Creative Computing uses an entrance screening test like other ANU Extension courses (e.g. maths, physics).
However, we are here to help you prepare for this exam!
Part 1: creative computing questions#
During your individual ANU Extension selection exam, you’ll be asked some brief questions. These questions help us learn a bit more about you and your thoughts about creative computing. The five non-technical questions you’ll be asked are:
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what does “creative computing” mean to you?
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what’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done with/to a computer?
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what’s the most inspiring thing you’ve ever seen (e.g. on the internet) which you think is an example of creative computing?
- what coding experience do you have? what music/artistic/design experience do you have?
- what is it you love about those things, and how would you like to explore them further in this course?
There are no right/wrong answers to these questions—they’re just a chance for us to explore your suitability and aptitude for this type of computing course (as you can probably tell, it’s not going to be “vanilla” programming).
Part 2: making something with creative code#
This gets down to some technical nuts and bolts about coding.
We will use the JavaScript programming language and the p5.js framework in this course.
In the coding question, we’ll give you a small piece of creative code as a starting template, and your job is to modify the starting code to make something cool. The templates will use the exact same programming language (javascript/p5js) that we teach in the course, so it’s also a good taste of the sorts of things you’ll be doing in the class.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how - just talk through how you might approach the problem, or break it down, to solve it. As we said: there are no right or wrong answers. We would like to see how you would solve a problem.
Here are some starting templates for the first question to play with and experiment with:
If you’re looking for explanations or inspiration then the p5 getting started page or p5 examples page or The Coding Train on YouTube are always great places to start.
If you’re really new to all this coding stuff, just
start tweaking the parameters (e.g. what happens when you start replacing the
width and height parameters with different numbers?) and see what happens.
The Creative Computing Selection Test#
On March 5th from 7pm-8:30pm the test will be held online using Moodle.
Again, there’s no “right” answer(s) to the test questions, and we won’t be accepting only the people who show us something super-complicated/fancy/technical (so don’t show us something super fancy you found on the internet, or something generated by a generative AI, if you don’t to understand how it works). What we’re trying to do is to understand your creative code process, see where your growth areas might be.
The test will be held on March 5th from 7pm-8:30pm. We have allowed you 90 minutes for the test. You are expected to provide your own laptop with a web browser and internet connection. Once you have applied for the course through the main ANU Extension website, you will be emailed the confirmed details for the test.
FAQ#
Here are some FAQs, split into sections for Part 1, Part 2 and The Creative Computing Selection Test so you can find what you’re looking for. If you can’t find an answer to your question, email Matthew.
Application process#
Are applications still open?#
Applications for the 2024 intake close on 28 February 2024.
How do I apply for this course?#
Although all the course info is on this website, you must apply through the main ANU Extension website first—.
How do I complete the selection test (The Test)?#
Assuming you have applied for this course - see applications - you will be emailed details about the selection test for Creative Computing. This information will be sent to the same email you used for your application.
I mostly wanted to sign up for a different ANU Extension course, why am I getting emails about this one?#
As part of the ANU Extension application process you would have nominated three different ANU Extension courses. If you put this course (Creative Computing) down as one of your three choices, you would have received an email from us.
It doesn’t mean that you haven’t also applied up for the other two courses, but you need to check your emails & the ANU Extension website about those other courses (because they have separate application processes & procedures).
You can apply for and go through the selection process for more than one course, and then at the end you’ll get to choose which one you’d prefer to take (out of all the offers you receive).
Part 1: creative computing questions#
What will the questions be?#
The five questions are listed above. That’s it—there won’t be any hidden/surprise questions.
How long should my answers be?#
They don’t have to be super long. If you want to write out your answers in advance, 100 words might be enough for an answer to a particular question if you know what you want to say. If you want to tell us a slightly longer story that’s ok as well, but don’t feel any pressure to go long. There is a limit of 150 words for the first 5 questions!
Can I share any pictures/videos to support my answers?#
Yep, you can upload and attach media resources in the designated question. You can submit a video recording or an audio recording of your answers.
Part 2: make something with creative code#
I haven’t done any coding, and you’re making me write code to even get in?#
Well, only just a little bit—after all, we don’t mind if you haven’t done it before, but we do learn to code in the course, so if you hate the idea of that the course probably isn’t for you.
We’re not looking for anything fancy or complicated. It’s really ok if you take the starting template and just tweak one line (even just a part of it) to see what changes. It’s just a way for us to introduce the possibilities of creative code in the selection process.
It is a really good idea to try your hand at changing code before the test!
One other implication of this is that while there’s lots of amazing p5 creative computing stuff out there on the web, make sure you don’t just copy something that someone else has made and call it “job done”—we want to hear about your process much more than we care about what you ended up with.
Part 3: the test#
Where/when will the test be held?#
The test will be run online on 5 March 2024 7pm-8:30pm
In the test (The Test), how do I “show what I made” in Part 2?#
You can show us what you made either by:
- Pasting your code in the test question (so we can run it)
- if you’ve created an account on the p5.js web editor you can get a “share link” using “File > Share” and add it to the text for that question in the test.
- Uploading a screen recording/video recording of your code running
- Adding a few screen shots to your response.
Javascript files cannot be uploaded to Moodle.
You will “submit” your creation as a part of the test (Question 6).
Who will be assessing the test?#
The assessment will be conducted by a member of the Creative Computing team.
Can I submit a video instead of written text?#
Yes, you can submit a video. Here are the requirements:
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no longer than 10 minutes
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hosted (as a private/unlisted video on YouTube)
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you must show us what you did with the provided creative code template, and talk through your process in making it
You can upload video files, or submit a link to the video file, as part of your test response (post the link to the video against the appropriate question).
If you wish to submit a video because you are unable to complete the test: you must email Matthew a link to your video on YouTube (subject line: “your name ANU Extension Creative Computing application”) by 10pm on Friday March 8. You should include any relevant links to things you discuss in your video.
How you make the video is up to you—a phone recording is ok, but if you want to shoot it some other way and edit it all together then that’s fine as well. We’re more interested in a thoughtful discussion of your process than slick production quality.