Module overview
This module introduces you to principles of programming for creative applications. Using accessible platforms including block-based coding, simple robotics and front-end web design you will work on exercises that will quickly develop your technical skills and allow you to experiment with creative ideas.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Disciplinary Specific Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- problem-solving skills to solve well-specified problems in the creation of computational artefacts
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- test a range of ideas whilst experimenting with techniques and processes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the fundamental principles, processes and methods core to your discipline
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- generate ideas through enquiry and analysis of selected research material
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- plan strategies to evolve your digital skills in line with your discipline’s expectations
Syllabus
The programming languages and platforms will vary from year to year, as will the set exercises and experiments. However they might include designing a game using block-programming, front-end web coding, the manipulation and animation of visual data.
The emphasis throughout will be for you to grasp some key principles of computing and to apply them in creative and experimental ways.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will include workshop tuition in key platforms and languages, and you will learn through a series of hands-on exercises that will be guided and supported by staff but will allow plenty of scope for your own creative input. A workshop-based and collaborative ethos will be encouraged, with peer learning and the encouragement of risk and experimentation.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Independent Study | 248 |
| Teaching | 42 |
| Total study time | 290 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Winfield, Alan (2012). Robotics: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Levin, Golan & Brain, Tega (2021). Code as a Creative Medium: a handbook for computational art and design. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Boden, Margaret (2018). Artificial Intelligence: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Class Exercise
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback:
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 75% |
| Learning journal | 25% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 75% |
| Learning journal | 25% |