Instructor: Pattie Maes et al
Time: Tuesday 5:00 to 7:00
Location: Roth room

The goal of the HOWTO seminars is to provide an introduction to "everything students should know about the Media Lab" so that new students can get integrated more quickly and can make the most of their experience here. A second goal is to provide new students with an opportunity to get to know the personalities at the lab and make connections with other students.

Weekly topics will include: history of the Media Lab, intellectual themes, demo or die culture, atelier style of classes, working with urops, resources at the lab, resources elsewhere at MIT, what students do when they leave the lab, and so on.

We will typically have three or so speakers who speak for an hour, followed by 30 mins of Q&A and 30+ mins of mingle time. Dinner will be provided.

Schedule for next 4 weeks:

9/12 History & future of the lab - Andy Lipman, Frank Moss, Chris
Schmandt, Barry Vercoe

9/19 Demo or die culture (& how to work with sponsors) - Henry
Holtzman, John Maeda and Ryan Chin

Ryan’s Top 10: Things I Learned About Demos at the MIT Media Lab
With constructive critique from the Media Lab’s Web Diva, Jeannie Finks

9/26 Everything you always wanted to know about the Medialab but
were afraid to ask - Closed session with student committee

10/3 Report on the "teaching challenges" from orientation day -
Mitch Resnick

10/10 "Be a sponsor for a day: all day tour of the Media-Lab (including lunch)"

10/17 No meeting due to sponsor week

10/24 Resources at the Media Lab: where to find the hardware & software tools you may need for your projects - Henry Holtzman, Aaron Zinman, Jon Ferguson, John Difrancesco

10/31 No meeting because of Halloween

11/7 Alum entrepreneurs talk about their experience starting companies
- speakers are Rich Fletcher (TagSense), Rick Borovoy (nTag), David Rose (Ambient Devices) and Joost Bonsen (MIT entrepreneurs clubs)

11/14 How to hire and work with urops - Ted Selker, Chris Schmandt and Dan Stiehl

11/21 We will not meet for MEDIALAB HOWTO today, because many people will be leaving for Thanksgiving vacation tomorrow night.

11/28 "Empirical Methods and Evaluating Research". Speakers are Elisabeth Sylvan and Elan Pavlov and a faculty member TBA.

12/5 Meeting about the Hundred Dollar Initiative with Walter Bender and Marylou Jepsen.

Contact:

E-mail: pattie@media.mit.edu
Office: E15-315
Phone: 617.253.7442