Mobile Media
Instructor: Shawn Van Every
Email: Shawn.Van.Every@nyu.edu
Office Location: Sama 1315
Office Hours: Sunday and Wednesday 3PM to 5PM or by appointment
Class Schedule: Thursdays 2:35 to 3:50 (Normal) and Monday 2:35 to 5:15 (Lab and Workshop)
Classroom: DTCN 129
Class URL: http://www.mobvcasting.com/nyuadmobilemedia/notes/
Description
Mobile devices (phones) are used for both the production and consumption of rich media, augmenting their original purpose as one-to-one communication devices. This course explores the technology that enables the consumption and production of media on these devices with an eye toward how that media can be used in conjunction with the devices’ original social and communicative purposes. Students create projects that utilize the available technology to explore new forms of social media creation and consumption.
Teaching and Learning Methodologies
This course consists of lecture, discussion, presentations, and workshop or laboratory sessions. Through the course students examine the current state-of-the art in mobile technology with a focus on that which enables the consumption and production of media. Additionally, they look at the ways that mobile devices and mobile media are active in transforming global culture. Finally, they’ll create projects and build applications that explore new forms of media creation and consumption on the mobile devices.
Please note that no programming experience is required.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this course, students will have:
Class Schedule:
Each week we will have 75 minute session for lecture, discussion, and presentations along with one 150 minute lab session for programming/development where we will learn to build our applications.
Grading:
25% Assignments
25% Class Participation/Attendance
20% Final Project (Due May 7)
15% Midterm (Due March 12)
15% Presentation
Letter grades:
A: You have gone beyond expectations. Your work is executed extremely well.
B: You have done the work assigned and executed it well.
C: You have not completed the assignment as assigned or the execution is lacking.
D: You have not completed the assignment as assigned and the execution is lacking.
F: You have failed to complete the assignment.
Receiving a B is the default grade. Doing the work that is assigned and executing it well will earn you a that grade. Work that exceeds expectations, goes beyond getting the work and is executed exceedingly well will earn a higher grade. Work that does not meet expectations or does not fulfill the requirements will be given a lower grade.
Assignments and Blog:
We will have weekly lab assignments that are relevant to the previous weeks material. Assignments must be documented (descriptions, photos, screen shots, code, thoughts, and so on) on your blog (see below). They are required and turning in an assignment late will adversely affect your grade.
It is expected that everyone in the class will create and maintain a blog for to document their assignments as well as other related material. You are welcome to reuse an existing blog but please make it clear which entries are for this course (perhaps with a category). Feel free to utilize online blogging services such as WordPress.com or Tumblr.
Presentations:
Each week (starting the 2nd or 3rd week of class) we will have student presentations. I will randomly schedule the individual presentation dates. The topic of the presentations should be a new or somewhat new mobile media technology (hardware, software or service) that relates to the previous topics in the class. The presentations should cover what the technology/service is, what is novel about it, how are people using it and so on.
Final Projects:
Class will culminate with final projects. This will be a mobile application (website/sms/installable app) from concept to completion along with a final presentation. The projects will be of your own choosing based upon your ideas and interests.
Class Participation:
This class will be highly participatory, you are expected to contribute to discussions and give feedback to other students. This (along with attendance) is 25% of your overall grade.
Attendance:
Mandatory, unexcused absences will affect your final grade. If you are going to be absent, please let me know ahead of time if you can.
Tardiness:
Excessive lateness will affect your grade. Don’t be late.
Readings:
The following text is required: Goggin, Gerard, Global Mobile Media (London: Routledge, 2010)
Supplemental/Recommended Text Tyler, Jason, App Inventor for Android (Wiley, 2011)
Additionally, there will be assigned periodic readings. Generally they will be online though occasionally I may hand out a hard copy. These readings are required and are very valuable in class discussions.
Websites:
There are quite a few blogs and other websites that track the wireless industry. These along with what we collectively find (use the del.icio.us tag mobilemedia) are good starting points:
SmartMobs http://www.smartmobs.com
MobileCrunch http://techcrunch.com/mobile/
textually.org http://www.textually.org
Weekly Rundown:
Week 1
Discussion: Introductions: Discussion, Syllabus, Examples, Phones, Carriers
Lab: Introduction to App Inventor: http://www.appinventorbeta.com
Introduction to Processing and Processing for Android
Reading: Goggin: Introduction
Assignments: Get your blog setup and email me the URL.
Post a short list of mobile applications that impress you to your blog. Be prepared to discuss in class.
Using Processing for Android, build a coloring book application. Start with a static drawing and have the user color it in with their finger (mouse).
Week 2
Discussion: Apps and Mobile Phones as Media
Lab: Learning Processing for Android: Loops, Conditionals, Variables, Methods
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 4: Mobile Music
Assignments: Class 4 Homework
Week 3
Discussion: Ringtones, iPods and Tape Recorders
Lab: Continuing with Processing for Android: Arrays and Objects.
Audio Playback and Capture
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 5: The mobile invention of television
Assignments:
Class 5 Homework
Class 6 Homework
Week 4
Discussion: The best camera is…
Lab: Photo Capture and Display
Goggin: Chapter 5: The mobile invention of television
Assignment: TBD
Week 5
Discussion: Anywhere anytime video; video capture
Lab: Video Capture and Display
Midterm Project Assignment
Assignment: Detail a midterm project idea on your blog, include the overall concept, what it will do and why you want to build it. Build a simple video capture and playback application for a specific purpose (of your choosing)
Week 6
Discussion and Lab: Media Sharing and Distribution Midterm Project Ideas/Discussion
Assignment: Work on Midterm Project
Week 7
Midterm Workshop and Presentations (Monday March 12)
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 6: Mobile gaming
Assignment: Document your midterm project on your blog. Include an explanation, screenshots, detail the development process and discuss what you feel works and what doesn’t about the project. Where would you like to take it next?
Week 8
Discussion: New types of games
Lab: Android Development in Ecipse
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 7: Mobile Internet
Week 9
Discussion: Mobile Social Software and Media Sharing
Lab: Mobile Web and Webviews and Media Upload
Assignment: Incorporates a webview into an earlier project. Perhaps use it to add a user generated gallery to an existing app.
OR
Add upload/sharing capabilities to an earlier project
Week 10
Discussion and Lab: Bringing in Location
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 8: The computer, the internet and the cellphone Assignment: Incorporate location capture into an existing app. Allow images, video or audio files to exist in a location.
Week 11
Discussion and Lab: Other Sensors/Controlling The Physical World
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 9: The Mobile Commons?
Assignment: Try out using one of the built-in sensors covered to provide a new interface on an existing application (shake the phone to trigger audio recording)
Week 12
Final Project Discussion/Planning
Discussion and Lab: Current Trends/The Future
Reading: Goggin: Chapter 10: Culture gardens: for mobile media futures
Assignment: Detail 3 different project ideas on your blog. Be prepared to discuss them in class: What is the idea, why do you want to build it.
Week 13
Final Project Workshops
Week 14
Final Project Presentations Expect Guests (May 7)