recode-fa23

Syllabus

NYU Tisch School of The Arts: Interactive Media Arts

IMNY-UT 281 002 - Topics in Media Art: Re:Code

Fall, 2023

Class time & location:

Tue / Thu, 10:40am - 12:10pm
370 Jay St (Brooklyn Campus), 4th floor, Room 410

Instructor contact:

Billy Bennett
email: bennett.billy@nyu.edu
drop-in hours: Mon // Fri, 10 - 11am
make an appointment // join by zoom

GA contact:

Lucia Gomez (GA)
email: ilg246@nyu.edu
drop-in hours: Mon 5 - 6pm, Thr 1 - 2pm
make an appointment // join by zoom
or let me know if you’d like to meet in person at 370 Jay St

For additional assistance outside of class, please check out the Coding Lab for help. They are a student-run organization that helps students with their code. You can book an appointment online on their website. They also host workshops and other events throughout the semester.

Pre-Requisites

Creative Coding is a requirement to take this class. Certain exceptions can be made if a student can demonstrate proficiency or for other certain circumstances.

Course Objectives

Students in this course will:

Further their knowledge and understanding of p5.js and Javascript
Understand “vanilla” Javascript and how it operates inside and outside of the web browser
Understand how HTML and CSS relate to Javascript and operate on their own
Deconstruct and dissect creative coding sketches with paper and pen and discuss the techniques that interest them the most
Work to identify the values that they possess and imbue those values into the algorithms that permeate their work
Develop code in a local environment and move that code online
Discover and explore open-source code libraries and include these external libraries in their work
Learn best practices for using Large Language Models (LLM’s) as coding assistants and for debugging
Understand basic server/client architecture and write backend code using Node.js
Build their own stand-alone Progressive Web Applications (PWA’s) which can be installed in desktop and mobile platforms and run offline

Course Outline

Here is a link to the updated course outline. The information below is preliminary.

Introduction - Whuuuut(s)?
Module 1 - Foundations (HTML / CSS)
Module 2 - Vanilla & Asynchronous Javascript
Module 3 - Working with External Libraries
Module 4 - Working with Graphics & Pixels
Module 5 - Coding with Generative AI
Module 6 - Developing Locally
Module 7 - Using Git and Github
Module 8 - Working outside the browser
Module 9 - Progressive Web Apps
Module 10 - Simple Web Servers

Grading Policy

Assignments - 60%

Usually, there will be one assignment at the end of each learning module, of which there will be 10. The lowest one will be dropped at the end.

Reading & Writing - 20%

Reading will be regularly assigned with a written response in the form of a blog post. Collectively, these are worth 20% of your grade. Either you did it, you did it well (bonus points perhaps), or you didn’t do it at all.

Class Participation - 20%

Class participation includes taking part in class discussion and exercises, asking questions, and communicating reliably with the professor.

Grading Methodology

Assignments are a chance for you to demonstrate you understanding of the material and for you to have a creative outlet for your work that you would want to be a part of your creative portfolio. You will be graded on how well you satisfy the constraints of the assignment with special attention given to creativity and the attention to detail. And please note the role that documentation plays here. Exceptional output should be accompanied with exceptional documentation and conceptual explanation.

This is in line with the idea of a labor-based grading system, where the emphasis is not simply placed solely on the “right answer,” but how much effort the student has put into making progress. This includes documenting one’s process, including any errors encountered along the way, which benefits those in the class as well as the community at large.

So even if you are struggling with “getting it to work,” I want to see that you are taking advantage of the resources available to you, are making good use of your time and are communicative where you are finding difficulty. I don’t think any student’s grade should suffer because they are not getting the help they need!

Assignments

Turn in your assignments on this Google form.

Specific requirements for assignments:

In addition to the code, you assignment should include documentation of your process in fulfilling the assignment’s objectives.
You’ll need somewhere to upload your completed sketches. At times, we will use the p5 web editor for this. For later assignments, you may already have your own web hosting service, like Digital Ocean. If not, I’ll show you how to set a Neocities account in class.
Assignments must be turned in before class on the day they’re due. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Assignments will be graded on their technical mastery and creativity. Occasionally, and as time permits, we’ll be critiquing student work in-class, generally in an informal way and on a volunteer basis.

Attendance Policy

I will take attendance throughout the semester on a regular basis. The university also has clear policies on what to do in the case of illness or excused absences. Please refer to their policies as outlined below.

You are allowed up to three (3) unexcused absences throughout the semester, but you are responsible for making up any course work or assignments that you miss. You may use drop-in hours for this purpose. For each unexcused absence beyond three, you will begin to drop a letter grade per absence, so please communicate with me before this takes place.

In regards to tardiness, please notify me immediately if you will have issues getting to 370 Jay St. on time. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be counted absent for the day.

ITP/IMA Code of Conduct

Let’s take a minute to discuss the ITP/IMA Code of Conduct. This important information will inform much of how we conduct ourselves in the classroom in how we approach our work and one another as well as the context in which we find ourselves.

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically, plagiarism is to present as your own: A sequence of words quoted without quotation marks from another writer or a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work or facts, ideas or images composed by someone else. More information can be found on Tisch’s page regarding Academic Integrity (http://tisch.nyu.edu/faculty/academic-integ).

ACCESSIBILITY

Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980 for further information.

WELLNESS

Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYUWellness Exchange 212-443-9999.

TITLE IX

Tisch School of the Arts to dedicated to providing its students with a learning environment that is rigorous, respectful, supportive and nurturing so that they can engage in the free exchange of ideas and commit themselves fully to the study of their discipline. To that end Tisch is committed to enforcing University policies prohibiting all forms of sexual misconduct as well as discrimination on the basis of sex and gender.

Resources

Textbooks

This class does not have an official textbook, although a number of assignments will come from the following texts which are freely available in digital or physical form at the NYU Library:

Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Javascript in p5.js by Benedikt Groß, Hartmut Bohnacker, Julia Laub, and Claudius Lazzeroni
- (NYU Library link or for purchase)
Code as a Creative Medium by Golan Levin and Tega Brain
- (NYU Library link or for purchase)

Here is also a great reference text from the creators of p5.js and Processing, respectively:

Make: Getting Started with p5.js: Making Interactive Graphics in JavaScript and Processing, by Lauren McCarthy, Ben Fry, and Casey Reas
- (NYU Library link or for purchase)

On The Web

What’s great about Code as a Creative Medium and Generative Design is that they have online components with code examples that you can explore:

Here are a number of handy resources we will be using throughout the class:

I know some others of you have also expressed interest in learning other languages. I can certainly vouch for this Google tutorial on learning Python.

Class Dates

You can check our upcoming class dates here.