Every year our Media + Design class gets better as we learn to inspire even more prototypes and iterations out of students. After an intense design gauntlet of mini-projects focusing on social media history, digital empathy, and game design, students transitioned into studio mode to produce final projects. The requirements for final projects were the same as last year: something digital with a pro-social benefit (self-defined) that’s team based. But we tried a few new things including a meet n’ brainstorm session to facilitate team formation, extending the final project timeline by a couple weeks, more intensive coaching, in-class work sessions, three major prototype milestones (conceptual, visual, functional), and a dress rehearsal before our prototype showcase event. We also learned how hungry students are for digital design skills (a potential University wide gap) and relevant strategies from experts that can be replicated. We still face challenges of how to select the “right” cohort of students, how to best scaffold the final projects, and how much to focus on certain design topics within the new digital media landscape…
We hope our class provided students with significant stepping stones for future media development and digital design thinking inspiration beyond the Stanford dschool. Check out what our students created (in less than a month) and show some love!
Robots Reboot
Robots Reboot is an online social game powered by real world actions to save the planet. You gain points not just through on-screen game mechanics, but also through your real world actions – for instance, saving energy (judged through a power meter in your home). Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/robots-reboot/
Motion Math: The Whole-ly Grail
The Whole-ly Grail is the latest in the Motion Math suite of iPhone apps that help teach kids math through motion. Students shake the iPhone to move, left, right, up and down to learn the coordinate system while following clues and collecting gems along the way. Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/581/
Media Sift
Media Sift is an online tool that helps teachers teach their students to become critical consumers of media. Web search, website evaluation, issues of privacy, authorship and identity are known as 21st century skills, necessary for today’s students but difficult for teachers to teach. Learn more here: http://www.dmediaproject.com/media-sift/
BeThere: Share where you are
BeThere is a distributed application that allows people present at an event to contribute live media streams from connected mobile devices, and allows those who aren’t there to participate virtually. This geo-location application is unique in that it aggregates multiple modalities- whether video, audio, pictures or text- in real time, creating a sense of immersion even for those can’t be there. Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/bethere-share-where-you-are/
Red Balloon
Red Balloon provides an easy way for San Franciscans to communicate with City-level government officials using their mobile phones. It is a powerful feedback loop that creates new opportunities for citizen engagement, facilitates collection action, and brings greater transparency to our local governing process. Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/red-balloon/
Templates in Time
Templates in Time is a self-reflection tool for children to create and visualize life events in a casual setting. You can interact with your timeline by zooming, sliding, panning and animating space with your own art and media. Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/templates-in-time/
Screen360
Screen360 is a film festival from around the world for people four and up. Screen 360 aims to broaden the palette of audio-visual media and storytelling experiences to promote cultural literacy with kids. Learn more here:
http://www.dmediaproject.com/screen-360/
