Other articles


  1. Interface Design Case Studies

    Designing a teacher portal for a school information system

    Chris's school purchased a mediocre information system to manage all the school's information about students, parents, teachers, schedules, attendance, etc. The system could be configured to provide various views of information; Chris was tasked with designing the teacher portal. This isn't …

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  2. Tangible interface tables

    Slides

    TLTL is the proud home of four home-made tangible user interface tables. These are interesting interfaces because they support physical interaction with programmed environments in a context well-suited to social play. They are also an excellent example of how our digital fabrication technologies can be combined in powerful ways …

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  3. Woodshop

    Woodshop slides

    Tool/Machine-Specific Safety

    Band saw

    Check before you run your piece through to make sure your hands will not be in the sphere of action. Turn on the saw, and ensure the blade does not travel or waver. If it does, grab someone on the teaching team before …

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  4. Coffee

    You are welcome to use the espresso maker as long as you clean up after yourself. Frequent users are encouraged to bring a mug.

    Usage

    • To avoid surprises, make sure all the switches are turned off and the steam knob is shut.
    • Turn on the power switch. The light indicates …
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  5. Lab Journal

    We’d like for you to keep a journal on your learning through Lab Projects as the weeks progress. We want you to pay special attention to the choices that you make as you explore multiple ideas, leverage social and material resources and seek feedback. It would be useful to …

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  6. Scratch

    Getting Started

    Link to the Scratch website

    Click 'Create' on the top left corner to get started! To save your work, create an account.

    The slides from class can be found here.

    Topics introduced in this lab include - polygons, looping, encapsulation, parameters, recursion

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  7. Code

    Goals

    This station is a top-down introduction to some important programming concepts. Rather than learning the nitty-gritty of a language, you will start with a working game, read the source code, and discuss design considerations for your own programming. Key concepts include:

    • Model/view architecture: Models should manage a program's …
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  8. Laser cutter & 2D design

    Here are the slides from the laser cutter and 2D design station. Chris's introduction to InkScape is below.


    Safety

    • Be sure that all the support systems (cooling, air, exhaust) are on before using a laser.
    • Be sure you are using materials allowed in the laser. Some materials catch on fire …
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