Co-Lab @ Home: Creative Technology Intensive Wrap-Up and Next Steps!
Due to Covid-19, Duke University students were asked not to return to campus after spring break. Soon after the Duke community (students, staff, and faculty) was informed of the decision to prioritize Duke community health, we began to plan an online version of Co-Lab’s programming.Â
Typically, we offer a mixture of co-curricular technology-oriented classes on digital skills and hands-on fabrication training. We wanted to provide students and community members across the world with an opportunity to continue to explore technology and fabrication from afar. However, we wanted to provide students with classes that allowed them to explore new topics and participate in online-programming in a community-centered way.Â
We were curious if we could provide students who were experiencing massive shifts in their expectations about their academic semester a way to engage with technology education that allowed them to explore new ideas and build a community at the same time. Simultaneously, we were seeing amazingly talented instructors from across the world, experiencing loss of income due to canceled teaching engagements. Altogether, we realized we could provide students with an opportunity to learn new skills and work with brilliant instructors they might not be able to access otherwise… and Co-Lab @ Home was born!Â
For the last three weeks of the Spring 2020 semester, we offered classes on a broad range of creative technology skillsets. Here is a list of the classes we offered (many repeated each week):Â
P5 Live with Ted Davis
DIY Solutions for Disrupting the Digital with The Center for Tech Pain’s Dasha IlinaÂ
Intro to Rhino 3D Modeling (make a fidget spinner!) with Kate McNamara
Getting Started with Electronics with Helen Leigh (*edited* Youtube Live)
E-Textiles @ Home with Becca Rose (Youtube Live)
Blender 3D Animations with Antonio Roberts
Livecoding Visual Graphics (Shaders) with Char Stiles
Quickstart Unity 3D with Everest Pipkin
Welcome to Bitsy - World's Cutest Game Engine with Everest Pipkin
P5.js Creative Coding for the Web with Libi Striegl
Introduction to Processing with Joselyn McDonaldÂ
Processing: Making Geometric Art with Code with Brooks Frederickson
Sonic Pi: Live Coding Music with Brooks Frederickson
TinkerCAD 101 with Chip BobbertÂ
TinkerCAD Circuits with Joselyn McDonaldÂ
Website Development: Start to Finish with Sandra BermondÂ
We also organized a live digital music performance by MSHR, who played a mind-bending set on their hand-built synthesizers for our community on IG Live. We were particularly delighted by their synthesizer housed inside a conch-shell.
If you were unable to attend these classes, we’ve posted many to our Youtube page. Some didn’t translate well to Youtube (e.g., lots of participant discussion), in case you’re looking for a class that isn't posted. Get in touch if there’s a class in particular that you’d like us to host again this summer or during the academic year. We’re excited about bringing more creative technology programming to the Co-Lab’s Roots offerings, which have tended to align with more traditional programming and fabrication programmatic offerings. We think it’s a great way to create access points for those interested in using STEM tools and techniques to enhance their work.Â
Joselyn McDonald, who joined our team in October of 2019, will be leading creative technology programming at the Co-lab and wants to hear your thoughts on classes we should be offering moving forward. Send her an e-mail via Duke directory or DM the @innovationcolab​ IG account. Also, consider signing up for her Fall 2020 Physical Computing/Critical Making course if you want to explore circuit building and meaningful interaction design.Â
We’re thankful that so many talented teachers quickly put together lessons for our students. The classes were limited to 1-hour or less (for the most part), and we set new attendance records for our courses through the Co-Lab @ Home program. It was rewarding for us to spend time with so many great students; many were new to the Co-Lab! In fact, 400 unique participants attended our program. We even got word that a newly admitted student chose Duke over Stanford because of the programming we offered! The Sonic Pi - Live Coding Music class, was particularly popular, and many of our students used the music they created in final projects for the semester!Â
If you’re interested in exploring creative technology and want to continue to explore (or get started) on your own, here are some great resources:Â
Processing: Getting started with Processing by Daniel ShiffmanÂ
Sonic Pi: Live Coding Music: TutorialÂ
Unity Quickstart by Everest PipkinÂ
Massive Creative Tool List by EverestÂ
TinkerCAD and TinkerCAD Circuits -> tutorials under learn tab
We also highly recommend enrolling in Duke CMAC courses and attending a creative technology co-curricular program like School for Poetic Computation and No School.Â
And, of course, follow us on IG @innovationcolab​ to see our ongoing trainings and participate in our maker challenges!Â











