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Collaborative Studio

Work to have done: in consultation with your groupmates, make a plan; write it up as a proposal in your shared repository; get started on the plan!

Plan for the Day:

  1. What makes groupwork work? (10 min)
  2. Clarify group roles (5-8 min)
  3. Sharing of resources (5-8 min)
  4. Homework preview (2 min)
  5. Studio time: enact your designated roles (40-45 min)
  6. Exit note

1. What makes groupwork work? (10 min)

Take a few minutes to think in writing about collaborations you’ve participated in – whether in school or outside of school.

  • Make a quick list, just for you, of the projects.
  • Now think about the most successful project on your list: what happened that got the collaboration off the ground? (If you can’t think of one, try the opposite: what prevented the collaboration from succeeding?)
  • How might you translate that success (or failure) into a structure that would work in our class? Is there a mode of communication, or agreement on strategy, that you’d like to implement?

I’d like to hear some of these, and then let you work out in groups what you want to try. My default assumption is that different people will have different preferences, so we can’t guarantee a perfect mesh – but that it’s better to make those expectations and desires clear from the outset, to work around your various strengths.

2. Clarify group roles (5-8 min)

Last time, I introduced five roles, and let’s add one more:

  1. project manager (organize schedule, keep everyone on task)
  2. visual designer (plan layout and visual hierarchy)
  3. experience designer (plan interactivity, spatiality)
  4. programmer (get into the weeds of code)
  5. researcher (find materials and assets, quickly grasp tutorials)
  6. copy writer (produce public-ready prose)

Not all of these will be relevant to all groups, but I strongly suggest having at least that first one: having a good project manager is one strategy that industry has found for diffusing tension and keeping groups moving forward.

Second, I want to suggest that you work out how and when you’ll commit to the shared repository: will one person be responsible for that task? Will several of you file pull requests and have one person in charge of checking for merge conflicts before approving them?

3. Sharing of resources (5-8 min)

Groups working on Twine, if you haven’t yet seen it, please do check out the Twine section of the Resources page!

Here are some links to student projects from past semesters:

4. Homework preview (2 min)

Your individual tasks will be determined within each group, so make sure you discuss your weekend goals with each other.

Whatever you choose, I’m hoping that by Tuesday you’ll be able to produce some kind of Preview. As should be familiar from past projects, by this I don’t mean I’m expecting anything like a real draft – if you can get there, more power to you! – but I am hoping you’ll be able to get your hands dirty with whatever platform or application you’re adopting, to get sense of what’s going to be possible in the short time we have.

We’ll talk briefly on Tuesday about assessments, baselines, and aspirations, then leave most of the class for studio time.

5. Studio!

Use the time to enact your roles and move your projects forward.

Don't forget to save periodically as you go:
  • as a screenshot
  • as a git commit, saying what you've just achieved
  • as a project file or export, whatever's most relevant

6. Exit note

Before you leave, as a way for me to check in and for your own reflection-ready records, I’d like to hear more about you, in particular, worked on today. Just a short email, if you don’t mind! And thanks!