THURS JULY 29th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Note that the professor will NOT join you tonight. Every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard at the start of class and work together on this group final assignment.

2) GROUP FINAL PROJECT: Tonight you will create a 3D house and surrounding area (lawn furniture, swimming pool, garage, etc). You will create your 3D house and surrounding area in Rocket World as a GROUP (a class, but divided into smaller teams).

3) PLAN: Use the audio whiteboard to diagram in 2D a basic plan for what you will create. Aside from the house it's up to you, as a group, to decide what the surrounding area will have (suggestions: lawn furniture, swimming pool, garage, etc). NOTE that you need to have enough surrounding area content (things to build in 3D) to keep EVERYONE in the class busy! It's not enough to just build a house and something simple for the surrounding area: everyone should have approximately the same amount of work to do.

4) FORM TEAMS. Divide into teams of AT LEAST two, but no larger than four people. In other words, you need at least one teammate but can't have any more than three teammates (teams must be at least two people in size, but no more than four people). Each team will be responsible for a specific part of this project (one team will do the house, one team will do the swimming pool, etc).

5) LIST TEAMS NEXT TO THE OBJECTS THEY WILL BUILD. Use the audio whiteboard's text tool to place the student names (indivduals that comprise each team) next to the items they will build. In other words, every student should be listed on the 2D audio whiteboard diagram next to the items they will build (if your team is responsible for a swimming pool, for example, your name and the names of your teammates will be listed next to the pool on the audio whiteboard diagram).

6) BLOG A SCREENSHOT OF THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD DIAGRAM. Take a screenshot, showing then entire 2D diagram and the names on it, and post it to your blog.

7) BUILD! Enter Rocket World and find a place to build what you have diagrammed in the audio whiteboard. Use either the Rocket World text chat, or the audio whiteboard, to coordinate with your team members and the entire class. Note that coordinating via text or audio chat will be essential to completing this assignment. TAKE SCREENSHOTS AS YOU BUILD TO DOCUMENT THE WORK YOU ARE DOING. BLOG YOUR SCREENSHOTS, ALONG WITH A FEW PARAGRAPHS OF TEXT DESCRIBING THE PROCESS YOU TOOK, FOR GRADING.

8) DELETE! You must delete EVERYTHING that you create, leaving Rocket World just as you entered it with no trace of what you built remaining.

TUES JULY 27th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Note that the professor will join you tonight. Every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard at the start of class.

2) ENTER ROCKET WORLD. Recall our previous instructions on how to enter Rocket World. If you need to download the installers and get your guest account look in the forums at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/forums (look in the OVERVIEW post of the Rocket World forum).

3) ROCKET WORLD SKILLS LEARNED IN TODAY'S CLASS:

+ Local chat and text chat
+ Using local chat to open web pages
+ Flying
+ Friendship
+ Teleporting
+ Mini-map

+ Building with primitives (prims)

4) BUILD YOUR 3D ROCKET. Create your own 3D rocket and post multiple screenshots of it to your blog for grading.

5) FOR NEXT CLASS: Finish ALL of the sections under the heading "1.0.0 INTRODUCING 3D GRAPHICS" in the Discovering 3D Graphics textbook. When done review the images under the section " 2.0.0 EXAMPLE: BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS USING 3D GRAPHICS" to visualize the process involved with rendering 3D graphics on a computer.

THURS JULY 22th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another at the start of tonight's class. Note that tonight's class is a peer-run class: the professor will NOT join you tonight. Every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard to work as a group.

2) MIDTERMS DUE : Listen to this MP3 audio file for details.

3) MASTER MIDTERM LIST: Click here to see the master list of all midterms that are due. Be sure that you follow the instructions and also that you have properly linked your roll call screenshots to ImmersiveEducation.org as described in our master midterms file.

TUES JULY 20th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another at the start of tonight's class. Note that tonight's class is NOT a peer-run class: the professor will join you at 8:30pm after you have done the items listed below. Every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard to ensure that everyone finishes the group project (#2 below) in time to meet with the professor at 8:30pm in the audio whiteboard.

2) GROUP PROJECT: Listen to this MP3 audio file for details on tonight's group project.

3) AFTER TONIGHT FINISH YOUR MIDTERMS! Midterms are due on Thursday July 22nd. Click here to see the master list of all midterms that are due. Be sure that you follow the instructions and also that you have properly linked your roll call screenshots to ImmersiveEducation.org as described in our master midterms file.

THURS JULY 15th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another at the start of tonight's class. Note that tonight's class is NOT a peer-run class: the professor will join you at 7:45pm after you have done the items listed below. Note that the work you will do is based on the type of Operating System you are using (Macintosh or Windows). In any case, every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard to ensure that everyone finishes in time to meet with the professor at 7:45pm in the audio whiteboard.

WINDOWS USERS: Follow these class notes to start creating Flash vector graphics using the free Powerbullet program.

MACINTOSH USERS: Powerbullet is NOT available for Macintosh computers. As a group (all students using Mac computers) you must find a comparable alternative; use the audio whiteboard to coordinate your "search" (using Google, Bing, CNET.com and any other means you wish) to find a solution that meets the following criteria:

a) It must be a FREE program that you download or a FREE web service that runs entirely in the web browser. A web service (meaning the program runs entirely within the web browser) is preferred! If necessary you may use a downloadable program. In any case it must be FREE and have no cost associated with it.

b) It must create FLASH vector graphics. Specifically, it must create graphics that are stored in the .swf file format. The .swf file format is the "native" Flash file format. Whatever solution you decide upon MUST create .swf files that you can then upload to your own Web site. In other words, just as GimpShop lets you create .jpg files you must now find a solution for creating .swf files. You must be able to save the .swf files to your own computer (so that you can do whatever you want with them).

c) It must be EASY TO USE. Look for a very simple and easy to use solution.

Coordinate your search for a solution via the audio whiteboard, so that you actually TEST the solution that you decide upon: in other words, divide and conquer. There area a LOT of potential solutions; narrow it down to the best candidates, and test those final candidates. Then, decide which is the best for you to use.

TUES JULY 13th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from our first class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another at the start of tonight's class. Note that tonight's class is NOT a peer-run class: the professor will join you at 7pm after you have done the readings listed in STEP #2 below, at which point you will have a short quiz on the materials that you will read between now and then. In the meantime every student should be logged into the audio whiteboard to ensure that everyone finishes STEP #2 below. students work together (communicating through the whiteboard) so that everyone successfully completes STEP #2. Check the whiteboard frequently to help your fellow students who may have issues completing Step #2 below:

2) We are now starting our work on VECTOR GRAPHICS. The professor will join you in the audio whiteboard at 7pm AFTER you have reading the following sections from our online textbook (access the textbook from the syllabus):

2a Click here to open the class notes for tonight

2b Scroll down to SECTION 02. INTRODUCING VECTOR GRAPHICS. Skip the sections that come before Section 02, and focus ONLY on Section 02. Do the readings listed in Section 02 and NOTE that these are readings from our VECTOR GRAPHICS textbook.

2c Note that the LAST TWO CHAPTERS (1.1.0 and 1.2.0) in the textbook readings for tonight DO NOT LOAD. Skip these! But be sure to read sections 1.0.1, 1.0.2, and 1.0.3.

3) The professor will join you in the audio whiteboard at 7pm after you have completed the readings listed in Section 02 of tonight's class notes (see 2a above for the link).

THURS JULY 8th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from previous class below.

1) LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another tonight: tonight's class is a peer-run class, meaning all students work together (communicating through the whiteboard) so that everyone successfully completes all the tasks. The professor will not join you tonight: tonight is a student collaboration (self-directed) class. Remember that you can access the course textbook and Yahoo Group via the syllabus.

2) Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another to finish the MIDTERM EXERCISES that are described here in tonight's course notes. IMPORTANT: SKIP ALL ROLL CALLS (DON'T DO ROLL CALLS) AND START NOTES AT "SECTION 04. GIMPSHOP INTERFACE BASICS". In other words, skip all the sections up to Section 04 and begin tonight with Section 04 (GimpShop Interface Basics).

3) Do all 3 midterm assignments listed under Section 05 ("GIMPSHOP STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIALS") as you follow the step-by-step tutorials. As you complete each midterm exercise UPLOAD (POST) THEM TO YOUR BLOG and then POST THE BLOG LINK TO EACH OF YOUR COMPLETED MIDTERMS TO OUR YAHOO GROUP.

4) Review the midterms submitted to our Yahoo Group for each student, so that ALL students have a solid peer review on the midterms that they submit to our Yahoo Group.

5) Revise your midterm assignments as needed based on the feedback that you get from your fellow students.

6) Also complete the "RED-EYE IMAGE FORMATS" assignment that appears under the midterm assignments on tonight's course notes.

7) BEFORE OUR NEXT CLASS: Complete the video tutorials and readings listed under "FOR NEXT WEEK" at the bottom of tonight's course notes. Notice that this includes completing MIDTERMS #5 and #6. View this page for a listing of all midterms (tonight you finished #1, #2, and #3; for next class you will complete #5 and #6).

THURS JULY 1st SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

NOTE: for links (to syllabus, audio whiteboard, etc) see notes from previous class below.

1) Purchase the course textbook if you have not already done so and then LOG INTO THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD. Use the audio whiteboard to assist one another tonight: tonight's class is a peer-run class, meaning all of the students work together (communicating through the whiteboard) so that everyone successfully completes all the tasks. The professor will not join you tonight -- tonight is a student-run class.

2) Read all of the notes on this course introduction page, and do the exercises that are listed on the page. When you sign up for the Yahoo Group notice that you must find it via the course syllabus. Your Yahoo Group account will not be approved for at least 24 hours.

3) Do the READINGS from the course textbook (available via the syllabus) listed under the "For Next Week" section at the bottom of the introduction page. Do NOT do the items listed under Step #3 and #4. Just ensure that the first two are completed. When you do the readings you only need to read lightly, to get a good sense of the material: don't click on the links that appear in the readings -- only read the pages that load initially (don't follow any links in the readings).

4) Download and install GIMPSHOP. The installers are listed under APPENDIX B of the Bitmap Graphics textbook. Note that GimpShop is NOT PhotoShop! Be sure to install only GimpShop.

5) Watch the OPEN AND ZOOM GimpShop video tutorial listed under Appendix B (it's item B.10). If you are unable to see the video in your browser you may have to install the Windows Media Player plug-in (the most current installer is here and an older installer is here). You can also try the VLC Media player (Mac users, especially, since it's difficult to see the videos on Macintosh computers). If you can't view the video in your browser window you can download it to your computer by scrolling to the very bottom of the video tutorial window (a link to download the video is under the area in which the video would normally play in your browser window).

6) Open any image on your computer using GimpShop, and experiment with the pencil, pen, and smudge tools that appear on the GimpShop floating tool window. Play around, and have some fun.

7) Log into Rocket World and use the MINI MAP button to locate your fellow students. Use your arrow keys to move around. You can use the text chat built into Rocket World to continue chatting with your fellow students since there's no need to use the text chat on the whiteboard if you're all in Rocket World.

8) Class is complete! Remember that we have class in person on campus next week. I'll see you then.

TUESDAY JUNE 29th SUMMER 2010 DISCOVERING COMPUTER GRAPHICS:

Discovering Computer Graphics is an Immersive Education course: the majority of the course takes place online in a virtual world (synthetic immersive environment). Note that MOST of tonight's class is entirely self-directed: the instructor will "meet" you online after you complete the steps below. Complete the steps below at the start of tonight's class so that you are READY to meet virtually at 8pm ET. In other words, you have until 8pm to complete the steps below so that you can meet with the professor online (virtually) at that time. Approximate time estimates are given for each step below so that you can keep pace:

1) Click here now to review the course syllabus. [15 minutes]

2) Purchase the digital course textbook that is listed on the course syllabus. [15 minutes]

3) Visit ImmersiveEducation.org and read about Immersive Education. [1 hour]

4) Install Flash from here if you don't already have the most up to date version. [15 minutes]

5) Use your FULL NAME (first and last name) to sign into the "Audio Whiteboard" here and say hello to your fellow classmates using the text chat area. If you have a microphone you can say hello using audio as well. Experiment with the text and drawing tools that appear on the right-hand side of the Audio Whiteboard until the professor arrives. [15 minutes]

NOTE: The professor will sign into the Audio Whiteboard at 8pm at which point you should have completed all of the above steps. The remainder of tonight's class takes place in the Audio Whiteboard.

DO NOT USE ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TONIGHT. ONLY FOLLOW THE STEPS ABOVE AND BE READY TO MEET THE PROFESSOR IN THE AUDIO WHITEBOARD AT 8PM.

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Syllabus
Class 1 Introduction/Overview

Class 2 Bitmap Graphics, Part I
Class 3 [ONLINE] Bitmap Graphics, Part II
Class 4 [ONLINE] Bitmap Graphics, Part III