alanG/\lan lives – Visualize, Design, Develop, Affect – inspired Technologist

My undergrad years at Cornell certainly had a largely interdisciplinary focus which flexed my ability to design interaction paradigms, particularly for integrating performing arts and information science. Of the several goals set out for the sustainability related project being led by Communication Ph.D. Megan Halpern, one which is closely related to my interests is the use of both art and science as tools to enhance creative thinking about global sustainability issues. The ‘Out of Water’ project, which started in the University of Toronto and is on display at Ohio State Unviersity, tackles a similar challenge:

The trick is making sure that projects like Out of Water transcend the potentially hermetic worlds of academia and design. This initiative features the kind of interdisciplinary approach of design and science that not only points the way out of our current crisis, but also enables young practitioners to think creatively about how to respond to our most pressing environmental challenges. Nonetheless, it will take the combined will and action of individuals to ground such prescriptions in daily life.

via Worldchanging: Bright Green: Out of Water Project Aims to Highlight Solutions to Water Issues.

Given that we are likely to collaborate with Ithaca’s Science Center, we will be using Megan’s project as an educational tool for building global sustainability awareness among young visitors of the museum, about ages 8-12. Working with such an agree adds another challenge to our project goals. I hope to continue writing about challenge of effectively merging arts, science, and the attention spans of middle-school aged kids into the design of an educational paradigm for sustainability.

And yet another neat tutorial titled “How to Think Like a (Python) Programmer” with a basic intro on dictionary structures. It seems more analytical than the link I posted two entries below.

by Allen B. Downey

http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/html/book012.html

Learning how to think like a computer scientist is one of the most useful skills I’ve picked up in the past three years at Cornell.

Here’s a nice tutorial that uses Python to teach us “How to Think Like a Computer Scientist“.

“Using a very high-level language like Python allows a teacher to postpone
talking about low-level details of the machine until students have the
background that they need to better make sense of the details. It thus creates
the ability to put first things first pedagogically.”

“Using Python has improved the effectiveness of our computer science program
for all students. I see a higher general level of success and a lower level of
frustration than I experienced during the two years I taught C++. I move
faster with better results. More students leave the course with the ability to
create meaningful programs and with the positive attitude toward the experience
of programming that this engenders.”

http://openbookproject.net//thinkCSpy/preface.xhtml

“This paper presents the concept of inquisitive use and discusses design considerations for creating experience-oriented interactive systems that inspire inquisitive use. Inquisitive use is based on the pragmatism of John Dewey and defined by the interrelated aspects of experience, inquiry, and conflict”.

From DIS Highlights collected by Lucian of cemcom.