Our CS3248 (Design of Interactive Media) lecturer gave his last lecture today. Next week will be our final week of school, and students will be doing the presentation of our final project - so today's literally the last lecture that he would give us this semester.
It's rather interesting as he asked us, what's the one thing that we take away from this course, putting aside all the syllabus. People started suggested some of the fundamentals that they learn about design, and interactive media. I said, I learnt about how differently can human interpret a same piece of art. We're all deceived by media, and most of all, our eyes.
All these were politically right answers. Deep down, I have a true-er answer to his question - what have I taken away from this course?
I got enrolled into this module with 2 other friends, Karmun and CS. The sole reason why we are taking this module was because it's one of the modules that we have to take to fulfill our discipline, and judging from the name and description of the course, it didn't sound too tedious, or impossible. Obviously we hadn't done enough research on this module. We didnt know what were we getting ourselves into.
Personally, I love arts and animation. I was a good artist, but drawing is one of my true loves I have left behind, among other things, because I have been busy catching up with life. In the beginning of this course, we're exposed to Maya, Flash, and also PERL, another programming language. Throughout this semester, our professor has taught us interesting ideas and concepts about interactive media. He warned us from the beginning that we have to do a lot of self-learning, about all the applications out there. Fair enough. With Google, you can literally learn everything off the internet.
I have fun throughout the course. But the reality is, we have a final project which contributes 50% to our final grade. It hits me pretty badly looking at many of our classmates, who came from polytechnics. They already have the technical experiences of using those tools like Maya, Flash and Photoshop. We've seen some of them showcasing their works, they're all impressive. And this makes us worry - we didnt know how to use Maya & Flash at all. I didnt know how to use Maya and Flash at all, I was totally clueless about Actionscript. Most of all, I couldn't afford to invest all my time doing the self-learning. I know that practice makes perfect. But, in NUS, more often than not we're being caught up by the pace and workload. There are other modules to take care off, and then, the co-curricular activities.
I guess I am still too Malaysian to be put into an environment which depends very much on self-learning. Wherever technicality is concerned, time and practices are needed. I am not efficient enough to learn things off the internet yet, I'm not capable enough to read the documentations and manuals yet. I still love learning nonetheless.
So, to really answer to my professor's question - my answer is:
I will send my kids to polytechnics in the future.
Hahha! Nah I was just kidding ;p Of course I learn many things beyond that. I appreciate the fact that the kids that came from polytechnics are equipped with the skills that university students lack. And all it takes is the right mentality. The couple of poly kids that I've seen know what they're really interested in and what they're passionate about. They're in this course because they are really passionate about interactive media. They are so passionate such that they endure the pain through the learning process, and at the end of the day, they would present their work with pride and most of all, sense of satisfaction.
Perhaps it's really time for me to do some serious thinking about life. To do the things which my heart really longs for.
Really, I love music and art. I compromise a lot, to the extent of leaving my true passions behind.
I thank God for His blessings have been overflowing in my life. Everything seems wonderful to me, which in turns makes it hard for me when it comes to decisions - picking the one choice.
Ultimately, it's all about glorifying His name, Jesus' name. It's the matter of how am I to glorify His name in my walk of life.
If someone were to ask what's my ambition. My only truthful answer will be - musician, or artist.
This is really what I've learnt through this course, CS3248.
It's nothing academic. It's a lesson about life.
A tribute to my professor, who's done a great job in teaching this course.
Also, I remember of Christian, a Swiss friend, who really understands what I'm meant for ;)
PS: Alright, thanks for reading this to the end! Have to get back to work - 2 major projects due SOON! One of which is this final project. We'll give our best to do what we can achieve. It's not about the competition against my fellow coursemates anymore. We may know little compared to them, but we'll have fun learning.
Disclaimer: This photo is taken after we're not allowed to write anymore. I did not try to cheat/use any electronic devices. It's taken while I was waiting for my paper to be collected.
