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CCDN 384

ST: MAKER CULTURE AND PRACTICE

Course Outline Trimester 1, 2016

GENERAL

Trimester 1; 20 points

ASSESSMENT

100% internal by assignment

CLASS TIMES AND LOCATIONS

LECTURES: Tuesday 12:40 – 13:30 Room: VS318

STUDIO: Tuesday 13:40 – 14:30 Room: VS318 Thursday 15:40 – 17:30 Room: VS318

COORDINATOR

Coordinator Name: Tonya Sweet Office: WIG 406 Phone: 04 463 6407 Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 Email: tonya.sweet.@vuw.ac.nz

For Tutor details please visit the course blog via: blackboard.vuw.ac.nz

Teaching Fellow

Name: Dan Scudder

Office Hours: By appointment

Email: dan.scudder@gmail.com

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COMMUNICATION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Any changes or additions to this Course Outline will be discussed and agreed with the class, and conveyed via

email or through the course blog on the School of Design Teaching and Learning website: blackboard.vuw.ac.nz

PRESCRIPTION

This course introduces students to the contexts surrounding the contemporary maker movement through a

theoretical and practice-based curriculum. As the maker movement establishes itself within mainstream design

practice, the roles of design, designers, and local and global production have expanded. The evolution and

potentials of Maker Culture will be investigated through both academic and design-led outputs.

COURSE CONTENT

This course will investigate the evolution, value, and practices that define “Maker Culture”. Through lectures and

studios students will explore a range of theoretical ideas related to the diverse world of the maker movement and,

through engagement in hands-on learning and critical reflection, students will develop a comprehensive

understanding of Maker Culture practice. This paper encourages students to innovate and challenge the status

quo in the creation of products, experiences and strategies that take advantage of a variety of technologies and

ideas associated with the maker movement. The projects and assignments are designed to enable students to

develop skills in critical thinking, design research, and innovative design practices, as well as an understanding of

the practicalities relevant to designing and producing a product within the scope of Maker Culture.

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students who pass this course should be able to:

1. Examine, identify and explain key concepts relevant to maker culture within a theoretical and

historical context. 2. Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of contemporary maker practice, inclusive of socio-

cultural, financial, environmental, and production-based consideration. 3: Formulate design outcomes reflective of the attributes that define contemporary maker culture. 4: Communicate ideas orally, visually and through writing.

TEACHING FORMAT

This course will be taught through lectures and studio sessions. Lectures will be formatted to disseminate information and also encourage discussion. Studio sessions will be structured around key aspects of the maker culture movement and will require students to participate, share, and discuss their weekly assessments and design outcomes. Tutors will be available during the studio sessions to prompt discussion and to give advice on weekly and project-based work. Student participation is essential within the studio sessions, both as a means to foster a community of learning as well as to engage in a collaborative environment that reflects the communal nature of the maker movement. The Course Coordinator will be available during scheduled office hours to answer any specific questions you may have.

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All course materials, project descriptions, important dates, reference materials and required readings will be

available on the course blog, located on the School of Design Teaching and Learning website, see:

blackboard.vuw.ac.nz

MANDATORY COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This course will require students to utilise some of the equipment in the SOAD Main Modelling Workshop. All courses requiring access to the Main 3D Modelling Workshop machinery or digital fabrication equipment, must comply with the FAD Health & Safety plan in regards to access, bookings and safety training. Upon entry to this course, those students who have not yet completed the necessary safety training and workshop orientation will be required to complete this as outlined by the Course Coordinator and/or Teaching Fellow. There are no other mandatory course requirements for this course.

WORKLOAD

Attendance and participation is an important aspect of the learning process, and you are required to attend all

lectures and tutorials.

If extraordinary circumstances arises that require you to be absent from some class sessions, you should discuss

the situation with the Course Coordinator as soon as possible.

You should expect to spend around 200 hours on this course, including both scheduled class time and

independent study. Typically this involves around 12 hours per week during the 12 teaching weeks, with the

balance during the mid-trimester break, study week, and examination period.

Please check out the link below with information on Studio Courses:

www.victoria.ac.nz/fad/faculty-administration/current-students#studioculturepolicy

Students with course timetable clashes are responsible for discussing these with their Course Coordinators. Students

who then choose to remain enrolled in such courses must recognise that it is their sole responsibility to seek

information from peers, Blackboard and other sources, and catch up on course material they may miss because of

clashes.

ASSESSMENT

Projects: Three projects will be undertaken over the course of Trimester 1, and these will introduce students to

the realm of maker culture, including its history and future trajectory as well as explore student’s current and

future relationship to the movement. The three projects will build upon each other in complexity: students will

learn through experience how to design and make a prototype and, as the trimester progresses, students will

develop a strategy for creating and distributing a small-scale product of their own design. Within the scope of this

course the student will learn about the technologies available, current trends, and business models employed in

the maker movement and learn to critically engage with these factors. Each of these projects will include both a

theoretical and practice-based component.

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Weekly Assessments: Ten Weekly Assessments will be assigned to encourage students to engage directly with

the central aspect of Maker Culture: making. Each completed assignment will be discussed and evaluated in

class. Students will be asked to share the knowledge they have acquired through the assessment in terms of

process, technique, and/or applicability to a specific theoretical concept.

Blogs: Students will be expected to record their development and research on an individual blog (students may

choose a blog platform of their choice). The blog is pivotal in discerning the student’s engagement, progress, and

design development, as well as providing the student with an opportunity to refine their documentation skills.

Blogs will be a large part of the marking process and should be maintained with all required material kept up-to-

date.

Assessment items and workload per

item

Due % CLO(s)

1 Project One: The Evolution of Maker Culture

Assessment Requirements: 1,000 word essay; see project brief for specific criteria. To be submitted to the R-Drive by 22:00.

Tues 22th March 20% 1, 2, 4

2 Project Two: Make-a-Prototype

Assessment Requirements: Functioning Prototype including iterations, blog, reflective summary and a presentation; see project brief for specific criteria. To be presented in a critical review with documentation to be submitted to the R-Drive by 15:00.

Thurs 5th May 35% 1, 2, 3, 4

3 Project Three: Make-a-Product

Assessment Requirements: Functioning Product including iterative design development, blog, business plan, reflective summary and final presentation; see project brief for specific criteria. To be presented in a critical review with documentation to be submitted to the R-Drive by 15:00.

Thurs 2nd June 35% 1, 2, 3, 4

4 Weekly Assessments

Weekly Assigned Objectives relevant to technical and practical skills; to be discussed each week in class. Of the 10 assessments submitted, the 6 with the highest marks will be calculated to determine the grade for Weekly Assessments.

Weekly 10% 2, 4

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All work submitted for this course must be original and developed for this course only, unless prior approval is gained from the course coordinator to further develop existing work from previous or concurrent courses.

The School has a long tradition of providing critical review of student work as it progresses especially in design

projects. For further information please refer to the Website below:

www.victoria.ac.nz/fad/faculty-administration/current-students/faqs#criticalreview

All grades posted during this course are only provisional results until entered on your student record in Banner.

SUBMISSION AND RETURN OF WORK

Each student is responsible for ensuring their work is submitted to their Course Tutor or Course Coordinator on

time and in the required format.

Work submitted late must be submitted to the Course Coordinator. Late submissions will be penalised as set out

below, unless an extension is approved by the Course Coordinator.

EXTENSIONS

In the event of illness or other extraordinary circumstances that prevent you from submitting and/or presenting a

piece of work on time, or that you feel adversely affect the quality of the work you submit, it is important that you

discuss your circumstances with the Course Coordinator as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements

may be made. You should complete an Application for Extension form (available from the Faculty Office) for the

Course Coordinator to approve. You will also need to provide suitable evidence of your illness or other

circumstances. In an emergency, or if you are unable to contact the Course Coordinator, you should advise the

Faculty Office of your situation.

PENALTIES

If no extension has been approved, the folowing penalties will be applied:

Failure to personally present work at any scheduled graded review will result in an automatic failing grade of E (maximum mark of 39%) for the work being reviewed;

Work submitted late will receive a failing grade of E (maximum mark of 39%);

Any work not submitted within 5 working days of the due date will be recorded as a non-submission (0%).

REQUIRED MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Students will need to provide all materials and equipment as necessary for the completion of required work.

Please check the website link below for the standard requirements:

www.victoria.ac.nz/fad/faculty-administration/current-students/faqs#materialsandequipment

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SET TEXTS

There are no required texts for this course however a number of texts will be assigned throughout the course and

will be available through blackboard.

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SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS

Week

month

day

date Lecture Tutorial

Comments

Week 8 February

M 22 Orientation Week

TU 23

W 24

TH 25

F 26

Week 9 Feb/March

M 29 Trimester 1 Begins

TU 1 Lecture 1: Introduction Tutorial 1

W 2

TH 3 Tutorial 2

F 4

Week 10 March

M 7

TU 8 Lecture 2: A History of Makers Tutorial 3 Project One Handout

W 9

TH 10 Tutorial 4

F 11 This is the last date that you can withdraw with a full fees refund

Week 11 March

M 14

TU 15 Lecture 3: Makers in Context Tutorial 5

W 16

TH 17 Tutorial 6

F 18

Week 12 March

M 21

TU 22 Lecture 4: The Third Industrial Revolution Tutorial 7 Project One Due /Project Two Handout

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W 23

TH 24

F 25 Good Friday – Public Holiday

Week 13 March/ April

M 28 Easter Monday – Public Holiday

TU 29 University Holiday

W 30

TH 31 Tutorial 8 Trimester 1 resumes

F 1

Week 14 April

M 4

TU 5 Lecture 5: The Internet Tutorial 9

W 6

TH 7 Tutorial 10

F 8

Week 15 April

M 11

TU 12 Lecture 6: The Internet of Things Tutorial 11

W 13

TH 14 Tutorial 12

F 15

Week 16 April

M 18

TU 19 Lecture 7: Hackers Tutorial 11

W 20

TH 21 Tutorial 12

F 22

Week 17 April

M 25 Anzac Day Observed – Public holiday

TU 26 Mid Trimester Break starts

W 27

TH 28

9

F 29 Mid Trimester Break ends

Week 18 May

M 2

TU 3 Lecture 8: Ethics and Morals Tutorial 13

W 4

TH 5 Tutorial 14 Project Two Due / Project Three Handout

F 6

Week 19 May

M 9

TU 10 Lecture 9: Education Tutorial 15

W 11

TH 12 Tutorial 16

F 13 After this date the Associate Dean’s approval is required for withdrawals from Trimester 1 courses.

Week 20 May

M 16

TU 17 Lecture 10: Makerspaces Tutorial 17

W 18

TH 19 Tutorial 18

F 20

Week 21 May

M 23

TU 24 Lecture 11: It’s Business Time Tutorial 19

W 25

TH 26 Tutorial 20

F 27

Week 22 May/June

M 30

TU 31 Lecture 12: Future Makers Tutorial 21

W 1

TH 2 Tutorial 22 Project Three Due

F 3

Week 23 June

M 6 Queen’s Birthday – Public Holiday

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TU 7 Study Period

W 8

TH 9

F 10 Mid-year Examinations begin

Week 24 June

M 13

TU 14

W 15

TH 16

F 17

Week 25 June

M 20

TU 21

W 22

TH 23

F 24

Week 26 June/July

M 27

TU 28

W 29 Mid-year Examinations end

TH 30 Mid-year break begins

F 1

Week 27 July

M 4

TU 5

W 6

TH 7

F 8

Week 28 July

M 11 Trimester 2 begins

TU 12

W 13

TH 14

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F 15

CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

The Faculty of Architecture and Design operates a system of Class Representatives in 100-level courses, and

Year Representatives in each of the professional disciplines. Student Representatives are elected during a class

session in the first week of teaching. All Student Representatives will be listed on the STUDiO notice board in the

Atrium, and the relevant Representatives are also listed on studio notice boards. Student Representatives have a

role in liaising between staff and students to represent the interests of students to the academic staff, and also in

providing students with a communication channel to STUDiO and the Student Representation organiser.

Class Rep name and contact details:

STUDENT FEEDBACK

As this course is a Special Topic and has not been taught previously, there is no feedback from previous students. Student feedback on University courses may be found at www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/feedback/feedback_display.php.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The information above is specific to this course. There is other important information that students must familiarise themselves with, including:

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/plagiarism

Academic Progress: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/students/study/progress/academic-progress (including

restrictions and non-engagement)

Dates and deadlines: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/students/study/dates

Faculty Current Students site: www.victoria.ac.nz/fad/faculty-administration/current-students

Grades: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/students/study/progress/grades

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Special passes: Refer to the Assessment Handbook, at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/documents/policy/staff-policy/assessment-handbook.pdf

Statutes and policies including the Student Conduct Statute: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/about/governance/strategy

Student support: www.victoria.ac.nz/students/support

Students with disabilities: www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/disability

Student Charter: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/viclife/student-charter

Terms and Conditions: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/study/apply-enrol/terms-conditions/student-contract

Turnitin: www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/wiki/index.php/Turnitin

University structure: www.victoria.ac.nz/about/governance/structure

VUWSA: www.vuwsa.org.nz