I hope everyone enjoyed the class and learned a lot
In order to incentivize you to complete the course evaluations, I've decided to grant up to 5% points to the entire class' final grade. The amount (up to 5%) will be based on the percentage of people who complete the course evaluations. If only half of you do, I'll grant 2.5%. make sense?
If you're looking for next steps, I'd highly recommend all of you take IMS254, our design principles course. In it, you'll learn the basics of color, typography and how to communicate visually. If you're in IMS, you'll need to take IMS257 next. It builds on this course and goes much deeper into JavaScript. I'd highly recommend taking it as soon as possible, you don't want your brain to forget all the stuff you learned this semester. If you're looking to improve your Photoshop and Illustrator skills, I'd encourage you to check out IMS259.
As we wrap up, I want you to consider how amazing the skills you have now are. We are the first generation that can reach mass audiences with relatively inexpensive technology. It used to be that freedom of the press was just for folks who could afford a press (and had a distribution network!). Now, we all have the same tools, regardless of education or income. Pretty. Awesome.
Given this, I think it's wise to consider what we can do with our skills. As our final discussion (don't forget the quiz!!), please read the attached article by Tim O'Reilly. O'Reilly publishes the technology books with the woodprinted animals on the cover. They are a force in the technology world. O'Reilly himself is a "thought leader" (what a insane term). He's coined a handful of terms we take for granted, including "Web 2.0". He really is a visionary and folks like me pay a lot of attention to what he's noticing. Anyway, he wrote this amazing short blog post in 2009 that still is reverberating through the technologist zeitgeist. I'd like you to read it and reflect on it.
Thanks again! Hope to see you all around soon.