Week 2 — Interaction & Motion: From Static to Alive (visit from Angi Chau)
Date: Saturday, Oct 25, 2025
This week, we moved from static drawings to living sketches in p5.js. Attendees shared their first assignments, reflected on creative choices, and learned from one another’s approaches to shapes and design. Guest educator Angi Chau (Nueva School) highlighted how her CS curriculum scaffolds from block-based coding to p5.js, centering creativity and differentiation. Saber then introduced core animation and interaction techniques — from the draw() loop and variables to bounce logic and user input — preparing everyone for Assignment 2.
The session closed with assignment details, next steps, and a preview of upcoming topics on loops, randomness, and mathematical concepts, with guest Qianqian Ye (USC) joining next week.
Creative Project Showcase
Participants presented Assignment 1 projects — geometric patterns, interactive artwork, and even homages to album covers. Discussions covered code organization, use of variables, and balancing symmetry vs. asymmetry.
Guest Speaker: Angi Chau
Shared Nueva’s pathway from Scratch and block coding into p5.js, emphasizing iteration, scaffolding, and student ownership. Participants asked about portfolios, templates, and peer collaboration in creative CS.
Mini-Lesson: Motion & Interaction
draw() loop as a continuous frame cycle.Studio Work Time
Angi Chau, Director of Innovation Labs and Middle School CS teacher at Nueva School, shared how her curriculum moves students from block-based coding in elementary school into p5.js–based creative coding by 6th grade. With all 4th–8th graders required to take CS, Angi emphasized differentiation: designing projects with a low floor (accessible to beginners) and high ceiling (space for creative freedom and advanced extensions).
At Nueva, every student in grades 4–8 takes computer science. Angi’s curriculum is built with a low floor, high ceiling design that gradually shifts from block-based coding to creative, text-based work in p5.js.