CS1: Creative Computation and Visual Media with Processing

Course Materials

CS1 Course Material Repository

Recent Courses

BMC Fall2011 - 01
BMC Fall2011 - 03
BMC Spring2012 - 01
BMC Spring2012 - 02
BMC Fall2012 - 01
BMC Spring2013
BMC Fall2013 - 01
BMC Fall2013 - 02
BMC Spring2014
BMC Fall2014 - 01
BMC Fall2014 - 02
BMC Spring2015
BMC Fall 2015
BMC Spring2016 - 01
BMC Spring2016 - 02

Class Exhibitions

SMU+BMC Fall 2010
SMU+BMC Spring 2012

Publications

Greenberg et al., SIGCSE 2012

CS1 textbook - Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2, 2013

Xu et al., SIGCSE 2016

Xu et al., NSF EnFuse 2016

Xu et al., SIGCSE 2018

Our Mission

This site showcases a new approach to teaching CS1 (the standard first-year college-level introduction to computing course) using computational and generative art as a context. We designed our courses to teach the core CS1 topics as we would in any average traditional Java-based CS1, but show applications of these principles with contemporary, diverse examples of computing in a modern context. The main differences are in the class examples and assignments. Please see the course material repository for more details.

We are using the Processing programming language and environment, designed for the construction of 2D and 3D visual forms. Its IDE is light-weight, but well-suited for the kind of rapid prototyping needed for dynamic visual work. We hope to strengthen formative/introductory CS education by catalyzing excitement, creativity, and innovation.

PI's: Ira Greenberg (Southern Methodist University), Dianna Xu (Bryn Mawr College), Deepak Kumar (Bryn Mawr College).

Please use the resources we have provided here freely. We welcome all feedback. If you decide to adopt all or part of our courses, please drop us an email. We'd like to hear from you! Do keep coming back for new developments that will be posted here as the project evolves.

Summer Faculty Training Workshop - July 9-12, Bryn Mawr College, PA
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