Interesting, by definition, is described as "arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention". Applying this definition to a student project means that no matter what the content is about, the project should be interesting enough that a person who views it won't be bored.
What makes a student project interesting though after so many years of teaching? Although there are many facets to a project to make it unique and have it stand out, it seems that that goal is an impossible state. Students pay for their education in hopes that they can find a job that hundreds of thousands of students all over the country are looking for. With so much weighting on the students, it seems trivial if not impossible to become something when so many other people want to be as unique.
I believe that students are underestimating their potential on how to be both unique and fitting in with the system. The system that DTC students have to face are not only on what they believe to be interesting and unique to them, but also restricting themselves to school conduct with copyright and plagiarism.
If a student has a great idea for a project then they have to make sure that it is in the realm of possibility as well as fair-use. If any one piece of their project is no longer in fair-use than there is a possibility that their project has to be changed no matter how amazing the idea is.
Students also have to make sure that they don't copy an idea that someone else is doing because of plagiarism as well as having uniqueness if compared to the other student. As well as hoping that our ideas interest the class as well as the professor.
If our ideas do pass those standards, then we have to make sure that the attention we do grab is of unique interest and not of relative appreciation of work. As a student, I want my work to go above and beyond and prove that I can find work once I get a degree following my passion. But if no one buy's into my passion or interest then that disconnect can ruin my chances at getting a grade I'm proud of (as well as be embarrassed or upset by my own work).
I really like what you had to say about the entry in the book and how it related to our major. I also appreciated that you talk about part of the difficulty of a dtc major is that we struggle to find material that allows us to be unique and depict our interests without stepping on peoples toes. Really good job!
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