Teaching

Classes:

New York University (ITP)

  • Noticing  – Spring 2013
    Artists, designers, inventors and scientist all want to see things that are new—often that no person has ever seen before. Yet our brains are designed to direct our attention to a thin stream of operational tasks. We screen out the shoes of the person across the subway and the leaves on the trees above our heads. We don’t pay much attention to the interplay of shadows or consciously hear the soft squeaking of distant doors. In conversations we rarely attend to what goes unsaid, though vital information lurks in the omissions. The seeds of a brilliant work might lie in detecting a simple gesture. We only need to notice it.
    Of course the work we do isn’t really for shoe or shadows, nor for screens, spaces or devices. The work we do is for people. We need to notice and understand human beings most of all.   This class is a workshop that teaches techniques and tools for noticing—seeing, hearing and comprehending what might otherwise pass us by. In a short series of classes we’ll explore the observation process in an array of domains, from cognitive psychology to ethnography and drawing to data collection. Projects will include user studies, experimental research, observational exercises and other techniques for reaching that moment we all crave: when something unexpected and terrific bursts forward into consciousness. Because noticing requires context, this course will focus on a specific venue and its human inhabitants, in this case a creative workspace and the people who work there. It will culminate in a final project proposal inspired by what you see and honed with the help of the observational techniques learned in class. Students will leave with their eyes wide open to the inspirations and complexity that surround us all and their minds full of techniques for learning more.

 

  • Sensitive Buildings – Fall 2012
    This is a class is about creating smart habitats for city dwellers. Students will conceive and prototype large scale device networks to benefit the tenants of a 28-story, 325-unit landmark apartment building on Central Park South in Manhattan. The high-rise owners have once again invited ITP to develop a variety of prototypes that enhance the livability, ecology and community of their apartment building. The class has been newly restructured into three parts: We’ll start by touring the building to learn about its infrastructure, inhabitants and context. This begins our Observation and Design phase in which students will employ behavioral studies, user-centered design and ethnography; paired with tenant interviews and other techniques that inspire first-rate innovations. Next we will quickly cover deploying Wireless Technology to connect interactive devices. Finally, we’ll return to the site with prototypes that explore project possibilities, installing these proof-of-concepts and observing the real-world results. We’ll take what we’ve learned into Final Projects that have the potential to be deployed at scale and considered for long-term sponsorship.
    This 1939 building’s recent renovation created lower-level green roofs, various upgrades for energy efficiency and a historically restored facade. It has been described as, “state-of-the-art green architecture before the term was coined.” The building’s motto is “Where The Park is Part of the Plan.” Our class is provided with access to unoccupied units, and opportunities to connect with current residents. The owners generously allow full supervised access to building infrastructure from roof to basement including ventilation, plumbing, heating, elevator and energy systems. Students get an extraordinary chance to invent and deliver big benefits for residents using active observation techniques as they develop interactive networks on a towering scale.

New York University

  • Sensitive Buildings – Fall 2011
    This is a class is about creating smart habitats for city dwellers. Students will conceive and construct large scale sensor networks that benefit the tenants of a 28-story, 325-unit landmark apartment building on Central Park South in Manhattan. The high-rise owner has invited ITP to develop a variety of prototypes to enhance the livability, ecology and community of their apartment building. Students will learn to use the latest in ZigBee wireless technology to design, build and deploy interactive sensor network systems, with broad access to this landmark pre-war apartment complex. We’ll start hands-on, by teaching everything you need to know about wireless networking while developing potential project ideas. During the first part of the class we’ll tour the building to learn about its infrastructure, inhabitants and context. Next, we’ll create fast prototypes that explore design possibilities, installing these proof-of-concepts on site and observing the real-world results. Finally we’ll take what we’ve learned into final projects that have the potential to be deployed at scale, and considered for sponsorship.
    This 1939 building’s recent renovation has it sporting a lower-level green roof, various upgrades for energy efficiency and a historically restored facade. It has been described as, “state-of-the-art green architecture before the term was coined,” in fact the building’s motto is “Where The Park is Part of the Plan.” Our class will be provided with access to unoccupied units, and current residents may also participate. The owners will maintain carefully supervised access to building infrastructure from roof to basement including ventilation, plumbing, heating, elevator and energy systems. Students get an extraordinary chance to deliver big benefits for residents as they develop sensor and actuator networks on a towering scale.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) MFA in Interaction Design

  • Fundamentals of Physical Computing – Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
    This course explores the fundamentals of extending computation beyond the glowing screen and into the physical world. Using a programmed single-chip computer, students will learn how to connect sensors, actuators and indicators to create devices, installations and environments that move computational interaction “outside the box.” Our focus is on people rather than on devices. We will consider how the human mind is affected by physicality in all environments. By making a hands-on exploration of reactive, expressive, interactive and embodied behaviors, students learn to observe users, understand affordances and move seamlessly from digital processes to tangible actions. Course work is done individually in weekly technique labs and in groups for longer creative assignments. Note: No previous programming or electronics experience is required.

New York University

  • Crafting with Data: Reality Illusions Truth and the Future – Fall 2009
    Contemporary interaction designers and artists often manipulate scientific, historical, commercial and social information. Literacy in design, art or engineering requires the complement of literacy in data. This class makes a powerful addition to your existing skill set of programming, visual design and electronics. Students will become conversant in the tools available for extracting insightful information from real-world samples. In this class we learn about the “lies, damn lies and statistics” that are encountered in our daily information feeds. Basic training is provided in a variety of handy methods for interpretation and manipulation of data, yet no math beyond some simple arithmetic is required for completing this course. Materials are visually oriented, and the focus is on concepts rather than on mechanics. Exercises include analyzing maps, building physical models and exploring information via accessible computer simulations. Short projects teach how to understand where data comes from, what it looks like and what it means. Students will earn how to transform data in ways that avoid distortions, reveal truths and grandly illuminate their ideas. Note: The class is carefully structured to support your other production classes. There are a variety of weekly assignments but no final project or paper, allowing you time to apply your newfound skills.
  • Sociable Objects Workshop – Summer 2009, Spring 2010
    Sociable objects are devices that share. They can talk to each other, gain information about their context and react accordingly. Recent advances in wireless mesh networks have created the potential for a massively interconnected world of easy information sharing. Cheap communications, high reliability, unique addressing, small size, standardization, and routing features combine to enable exciting new interactions. Developers of toys, wearables, performance devices, portables, network objects and sensor arrays can take advantage of radio mesh networking to design more interesting, better informed and more complex behaviors for their projects. This course explores devices that connect with and respond to each other. The technical focus will be on 802.15.4/ZigBee wireless mesh networks. Interconnections with other platforms and devices will be examined as appropriate. Students will gain an expertise in all functions of the ZigBee system to facilitate smart and novel behaviors in their projects. Through a series of weekly exercises, students will build skills and explore the challenges and delights of mutual connectivity. As a final project, the class will construct dynamic device networks. Prior experience with basic electronics and physical computing is helpful, but not required. Most labs and projects involve group work, so students should be ready to collaborate extensively as they experiment on the cutting edge of device interaction.
  • Networked Objects – Spring 2009
    This course explores the possibilities and challenges of designing alternate physical network interfaces. In physical computing, students learn how to make devices that respond to a wide range of human physical actions. This class builds on that knowledge, covering methods for making interfaces talk to each other. On the physical interface side, students will learn about a variety of network interface devices, including microcontrollers, network radios, and serial-to-Ethernet converters. On the network server side, basic server-side programming techniques in PHP will be introduced. On the desktop computer, basic network techniques in will be covered in Processing. Students should be comfortable programming in at least one language (Processing or PHP preferred), and with the basics of physical computing. Topics of discussion include: networking protocols and network topologies; network time vs. physical time; coping with network unreliability; planning a network of objects (system design); mobile objects; and wireless networks of various sorts. Students undertake a series of short production assignments and final project, and keep an online journal documenting their work and reading. We will also do some reading and discussion of contemporary work in the field.
  • Sociable Objects – Summer 2008
    Sociable objects are devices that share. They can talk to each other, gain information about their context and react accordingly. Recent advances in wireless mesh networks have created the potential for a massively interconnected world of easy information sharing. Cheap communications, high reliability, unique addressing, small size, standardization, and routing features combine to enable exciting new interactions. Developers of toys, wearables, performance devices, portables, network objects and sensor arrays can take advantage of radio mesh networking to design more interesting, better informed and more complex behaviors for their projects. This course explores devices that connect with and respond to each other. The technical focus will be on 802.15.4/ZigBee wireless mesh networks. Interconnections with other platforms and devices will be examined as appropriate. Students will gain an expertise in all functions of the ZigBee system to facilitate smart and novel behaviors in their projects. Through a series of weekly exercises, students will build skills and explore the challenges and delights of mutual connectivity. As a final project, the class will construct dynamic device networks. Prior experience with basic electronics and physical computing is helpful, but not required. Most labs and projects involve group work, so students should be ready to collaborate extensively as they experiment on the cutting edge of device interaction.
  • Collaborative Mesh Networking – Fall 2007
    Modern devices no longer need to be isolated. Recent advances in wireless mesh networks have created the potential for a massively interconnected world of easy information sharing. Cheap communications, high reliability, unique addressing, small size, efficiency, standardization, broadcast options and routing features combine to enable exciting new interactions. Developers of toys, wearables, performance devices, portables, network objects and sensor arrays can take advantage of radio mesh networking to design more interesting, better informed and more complex behaviors for their projects. This course explores devices that connect with and respond to each other. The technical focus will be on 802.15.4/ZigBee wireless mesh networks. Interconnections with other platforms and devices will be examined as needed. Students will gain an expertise in all functions of the ZigBee system to facilitate smart and novel behaviors in their projects. Through a series of accessible weekly exercises, students will build skills and explore the challenges and delights of mutual connectivity. As a final project, the class will construct an dynamic device network. Most labs and projects involve group work, so students should be ready to collaborate extensively as they experiment on the cutting edge of device interaction.

Brooklyn College

  • Computing and Art: Nature, Power and Limits – Spring 2008
    The nature, power and limits of the computer and computing. The components of the computer. Computer networks. Information representation. Introduction to algorithms, problem-solving, and computer programming. (Not open to students who are enrolled in, or have completed, and CIS course–other than CIS 5.2–with a C or higher, or who have completed CC 3.12 or Core Studies 5 or 5.1.)
    Prerequisite: A high school course in intermediate algebra or Course 2 of the New York State Sequential Mathematics Curriculum, or Mathematics 0.35 or 0.44 with a grade of at least C-, or Mathematics 0.36 or 0.04, or the equivalent.

2 thoughts on “Teaching”

  1. Pingback: Fall Class: Collaborative Mesh Networking « Rob Faludi

  2. Hey Mr Faludi, am not very new in pic micro-controllers. i have never used rf modules in any of my projects and would like to give it a try. how can i get Xbee pro from you. have tried to look for one around here but there is non.

    david nairobi-kenya

    skype : pcbdavid1 (morning hours)

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