2011 Interactive

2011 Assessment of the Interactive Focus

Bill Fischer 12.13.11

PROPOSED ACTION PLAN

OVERVIEW:

This plan is subject to change based on feedback received.

There are three major trends that will drive adjustments

in our curriculum moving forward:

1. Our enrollment is rapidly shifting to a majority of students being Illustration/2D

Animation focused and we are seeing a rapid reduction in Interactive Design focused students.

• This means that the number of Interactive Design sections will have to be reduced. I am proposing to do this by stacking Interactive Design III and Design Professional Studio into a single course. Interactive Design focused students will also have the option of taking their Thesis courses as Special Problems during this class. Enrollment will average about 6-12.This will create a mini-culture of Interactive Design that meets twice/week for 3 hours.
• This also means that the students that are Illustration-centric-coding-tourists will far out-number the design-centric-coding-natives in Interactive Design I. So an Introduction to Game design starts to make sense there.
• Enough Graphic Design and Digital Media majors, together, will take Interactive Design II, that enrollment will continue to support a single section indefinitely. The majority of these will be design-centric students.

2. As Chris Sanborn said when he visited Kendall a couple months ago

"From this point forward, the most useful media will follow you around,

from your laptop to your phone to your tablet to your work computer".

• That means developing in platforms that can publish media that is compatible with Web Browsers, iOS and Android.
• We will need to utilize platforms that fit well with our laptop strategy which is Adobe-centric (all of our students are required to own the Master Suite). For Interactive Design that probably means Dreamweaver, Flash and now Edge coupled with other open-source technologies like Wordpress, PHP, mySQL and Javascript.

3. There appears to be some shared understanding that we are finding it difficult, in our courses,

to integrate as much Graphic and Conceptual Design as we would like.

• Enrollment will not support the addition of a strictly design-oriented course. We will need to integrate more design into our existing curriculum. Allowing coding tourists to start with templates could go along way towards clearing time for concept and design development. Keep in mind that layout (the part controlled most by the template) is only one of many components that drive design.
• Integrating a strictly linear, design-centric process will ensure that we do not get overly fixated on technology. For example, I employ a fairly standard User Experience Design process in my courses utilizing a website called DMUX Design. The steps outlined in the DMUX process for interactive design can be summarized like this:

1. Develop a Problem Statement, in narrative form, from the user's point of view.

- Objective, Demographics, Delivery Systems, Emotional Connection

2. Find Benchmarks

- Related media to be used for aesthetic and functional inspiration

- Test against the problem statement

3. Develop the Information Hierarchy

- Create navigation/game play map

- Test against the problem statement

4. Develop the Visual Hierarchy

- Create Wireframe Layouts

- Test against the problem statement

5. Pitch the Concept

- Test against the proposed audience (or surrogates)

6. Develop the Design Aesthetics

- Create the finished art, graphics and layout

- Use various levels of focus to support the visual hierarchy

- Test against the problem statement

7. Pitch the Design Aesthetics

- Test against the proposed audience (or surrogates)

8. Develop the code

- Test the navigation against the proposed audience

- Test the code against the proposed delivery systems

9. Launch

Here is an example of a student project that followed this process:

Kelli Coulson - Design for an interior design portfolio website

Planning (pdf)

DM 235 INTERACTIVE DESIGN I course description

2 sections Instructors: Chris Brown, Russ Taber

This will remain a required course for all DM majors. Students will generally be 2nd semester Sophomores and first semester Juniors. The majority of students will be focused in illustration, game design and animation.

Beginning Fall 2012:

• Continue to create simple (Google Sites) web 2.0 site for tracking their project and/or creating a quick on-line portfolio.
• Change from Actionscript 2 to Actionscript 3
• Student will create interactive books or info-graphics by designing and swapping assets in a choice of provided templates.
• In order for the projects to work within the portfolio review user experience, they should take no longer than 60 seconds for the user to get through.

DM 317 INTERACTIVE DESIGN II course description

1 section Instructor: Gary Parsons

The Graphic Design program no longer requiring Interactive II. We will be moving from 2 sections to 1 section in fall 2013. The majority of the students will be Juniors from both the Digital Media and Graphic Design programs and will be design-focused.

Beginning Fall 2012:

• Incorporate Wordpress templates as an aid for coding tourists.
• Continue to provide more advanced coding instruction as needed by coding natives.
• Technologies would include HTML, CSS, PHP
• Require a socially responsible theme for all projects (students will choose from a provided list (that will be available on the DM Advising site) or they may propose one of their own for instructor approval)

DM 319 INTERACTIVE DESIGN III course description

1 section - stacked with DM 421 Design & Animation Professional Studio

Instructor: Wes Kempa

Enrollment in this course has been low for 3 semesters and will remain low in the immediate future. Students will continue to generally be design-focused, coding natives (an increasingly rare bird at Kendall).

Beginning Fall 2012:

• Drop advanced Actionscript 3 as an option
• Project themes to be student's choice.
• Add HTML5 /Adobe Edge component
• Technologies would include CSS, PHP, HTML5/jQuery/Javascript
• Continue to provide more advanced coding instruction as needed by coding natives.
• Continue to accept Special Problems students who wish to explore advanced concepts.
• Stack this course with DM 421 Design and Animation Professional Studio (those students will work on part of a multi-semster group project that integrates Interactive design and motion graphics).

DM 421 DES. & ANIM. PROFESSIONAL STUDIO. course description

1 section - stacked with DM319 Interactive Design III

Instructor: Wes Kempa

Enrollment in this course has been low for 5 semesters and will remain low in the immediate future. Students will continue to be design focused Seniors majoring in Digital Media. There will be no changes to the structure of the course. The Kendall Weblab and Kendall Wayfinding system are both products from this course.

Beginning Fall 2012:

• Students will continue to work on multi-semester projects for which a member of the Digital Media faculty acts as the client.
• The projects will continue to incorporate both interactive design and motion graphics.
• Students will continue to collaborate in the aesthetic and technical development of the project.
• Students will often need to adapt a pre-exiting style and technology into their work.
• Stack this Course with DM 319 Interactive Design III

DM 466 & 467 THESIS I & II course description I course description II

2 sections instructors: Brad Yarhouse and Bill Fischer or Special Problems with Wes Kempa

Design focused student enrollment in this course has been low for 2 semesters and will remain low in the immediate future. Students will continue to be Seniors majoring in Digital Media. There will be no changes to the structure of the course.

Beginning Fall 2012:

• Interactive Design focused students can request to take this course as a Special Problem with the faculty teaching DM 319 Interactive Design III.
• Students will continue to work on self-designed projects for their portfolios.

DM 460 DIGITAL PORTFOLIO

1 section instructor for replacement course: tbd

The Graphic design program has discontinued this course. We will already moved from 2 sections to one section. The course will be eliminated Fall 2013

Beginning Fall 2012:

• The course will be redesigned and renamed (to digital promotion). But only if a current faculty member steps forward to develop and teach it.
• The new course would be open to everyone in the school.
• The new course would focus on web 2.o portfolio site building, professional social networking, search engine optimization and e-commerce.

DM ? GAME DEVELOPMENT

1 section instructor: Chris Brown

This would be a new course and would be offered for the first time in Spring or Fall 2013. That is timed to correlate with the start of the redesigned Interactive I course (which essentially becomes an intro to game design class). Some students will likely get hooked on game design and wish to learn more about the development end of it.

Beginning Spring or Fall 2013:

• The course will be Flash based
• If we can publish for Web browser, iOS and Android, that would be best.
• In order for the games to work within the portfolio review user experience, they should take no longer than 30 seconds for the player to understand and 'get' the game design (example).

FACILITIES

• We will purchase both an iPad and an Android Tablet
• We will be adding Adobe Edge to the classroom computers.
• We will set up the server to handle PHP and mySQL and Each faculty will have the ability to set up directories for their students to upload via ftp. We will not be able to provide hosting services for student's portfolio websites. Students will continue to create portfolio websites and purchase their own hosting in the Media Portfolio course.

end of summary

Does the sequence of courses we currently have still optimally prepare our students for careers creating Rich Media in the Interactive industry?

Course descriptions are available here. The line up is as follows:

- Interactive Design I (intro to Flash AS2 site design - required by all DM students)

- 2D Animation I (intro to Flash animation for on-line advertising)

- Interactive Design II (Intro to HTML and CSS)

- Video (Intro to Video production, editing and motion graphics)

- Sound Design I and II

- Interactive Design III (PHP/mySQL or Flash AS3 site design

- Motion Graphics (Info-Graphics animation with Aftereffects)

- Design and Animation Professional Studio (group interactive project)

- Thesis I - self designed project

- Thesis II - self designed project

CHRIS BROWN

I think the current courses represent a good variety of skills that are all still relevant in the industry.

The combination of animation, motion graphics, sound and video courses gives students with a solid design background all the tools they need to produce professional content for any type of media interactive or otherwise. The software programs used in these are among industry standards and I don’t think that will change any time soon. Designed content with motion and audio communicates information across every medium, and regardless of how the ways we interact with this content evolve, there will be positions available for students that can produce quality content.

I like the well-rounded approach given by the three interactive design courses, although they are the most subject to change with industry trends because of their cutting-edge nature. A nice progression is accomplished by having students first learn to make things interactive from their designs using a graphical interface and minimal code with Flash, then move on to learning standards-based web development focusing more on the underlying code and how to use Dreamweaver to make things easier, and finally delving deeper into the code using their choice of open source server or Flash client technologies. Rather than having three courses that all build upon one another to the effect of a single large project, it helps to create a diversified portfolio with three separate projects done in different ways, and it’s valuable to have enough knowledge to determine which technology is appropriate for different cases. These technology choices are still used by a majority of interactive designers and developers.

There are obviously two major new industry developments that these interactive design courses should consider adapting to; the emergence of mobile and tablet devices presenting new challenges in deployment to different operating systems, screen sizes and pixel densities; and the maturation of standards-based technologies bringing animated and interactive content to the web in ways previously only possible through Flash.

Considering whether or not Flash is a technology to be used moving forward, we should take into account its use as a web animation with simple interaction tool separately from being an application development platform, and I firmly believe that in both cases it is going to remain a major part of the industry for the next few years.

For animation, Flash is currently unrivaled as a timeline-based tool that allows designers, illustrators and animators to bring web content to life without having to write any code. However, Adobe’s beta product Edge is an exciting new tool that is very much like a rethinking and rebirth of Flash using standards-based web technologies. It sports a timeline animation system that is closer to After Effects and more advanced than either of the Flash systems, and the ways of creating interactivity with events and actions are even more intuitive than using ActionScript 2 Script Assist yet powerfully expose the underlying JavaScript. There are many features only available in Flash that aid in creating complex and rich animations, but some of these like the ability to create multiple instances of the same symbol, nested timelines and onion skinning are targeted to be on their way to Edge. I would use Edge today over Flash for a static web project with simple animation and interaction so it could be viewed through the browser on iOS devices. It will be very interesting to see what new features end up in the release version of Edge presumably with CS6, as well as what direction Flash Professional takes along side of it. Will Flash adopt this new timeline system, finally give non-developers a simpler way to work with ActionScript 3, and possibly add the ability to export some things as HTML5, or will it concede this market to its new cousin Edge and focus only on application development and mobile delivery?

This adds fuel to the idea that, for the web at least, Flash is somehow on its way out, or becoming obsolete because of the new capabilities offered in HTML5, CSS3 and current JavaScript libraries. I’ll be willing to admit when Flash has passed its prime, but I don’t think that is the case quite yet. Every couple of years there is another technology that claims to be the next Flash killer. Before Canvas it was Microsoft’s Silverlight, or AJAX, DHTML, etc. All major technologies have valid uses, pros and cons that vary depending on the project, but nothing is going to remove from the marketplace the large number of global Flash users and the Flash Player permeation onto every major device and platform in the form of either browser plug-in or AIR runtime for applications (including iOS) without a slow and gradual transition. I could easily see exposing students to both Flash and Edge once it becomes part of Adobe’s Creative Suite because knowing two good methods is better than one, but I don’t think Flash will soon be completely replaced or that having at least basic knowledge of it will become irrelevant as a desired skill in the workforce.

The other side of Flash is its role as an application development platform. One of the reasons Flash has stayed so popular over the years is that it has evolved with the web addressing technical issues and consumer demands. Its scripting language and virtual machine have been completely rewritten to vastly increase capabilities and performance. Adobe released their incremental CS5.5 version primarily to give the Flash and Dreamweaver interfaces the means to preview and publish on mobile devices due to overwhelming user demand. The most recent release of Flash Player (11) includes a new framework to take advantage of the GPU in mobile devices dramatically increasing performance for both 2D and 3D content. This is a platform that has always been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology, and I think Flash will continue to redefine those boundaries in the areas of applications, games and 3D content.

For the introduction courses that I teach, Interactive Design I and Digital Portfolio, I like the philosophy of teaching students the most efficient ways to create interactive content while having to learn the least possible amount of code. Coming from a background in animation, this is exactly what I’m always looking to do, even though I’ve gotten into a lot of heavy code-centric development over the years because the growth of what’s new and possible using code can’t help but leave graphical interfaces playing catch up. The range of projects Flash is used to create has become broad enough that other Flash tools have been introduced catering to specific users. Flash Builder is a powerful development environment aimed at traditional programmers, Flash Catalyst lets designers add simple interaction and transitions to their designs using the interface alone, and Flash Professional is left somewhere in the middle.

So what is the best way to introduce students to Flash in these courses while maintaining a reasonable difficulty level and keeping up with industry standards? Flash Catalyst has some nice features that allow designers to set up buttons and even skin components with no code that can be passed on to a developer using Flash Builder. This may be a productive workflow in some large agencies, but Flash Catalyst is limited once you reach the confines of the interface, and it’s way too high of a learning curve for a designer to use Flash Builder to take things any further. I think using Flash Professional still gives students the easiest way to quickly learn to author interactive content while only having to maintain a minimal amount of code. I do think that we need to begin with ActionScript 3 at this point though. It is easier to create simple button code using Script Assist, but having some experience with AS3 has been standard on most Flash job requirements for a few years now. I hope the next version will bridge the gap a little better than the code snippets panel, but for now I think it is worth the extra work to make our students comfortable with this widely-used technology and help prepare them to integrate with larger projects in the gaming and application markets. Also keeping a keen eye on the development of Edge as it’s most likely to affect these courses.

The lineup and structure of classes seems solid.

RUSS TABER

Placement jobs often train or retrain as needed. I believe if we can get students to create works that highlight creativity that they would have better chances for placement. But also, why not teach a bit on freelance and pitfalls.

Freelancing and other business related content is covered in Media Portfolio class in the Senior year. All of the topics in the Professional Practices site are covered. It would be a bit better if we covered it earlier... but we couldn't seem to fit it in anywhere else unless it was its own course. That being said... I think any stories and advise from our faculty's professional lives is always welcome and appreciated by students in any course.

Bill F.

WES KEMPA

The sequence of courses is appropriate but the topics and goals of the courses need review. New technologies are shifting the methods in which content is being created and delivered. Animation, interactive, web and video design on the surface might appear identical to years past, but tools used are in a state of flux. Because of this our courses need to evaluate the balance of design vs tools used, be better prepared to speak on and train in newer technologies now, and have a strong interest in understanding and tracking the evolution of new interactive trends.

- AS2 development training (outside the scope of animation) should be avoided to make room for Javascript/HTML and AS3 training.

- Some Interactive design classes might benefit from being more design-centric. I would like to see a Design on the Web course that would focus on learning what makes a successful website - Design, Usability, Accessibility, Content Management, Social features, Alternative themes for Mobile.

JAMES BARBER

The only issue I’ve noticed is in the students ability to assemble and disassemble data in a meaningful way / using and creating meaningful content with design. Our course sequence is strong in terms of technical training, however, I think it would be great to see a class or two focused more on creative problem solving and the relationship between content and visual design.

GARY PARSONS

Just for argument sake, would there be any sense to having Digital Portfolio as a introduction class before everything else? That way the students could learn simple web design using one of the half a million web 2.0 sites like carbonmade.com,bigblackbag.com, etc. It would also give them roughly 2 years to develop something, instead of at the end of their program and just before they go out into the world. I'm also wondering if as a simple intro class, would that make it more appealing to the fine artists and the other design areas.

What would you like to see installed on our newly acquired, dedicated to the DM program, web server? What will you use it for?

CHRIS BROWN

I would like to see each student have their own subdomain and web space set up. I would be able to show Interactive Design I students the full process of publishing their work live on the Internet instead of only creating the web-ready files, and it would be great for graduates to be able to keep their Digital Portfolio running on it for a year to market themselves without having to pay for a domain name and hosting account.

I'd like to have students have mysql databases, domains, and the ability to install wordpress or another CMS system for use in and out of class.

WES KEMPA

- Storing class resources

- Offer a student project showcase

- Provide test environments for training students about hosting

- Explain how to work with hosted resources such as digital assets, streaming media, and databases.

Bill, Wordpress can be one of the directions we go with the new server. With PHP and MySQL we can easily set this up. In the past I have been training students to build WP websites on their personal machines so moving to a hosted environment would be a good transition or a great topic for the class.

JAMES BARBER

I think it would be really cool to have a place where students can host their own web work. There could be ongoing collaborative projects and a gallery that is run by students.

GARY PARSONS

Along with all the basic stuff like the latest versions of PHP, MySQL and other tradition components, I would like to see a streaming media component. It could be something like Apple's Quicktime Streaming Server Software, Icecast or Helix Media Server. That way, students could explore options like creating a Internet Radio Station or a Video Sharing site...within limits of course.

With a server that is configured with PHP and MySQL, we can setup as many WordPress sites as we need to for Free. Actually with a server configured with PHP and MySQL, we can setup almost any free CSM, like WordPress-Joomla-Moodle-Drupal-etc. If a student wants to develop their own custom CMS, they can do that also. I've had both cases in class. The only negative to this is that these systems generally have more upgrades and take more maintenance then commercial products. The pro and cons of Wordpress? Well, for pros - it is well documented software, fast learning curve and lots of pre-written plugins, widgets and components to quick add functionality to a site. Also, you need less commercial software (Dreamweaver), because a lot of the coding is done within the CMS. The cons are that there is a ton of free templates, which make plagiarism very is easy. The students will also have to learn, even at a very basic level, more technologies (Javascipt, PHP, MySQL) right away then just html and css.

To build on Wes point, we've had students for several past semesters load MAMP or Wamp and build the sites on their own systems. Toward the end of the semester, they have all their files and can migrate them to a web/database server of their choice. I like the thought of having students build on a Kendall web server though. It adds a certain accountability to their projects, because anyone at anytime can view the site. It also makes it easer collecting student work, having crits, and holding people to a deadline. It also allows for other topics to come into play, such as SEO, site analytics, and marketing.

In all, I like the idea of Interactive II still being an "html/css" class, but taught on the Wordpress ( or other CMS platform). I would like to talk a little more about how these can tie into Interactivity III first, but can I try it out next semester?

Bill Fischer

Streaming Media and Internet Radio sounds really cool. We have started to engage some of our far-flung alumni in class projects using Skype. Something more powerful would be good. These might be phase 2 projects after we get the basics working.

I'm afraid allowing un-supervised uploading of content to a Kendall-owned server is strictly forbidden by the administration. Young people will often do foolish things and the school is both liable and guilty by association if they are happening on school property... in this case a web server. That is why the Weblab content has to all run through a vetting process.

We have a budget to purchase a tablet /phone or two to aid with development. What should we get and why?

CHRIS BROWN

I think it is important as a developer to try and get access to as many different types of devices that are in the market as possible. There is no substitute for the actual device when testing something, and putting your eggs in as many baskets as you can has always been a primary goal for developers. I would start with tablets because I think that you will likely find an iPhone and an Android phone among the students and instructor in any given class. The iPad enjoys a much larger market share right now, but there is much less red tape to bring an Android application to an app store. To me being able to test on both major platforms is paramount even if it means buying used ones in good condition. I have no preference on the type of Android tablet.

An ipad and a Samsung zoom. Samsung zoom supports flash and ipda doesn't. It will help students test their site in two popular formats that have a different support base for interactive media. It would be good for students to test html5 as it relates to their original flash projects. Also, it will give students the opportunity to see how their designs work on two different mobile platforms.

RUSS TABER

Could get an iOS developer account. $100/yr. not certain. Android is popular but independent developers are making much more money on iOS. Corona SDK is a dev package that can be bought to develop for both iOS and android. I was gun-ho for a Xoom, but after seeing numbers, I bought and iPad to develop on. With patent disputes and payouts to Microsoft, Android could be hampered in the future. Would have reevaluate the current numbers.

WES KEMPA

- Tablet: A used iPad and a Kindle Fire (Cost effective and I should have one for you to test this week)

- Phone: iPhone due to popularity.

JAMES BARBER

In terms of mobile development… I don’t think there is any substitute for the ipad. It’s large enough that it can be used by multiple people at once. Apple has an easy to use development platform for building mobile apps (you only need the ipad for testing because you can use the simulator just like the ipad. There are several mac only features like (icloud) that you can’t get on other devices.

Bill Fischer

Looks like we need both.

Do you like the idea of integrating social themes as a requirement in your class (topics may include things like bullying, climate change, racism, etc.). Would you like a single them for all students that would change each semester, a menu of topics to choose from, or should simply have the student submit their own individual topics for approval by the instructor?

CHRIS BROWN

I’m kind of indifferent to the idea. I don't really mind it personally, but I do see students get a lot of joy from having the freedom to create a project around something they’re passionate about in my Interactive Design I class, and I’ve gotten better at talking those that just want to make their characters fight into doing something that will be a nice portfolio piece and help them get a job down the road. If it is implemented, I would prefer to have either a menu of topics or to have a social topic of their choice subject to approval than force the whole class to stick to a similar theme.

Students will be more passionate about their work if it is a subject that they choose to take on. However, having a social message component could bring an additional layer of meaning to their work. Students could see how marketing and design can be used for things other than strictly commercial interests.

RUSS TABER

I think themes are interesting and can help student focus, but they should have a choice of topics.

WES KEMPA

Positives:

- Generating interest in a topic

-- Less time to decide on project direction

- Better knowledge sharing between students

- More accurate to a real work environment where you are given a task to perform

Negatives

- Material becoming overdone, tired or forced

- Some student's disinterest, feeling left out, or direct disagreement of the theme

- Students portfolios becoming too similar over the course of the program

JAMES BARBER

I LOVE this idea. I think a menu of options that is also flexible for students that want to find their own cause is a great idea. I think would inspire students to think about designing with a higher purpose in mind, and it would help their portfolios reflect a stronger goal oriented understanding of design.

GARY PARSONS

Yes, i like this idea.

Bill Fischer

I think that designers, illustrators and animators could be encouraged to use their different skills to deliver social messages in a variety of ways... humorous or serious... with cartoon characters, photography, animation, video, etc.

Are you interested in developing a course in mobile media? Which platform would you develop for and which technology would you use? Flash? HTML/JQuery?, Google App Inventor? Other? When would you feel ready to offer such a class?

CHRIS BROWN

I am very interested in developing a mobile media course. I would put the main focus on developing Adobe AIR applications for Android and iOS using Flash Professional, and dedicate a couple of weeks to rapid mobile web development using Dreamweaver or possibly Edge.

The mobile web portion would give a brief overview of the standards-based technologies used to display content through the WebKit mobile web browser on iOS and other devices. Dreamweaver has some great new features that help streamline development for the mobile web. A new multiscreen preview panel with media query support allows designers to set up separate style sheets for different screen sizes and preview them together. This is a good technique to learn for migrating existing content to mobile screens. Plus there are now JQuery Mobile starter templates that could quickly get students setting up mobile specific interfaces with components. There is also support to package native applications using PhoneGap. I would present these concepts to give students an introduction to programming for the mobile web, and show them some tools available to get started.

Then I would move on to using Flash for creating rich applications. Concentrating on using the graphical interface to lay out content, and then working with a single code base to set up functionality and deploy to multiple devices. Here are some of the key concepts that I would cover in building proper applications:

• Multiscreen Design

• Application Certificate Signage

• Application Update Mechanism

• Online/Offline Support

• Device Detection

• Memory Optimization

• Frame Rate Performance

• Using the GPU

• Touch and Gesture Handling

• Social Media Integration

• Device Sensors (accelerometer/camera/geo-location)

• Data Storage

• Active State Handling

• Device Testing and Debugging

• Publishing and Deployment

• Monetization Options

I have several years of experience building AIR desktop applications, and am in the process of developing a mobile game to test these new technologies and platforms. I plan to complete the journey by the end of the year, and I would be ready to offer this class in the Fall.

I would be interested but I would need to research in greater detail to feel confident making specific recommendations on what technologies to employ. that being said, my initial inclination is to recommend using html5/jquery.

WES KEMPA

Yes, with more training / experience I would love to teach the class. phonegap.com, appinventorbeta.com, and appcelerator.com. Might be great places to start.

GARY PARSONS

Yes, I'm interested in developing a mobile media course. Since Adobe recently scrapped plans for Flash mobile, I really like the html5/css3/JQuery combination, because concepts from each of these technologies can be applied in other classes, even those that do support Flash. Do I feel ready to offer such a class? Yes, as much as the ever changing face of technology will allow.

Bill Fischer

For games, Flash is a good match for us. the majority of our students use it throughout the curriculum and are therefor familiar with the platform.

For non-game applications, Adobe Edge may be the best technology for us. It is wysywyg, Web/iOS/Android friendly and will be integrated with the Adobe suite on our students laptops.

CHRIS BROWN

I’m not really interested in developing a course like this, but I think it would be valuable to include some basics to survive and protect themselves as a freelancer. Provide templates for creating contracts with detailed scope of work, timeline, responsibilities and deliverables. Teach them to properly communicate with clients in a professional manner. Introduce different ways to promote themselves and their work to freelance sites, agencies and publications. Discuss reasonable hourly wages, project quotes and preparing for taxes with 1099 revenue.

A course about web design, marketing and branding for "artists" using wordpress as CMS because of it's integrated SEO tools and it's wide support of plugins. Additionally, you can easily setup zen cart or other shopping cart systems through wordpress. The best benefit of all is that you don't have to know a lot of code to setup a good looking wordpress site so people that are adverse to technology can still create a robust platform to display their work. It would probably be most appropriate for students to take Digital Imaging 1 for a course like this but, it could be managed without. Basic photoshop and illustrator skills would be helpful.

WES KEMPA

Possibly yes... There are aspects of this class that would be interesting to explore.

JAMES BARBER

This sounds really interesting. (see answer number 8)

GARY PARSONS

This ties into question 1. I love the idea of having a couple of intro classes that appeals to all students and are very simple ways for any student to have a web experience. Then if they choose to continue developing it through out their tenure, they can. I think the key to such a class is finding the long term benefits to the student and the simplicity of the technology.

I would also like to see a class cover standard open source CMS platforms, such as Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal. I've been seeing and fielding more questions about them from students. They see these as faster ways to develop a rich site without knowing as much about the coding behind the site because they can go out and find modules/plugins/components/widgets and just plug them into their designs.

Are you interested in developing a course in Game Design. Could we use existing Flash game shells and redesign the assets? Could we create games from scratch using AS2 or AS3? Can this be a mobile app class as well? When do you think you could be ready to offer a class like this.

CHRIS BROWN

I am extremely interested in developing a game design course. I would like to teach the fundamentals of casual game development with AS3 giving students the knowledge to create simple games from scratch, and also use the re-skinning of a more complex existing game as a collaborative group project. I will include targeting mobile devices, but the depth will be less comprehensive than in the course suggested above. Here are some of the game concepts that I would cover:

• Designing a Game Plan

• Preparing and Optimizing the Graphics

• Working with Dynamic Objects and Properties

• The Game Loop – EnterFrame and Timer Events

• Programmatic Animation

• Basic Gaming Math – Random, Trigonometry, Physics

• Sprite Control – Mouse and Keyboard Input

• Sounds

• Collision Detection

• Parallax Scrolling

• Object Pooling – Memory Management

• Rendering Performance – Vector/Bitmap, Display List/Blitting, CPU/GPU

• Testing and Optimization

• Distribution and Monetization Options – Game Portal Licensing, Advertisement/Sponsorship, Freemium/Straight Sale/Subscriptions

• Popular Game Portals – Kongregate/Newgrounds/AddictingGames

• Popular Game Models – Puzzle, Platform, Shooter, Simulation, Tile-based, Isometric 3D

• AS3 Game Frameworks – Box2D Physics, Flixel/FlashPunk/PushButton Engine

I’ve created a handful of simple games over the years for clients, am currently building a mobile game, and plan to build a 3D game next year. I would be ready to offer this class in the Fall.

There are a lot of game engines that have been released open source the last few years. The Quake engine comes readily to mind. For first person gaming experiences this would be an excellent platform to work within.

RUSS TABER

Yes. Could use shells to start. Scratch games could be anything from an interactive toy set, to fun quizzes, to casual escape games. Would almost have to go mobile in the future. Possibly something next fall could gel into a class. Would not exes scarily be Flash, but Flash is fastest for getting something done right now.

WES KEMPA

CS5.5 exports to the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad and would work well using AS3. Some assets from game shells would work for this. I would be interested in exploring this class but I would also want to not limit the game development only to flash if students want to look elsewhere.

GARY PARSONS

Yes, I'm interested. I think we could do a lot with shells and other assets and this is something we've talked about before. I'm also wondering if there is a way to collaborate with the GR Ferris campus to bring 3D modeling, game programing, video editing, and audio special effects together that could be packaged for the web or mobile devices? Would it help strengthen both programs and expand the possibilities for recruitment and retention of students?

Bill Fischer

Keep in mind that only a fraction of the students that would enroll in an intro class would be very code savvy. For this reason, I like the idea of starting with Flash shells and focusing on the creation of great animated assets to place in them. It would be great to have also have a higher level course that focuses more on the development side.

To speak to Gary's idea... Though I think they are doing fine work there... but Ferris is our competition. Anything we do to enhance their program puts us at a competitive disadvantage as their tuition is half the price. We can only attract students if we can differentiate ourselves from them. Right now I believe we are beating them in most categories with the exception of 3D modeling and animation (their specialty).

Do you have any other course ideas?

Would be great to have a course in interactive media for fine artists but, it's probably a bit too niche.

WES KEMPA

I would like to see a Design on the Web course that would focus on learning what makes a successful website - Design, Usability, Accessibility, Content Management, Social features, Alternative themes for Mobile.

JAMES BARBER

In February of this year I came across a story in the Grand Rapids Press about a professor at Cornerstone University named Don Perini. At Cornerstone, Don teaches a course on creativity. Similar to the Daniel Pink book “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.” Perini says that the best way to prepare students for a future that’s unknown is to teach them to think creatively.

I think a class like this would be a great addition to Kendall’s core curriculum, in that it would inspire students to explore, take risks, be innovative, and push their creativity to new heights. I was fortunate to be a part of two improvisational comedy “teams” during high school and college. My experience with improv was basically training for how to think creatively, and it helped me immensely with my role as an artist. This type of class teaches irregular approaches for solving any problem. Perini says this about his class “We have these prophets warning us we have to change,” he says. “How are we teaching students to prepare for a future that’s unknown? Creativity does that. It teaches you how to think. So when you come across any problem, you know how to solve it.”

You can find out more information on Don and his course on creativity in this article.

http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/02/cornerstone_university_profess.html

Bill Fischer

The Digital Promotion course mentioned above would be great for any student at Kendall including Fine Artists if we design it right.

There have been courses recently added at Kendall that cover much of what James has mentioned. They are part of a new collaborative design program and include courses in Improv and Design Thinking. We should encourage our students to take them as elective courses. I will add them to the recommendations on our advising web page.

Do you have any other topics to put forward?

RIAN MORGAN

This might be a boring subject but it would be good to see a little more emphasis on archiving work for students. Not archiving on our server or storage systems but on students own hardware. Setting up naming conventions, folder structures, and general work-flows so students can make better use of their time designing and not worry about losing work. This wouldn't be needed as a class just as part of a class.

Digital Imaging I would be a likely spot for that instruction and I'm sure the other instructor's would be interested in any specific ideas you might have. Susan coordinates those courses... so you might start with her.

Bill F.