During the semester that cheap little recorder will be your constant companion, your best friend, worst enemy, husband, wife, and lover. Talk to it, mutter to it, whisper to it, point it at interesting or commonplace or weird events; wrap it in watertight plastic and dunk it in water; tie it to your bumper and drive poorly in traffic; throw it and let your dog retrieve it... Use what you capture on it as raw source material, think-pieces, suggestions, notes...
In addition to the recorder you will keep a physical journal of such notes, thoughts on theory, ideas, diagrams of projects, etc, that work better on paper than aurally. You turn it in at the end of the semester. Your physical journal gives me some sense of how you think about the course and how your ideas evolve over the semester. The method is simple: If you have an idea or a sketch or drawing that doesn't express well aurally, note it down. If you find a useful idea or photo or a saying from a magazine, paste it in. At the beginning of the semester I'll show you my workbooks to give you a sense of what I'm looking for.