Is IMA Right for Me?

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISES FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA ARTS (IMA) APPLICANTS

Note THESE EXERCISES ARE ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY, AND ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PART OF YOUR APPLICATION TO THE IMA PROFILE.

The following two exercises will help you to (1) understand what we mean by “Interactive media arts”, and (2) decide if the specific approach we are taking to interactive media arts in the IMA Profile at Dawson is right for you. Like the Profile itself, these exercises are supposed to be both challenging and enjoyable.

While these exercises are completely voluntary, we nevertheless strongly suggest that you undertake them before formally applying to the IMA.  If you do, you will have a clearer idea of what you will actually be doing at Dawson College if you enter the Profile. You can even email your work to us, and we’ll give you informal feedback to help you with your application decisions. Remember that IMA representatives are always happy to answer any of your questions by email, or to meet with you informally to discuss whether the Profile is right for you.

Do yourself a favour – before committing to two years of college, spend an hour or so familiarizing yourself with the area you want to study! And have fun!

SELF-ASSESSMENT, Part 1 – Creative Task

Since the IMA Profile is first and foremost about creativity (both learning about it and applying it), the first self-assessment exercise is a creative task. In our view, everyone is creative in some way, and so for this reason we have included a number of different possible challenges. Look them all over, and see which one is most captivating.  If none of these are interesting to you, as an alternative you could come-up with your own idea for an interactive media art project. If none are interesting, and you cannot think of one of your own, you might not enjoy studying Interactive Media Arts at Dawson. Or maybe you’re just having an off day! Try again tomorrow.

Finally, keep in mind that we certainly do not expect you to be able to actually develop or design any of these projects. We just want you to come up with an idea and a brief description. Similarly, don’t worry about not having skills as an artist, designer or developer (after all, that is why you will be going to school), and don’t worry about making beautiful or complicated drawings. Simple, basic text and few line drawings (or even stick figures) are fine, as long as they communicate your basic idea(s) clearly.

So with all this in mind, Task 1 is to develop an idea for one of the following:

  1. an interactive art work (for example, a sculpture that responds to its environment in some way);
  2. a digital or non-digital game (for example, a simple game that can help children learn a new skill);
  3. a web-site (for example, a web-site that helps people to collaborate on a project);
  4. an app for a mobile device (for example, an app that can help users make a beneficial change to their lifestyle);
  5. a toy or tool (for example, a toy or tool that learns from, and adapts to the user).

SELF-ASSESSMENT, Part 2. Commentary

Review each of the following links, and then briefly comment (in writing) on one of the videos, podcasts, or websites you have seen. Specifically, which one do you find the most interesting, and why? Conversely, which is least interesting, and why? Do they change or broaden your understanding of what the phrase “Interactive Media Arts” means?

Your answer should be from 250 to 500 words.

REVIEW PROCESS

If you want informal feedback on what you have done, or if you have any other questions about the IMA, e-mail your drawings, documents and/or questions to blmarindubuard@dawsoncollege.qc.ca.

We look forward to hearing from you, in either English or French!

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Last Modified: August 22, 2018