Learning Outcomes

• Develop a theoretical knowledge, technical understanding, and historical basis of the internet and design online
• Develop technical skills (HTML, CSS, and JS) to produce websites
• Stimulate critical positions and design principles within networked technologies
• Engage with the social and cultural implications of information flows online, and create our own network of resources
• Explore the Internet as a space that is public and private
• Gain insight into the contemporary landscape of Internet-based art and design practices
• Activate the browser as a form making tool

Material Requirements

• Personal Laptop
• Sublime Text for editing and updating code
• Github Desktop Client for uploading our websites
• Figma for image/media generating, editing, and prototyping
• Slack for class communications
• Zoom for video calls
• Phone, digital camera, scanner, screen capture etc.

Interviews

• Each student will be responsible for presenting a summary of an Interview they conduct over the semester

Readings

• There will be routine readings with discussions taking place on Slack. All students will be required to pose one question and respond to another students question about each reading.

Class Activities

Clases will be in a primarily asynchronous model. This means most activities will take place at your own schedule, conforming to certain deadlines. The following activities will take place online via a number of platforms:

• Reading discussion
• Topic lecture/discussion
• Project critique/discussion
• Group exercises
• Workshops
• Personal working time
• One-on-one meetings

Weekly Schedule

For final and group crits, we will meet in groups on Zoom.

Sunday
The instructor will send out an email/post an overview for the next week's activities and schedule (if applicable).

Monday
Before class the week’s assignments will be due (unless otherwise stated), and turned in via:

• Slack for files such as PDFs
• Via upload to your class website with links posted to Slack
• Reading responses posted in their dedicated channel (the instructor will create the channel each week)

Grading

• 60% ... Projects (A subjective review of projects’ process and final outcomes)
• 25% ... Workshops / Weekly Exercises (Completing tasks and engaging with course materials)
• 15% ... Reading Presentation and Participation (Synchronously: verbal & written feedback via Zoom meetings and critiques. Asynchronously: discussions and peer review via Slack)

Letter grades represent the following:

A = excellent;
B = good;
C = satisfactory;
D = unsatisfactory;
F = failure.

A grade of C- or less is considered a failing grade for required courses within the major, and you will need to retake this course if you achieve a grade lower than a C.

Grading Criteria

Individual project grades and final course grade takes into consideration:

• Participation (attendance, engagement in critique, pro-active involvement through the demonstration of discussion and inquiry)
• Process (exploration, iteration, research)
• Concept (thought, originality, creativity, and criticality)
• Design (does the work function as intended, does it communicate, is there clarity of information and intent)
• Presentation (quality of craft, attention to detail, professionalism)

Cares Act

Domestic non-DACA students have access to some funds from the CARES Act and international and DACA students have access to need-based funds - all of this is available to students through Financial Aid. The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-IHE/Student Aid provides funding to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted, many of whom are facing financial challenges and struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Commitment to Inclusivity, Diversity, and Anti-Racism

MFA Design is committed to inclusivity, diversity, and anti-racism in the classroom. We aim to establish an awareness, acknowledgment, respect, and acceptance for one another and the multiplicity of identities and cultural backgrounds of all individuals in our program. We are also committed to creating equitable systems and structures that promote opportunities for all students in our community.

Attendance

Students are expected to engage with the instructor and their classmates weekly. Most of these meetings are asynchronous, but are critical to the success of the class. If you have trouble participating in 'in-person' check-ins, please let the instructor know ahead of time (at least 24 hours).

Work missed due to any type of absence is the student’s responsibility. Three or more absences will result in a failing grade. One absence is equivalent to missing the equivalent of a week's scheduled check-ins, failure to participate in peer check-in, and not participating online.

Plagiarism

Students are expected to generate their own work. At the same time the nature of the web is inherently build on sharing knowledge and resources, and building upon others work – as such we will get familiar with using pre-existing code, language, and imagery as materials we shape into our own unique projects. We will learn how to appropriate mindfully, and credit work properly.

Code

Remixing existing code is often an important part of learning, but any code you take from an online resource needs to be commented with the source location where it appears in your project. For example:

For HTML

<!-- source: http://cool.biz/cool_code -->
<div id="coolThing">
does a cool thing.
<div id="helpsDoACoolThing">
</div>
</div>

or for CSS

/* source: http://cool.biz/cool_code */
#doesACoolThing {
cool: thing;
}

or for Javascript

// source: http://cool.biz/cool_code
function doACoolThing(){
does a cool thing.
}

Further, when using found code make sure that your use of it is appropriate to your project, and outside code should not dictate the design of your projects as experienced by the user. If the function or style of your site is identical to your source, that is likely a problem. Any snippets of code on the resources page are free to use. If you are unsure if your reuse of code is appropriate, ask!

Design

You may not use graphics, images, video, audio, or any other design elements that you did not create yourself, or that are obvious recreations of others work, under the pretense that they are your work. With the possible exemption of:

• Graphics such as a Facebook or Twitter icon in reference to those sites, etc, and that only in accordance with those organizations guidelines for such an elements use. In such cases those graphics should be a minor element in your design.
• If an assignment requires you to display found imagery and it is properly attributed
• Use of imagery in the Creative Commons that is cited and used based on its license

If you are unsure if the use of a design element is appropriate, ask!

Writing

Unless stipulated by an assignment, or approved by the instructor, all written content should be written by you. If it is approved by the instructor, make sure to cite the text appropriately.

Submitting your work and Class Archive

As a final deliverable Extend Your Class Site and send chris a link by Tuesday May 11

Credits

This course is influenced by curriculums developed by Will Ruby, Federico Pérez Villoro, Mindy Seu, Clement Valla, Shiraz Abdullahi Gallab, Minkyoung Kim, Aidan Quinlan, Marie Otsuka, John Provencher, Mathew Kneebone, and Laurel Schwulst, and past versions of Interactive Design courses at CCA.

This website runs on Kirby and was adapted from a site developed by Laurel Schwulst.