Faculty Career Instructor: John Park
Digital Arts Program, University of Oregon
Office Hours 2:15-4:15 pm Tuesday +by appt
Office Location: 121 Millrace 2 (N. of Franklin)
John Park's Email : park@uoregon.edu 
Lab Instructors: Ian Clark (inc@uoregon.edu)
Jon Bellona (bellona@uoregon.edu)
Collin Williams (willia10@uoregon.edu)	
Interactive
Digital Arts

ARTD 252 
Wednesdays 12:00-1:50 (lecture) 
115 Lawrence Hall
Labs individual 	

Interactivity in the Digital Arts world can mean many things.  From data-collecting interactive installations in art galleries to mobile apps, from video games to DIY hardware hacking projects, this course will delve into the rich field of Interactivity across various disciplines and media.  The unifying thread of this exploration is to unveil how artists CAN and historically HAVE utilized Interaction and User Experiences in their work.

Method of Instruction: 10 Lectures | 20 Labs
In order to give a proper introduction to this topic, the lecture portion of the course needs to be multifaceted in its approach and content.  We will cover the broad topic of Interactivity in terms of art and research projects, New Media artists, theory and contemporary issues, the history of computing and computer programming concepts. 

The twice-weekly labs are a time for students to have a hands-on learning experience in smaller groups and within a computer lab environment.  Primarily this is a time for technical (software) learning, applying knowledge and ideas into an electronic format, and to have more in-depth discussions of readings/lecture concepts.

Upon successful completion of the course, each student will have demonstrated:
•	An understanding of the contemporary issues and concepts in Interactive art and related fields
•	An awareness of the work and workings of the most notable artists in this field
•	Critical thinking skills, and a sense of exploration of the ideas presented
•	Software proficiency in Processing, Flash, basic programming and auxiliary graphic utilities
•	The capability to discuss, work, and present material in a professional manner with peers

Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory in both lecture and lab. You will miss important material if you are late or absent from either. Attendance will be taken intermittently throughout the lecture portion of the course and in every lab.  Four total absences are grounds for lowering your overall grade by one letter (A- becomes a B-, etc), and six total absences constitute failure for the class. Please document medical or family emergencies.

Evaluation: 
The grade will be based on class participation, readings and reading summaries, a mid-term quiz, attendance and three design projects. Attendance is mandatory. All take home written exercises must be typed.  No late assignments accepted. Written assignments are due online by the beginning of class on the date they are due, no exceptions. No printouts accepted in lieu of online work. There are three lab instructors that will teach the labs for the course, Jon Bellona, Collin Williams and Ian Clark.  Grading will be shared between the professor and the lab instructors using a shared grading rubric.  The grading and point breakdown is as follows

BREAKDOWN:
Readings + Responses (3 total)		9%
Assignments (assorted)		24%
Three Major Projects			54%
Participation				8%
Assorted				5%

Reading Summaries							9%
This course is using the online blackboard system <http://blackboard.uoregon.edu> (if you enrolled in the class, you are automatically registered; check your email or the help area of the blackboard.uoregon.edu website by clicking on the help icon.  Blackboard uses your UO email to contact you.  If you do use this email address, please set up auto-forwarding through the UO Email system online.). 

Readings will be assigned during the lecture on Wednesdays.  A one page (400-700 words, single spaced) response to the week’s reading is due online before lecture begins the week after the reading is assigned.  The response should cover 2-3 key points of the article and should end with your personal assessment of those points.
If you know you will be busy in a particular week, do your readings ahead of time. All reading summaries should be typed on a local machine (in a word processor, not a remote online machine) and saved to disk, then copied and pasted into the blackboard system. Alternately, you can can upload your whole document through the Blackboard "View/Complete Assignment" area. 

Assignments								24%
There will be a series of small assignments that will be introduced in the labs. These will serve as stepping stones, ensuring you understand the technical and conceptual content discussed in the labs and lecture prior to endeavoring in the larger projects.

Three Art/Design Projects						54%
There will be three projects that stem from the lab.  The first will be a visual programming project using Processing and the second two will be using Flash.  The second flash project will involve a non-standard form of interaction or navigation.  Details for each project will be provided in the lab section. (Note, the final critique will take place during Finals Week. See below.)

Lecture/Lab/Critique Participation:					8%
Attend and participate fully in this course.  Apathy and intellectual disconnect are the most disheartening things to see in academia.  Offer your thoughts, insights and ideas to your peers and instructors.  The class will be a better experience for all involved if you are willing to put your thoughts out there and dialog with each other.  Critiques are a forum for criticism, insights and growing ideas for projects.    

Late assignments: 
Late assignments are not accepted without doctor’s note or evidence of an emergency, or without prior arrangement with the GTF/lab-instructor or professor on emergency grounds (if you are having a personal emergency, email me ASAP). Incompletes for the course will not be given except in cases of evidence of personal hardship/illness discussed in advance.

Final Exam:  For this course we will be utilizing our final exam time block, during finals week, for our final critique.  This will be a mandatory and graded critique (as well as a really fun time to see each others' work).  The scheduled time for this course will be: Thursday June 14th at 10:15 a.m.  Please plan on attending this critique and planning any travel or spring break vacation arrangement to happen after this date.

Grading/ Evaluation:
Below is a sketch of how I utilize letter grades. Please read!
A+ 	Exceeds Expectations in ALL areas. Requires blackboard grade of above 100% and truly inspired concepts for projects. This grade is rarely give out in this class (less than 1% of students). 

A Range	Conceptual: Concepts engaging, thorough and coherent, original thinking, moves beyond assignment bounds, thinks creatively and documents this in the summaries, Writing: Excellent writing and grammar skills.  Expresses ideas clearly and effectively; spends time on the work; attention to detail. Engagement and Participation: Thoughtful comments on other’s work. Participates fully, taking a leadership role in discussion in class and online community outside of class. Brings new ideas to class consistently. Listens to other’s views with respect. Attends class on time and turns in work on time.  A- = 90%-94%. A = 94%-100%

B Range. 	Conceptual: Complete assignments with some originality; Satisfies aims of the assignment well. Writing: Good writing and grammar skills. Writing is clear and ideas are organized. Engagement and Participation: Participates fully in discussion. Attends class on time and turns in work on time. Participates in online comments and engages with others’ ideas. B- = 80%-84%, B = 84%-87%, B+ = 87%-90%

C Range 	Conceptual: Unoriginal or common sense thinking; doing only what is required; Writing: Unclear writing, grammatical errors, lack of thoroughness, does not meet goals of exercise, structural and technical problems. Engagement and Participation: Inconsistencies in presentation of work and participation, or does not frequently participate. Attends class but minimally engages with others’ work. C- = 70%-74%, C = 74%-77%, C+ = 77%-80%

D  Range	Falls below expectations in most areas. Inconsistencies, sloppiness, inaccuracies, errors, lack of effort.
D- = 60%-64%, D = 64%-67%, D+ = 67%-70%

F 	Fails to meet requirements of Assignment/Not turned in on time
F = <60%

*All work turned in for this class must be created for this class alone. No previous assignments accepted, and “double-dipping” assignments completed for two classes are not acceptable. Failure to comply with this expectation will result in a failing grade.

Disability Notice: 
If you have a disability that will affect your coursework, please notify the instructor within the first two weeks of class to ensure suitable arrangements and a comfortable working environment. The University provides resources for students with disabilities: For assistance with access or disability-related questions or concerns, contact the Accessible Education Center at 346-1155. 

Students are responsible for meeting all the standards set by the UO Policy on Academic Dishonesty.  See the UO Policy on Academic Dishonesty.

Crisis Notice: 
The University of Oregon Crisis Center, a student funded organization, provides students with confidential telephone crisis intervention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The hotline number is 346-4488. Often students believe that their issues are not "severe" enough for them to call a crisis intervention hotline. Here at the Crisis Center we truly believe that there is no problem too small for us. At one time or another everyone needs a little help through a difficult situation.