Home | Login | Register

• Science, Education, & Engagement
• Acknowledgments/Grants
• Contact ICAM

Home

ICAM News

An Interview with Steve Hartzog, Instructor of TCS 198

Fri, July 15, 2011

Elizabeth Skwiot, editor of ICAMNews, recently sat down with Steve Hartzog, instructor of TCS 198, the UC-Davis course associated with the ICAM/Wolf Ridge/LABRATS initiative.  Offered in the winter of 2012, the interdisciplinary project will combine the areas of science education, design, and technology; the final outcome will be online, interactive multimedia science education programs for middle school-aged children.  UC-Davis students interested in joining the course are encouraged to contact Steve at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

Elizabeth Skwiot:  Steve, can you tell me a little bit about your background as it relates to this project?

Steve Hartzog:  Sure.  I got my undergraduate degree at St. John’s Santa Fe with a concentration in math and science.  I ended up at Los Alamos as a research assistant in an Environmental Education program.  This sparked my interest in education; in fact, I created my own program in Critical Hypermedia when getting my MA at San Francisco State so I could combine my interests in science, education, and art. Since then I’ve taught at California College of the Arts, at Stanford, and at San Francisco State.  I’ve also been working as a freelance web developer for years and have done work for many businesses in San Francisco.  This project really combines my interests in science, education, and interactive design.

ES:  How did you become involved with the project?

SH:  I have been working with ICAM for three years – in fact, I did all the programming for emergentuniverse.org.  This course means I’m playing a more active role in what I’ve already been doing – now I’ll be more of an educator. 

ES:  I know one of your most pressing goals is to fill your class at UC-Davis next winter with qualified students.  What kinds of students are you looking for?

SH:  I’m interested in hearing from undergraduate and graduate students who are self-motivated, have broad interests, and who want to be involved.  They should care about the environment and about science education.  They should be students who can be trusted to lead in their area of expertise while interacting with fellow students in a ‘real-world’ studio setting.  I’m more interested in students who have these qualities rather than students who come from a particular major.  I want the class to be a balance of independence and interdependence in a productive way.

ES:  Can you tell me what a typical class day would be like?

SH:  Well, we’re envisioning running the class on Fridays, more or less like a normal workday, for six hours.  Every morning the class would have a planning session, like a real design firm.  We’d check in on the status of tasks and delegate and plan for the rest of the day – see what needs to be done and who should do it.  Then, we would work in a shared space. There will be guest speakers – educators, scientists, designers – so the goal is really the education of students in the class.

ES:  What will the end product be?

SH:  The students will produce science educational materials that are native to the internet for middle school kids.  It’s a combination of science, education, and design.  The product will be emergent – it will naturally develop out of the different talents, skills, and aptitudes of students in the class.  I’m envisioning an online, multimedia experience that will involve video, sound, animation, social networking, simulations – whatever arises out of the students’ interests and areas of mastery.

ES:  Aside from earning credits and working on an innovative project, what other benefits can a student in this class expect?

SH:  They will be able to tell employers about their experience and actually have a website they can point to in a job interview.  They will learn how to communicate with different people, how to delegate, how to work independently – in other words, how to successfully participate in a work environment and cooperate as part of a team.  If there are problems, I will be able to coach them how to navigate through those problems.  In essence, they are getting work experience without having to worry about getting fired!  They also get the satisfaction of producing something that will positively affect young people.  All of these things are benefits generally not available in other classes.

ES:  If I’m a UC-Davis student and I’m interested in joining TCS 198 in the winter of 2012, what should I do?

SH:  Email me!  Space is limited, so the sooner the better.

Steve Hartzog can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Comments