Student creative projects are optional and should be submitted before the end of final exams week (Friday Dec 10 11:59p PST). The intent of the project to create a piece of original content (like a writing, illustration/painting, or animation) that would help you learn about and teach one part of neuroscience subject matter to others.

The piece of original content can be emailed to the instructor (include subject string 'creativeProjects'). If your project file is too large for email, contact me and we can transmit it another way.

FAQ:

  • What are the rules for the creative project?
    • The only rule is there is no rule. Except for the Golden Rule. Which includes being sufficiently original in your content creation. We all stand upon those that have come before us, the "shoulders of giants" both within our families and beyond. And yet through all that beauty and ugliness that humanity has mediated up to this very point in time You are here now. So use your current state of acquired experience and awareness to make someThing, some content, an object that might help in knowledge discovery or dissemination. I will leave it to each of you to define the terms sufficiently original and content since these are ill-defined terms even by authoritative entities. Most of us usually know when something feels original and when we've used our borrowed energy to create something.
    • Cite and credit your information sources the best you can.
  • How will it be graded?
    • Awarded either full credit or no credit. Worry not though, as long as you demonstrate effort in creating your blob of content (e.g did not simply rip some image or text off of a search engine or knowledge site) you'll be fine.
  • Examples?
    • An infographic (mixture of images, line drawings, text). Maybe a single page poster or multi-page presentation targeting students for secondary school or university education. e.g. How would you teach your favorite neuroscience concept (or one you want to learn more about) to your niece or nephew? A single page (svg|png|jpg|pdf) or multipage presentation (pdf) file is fine.
    • An improved or entirely new figure for neuroscience course content or a textbook (svg|png|jpg|pdf). What would you replace? Can you find an original research paper cited by the text and adapt a figure that would replace or supplement something in the course content?
    • A short commentary or mock news summary of a recent neuroscience item in the news.
    • A proposed or actual Wikipedia entry or edits (e.g. email me link to the page and changes you made). e.g. check citations to original research papers on neuroscience related Wikipedia pages, edit mistakes, rewrite or add a couple sentences, upload an original drawing or image
    • A poem. A song. Audio recording.
    • An animation or video.
  • File naming?
    • Include either your last name or student id number in the names of files you submit.
  • Working in pairs or groups?
    • You can work together with others if desired, just clearly outline the respective contributions.
  • Past project examples?
    • a three-minute giant squid girl sing-along neuro-teaching video, complete with original song lyrics and folksy drumming
    • a two-minute rap "The Action Potential", poetically teaching the basics of the sodium spike with a sweet background beat
    • a board game "Neuroland". Think candyland...but with a super fun neuro question card deck
    • a two-page, 24 panel comic teaching neurotransmitters, featuring two characters engaged in a discussion across a variety of scenes
    • a minecraft creativeWorld animation of a first-person tour of the central visual pathways
    • a video of a set of drawings with stop animation, teaching neurotransmission at the neuromuscular junction...also with fun banjo background jingle