts and coherence of argument.
In each paper provide an introduction and conclusion. Lead off your introduction with a strong thesis statement.
Write in complete sentences. Provide smooth segues between paragraphs and sections.
Avoid repetition of thoughts, phrases, words.
Avoid the word “I”.
Avoid clichés.
Be precise in your language and specific in your content.
IF YOU ARE AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER OR OTHERWISE INEXPERIENCED IN WRITING YOU ARE REQUIRED TO WORK WITH TUTORS AT THE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER.

IMPORTANT DATES
Fall 2012

Last Day to Add a Class Mon., Sept. 10
Last Day to Drop a Class Tues., Sept. 18
Last Day to Withdraw From a Class With a Grade of W
Parsons Graduate Students Fri., Oct. 12
All Other Graduate Students Tues., Dec. 18
Holidays Labor Day weekend: Sat., Sept. 1–Mon., Sept. 3
Rosh Hashanah: Sun., Sept. 16 eve*–Mon., Sept. 17
Yom Kippur: Tues., Sept. 25 eve*–Wed., Sept 26
*Sunday and Tuesday classes scheduled for 3:50 p.m. or later do not meet. No classes meet on Monday and Wednesday. See rescheduled days below.
Thanksgiving: Wed., Nov. 21–Sun., Nov. 25
Winter Break: Wed., Dec. 19–Fri., Jan. 25