Syllabus
Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-2:20pm
Section 010/011
Instructor: Arielle Hein
Email: arielle.hein@colorado.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 2:30-4pm or by appointment
Office: ATLS 231C
Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-5:20pm
Section 020/021
Instructor: Melissa Felderman
Email: melissa.felderman@colorado.edu
Office Hours: 5:30-7, please email if you plan to come
Office: ATLS 231
Course Description
This course is an introduction to physical computing. Physical computing, in the broadest sense, means building interactive physical systems that can sense and respond to the analog world. This class is an exploration of computing that starts from the perspective that humans are fundamentally physical beings. In this course, we take the human body as a given, and work to design projects that can interact with humans and the physical world. You will learn how a computer converts the changes in energy given off by our bodies (in the form of sound, light, motion, touch, and other forms) into changing electronic signals that it can read and interpret. We will learn about ways to integrate sensors, motors, and simple electronics into interactive objects.
The platform for the class is a microcontroller, a single-chip computer that can fit in your hand. The core technical concepts include digital, analog and serial input and output. Students will have weekly lab exercises to build skills with the microcontroller and related tools, and longer assignments in which they apply the principles from weekly labs in creative applications. Both individual work and group work is required.
Physical computing takes a hands-on approach, which means that you spend a lot of time building circuits, soldering, writing programs, building enclosures to hold sensors and controls, and figuring out how best to make all of these things relate to a person’s physical expression. Although extremely technical, this course is not just about the technology; we will spend time each week discussing interaction design and what it means to incorporate electronic projects into our lives. Core interaction design concepts include user observation, affordances, and converting physical action into digital information.
Although programming is required to successfully complete projects and assignments, we will NOT be spending any time on introductory programming concepts. You should already be comfortable with general programming concepts (variables, loops, data types, etc.).
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Students are allowed three absences* after which their final grade will be reduced by 10% for each additional absence. Extreme lateness and leaving early counts as 1/3 of an absence. You are responsible for all material and announcements made in class. Do not expect your instructor to catch you up for classes you’ve missed – that’s your responsibility. Critique days are required; an absence that day will impact your grade for that project.
ALL absences fall under these three absences (this includes minor illnesses and injuries, oversleeping, vacations, job interviews, ski-days, family obligations and situations, etc.) so it is not wise to use them all at the start of the semester. In extreme situations such as major illnesses, death in the family (or close friends), religious observances (see below), or school related absences, please talk or email me before your absence.
This is a fast-paced course with new topics covered every class and each new concept building on top of previous ones. Attendance and class participation are important components of the course. You are encouraged to ask relevant questions, share your thoughts, and work with fellow students. You are expected to spend all class time working on class related projects. Class time should not be used for any other classes or activities.
Participation
This is an extremely participatory course. You are expected to participate in discussions and give feedback to other students both in class and participate with their projects. Be cognizant of how you interact in class discussions. If you find yourself commenting more frequently than most other people in the class, step back and give others a chance to contribute (even if you have something to say). If you tend to hesitate to join discussions, challenge yourself to jump in. Additionally, I encourage you to utilize the blogs as a way to connect with your classmates and share your ideas.
Critiques are especially important in this course. Even if your project is not fully completed, it is absolutely required that you come to class to give feedback on your classmate’s projects. It will affect your grade negatively if you do not show up for critique. Work is expected to be completed prior to the critique, do not attempt to finish your project during critique, have everything you need prepared, tested and ready to present. Student computers will be shut off and full participation is expected when projects are being presented.
Grading
Students will be assessed on conceptual ideas, technical skills, critical thinking, documentation, participation and attendance. Projects will be assessed on conceptual thought, creativity, originality and aesthetic qualities, experimentation and use of creative engineering solutions. If you turn in all your work on time (and if it is satisfactorily completed), and if you attend class and participate, you are ensured a C. A’s and B’s are reserved for students who excel beyond average and competent work. Work must be presented during critique on the date it is due (even if something isn’t fully working!)
Individual projects that are turned in late will result in the grade being lowered one letter grade for each day the project is late. Feedback through the form of critique is also essential; absence from any of the class critiques will result in a drop of one letter grade for that assignment. Labs are not accepted late.
Points will be allocated based on the following distribution pattern:
Project 1 150 pts
Project 2 250 pts
Labs (5) 400 pts
Tests (2) 200 pts
Letter grades will be assigned based on the following breakdown:
A 94 - 100
A- 90 - 93
B+ 87 - 89
B 84 - 86
B- 80 - 83
C+ 77 - 79
C 74 - 76
C- 70 - 73
D 60 - 69
F 0 - 50
You are required to earn a C letter grade or higher in order to continue course work in the TAM program.
Labs & Tests
The beginning of the semester focuses on technical skill building through hands-on lab activities. These assignments are meant to help you understand the principles discussed in class and become familiar with physical computing technologies. Labs will be graded based on their completeness (turned in on time and meets the assignment’s requirements), technical proficiency (works correctly), documentation (posted to your online journal), and creative application (can you apply the technical principles in a creative way).
You will take two tests over the course of the semester.
Projects
You will complete two detailed production assignments over the course of the term. You are expected to push your abilities to produce something that utilizes what you have learned in the class and that is useful in some manner to yourself or the world.
Projects are graded based on their concept, creativity/design, and technical sophistication.
Readings
Weekly assignments will include relevant readings, videos, and observation exercises. You are expected to document all work to your blog. This includes your successes, failures, reading responses, project ideas and inspirations.
Readings are mandatory! Come to class prepared to discuss any assigned reading materials. You may occasionally be given in-class pop-quizzes about any assigned readings (which would contribute toward your overall participation grade).
Blog & Documentation
You are expected to keep an online journal of your progress in this course. At a minimum, you are expected to summarize any insights you have in each week’s work, to discuss any readings, and to thoroughly document your labs, projects and technical research. You are encouraged to read and comment on each other’s posts.
Materials
You will be provided with a basic prototyping kit for this course which will allow you to complete all necessary labs and homework assignments. You are required to bring the materials given to you each class period!
Any additional parts or materials required for projects will be your responsibility to acquire. It is advised to budget approximately $200 for this course to account for materials expenses. Some projects can be completed for less than $15, others might require components and materials costing as much as $150+. You will have full access to the BTU Lab and you are welcome to use the materials there, but you should not rely on these supplies to produce your assignments.
BTU Lab
This lab is your maker space! In the third week of the semester we will run a lab orientation session during class. After completing this orientation, all enrolled Object students will officially become lab members.
For more about the lab visit BTUlab.com
Course Content
The instructor of this class reserves the right to show a broad range of course materials, some of which assume the audience to be adult in age and demeanor. Should a student feel offended by something they have seen or heard, it would appreciated, but not required, to stay to be part of the dialogue to offer your perspective. However if the student feels that they cannot stay, they are welcome to leave the classroom as discretely as possible.
Freedom of Speech
This class is held in an academic university setting and due to the inherent nature of the internet and broad range of topics that your project work will explore it is inevitable that we will come across issues dealing with politics and religion. My role during such discussions will be a facilitator, a mediator, and as impartial as humanly possible. All students are encouraged to participate in open discussion and academic discourse.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
A full list of CU’s academic policies can be found online at colorado.edu/policies.
Honor Code
All work/ideas/code must be original and created for this class. All code should be written from scratch by you - meaning that although some code is repeatable you should never copy and paste code from other sources and then find and replace your content into it. In this course, you will be working extensively with Open Source hardware and software. You must appropriately credit and cite the resources that you use in your projects, including all Open Source tools.
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). The Student Honor Code can be found online.
If you fail to meet a guideline by accident, we’ll discuss the situation without taking it to the Honor Council. But if I discover willful intent on your part, I’m obligated to report that to the Honor Council, which has the authority to enforce non-academic corrective action. I retain the authority to enforce academic sanctions, which will range from an F on the project to an F in the course, depending on the severity of the breach of trust.
Classroom Behavior
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. Full details about the University’s policy on Student Classroom and Course-Related Behavior can be found online.
Accommodation For Disabilities
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu. If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Medical Conditions. For additional information visit the Disability Services website and discuss your needs with your professor.
Religious Rights
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. More information can be found online about the University policy regarding the Observance of Religious Holidays. If you will be missing any classes in order to observe religious holidays, please inform your instructor of these dates at the beginning of the semester.
Discrimination and Harassment
The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working, and living environment. The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, its educational programs and activities. (Regent Law, Article 10, amended 11/8/2001). CU-Boulder will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by any employee or student. For purposes of this CU-Boulder policy, “Protected Classes” refers to race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran status. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at 303-492-5550. Further information about the Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures can be found online.