ARTP 270: Computational Creativity - Online ACE 7 for Spring 2020
ARTP 270: Computational Creativity is a 3 credit hour course that means the ACE 7 outcome of your degree, and it is offered in an online format. The core of this course is a suite of Computational Creativity exercises which combine computational thinking (logical, methodical thinking) and creative thinking (flexible, imaginative thinking) to make students better problem solvers in any discipline. Students also hone their collaborative and process skills. This course has no prerequisites and is open to anyone. While aimed at freshmen/sophomore students, there is ample opportunity for junior/senior students to push themselves, and these students have also benefited from the course in the past.
The course exercises are based on principled, thoughtful designs, revised numerous times after actual classroom deployments, and have been shown though evidence-based research (funded by the National Science Foundation) to improve learning and performance in computing. One of our exercises was recently recognized by a national award for excellence (one of just four) by NCWIT, the National Center for Women & Information Technology. This award recognizes faculty who employ teaching practices that better engage students, especially women and underrepresented groups. Our research on this online course and its positive impact on student learning has also been accepted for publication by SIGCSE, the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education.
Of particular note is the final project where students have to use computational and creative thinking to design and document a “tool” to solve a real-life problem of their choosing. Students’ innovative responses included an ice-melting shoe, a meditation mask, a five-minute hair styler, and a (beneficial) backseat driver.