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--- course_outline [2013/11/06 01:56] – egz
+++ course_outline [2015/03/16 20:03] (current) – mdhosale
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+====== Course Outline ======
+======  Introduction ======
+This course is designed as an inquiry into the field of digital media that culminates in the realization of significant project in the area of digital media.
- **Project Selection: **
-When selecting an engineering research project, it is imperative to propose one that is scientifically well founded. Originality of the proposed concept should highlighted, however the main goal of this course (ENG 4000) is that, the students enrolled, demonstrate their ability to develop a classical engineering project in a successful way, under the supervision of, the course's director, the project advisers and/or the mentorship of graduate students. Hence, The main selection criteria for a plausible project are; (1) the knowledge that students acquired over the last three years, should be put into practice within the framework of the concept, (2) the aims, objectives and of the project, should be feasible and delivered with regard to the time table, the necessary expertise and abilities involved, the budget and the available facilities, (3) the necessary tasks, leading to the completion of the project, should be equally shared by the team members. Inasmuch, the students should submit their proposal to the course director. The project's descriptive document, should include detailed depiction of the main responsibilities of each one of the team members, their names and contact information in addition to a section that identifies the team's academic advisers. This form should be sent by the first deadline, however the students can improve this form and send their final version, by the last deadline.
+======  Evaluation ======
+Assessment is based on assignments, presentations, participation, the midterm, and the final project, which will be given the following weight in the final grade:
+  - 33% Assignment/presentations/Participation
+  - 33% Midterm
+  - 33% Final Project
+----
+** Assignments/Presentations/Participation**
+----
+  * Assignments:
+Assignments should be expected every week. Some assignments will be specific, while most
+assignments are an assessment of the student or group’s progress. Assignments may be givento the class as a whole or specifically to a student or group as deemed necessary. Regardlesseveryone should have something ready to show from week to week. Whatever the case, themantra for the course should be "make-make-make."
+  * In-Class Presentations:
+Often during the course specific in-class presentation assignments will be given. However, inaddition, students should be prepared to show their progress every week as part of their weekly progress check.
+  * Documentation:
+Students should be documenting their work throughout the course. Periodical checks of
+documentation should be included in the in-class presentations and week
+----
+**Midterm**
+----
+Midterm grade will be based on the project proposals and project proposal presentations.
+Deliverables will include a written project proposal, a presentation, and a poster and
+prototype(s). A review held on the last two weeks of fall term to discuss the project proposals. This review will be open to Digital Media Faculty and students.
+----
+** Projects**
+----
-**Project Selection Review #1-2:**
+Projects will be realized in groups and will be a significant work in the context of digital media. The projects are evaluated on a multi-part basis, which consists of the following:
- The students should present their proposal in class. A good presentation should stimulate number students from the audience, to ask questions and the presenting team should provide plausible answers to these questions.  The director of the course will be asking questions, as well, except that these questions will differ from those of the audience in a sense that they are not meant to evaluate scientific, well-founding of the claims at this stage, but rather, these latter will address the organization of the team, the skills required for the completion of the project and mentoring of the project.  By the second project selection review (PSR), the students will have an opportunity to find address, unanswered questions, remaining from the first PSR and improve their proposal accordingly. The main factors influencing the marking of this part of the project, are first, the quality of the project description, with respect to the template and second, the performance of the team, when defending their claims and answering the audience's questions.
+  * Final Projects:
+The final product of the research and development conducted during the year. The project
+should follow the following guidelines:
+  - All projects are interactive
+  - Non-trivial software component
+  - An expression of your technical ability
+  - Well situated in the literature, rationalized, communicated
+  - Good design, creative development
+  - Projects should be achievable with the technical resources available
+  - Groups no bigger than 3
-** Background Study:**
+Other constraints may arise based on the progression of the discourse over the duration of the course, and/or as the need arises in the development of particular projects.
- The students should run an engineering background search, prior to the beginning of the project. In this study, the team members should review all the techniques they may potentially use for the ends of their projects. Also the originality of the endeavor and similarities between the selected project and other works should be discussed.
+  * Final Paper:
+A paper (minimum 1500 word) that explains and justifies the technical and aesthetic
+considerations will accompany all projects. Although works are developed in teams, individuals will still be responsible for their own papers. Individual papers will focus primarily on your individual contribution to the work as a whole. Papers should follow the formatting of a major journal or conference within the field and should consist of the following components:
+  - Abstract
+  - Introduction/Overview
+  - Related works
+  - Description of the Development Process
+  - Conclusion
+  - References
-**Background Review:**
+Paper Formatting
-AT this stage, the students should be ready to present in class, a summary of the background study they ran on the chosen topic. The goal of this writing down this papers-review and presenting it, is to demonstrate the students comprehension of the underlying concepts and that allows them to improve the founding of their proposal. The main factors influencing the mark, dedicated to this part of project, are; first, the improvements achieved in the description of the right techniques involved in the project and second, the relevance of the team's answers to the audience's questions.
+For your papers we would like you to follow the ACM "Small Standard Format," an example can be downloaded here:
+[[http://www.acm.org/publications/word_style/word-style-toc/
+]]
+Use the citation style and formatting as a guide when developing all of your writing for this course.
+When working on your papers you should categorize your work using the ACM Classification System as found here:
+[[http://dl.acm.org/ccs_flat.cfm#10003120]]
-**Design Specification:**
-This a critical step, in project development, where students should accurately, describe the objectives and the techniques, yet to be used in their projects. As these techniques, once they are set, can not be subjected to further changes, the students should run, an in-depth study of the projects outlines, prior to submitting the final design specifications.
+  * Final Presentation Review:
+A review held on the last two weeks of class to discuss the projects. This review will be open to DM Faculty and students.
-**Critical Design Review (CDR) #1-2:**
+  * Exhibition:
+A public exhibition of the projects will take place during the Digital Media Showcase.
- In the first CDR, the students need to justify their approach by describing the main techniques and answering the questions. In the second CDR they will address the problems that were asked in the first CDR. The main factors affecting the mark dedicated to this part of project are; first, the quality of the description of design specifications with regard to the template and second, the relevance of the answers given to the questions.
+  * Auto-Evaluation:
+In addition to the overall project outcome, projects will be evaluated in part by considering your own assessment of the overall project grade, your individual contribution to the project, and each of your team member’s contribution.
-**Implementation Set-up:**
-Each team should provide a list of the main tools, equipment, consumable materials, electronic components and software. The list should be accompanied by a justification of each item needed.
-**Critical Implementation Review (CIR) #1-8:**
- Each group should submit a progress report and present their accomplishments in class. Convincing answers to the questions asked at the end of the presentation, should be provided before the director of the course.
+  * Grading Scheme, Assignment Submissions, and Lateness Penalties
+The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in
+undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.). Assignments will bear a letter grade designation. See Grades and Grading Schemes
+from the [[http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2014-2015/academic/grades/index.htm]].
+  *  Grade Problems
+If you have a problem with the grade you have been assigned you need to follow these steps:
+  - Explain to your course director, in writing by email, why you think you deserve a higher grade.
+  - If you cannot come to an agreement with your course director then you should bring your
+complaint to the Associate Dean Students.
-**Preliminary Demonstration  (PD) #1-2:**
+  * Grading Workstation Requirements
+Assignments must be able to run on a typical workstation configuration in the lab. This means projects will be evaluated on a Macintosh computer running standard software.
+- Lateness Penalties
+Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized one-half grade point per day that they are late. Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc. will be entertained by the Course Director only when supported by written documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter). Students may take a limited number of courses for degree credit on an ungraded (pass/fail) basis. For full information on this option see Alternative Grading Option in the Faculty of Fine Arts section of [[http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/calendars/2013-2014/faculty_rules/FA/grading.htm
+]]
- The students should demonstrate the first and second parts of project and answer the questions in PD #1 and PD #2 respectively. The main factors influencing the mark, dedicated to this phase of the project are; first, the successful demonstration of the results and second, answer to the questions.
+====== Materials ======
+  *  Tools
-**Final Demonstration and Reports:**
+The focus of this course is the pursuit of the research topic at hand, and not the development ofa specific tool. Therefore the tools used for this course can be derived from any number of sources, based on the student’s experience and what is ideal to carry out the project proposal. Emphasis will likely be placed on tools and techniques that are focused on in Digital Media courses, such as Max/MSP/Jitter, Arduino, OpenFrameWorks and Java.
-The main goal of this project is to train the students to integrate various engineering techniques and through a problem solving and decision making processes, demonstrate the results of their project in a successful fashion. The final report is the main and final document that will be delivered from the students. This document should include all the studies, design and implementation procedures, results tables, images and graphics, formatted according to the template.
+  * Lab Materials and Access
+The Digital Media Program has a wealth of resources for you to work with. For details on lab materials and access, please see: David Han, Digital Media Lab Technician,
+Digital Media, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University 416.736.2100 x77465 - dhan@yorku.ca
+  * Course Website
+A course website will be maintained for students to use for documentation and presentation of their work. Details on access and location of the site are forthcoming.
+====== Course Plan ======
+  * Workshops
+Workshops will be given throughout the course on an ad hoc basis. Workshops will be
+determined based on the common needs of the students, student input, and the availability of workshop leaders.
+  * Mentors
+Although not always possible, ideally the projects will be realized under the supervision of outside mentors. We will seek mentors based on the project proposals that are provided early in the process. Mentors may be faculty from either the Department of Computer Science and Engineering or the Faculty of Fine Arts or the Communication Studies program of the Division of Social Science, Faculty of LA&PS. Mentors in industry are also possible. All mentors will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
+  * Schedule
+The following is the schedule for the course. Lectures for this 24-week course are 3 hours. Homework and other deliverables should be completed before the start of class the day they are due. As a project development course, the courses will be divided into two main development periods that consist of Project Development, Conceptualization, and Planning; and Development/Prototyping as outlined below. Because of the unpredictable nature of the project development the Fall 2014
+  - Project Development/Conceptualization/Planning
+  - Specialization & State of the Research
+Students will provide a general overview of the state of the research in their chosen area. State of the research is typically in the form of an annotated bibliography and will be a component ofthe final paper. Individuals will present articles and other materials to the class. Materials (links, articles, etc.) should be provided to the class beforehand. All students are responsible for participating the discussions that follow the presentations.