Final Presentations... (long email ahead!)

[Amit Pitaru]

Hey Everyone, for Monday's class, please hang your work on the wall as
we did with John. Include the paragraph of your thesis, and updated
graphics (sketches/wireframes/etc. ) that explains your pending
prototype delivery on the 17th. This is a good opportunity to take a
fresh stab at these graphic materials - add new materials, tighten up
existing ones.

As I mentioned earlier, I'd like the session on Monday to be dedicated
to our presentations on the 17th, and specifically the prototype you've
been asked to produce. I know that some of you have had to shift your
core a bit during this semester. That's actually a form of success - as
it means that when you dug deeper, you found that what really matters to
you was different than your original notion. The side-effect is that you
might not be as further along as others in terms of the prototype. Don't
let it discourage you, it's expected. At the same time, now is the time
to lock in on an artifact. Remember that there's a sense of loss in any
choice you make (because a choice means that you also do not choose
something else) -- don't let it deter you from choosing a direction and
forging ahead.

Use Monday's session with Daniel to take the first step in that
direction. I'll also make myself highly available during the week to
catch up and help everyone (Is Thursday 2-6pm a good day for me to meet
with you? Is there a better time?). Also, feel free to send me emails so
I can marinate on your ideas and questions during my long flight back : )

Here's a bit more information about the overall presentation format on
the 17th. Sometimes it helps envisioning yourself speaking, in order to
lock in on an idea. So lets make it a bit more tangible:

You'll be asked to present the prototype in context of your research
work this semester. Beyond the actual artifact (prototype), it should
include an explanation of your thesis core, definition of the audience,
research references .. basically everything we've covered so far,
formatted nicely in a PDF. As I mentioned in class, you don't have to
entirely divert attention from the production of the prototype for this,
but rather organize your work into a good presentable format towards
your presentation.

One thing that could help you get started, is to collect all of the
smaller sketches you've done along the way (like the 'throw-away'
prototype we did earlier on), little snippets of wire-frames, diagrams,
code experiments, videos, even pencil sketches and research notes in
your notebooks/blogs. Even if they don't entirely relate to your current
thesis status, these could be used to help tell your thesis development
story over the semester. They don't need to be polished - raw is ok! I
guess my point is that you shouldn't avoid using these materials just
because they're not 100% inline with your current thesis. If you have
them handy, use them as way-points in your story.

Sorry for the big long email .. hope it's a good starting point towards
a discussion both with Daniel (copied here), and 1-on-1 with you later
in the week. If something I wrote above is not clear or raises any
questions (even small ones) or sparks ideas, please don't hesitate to
email me and we can work it out together.

Onwards!

Amit

[Amit Pitaru]

Hey Everyone, for Monday's class, please hang your work on the wall as
we did with John. Include the paragraph of your thesis, and updated
graphics (sketches/wireframes/etc. ) that explains your pending
prototype delivery on the 17th. This is a good opportunity to take a
fresh stab at these graphic materials - add new materials, tighten up
existing ones.

As I mentioned earlier, I'd like the session on Monday to be dedicated
to our presentations on the 17th, and specifically the prototype you've
been asked to produce. I know that some of you have had to shift your
core a bit during this semester. That's actually a form of success - as
it means that when you dug deeper, you found that what really matters to

you was different than your original expectation. The side-effect is

questions (even small ones), please don't hesitate to email me and we