Lecture slides, wiki and examples from the Introduction to Creative Computing unit of Year 0, Block 1 of the Creative Computing Institute's BSc in Creative Computing
For more information about the lectures, workshops and discussions, please see the website of the unit: https://jgl.github.io/IntroductionToCreativeComputing-2026-2027/
- All term dates - N.B. if you are doing a degree at UAL you are in Higher Education.
- For students taking the Year 0 or Foundation Year the BSc in Creative Computing lasts for four academic years (i.e. from September to June) and is split into two blocks. Block 1 lasts all of the Autumn term (September-December) and the first half of the Spring term (January-March). Block 2 lasts for the second half of the Spring term (January-March) and all of the Summer term (April-June).
- Location: Creative Computing Institute(CCI), Camberwell, London and online!
- The unit is led by Senior Lecturer in Creative Computing and Course Leader, Apple Development: Joel Gethin Lewis. Contact either of Joel via the UAL CCI Slack.
- Weekly schedule:
- Tuesday morning: 0930-1330, in person at Creative Computing Institute(CCI), Camberwell, London. Room PR_B501F, taught by Joel.
- Block 1: Introduction to Creative Computing
- Tuesday morning: 0930-1330, in person at Creative Computing Institute(CCI), Camberwell, London. Room PR_B501F, taught by Joel.
- You are expected to undertake independent study of about 25 hours per week - spread across all the units of the Diploma in Apple Development.
- Course Moodle link (UAL access only) TBC!
- Lecture and Workshop slides
- Please see the course wiki for all non-lecture notes, list of people on the course and other resources.
- Please email CCI Undergraduate Programme Admin for help with any administrative matters such as ID access, finance, timetable issues, etc. Their email is cci.ug@arts.ac.uk.
You can find the UAL Disciplinary Code For Students here: Disciplinary Code For Students.
You can find our code of conduct here: code_of_conduct.md, it was cloned from https://github.com/processing/p5.js/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.
Golan Levin also offers a useful thought from his children's school:
When communicating, ask yourself:
- T – is it True?
- H – is it Helpful?
- I – is it Inspiring?
- N – is it Necessary?
- K – is it Kind?
This unit aims to introduce you to your course and its subject specialism as well as to effective learning and studentship at undergraduate level. It will orientate you to the practices and knowledge-base needed to understand your discipline and help you to develop your skills for independent & collaborative learning, reflection and your own self development. Students come from many diverse educational backgrounds and a part of this unit will enable you to reflect on your own background and how that shapes the way you approach your course. This Unit has three core purposes:
- to introduce you to your discipline in the context of study at a Higher Education level.
- to introduce you to learning skills and the requirements of effective studentship at undergraduate level.
- to orientate you within your course, the College and the University. Emphasis is placed on the skills needed to locate, navigate and communicate information and ideas effectively and appropriately. You will be introduced to resources that support your studies. We will also discuss studentship, the importance of being an engaged and participatory member of the group and your own personal and professional development.
- This unit should help students gain a foundational understanding of the subject area and an overview of year zero as a whole.
- Correlation in between units in Year 0.
- Independent learning, research, critical thinking, analysis, academic writing can be introduced within this unit.
- How to talk about creative practice and process.
- How to write about creative practice and process.
- Key ideas in art and design.
- Communicating creative computational practice and process.
- Evidence of a critical, foundational understanding of the practices and knowledge base of your subject & discipline (Knowledge)
- Evidence of skills needed for effective learning and communication of ideas, arguments and criticism in visual and written forms (Communication)
- Evidence of understanding of the importance of studentship through engagement and participation with the course and your student colleagues (Enquiry)
- Evidence of your engagement with the principles of critical reflection and a commitment to personal and professional development (Process)
Please read UAL's guidance for students on how they will be assessed. TLDR: you will be assessed on the following 5 assessment criteria (quoting from UAL's page):
- Enquiry
- Enquiry is about active learning and reflection. It’s how you explore, research and learn about your subject. Enquiry is central to all creative learning at UAL.
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is about gathering information and enhancing understanding. It’s how you inform your work, explore diverse cultures and connections and appreciate what you do in a wider context.
- Process
- Process is about your journey of learning. It’s how you take risks and experiment. And how you keep the creative momentum going — developing ideas from start to finish.
- Communication
- Communication is about telling the story of your learning and making. It’s how you share your learning with an audience, presenting and explaining your work to different people.
- Realisation
- Realisation is about the work you create and how this reveals what you’ve learned. It’s taking a look back and evaluating the work you’ve produced.
- Introduction to Creative Computing:
- Portfolio, based on 10 weeks of working in class.
- Reflective statement.
Finally, some tips about how to get the best grades possible:
- Showing references to where you got information from.
- Do more than is requested in the brief.
- Make it personal! Add your own graphics, text or other elements to make an app that only you could make. Make apps that you want to use.
Support is available! Complete the team's online form to request support for your physical health, mental health or wellbeing. Appointments are available on college sites in person, online or on the phone.
See: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/counselling-health-advice-and-chaplaincy for more information.
Mental health first aiders: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/255620/mental-health-first-aiders
Urgent mental health support - Monday - Saturday 9.30-5pm. Call 020 7514 6251 and ask to speak the Duty Worker.
Email studenthealth@arts.ac.uk if you need urgent support from the Counselling and Health Advice Service. Available Monday to Saturday (term time), 9.30am to 5pm.
Urgent support - out of hours: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/out-of-hours-support
Support is available! UAL seeks to create an inclusive environment that is welcoming to parents, carers and their children. UAL’s definition of parenthood includes:
- Expectant parents
- Pregnancy
- Fertility treatment
- Fostering
- Baby loss
- Adoption
- Abortion of a pregnancy
- Parents and carers of children
UAL’s definition of caring responsibilities adopts the definition from The Carers Trust UK, which defines a carer as “anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem, or an addiction cannot cope without their support.”
See: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-diversity/student-parent-and-carer-support for more information.
The Disability Adviser for Creative Computing Institute is Caroline Huntley. Their contact details are c.huntley@arts.ac.uk. All appointments are confidential, and can be in-person, on the phone, or on Microsoft Teams. You can also call 020 7514 6156 or email disability@arts.ac.uk.
All appointments are confidential, and can be in-person, on the phone, or on Microsoft Teams.
The Disability Service support students who are disabled according to the Equality Act 2010. This includes students with:
- Specific Learning Differences (e.g. dyslexia, ADHD)
- Long-term health conditions
- Long-term mental health conditions
- Sensory impairments (e.g. deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired)
- Physical impairments
- Autism
- Another long-term condition which has an impact on your day-to-day life
- An Individual Support Agreement, which lets your course know practical information about how to support you.
- Adjusted Assessment, such as additional time for certain assignments, or an alternative submission method.
- Specialist one-to-one support, which can support with essay writing, research, presentations and time management.
- Support to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances, which can fund software and one-to-one support for your studies.
- Screenings and assessments for Specific Learning Differences.
More information is available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia
The Librarian for Creative Computing Institute is Benelia Salmon. Her email address is b.salmon@arts.ac.uk. She's also on the CCI Slack. You can find all sorts of useful library information here: https://arts.ac.libanswers.com.
Thanks 🙏🏻 to Stella Doukianou, Xiaowan Yi, Joy Forbes, Pete Mackenzie, Toad Bakery, Rebecca Neary, Kati Russell, Abbie Vickress, Laura Knight, Rocio Rey Aloe, Becca Rose, Naho Matsuda, Cheska Lotherington, Lise Hansen, Val Toro, Murad Khan, Matthew Plummer Fernandez, Alex Fefegha, Anna Troisi, Ben Kelly, Cathy Hoste, Charlotte Webb, Julia Makivic, Kenneth Lim, Matt Jarvis, Melisa Simpson, Rebecca Fiebrink, Sheldon Brown, Tom Lynch, Eva Wilkinson, Vali Lalioti, Indira Knight, Alice Stewart, Ben Stopher, Mick Grierson, Georgina Capdevila Cano, Alan Warburton, Rebecca Ross, Jaap de Maat, Lauren McCarthy, Kyle McDonald, Jonathan Harris, Zach Lieberman, Jessica Bland, Rick Walker, Graham Bennett, Toby Milner-Gulland, Liam Walsh, Golan Levin, Greg Smith, Mark Lundin, Xiaohan Zhang, Lia, Joshua Goldberg, Rosa Menkman, Daniel Shiffman, Tega Brain, Caitlin Morris, Harri Lewis and Rune Madsen.
🖖🏻🇬🇧🏴🏴☠️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Copyright (C) 2026 Joel Gethin Lewis.
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