Use Computer Programming as a Creative Discipline

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One of the most exciting ways to learn to program is through authoring your own creative programs. Known as “creative coding,” this growing field uses computer software as a medium to develop original creative expression.

So if you’re an artist, designer, architect or musician who’s interested in how you can expand your creative skills, or even a computer programmer looking to work in creative applications, you will find the Alison free online course “Creative Coding” extremely useful.

Requirements

Access to a computer and it is assumed that you have basic computer skills (including how to download software applications) and basic knowledge of files, directories, images and movies.
No prior knowledge of programming is necessary.

Creative Coding Course Content

Throughout the course, you will develop practical programming concepts and skills by exploring creative ideas and challenges. The course includes the following topics:

The history and philosophy behind artistic uses of technology;
“Algorithmic thinking” – ways to conceptualize and model the world so you can express creative ideas using computer programs;
Programs that can generate images, animations, and sound;
How to interact with them to change their behavior, creating increasingly complex and nuanced visual and sonic artworks using generative programming techniques;
How leading professional artists and designers work creatively with computers, technology and robotics, examining their creative process and the ideas that inspire them;i
Discussion about some of the most interesting questions raised by computer-generated art, such as:
- Can a computer be independently creative?
- Who is the author of a work of computer art: the programmer or the program?
- How is our understanding of art and creativity changed by technology?
- Does the computer bring anything that is really new to art?