I know lots of you like poppet, but for me my brain just has a hard time.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Week 6 Popplet
So... here is my failed attempt at Popplet. I did watch the tutorial but for what ever reason, I struggled with this one and ended up stopping in frustration as it was not doing what I wanted it too. I actually played with poppet at a Professional development day last year as well and had a similar response.
I know lots of you like poppet, but for me my brain just has a hard time.
I know lots of you like poppet, but for me my brain just has a hard time.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Read and React Week 6
Well lets see. I sort of reacted to the reading by doing an inspiration board to the article (rather than an artwork) but as with all such things, elaborations is important. Id like to start with the basic encounters I had with the myriad of technological software's.
Between Pinterest, Delicious , Inspiration and Popplet, I by far preferred Delicious and Inspiration the most. I do not like Popplet AT ALL.
I love Delicious because I could more or less keep a digital file cabinet of things which interest me. I also like that people potentially researching similar things can share in this way. For me this is useful and I see it working well in collaborative instances. I also find it beneficial if people are collaborating over longer distances.
I liked inspiration because I found it more user friendly than poplet and I do not like all the movement in and out that occurs with poplet. It actually makes me dizzy. Its a personal preference really. I like to see the whole thing straight on and not bounce in and out. I do like the layering poplet allows and perhaps with some perseverance I can learn to like it.
Pinterest is actually very cool but for me could easily take my attention for a very long time. As I noted in the previous post, I do think it might be useful for students in gathering inspirations and ideas. Again though, I would have to figure out how to keep age appropriate images in front of them.... is there a setting for that?
As far as the article goes, I found it very intriguing and scary at the same time. Of course a lot of this is old news, but having it brought back to my attention certainly makes me re-think how to get kids thinking about the visual culture they live in and help them understand the manipulation that is occurring. The quote "When images offer arguments that reflect back our own views, our own ideological positions, they offer the pleasure of confirmation." (pg 8) This raises the question where did our own views come from in the first place? Is this an example of which came first? The chicken or the egg?
I believe raising awareness's such as the seven principles are equally as important as the elements of art and principles of design. Really its like the third set which unifies all of them. Be an interesting project to make posters for the art room (like the ones we can currently buy which explain art elements and principles) which portray these ideas.... be fun to actually have the students themselves make them.... That would be one way for them to really learn and explore these concepts! They could work in groups each tackling one and then share...
On a side note, in the intertextuality section, the explanation of hypertext was the first time I ver fully understood what this was. Thinking about it the way it is visually represented on the page was perfect. A major ah ha! moment!
Between Pinterest, Delicious , Inspiration and Popplet, I by far preferred Delicious and Inspiration the most. I do not like Popplet AT ALL.
I love Delicious because I could more or less keep a digital file cabinet of things which interest me. I also like that people potentially researching similar things can share in this way. For me this is useful and I see it working well in collaborative instances. I also find it beneficial if people are collaborating over longer distances.
I liked inspiration because I found it more user friendly than poplet and I do not like all the movement in and out that occurs with poplet. It actually makes me dizzy. Its a personal preference really. I like to see the whole thing straight on and not bounce in and out. I do like the layering poplet allows and perhaps with some perseverance I can learn to like it.
Pinterest is actually very cool but for me could easily take my attention for a very long time. As I noted in the previous post, I do think it might be useful for students in gathering inspirations and ideas. Again though, I would have to figure out how to keep age appropriate images in front of them.... is there a setting for that?
As far as the article goes, I found it very intriguing and scary at the same time. Of course a lot of this is old news, but having it brought back to my attention certainly makes me re-think how to get kids thinking about the visual culture they live in and help them understand the manipulation that is occurring. The quote "When images offer arguments that reflect back our own views, our own ideological positions, they offer the pleasure of confirmation." (pg 8) This raises the question where did our own views come from in the first place? Is this an example of which came first? The chicken or the egg?
I believe raising awareness's such as the seven principles are equally as important as the elements of art and principles of design. Really its like the third set which unifies all of them. Be an interesting project to make posters for the art room (like the ones we can currently buy which explain art elements and principles) which portray these ideas.... be fun to actually have the students themselves make them.... That would be one way for them to really learn and explore these concepts! They could work in groups each tackling one and then share...
On a side note, in the intertextuality section, the explanation of hypertext was the first time I ver fully understood what this was. Thinking about it the way it is visually represented on the page was perfect. A major ah ha! moment!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Week 6 Pinterest
Here are a few boards I put together. I see the potential in this and it is certainly easy to get lost in it. I can actually see this as a useful tool for my own students, collecting and storing inspirations for their own works... Assuming I can filter out inappropriate stuff....
UGH.... forgive the spelling... too much going on in the brain!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Week 6 Inspiration screen shot research mind map
I also did an inspiration map based on the reading (7 Principles)
rather than and art work I use with the kids as I work with examples very differently than most.
Hopefully this is ok.
I do like this program although I do wish it could be used/viewed more 3-D like...
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Artistic Thinking, Week 5
For me this is a complex issue. As the beginning of chapter 7 in Rewired states “ In times past, parents and teachers could easily identify the “Pied Piper” who is influencing their children” Maybe 50 years ago this was the case... But 50 years ago life was also radically different in many ways, it is not just the issue digital media (which came first, the chicken or the egg?”)
So I have a response on several levels. First off..... If kids are not in touch with themselves and know what really matters to them in the first place, if they have no grounding in solid relationship with adults and peer support, they are going to be easy targets for this onslaught of digital bombardment (be it on a screen, newspaper, magazine, billboard etc) More information will get in, they will succumb before they ever get a chance to know themselves...
As a teacher, I feel part of my responsibility is to devise lessons which also foster a sense of self. Art is of course a perfect place to do this but I also integrate this idea deeply into Literature assignments as well.
Page 151 Rewired “To be media literate today means to have the ability to access, understand,synthesize and analyze media and its messages.” I agree with this idea and would further extend that to apply it to all of life and learning prior to and following media. It is a skill that should be incorporated into most learning situations ... And if done so there can easily be extended in media.
The amount of research that goes into Micro targeting kids made me ill! Scientific stalking? Is that even legal? There is nothing child centered in any of this, its all about greed with no thought of the fall out... children. The video just made me feel even more adamant that there is less and less place for electronics in the classroom unless kids have gone through a strict digital literacy class. Really, after watching the videos, I felt like I was in some version of 1984 with big brother programing society through thought advertising (Programing).... Actually.... That might be an interesting literature unit which could also tie into an art unit......
Another concern of course is in the authenticity of information found on the internet. Teaching kids how to research and discern real information from biased or even lies is a challenge. It might be interesting to give kids a research topic and have them all go home (or possibly in the class if there are not too many security blocks on the search engines) and find ten sites on a common topic, cite something from each (recording the website etc.....) then bring that back in and compare and contrast and have them do an more in depth study of extreme answers.... Follow the trail of bread crumbs so to speak to illustrate the vast array of various opinions online. What is fact? What is fiction? What are biased opinions?? How can you tell one from another etc. (In the art room they could google an art movement might be “googled” as a topic, thus tying in research about something in art while also making it a lesson on how to validate information (I am thinking middle to high school here...).
It blows my mind that a site written by non experts is rated 17th for user research while a site with Nobel prize winners and experts is ranked 5,128. It is really only a UGC site.
In the Brooks and Young reading, two things stuck out for me. Some of this relates really to having my own teenager and tweener. The online disinhibition struck a cord. The anonymity and sense of invisibility I think allows even the good intended kids to take risks with images and posts that would not normally do in person. This concerns me.
More than that is the example of the high school student holding the red cup. Photos posted online are ripe for misinterpretations. I would like to see a class in which students actually bring in photos they have posted on line and have the class interpret them (VTS style.. Now that would be interesting) Kids do not have the perspective to understand that perception is in the eye and experience of the beholder. This of course also applies to how they interpret things... AS they learn to see how they see and interpret literal images directly related to them, then moving on to marketed images would be a logical and powerful next lesson. IF THEY SEE how it connects to them, they will care. They are on the first wave of this digital world, riding it crashing into shore. As they become adults, hopefully they can look back and be more mindful and guide the next generation responsibly.
I agree we as educators (art or otherwise... and as parents) need to teach this generation how to deeply see into digital media. We as adults (standing on shore if I want to keep with my wave metaphor) need to also be able to recognize this.
I love that the digital literacy combines multiple modalities and layers ideas and meaning for communication. Isn't that what art has always been about? If they can understand what they create then they can read it too. A valuable skill in a world where image is all around. (Circling like sharks!)
Saturday, September 15, 2012
A.T. Week 4Social Media Debate
What is your personal perspective on
utilizing social networking sites (such as facebook) for education? Do
the benefits outweigh the risks?
I decided to weigh in prior to reading and then after for comparison sake.
I cant help but wonder at the power of social media. It seems on one side, everyone and their brother uses it as an emotional purging dumping ground. A place to vent things which in my opinion are far too personal. It makes exhibitionists of many young people. Its a place where cyber bullying is prevalent, predators lurk and it is difficult to gage what people really mean. I see videos of kids "performing" things they should not really be putting up on a public site. It worries me that so many at such a young age are putting things about themselves online and its there forever.... I could go one but we all know this already.
On the other side.... I see glimpses of hope. I have always told my students there is power in numbers. Face book seems to be a place where numbers are eager and waiting to join a cause, like a link, etc. (Although I question if people really always know the deeper aspects of what they like) After the terrible incidents in Libya/Middle East and continuing unrest due to the YouTube anti Muslim movie..... (another issue all together...ethical use of the Internet cross international boundaries.... hmmm what about that..?..) Ive seen pop up on face book photos of Muslim people hold up signs of apology, and Americans doing the same. (Which I HOPE are real)IT COULD be a powerful tool.... In my town Ive seen people organize benefits for others, reach out to a family with a lost pet. There have been moments when a teen has been missing and with in an hour her picture is on Facebook and the community spreads the word and the person turns up. Good things.
So can it be used as a educational too? Maybe. We have such a strong association with what Facebook has been and represents, I would be concerned that in a school setting, the temptation to "socialize" would be big. A certain consciousness is required, one that transcends the narcissistic tendencies of many of the users of Facebook. It is really a question of whether or not a group of students could maintain an ethic with in the constraint of a classroom. (it might be interesting to use in s sociology class though.... or a psychology class??? LOLOL there's a way to get unfriended.... ha ha ha)
OK... after I read, Ill write more.
Post Reading:
As I am reading, I am saddened and surprised at the description of society portrayed for teens in the Brooks and Young chapter. That is simply not the reality where I live. But then I live in a small city. That said, lets look at a statement on page 48 by danah m. boyd
"What does hanging out provide? First, social and emotional reprieve-downtime as well as support and validation. Second, potential introduction to new ideas and cultural artifacts. Third and most importantly, hanging out is where youth learn to make sense of social norms, peer relations and status. This is where culture is transmitted, interpreted and reproduced."
Its absurd to me the main hang out for kids is online. Its reinventing social norms, none of which include how to behave when you are with people. Its all based on illusion. It goes back to the connected yet disconnected theme. Do we really want to buy into this ? Maybe its cause I am older, I don't know. It just seems to me that , YES, the way teachers teach needs to change, but jumping into technology head first feels very wrong to me. It is our responsibility to make sure students get balance in their education. Are we really preparing them for an unknown future if they do not know how to learn any other way but electronically? To me its akin to a 6 year old discovering a candy store and loving it and making up new candy's and only wanting candy, but as parents we know if that's all they eat it means bad news for health and so we persevere with vegetables and whole grains allowing candy if there is a balance....
Because kids are seemingly turning to social media for that need.... are we sure we want to further isolate them for interaction by diving deeper into a virtual world in education? Let them hang out!
NOW, that said, I can see a private group being formed (perhaps through Ning) to collaborate with a classroom far away. Imagine if MySpace had remained a site for musicians and composers...I do see the benefit of such a sharing site... (I'm not a total kill joy here). If there were strict guidelines...and elements described on page 53, Purpose, Focus, Collaboration and Moderated. Nothing associated with "social" . AND then with in the real time classroom, interaction is real too... THEN maybe I see a place.
Yes... education my evolve from the dark ages.... but there are many many ways to do that, yes, technology is woven into it.... but it is only a part of it. I revisit the idea that kids will get excited bout learning things IF they feel it has value in there life. I think we need to becareful to think that just because they like the iPad, doesnt mean they like what they're learning on the Ipad....
I decided to weigh in prior to reading and then after for comparison sake.
I cant help but wonder at the power of social media. It seems on one side, everyone and their brother uses it as an emotional purging dumping ground. A place to vent things which in my opinion are far too personal. It makes exhibitionists of many young people. Its a place where cyber bullying is prevalent, predators lurk and it is difficult to gage what people really mean. I see videos of kids "performing" things they should not really be putting up on a public site. It worries me that so many at such a young age are putting things about themselves online and its there forever.... I could go one but we all know this already.
On the other side.... I see glimpses of hope. I have always told my students there is power in numbers. Face book seems to be a place where numbers are eager and waiting to join a cause, like a link, etc. (Although I question if people really always know the deeper aspects of what they like) After the terrible incidents in Libya/Middle East and continuing unrest due to the YouTube anti Muslim movie..... (another issue all together...ethical use of the Internet cross international boundaries.... hmmm what about that..?..) Ive seen pop up on face book photos of Muslim people hold up signs of apology, and Americans doing the same. (Which I HOPE are real)IT COULD be a powerful tool.... In my town Ive seen people organize benefits for others, reach out to a family with a lost pet. There have been moments when a teen has been missing and with in an hour her picture is on Facebook and the community spreads the word and the person turns up. Good things.
So can it be used as a educational too? Maybe. We have such a strong association with what Facebook has been and represents, I would be concerned that in a school setting, the temptation to "socialize" would be big. A certain consciousness is required, one that transcends the narcissistic tendencies of many of the users of Facebook. It is really a question of whether or not a group of students could maintain an ethic with in the constraint of a classroom. (it might be interesting to use in s sociology class though.... or a psychology class??? LOLOL there's a way to get unfriended.... ha ha ha)
OK... after I read, Ill write more.
Post Reading:
As I am reading, I am saddened and surprised at the description of society portrayed for teens in the Brooks and Young chapter. That is simply not the reality where I live. But then I live in a small city. That said, lets look at a statement on page 48 by danah m. boyd
"What does hanging out provide? First, social and emotional reprieve-downtime as well as support and validation. Second, potential introduction to new ideas and cultural artifacts. Third and most importantly, hanging out is where youth learn to make sense of social norms, peer relations and status. This is where culture is transmitted, interpreted and reproduced."
Its absurd to me the main hang out for kids is online. Its reinventing social norms, none of which include how to behave when you are with people. Its all based on illusion. It goes back to the connected yet disconnected theme. Do we really want to buy into this ? Maybe its cause I am older, I don't know. It just seems to me that , YES, the way teachers teach needs to change, but jumping into technology head first feels very wrong to me. It is our responsibility to make sure students get balance in their education. Are we really preparing them for an unknown future if they do not know how to learn any other way but electronically? To me its akin to a 6 year old discovering a candy store and loving it and making up new candy's and only wanting candy, but as parents we know if that's all they eat it means bad news for health and so we persevere with vegetables and whole grains allowing candy if there is a balance....
Because kids are seemingly turning to social media for that need.... are we sure we want to further isolate them for interaction by diving deeper into a virtual world in education? Let them hang out!
NOW, that said, I can see a private group being formed (perhaps through Ning) to collaborate with a classroom far away. Imagine if MySpace had remained a site for musicians and composers...I do see the benefit of such a sharing site... (I'm not a total kill joy here). If there were strict guidelines...and elements described on page 53, Purpose, Focus, Collaboration and Moderated. Nothing associated with "social" . AND then with in the real time classroom, interaction is real too... THEN maybe I see a place.
Yes... education my evolve from the dark ages.... but there are many many ways to do that, yes, technology is woven into it.... but it is only a part of it. I revisit the idea that kids will get excited bout learning things IF they feel it has value in there life. I think we need to becareful to think that just because they like the iPad, doesnt mean they like what they're learning on the Ipad....
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)