60-223 Intro to Physical Computing

First meeting

10/2/18 2:30–4:20 p.m.

Goals: initial meeting between students and older friends; beginning fun design exercise; open, shared hands-on ideation

2:30–40 gather in Phys Comp Lab.

  • Everyone puts on name tags (made of tape)
  • Slow welcome time for late arrivals, etc.
  • Instructor announcements
    • Reminder/reiteration: noting/doodles/sketching for Project 2 ideation every day! Twenty minutes a day should be sufficient to show up with good material for Thursday’s deadline

2:35–45 intros and names

We go around the circle. Everyone says their name, and an imaginary-or-not-imaginary favorite daily-life invention of theirs. (Example: “I’d like a birdsong translator, so I could know what those loud birds outside my window are always talking about.”)

2:45–55 “Surprise” project presentations

A few student groups present their Project 1 final pieces, with attention to sharing what the project goal was, and the various mechanical/electronic tactics they used to achieve it.

2:55–3:00 micro tours of Phys Comp Lab led by students

3:00–05 go upstairs to Studio B, enjoy snacks/coffee/tea

3:05–15 Two Truths and a Lie

A combination of Rebecca and Claire’s suggestions

Class is broken into five groups of about five people each. (Older friends should be spread out so one group has two of them, but no group has more than that.)

Each person in each group will tell two truths and a lie. The others in the group must try to guess which of the three is the lie.

Zach’s example: 1) While on a 2012 trip to London, I unexpectedly ran into and shook hands with Tony Blair (former British PM). 2) While on a 2006 trip to Beijing, I was in the audience at a taping of a CCTV show. 3) I have stood in the middle of a large frozen lake in the winter while listening to the ice make cracking sounds.

3:15–20 Memory game (optional, depending on timing)

Thanks to Rebecca for this suggestion!

Break into four groups of about six people each.

Each group gets a ball or other small soft object that can be safely thrown.

Using a category (see below), the person who starts with the ball names a thing in that category. (E.g. if the category is trees, they may say “oak.”) Then they throw the ball/object to another person. The second person names the first thing (“oak”) and adds another one (e.g. “maple”). The game continues, with everyone who catches the ball repeating the list up to that point, and then adding their own thing, and throwing the ball to a person who hasn’t gone yet.

Categories:

  • trees
  • dogs
  • electronic pieces or components
  • colors
  • street names in Pittsburgh
  • countries

3:20–3:55 Building activity

Teams of about four, including students as well as older friends, build mockup solutions to a chosen problem, using household prototyping materials.

Structure:

1) Each team will randomly select a “problem” that needs a solution, written on a scrap of paper. 2) The team will brainstorm for ~ten minutes about what they want to make to solve this problem. It can be a realistic or fanciful solution. It must have at least two moving parts! 3) Build time! Use whatever household materials you’d like.

3:55–4:10 present and response from other groups

Each group “animates” their invention. They must mime the operation of their thing and the other groups will guess what it is, and what problem it’s solving. The group members can use their bodies as part of the thing, or hold/pull/twist/manipulate anything they want to make their thing!

4:10–4:20 conclude and clean up!

(Studio B is reserved for a presentation starting at 4:30 so we do have to clear out of the room on time.)