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CODE 2: DATA POETICS

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PUDT 2112 B, CRN 6806

66 5th Ave., Room 005

Mondays 12:10-2:50 PM, Spring 2016

Bryan Ma

bma@newschool.edu

Office hours by appointment

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In this studio we will use our skills developed in Code 1 to focus on moving beyond the image and study the capacity of computers to process, procedurally analyze and generate text-based data. We’ll develop new language skills by writing Javascript for p5.js and Node.js, plus developing fluency on the command line. Students will develop projects exploring the evaluation and generation of text via statistics and probability, working with regular expressions, Markov chains, Twitter bots, and connecting to networks and APIs like ConceptNet for semantic analysis.

Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of this course, students should:

• be able to demonstrate knowledge and application of fundamental programming skills in Javascript, using p5.js and Node.js.

• have a number of working projects exploring the content of the course on the web for public consumption.

• be able to demonstrate skill with the command line and github.

• be able to discuss code’s intersection with text critically in a broader cultural context.

Class Github:

https://github.com/whoisbma/Code-2-SP16

(you're on it)

Reading:

Eloquent Javascript, Marijn Haverbeke

Assessment Criteria:

• Class participation: 20%
• Homework: 50%
• Final: 30%

Class Participation:

No phones, Facebook, etc. Help each other out! Pay attention to one another when presenting and let’s be a community. I’ll be present and engaged and I expect you all to be too!

3 lates = 1 unexcused absence 3 or more unexcused absences = -1 grade level

Homework:

Homework will be mostly on a weekly basis with some likely exceptions, depending on the pace of the course progress we’re making at any given time, and will be due the midnight before class. Grading will be in response to the application of the technique involved and also on if it was turned in on time. Generally speaking, I’m much more interested in effort than perfection, but your code should be at least working! If you’re having big problems, contact me to set up office hours (before the due date!).

Homeworks should all be turned in via github, and links posted to the class wiki.

Final:

The final project will be a polished interactive project. Group work may be possible depending on the project. Finalized constraints will be discussed in class. Grading of the final will reflect the success of a project in relation to the learning outcomes, assignment constraints of the course, and if the project is on time.

Special Considerations:

For special considerations of any kind, contact me and hopefully whatever the issue is can be worked out!

Office Hours:

I can put in between 2-4 hours of office hours each week, but by appointment only! Contact me to set an appointment.

NOTE: writing honest code is not exactly like writing an honest paper. There are many resources, guides, tutorials, and sample code made available by other designers and programmers out there, and it is fully encouraged to make use of them. However any code taken from other sources ABSOLUTELY MUST be cited with a URL at the very least, and used towards the end of building something that expresses your OWN vision rather than reproducing someone else’s work.