Schedule of Content
This page contains detailed information about each week of the course, including readings (which should be completed before the class for which they're assigned), topics covered, in-class exercises nd due dates, and any project deliverable due dates for that week.
If all you need is a list of due dates, those can be found in the myCourses calendar, with links back to the relevant exercise or project page.
Week 1 (Aug 27/29):
Course Overview & Tools
On Tuesday, I will review the syllabus, goals, and requirements for class, as well as methods for accessing course materials on both GitHub and myCourses. On Thursday, we’ll discuss communication tools you’ll be using in the class, including email, Slack, and Google Docs.
Tuesday Readings
Tuesday Homework: Communication Tools
You'll set up your Slack account, add a photo and a post to the #introductions channel, and send an email with your Slack username to the professor and the TA. Due by 8am on Thursday, 8/29.
Thursday Readings
- How to Email Your Professor (without being annoying AF)
- Slack Guides: What is Slack? and Getting Started for New Users (Note: In our class Slack, the #general channel has been renamed to #announcements)
- Use Google Docs to Collaborate on Class Note Taking
Thursday Exercise: Collaboration Tools
Hands-on practice with both Google Docs and Slack. Due by end of class on 8/29.
Week 2 (Sep 3/5): Finding and Evaluating Information
This week we’ll be talking about information--how to find it, and how to evaluate its quality and reliability. On Tuesday, we’ll talk broadly about critically evaluating information online. On Thursday, we’ll focus on research tools and methods, including library resources you can use for your research paper assignment.
Reminder: Your paper topic idea(s) must be submitted to the myCourses dropbox by 8am on Tuesday, 9/3.
Tuesday Readings
- The Oatmeal: Believe (This is the sanitized “classroom” version of the comic; there is also an NSFW original version.)
- The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News
- 4 Tips for Spotting a Fake News Story
Tuesday Exercise: Evaluating Information
In today's exercise, you'll research a claim reported in the news to determine its accuracy.
Thursday Readings
Thursday Exercise/Homework: Bibliography Creation
In this exercise, you will use the NoodleTools resource provided by the RIT Library to create an annotated bibliography, using a topic from the list provided. You'll start this exercise in class, but it's not due until 8am on Monday, 9/9.
Week 3 (Sep 10/12): Intellectual Property
As a creative professional, you need to be familiar with the laws governing the use of creative works--that includes not just copyright, but also trademark and patent laws.
Tuesday Readings
- Copyright in General
- Hacker Lexicon: What is the DMCA?
- Video: A Fai(y) Use Tale (a captioned version can be found here: https://video.rit.edu/Watch/s2YSe69J)
- Creative Commons: Licensing Considerations
Thursday Exercise: First Draft Peer Reviews
In class today, you'll do peer reviews of your first paper draft.
Week 4 (Sep 17/19): Creating Digital Images
This week we’ll talk about the underlying concepts of digital images, including resolution, color models, compression, and file formats
Tuesday Readings
- If you've never worked with Photoshop before, start with Adobe.com: Image Essentials
- Adobe.com: Image Size and Resolution
- Wikipedia: Color Depth
- WebDesigner: Understanding Popular Image Types and Formats
Thursday Exercise: Color, Compression, and File Optimization
You'll be working with various aspect of image color, compression, and format in Photoshop.
Week 5 (Sep 24/26: Visual Design & Typography
When creating interactive media--whether it's a website, a game, or an application--it turns out that looks do matter! On Tuesday, we’ll talk about visual design concepts, and on Thursday we'll focus on digital typography.
Tuesday Readings
- GDD Section only: Pretty Pixels—The importance of visuals in game design
- NMID Section only:10 design concepts that every web developer needs to know
- The Designer's Guide to Grid Theory
- Wikipedia: Visual Design Elements and Principles
Thursday Readings
- A Crash Course in Typography
- A Guide to Web Typography
- 20 Common Typography Mistakes
- Optional Readings:
Thursday Exercise: Magazine Cover
In today's exercise you'll use Photoshop (or another image processing program) to create a magazine cover. Next week, you'll be critiquing each other's designs.
Week 6 (Oct 1/3): Critique
This week we'll be focusing on the culture and process of design critiques.
Tuesday Readings
Tuesday Exercise: Magazine Cover Critiques
We'll be working in groups to critique the magazine covers you created in last week's exercise. You'll need to write up your notes from the critique session and turn them in by noon on Wednesday, and upload a revised version of the cover to your group's Google Drive folder by the start of class on Thursday.
Thursday Exercise: Magazine Cover Critiques, Round 2
This will be a repeat of Tuesday's exercise, using your revised cover. Following this critique, you'll turn in all three versions of the cover, along with documentation of the process.
Week 7 (Oct 10-12): Web Development Basics
This week you'll learn the basics of creating web pages using HTML and CSS.
Tuesday Readings
Tuesday Exercise/Homework: Basic HTML Markup
You'll work through the MDN Introduction to HTML guide, and complete an assessment exercise.
Thursday Readings
Thursday Exercise: Using CSS
You'll create two HTML pages and style them with CSS.
Week 8 (Oct 17): Web Layout
This is a short week, so make sure you go through the readings--especially the videos! We'll be focusing on CSS Grid, which is used to create a 2-dimensional page layout grid.
Readings
- MDN: Introduction to CSS Layout
- MDN: Normal Flow
- MDN: Flexbox
- MDN: Grid
- CSS Layouts, Part 3: Flexbox (LinkedIn Learning)
- CSS Layouts, Part 4: Grid (LinkedIn Learning)
Not Required, But Helpful!
Thursday Exercise: CSS Layout
Bring in your mockup of your website's first page. We'll work on turning it into code!
Week 9 (Oct 22/24): Web Design & Accessibility
Design is contextual, and designing for the web is different from designing for print, or for application software. On Tuesday we'll talk about web design guidelines, and then you'll do critiques of each other's website mockups. On Thursday, we'll talk about how to address accessibility issues when desgining and implementing a website.
Tuesday Readings
- Graphic design for print vs the web: 15 vital differences you need to know about
- UI-Patterns.com (just skim this; it's a good resource for you when you're designing a site)
Tuesday Exercise
In today's class you'll be doing design critiques of your group's website mockups.
Thursday Readings
- What Is Accessibility?
- Why and How (From the Game Accessibility Guidelines site, but relevant to all kinds of interactive media applications.)
- Web Accessibility for Designers
Thursday Exercise: Accessibility
You'll evaluate two websites for accessibility, and write up your findings.
Week 10 (Oct 29/31): Publishing on the Web: Git & GitHub Pages
This week we’ll talk about version control using Git, the web service GitHub, and publishing websites on GitHub using the GitHub Pages functionality. You will need to have set up your GitHub account to be able to complete the in-class exercise!
Note: While GitHub is an excellent choice for publishing a basic website, in later classes you may be asked to publish your web pages to RIT's people.rit.edu server. Here's an optional tutorial showing you how to do that: RIT Server Web Publishing Exercise.
Tuesday Readings
Tuesday Exercise: Git and GitHub
In this exercise you'll create a GitHub repository, and learn how to stage, commit, and push files to it using VS Code.
Thursday Readings
- HTML File Paths (this is mostly review, but will be important as you start publishing files)
Thursday Exercise: GitHub Pages
In this exercise you'll learn how to publish web pages using your GitHub account.
Week 11 (Nov 5/7): Creating Digital Audio
Tuesday Readings
- Engadget Primed: Digital Audio Basics
- Wikipedia: Digital Audio
- MakeUseOf: Audio File Formats Explained in Simple Terms
Complete Before Thursday
- Lynda.com: Learning Audacity
- Audacity Software Download - Only necessary if want to do the tutorial on your own computer.
Thursday Exercise Part 1: Audio Narration
In this exercise you will use Audacity to record narration for a PowerPoint presentation, and then attach the narration to the presentation.
Thursday Exercise Part 2: Captioning Video
In this exercise you will create a video from a PowerPoint presentation and then use YouTube’s editing tools to create closed captions for the video instead of audio narration. (Even if you're not Deaf/HoH, I encourage you to do this exercise on your own!
Week 12 (Nov 12/14): Presentations
On Tuesday, you'll hear presentations from faculty and/or students. On Thursday, you'll watch some example Ignite presentations and we'll talk about storyboarding your final presentations.
Week 13 (Nov 19/21): Creating Digital Video
Tuesday Readings
Tuesday Exercise
Thursday Tutorials
- Adobe.com: Video Editing Basics
- Lynda.com: Photoshop CC 2017 One-on-One: Section 37 (Editing Videos)
Thursday Exercise: Video Editing
In this exercise you will use Photoshop to create a short video trailer for a game, and then upload the resulting video to YouTube. The completed video is due by noon on Sunday, November 24.
Week 14 (Nov 26): Final Project Work Time
This week you'll work on storyboarding your final presentations. There will be donuts. Today's class is optional. If you don't attend, you will have to submit a paragraph detailing the work that you did on your own for the project.