MAS S60: Hands-on Foundations in Media Technology 

Chief Facilitator: Henry Holtzman

Coordinators: Mike Bove, Joe Paradiso, Kent Larson

Meets WF10 -12  in E14-525 and additionally as needed by arrangement

This fall we are introducing a new series of modular classes designed to provide basic, hands-on, foundations in the skills needed to perform research at the Media Lab.  The pace will be rapid and the topics covered extensive.  The goal is to introduce participants to the technology toolsets and research techniques used broadly at the Media Lab.

For the fall term there will be 4 modular sections.  Participants may enroll in any number of modules from 1  to 4 , and will work to receive 3 unit-hours worth of credit for each module enrolled, up  to 12  units total. 

An overview and information session will be held on 9/5 at 10a in E14-525.  Please try and attend if you plan on participating in any of the modules.

Fall Term Modules:

1. Hardware Basics (Coordinator: Mike Bove)

Instructors: Mark Feldmeier (primary), Brian Mayton, others TBA

Sessions: 6

Dates: Fri 9/7, Wed 9/12, Fri 9/14, Wed 9/19, Wed 9/26, Fri 9/28

Topics:  Electronics (Analog & Digital, Circuit Design, Circuit Fabrication), Hardware Programming (Arduino, AVR)

2. I-O and Interconnecting (Coordinator: Joe Paradiso)

Instructors: Mark Feldmeier (primary), Brian Mayton, others TBA

Sessions: 5

Dates: Wed 10/3, Fri 10/5, Wed 10/10, Fri 10/12, Wed 10/17

Topics:  Sensors (survey of types & uses: RFID, FC, accelerometers, etc.), Wireless (use of, technology options), Open Sensing Frameworks (e.g. FunF), Electro-mechanical systems

3. Design and Fabrication: Making Stuff (Coordinator: Kent Larson)

Instructors: Santiago Alfaro, John DiFrancesco, others TBA

Sessions: 6

Dates: Fri 10/19, Fri 10/26, Wed 10/31, Fri 11/2, Wed 11/7, Fri 11/9

Topics: Hardware Fabrication Tools (laser/water jet cutter/3D printer); Software Tools (2-D and 3-D CAD); Materials, Molding and Casting; Industrial Design, Product Design, Mass Customization, and Design for Production

4. Programming (Coordinator: Henry Holtzman)

Instructors: TBA

Sessions: 7

Dates: Wed 11/14, Fri 11/16, Wed 11/28, Fri 11/30, Wed 12/5, Fri 12/7, Wed 12/12

Topics: Mobile Platforms (Android, iOS, PhoneGap) and Interfaces; Web Platforms (e.g. Django, Rails, Node.JS) and Interfaces (e.g. Javascript, JQuery, BackBone); Databases (SQL, NoSQL, Cloud); Procedural Graphics (e.g. Processing)

Spring Term:

The curriculum for the spring term is still being developed, but to give a hint at what is being considered, here are some of the topic ideas being discussed:

Analyzing Data

Statistics,  Machine Learning and Common Sense,  Statistical Pattern Recognition,  Machine Vision,   Data Processing (Matlab)/Big data/data mining/reality mining,  Data Visualization

Testing and Evaluating with People  

How to design a good user study;  Experiment design, # of subjects, length, etc.; Designing surveys and interviews for qualitative study;  IRB and what triggers it; Ethnographic studies.

Documenting and Communicating

Storyboarding, lighting, shooting, editing, audio; 3d modeling, 3d animation, rendering; bluescreening, advanced editing, after effects