Schedule
This page is a tentative schedule of assignments and activities for the semester.
Week 1
Monday, August 26
This is the first day of class! We’ll go over the class goals and structure, and you’ll attempt your first creative coding project.
Agenda
- What is this class about?
- What is creativity?
- What is code?
- Let’s remix a web poem
Next Steps
- Sign up for Github
- Join our Discord server (I will write the invite link on the board)
- Complete the poem remix you started in class and maybe try another one
- Fill out the student information survey if you haven’t already
- Read through the collection of Twitter bots in the ELO Collection, Vol 3
Wednesday, August 28
This is the second day of class. You’ll share the results of your web remixes, and I’ll help get you acquainted with Github, Twitter Bots, and Tracery.
Goals
- Tour Github
- Demo some Twitter Bots
- Introduce Tracery
Next Steps
- Fork my Creative Code repository
- Read “Bots should Punch Up” by Leonard Richardson and
- Read “Who’s Responsible for What Bots say Online?” particularly the comments by Darius Kazemi
- Work through Kate Compton’s Tracery Tutorial
Friday, August 30
This is the third day of class. [OK, that’s the last time I’ll do that] Today we’ll discuss some of the things you’ve been learning about different kinds of bots and the pros and cons of different approaches. I’ll show you how to create a Twitter account for your bot and lead you in brainstorming some ideas.
Agenda
- Tour Github
- Demo some Twitter Bots
- Create the Twitter account for your bot
- Create some placeholder code for your bot in Cheap Bots Done Quick.
Next Steps
- Share bots you like and brainstorm ideas in Discord
- Work on your bot; get it ready for the workshop
- Read “A protest bot is a bot so specific you can’t mistake it for bullshit” by Mark Sample
Week 2
Monday, September 2
NO CLASS BECAUSE IT’S LABOR DAY
Wednesday, September 4
Peer review workshop of your Bot Projects. . You should have a complete, working draft of your idea ready to run and share with your colleagues in a small-group review session.
Agenda
- Profiles: Kate Compton and Darius Kazemi
- Workshop
Next Steps
- Share the final version of your bot code in Github
- Turn it in via Canvas
Friday, September 6
Bot Projects Due Show off the final and best version of your bot. Be prepared to talk about your inspiration, your work process, and your revisions.
Next Steps
- Read Virtual Muse, chapters 1 and 2
- Find a short poem you like, print or write it out so you can bring it to class
Week 3
Monday, September 9
Today you’ll get to know your computer a little better, and I’ll get you started with an introduction to Python.
Agenda
- Read the poems you brought
- Discuss the relationship between computers and poetry
- Set up your Python environment on your computer and/or in the cloud.
- Learn some command-line and Python basics
Next Steps
- Keep working on and getting to know Python. If you have the Exploratory Programming book, take a look at the first 2 or 3 chapters. If you’d prefer to learn from a web-based method, check out the tutorials at learnpython.org.
- Read Steal like An Artist, chapters 1 - 4.
Wednesday, September 11
We’ll talk about poetry and go further into Python with some syntax lessons, including libraries and some fundamental control structures like conditionals and for loops. I’ll also show you how to work with the full text of books that you can find on Project Gutenberg.
Agenda
- Profiles: George Buckenham and Everest Pipkin
- Talk about poetry and “stealing”
- Work with Project Gutenberg
- Learn how to read and print the contents of a file
Next Steps
- Read chapter 3 of Virtual Muse (through page 53)
- Read chapter 3, “Anticipating Instability”, from Uncreative Writing
Friday, September 13
More talking about poetry.
Agenda
- Working with libraries in Python
Next Steps
- Read Steal Like an Artist, chapters 5 - 10.
Week 4
Monday, September 16
Randomness in philosophy, poetry and Python. Working with text.
Agenda
- Discuss chapters 3 and 4 of Virtual Muse
- Learn how to work with randomness in Python
Next Steps
- Brainstorm some poetry ideas by preparing “pseudocode” for how your poems will work.
- Look for interesting data sets that might become part of your poem, and share them in Discord.
Wednesday, September 18
You should have a complete, working draft of your idea ready to run and share with your colleagues in a small-group review session.
Agenda
- Profiles: Ranjit Bhatnagar and Allison Parrish
- Peer review workshop of your Poetry Projects.
Friday, September 20
Poetry projects are due.
Agenda
- Share your poems.
Next Steps
- Learn about glitch art starting with this article, this documentary and this manifesto
Week 5
Monday, September 23
Getting started with glitch art.
Agenda
- Databending JPGs with text editors
Next Steps
- Find a glitch in the wild and share it in Discord
Wednesday, September 25
Agenda
- Profiles: Jackson Mac Low and David Jhave Johnston
- Databending with Audacity
Friday, September 27
- Datamoshing with avidemux and tomato.py
Week 6
Monday, September 30
- Pixel sorting with Python
Wednesday, October 2
- Profiles: Aram Saroyan and bpNichol
- Workshop
Friday, October 4
- Glitch Gallery Due
Week 7
Monday, October 7
Getting started with p5.js and the screensaver project
Agenda
- Sign in to
editor.p5js.org - Create a sketch
- Make a drawing of a scene, a house, or a stick figure
Next Steps
- Read about the p5js community
- Learn about the history of screensavers
- Watch and play along with some more Coding Train videos (1.1 - 1.6)
Wednesday, October 9
Working through the fundamentals of the P5.js web editor and brainstorming some screensavers.
Agenda
- Profiles: Nick Montfort, thricedotted
- Start sketching your screensaver idea.
Next Steps
- Watch and work along with the 2.x series of Coding Train videos on animation basics and built-in functions
Friday, October 11
Agenda
- Work through ideas in class
Next Steps
- Watch and work along with the 3.x series of Coding Train videos on conditionals, logic, and interactivity