I’ve started pulling more and more of my own research into my teaching. Rather than teaching just the “standard” computer graphics curriculum, I’m starting to add some of my own stuff to what I show the students.
For example, I have my own algorithms for procedural character animation, for making creatures walk, interact with their world, convey mood and personality. A lot of it is unpublished, but all of it is fun.
I figure as long as it’s me teaching, why not give them something they can’t get anywhere else? And the students really seem to appreciate that.
In class when I start coding in Javascript and twenty minutes later there’s a character walking around on the screen, I think it feels like magic to them. But the important thing is that it’s magic that they can learn to do. That’s the motivational hook right there.
Also, creating things with code brings me joy, which the students pick up on. Creative joy is infectious. And that makes for a better educational experience all around.