1) You don't need high tech materials to turn your classroom into a maker space. Maker spaces are just about building and creation and the teacher being more of a partner in discovery then a boss. Reusing old materials can turn into a discussion about the environment and sustainability. Kids can make so many things out of simple cardboard. As new technologies take over and make everything more convenient, kids become more interested in DIY projects and the process of making. DIY projects also empower kids, they can feel like creators of their own universe, rather than watchers and consumers.
2) Maker spaces are important because they allow students to invent, explore and collaborate. The self-directed learning is the most important part of maker spaces. Students can choose from a variety of materials and tools to create a project that best accomplishes their objectives. This model fits best with new developments in technology and the digital culture. When students are allowed to direct their own learning it extends beyond just the classroom and can even reach out across the world through the internet.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Lesson Plan (8-3)
Lesson Plan for Scanography-Middle School
Objective: Students will understand how the scanners work, what scenography is, and be able to make an original work with the scanner.
Intro to New Materials: Demonstrate the scanner and how to turn it on. Have students share their experiences with scanners. (Has anyone used one of these before? What have you used it for? Has anyone every thought about making art with a scanner?) Show examples of artists who have worked with scanners in their art. (Roberta Bailey, Joseph Scheer, Maitha Demithan, Ronis Furquim) As you show each artist ask students how they think the artist made the images. (Did they use any other tools or programs to make this piece?) Ask students what kind of art they would make with a scanner. (Would you show movement or have things still? Would you use objects or your own body? What objects would you use?)
Guided Practice: Tell the students they will now get a chance to work in groups to make scanographs. They will be creating 3 pieces in their groups. One with objects, one with hands or faces, one showing movement (Write this up on the board). They will have 10 minutes. Remind them that working in a group is about compromising and they must be good community members. They will get a chance to do their own work later. Remind students about appropriate voice volume during group work. Give an incentive, groups that work the best together will get first chance on the scanners for independent work. Separate the students into groups of 4 or 5 per scanner. Let students work together, monitor and answer any questions. After 10 minutes call time. Have each group share their work, talk a bit about it and have other students offer thoughts (2 things they liked, one thing they would change). Back to seats.
Independent Practice: Explain to students that they will be making their own scanographs in the next class. Their homework is to start planning what they want to do, and bring in any objects they need. (Group ___ will be going first tomorrow since they worked best together today. If you were in that group please also bring in a sketch of what you want your scan to look like. Other groups, you will have time to work on this while the first group is scanning. Make sure you come into next class with a clear idea and whatever objects you need.)
Objective: Students will understand how the scanners work, what scenography is, and be able to make an original work with the scanner.
Intro to New Materials: Demonstrate the scanner and how to turn it on. Have students share their experiences with scanners. (Has anyone used one of these before? What have you used it for? Has anyone every thought about making art with a scanner?) Show examples of artists who have worked with scanners in their art. (Roberta Bailey, Joseph Scheer, Maitha Demithan, Ronis Furquim) As you show each artist ask students how they think the artist made the images. (Did they use any other tools or programs to make this piece?) Ask students what kind of art they would make with a scanner. (Would you show movement or have things still? Would you use objects or your own body? What objects would you use?)
Guided Practice: Tell the students they will now get a chance to work in groups to make scanographs. They will be creating 3 pieces in their groups. One with objects, one with hands or faces, one showing movement (Write this up on the board). They will have 10 minutes. Remind them that working in a group is about compromising and they must be good community members. They will get a chance to do their own work later. Remind students about appropriate voice volume during group work. Give an incentive, groups that work the best together will get first chance on the scanners for independent work. Separate the students into groups of 4 or 5 per scanner. Let students work together, monitor and answer any questions. After 10 minutes call time. Have each group share their work, talk a bit about it and have other students offer thoughts (2 things they liked, one thing they would change). Back to seats.
Independent Practice: Explain to students that they will be making their own scanographs in the next class. Their homework is to start planning what they want to do, and bring in any objects they need. (Group ___ will be going first tomorrow since they worked best together today. If you were in that group please also bring in a sketch of what you want your scan to look like. Other groups, you will have time to work on this while the first group is scanning. Make sure you come into next class with a clear idea and whatever objects you need.)
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Reflections on Sound (7-2)
Music is an undeniably powerful medium. Watch a horror movie sometime with the volume turned off to see exactly how much music can add tension and emotion to a scene. Without a gripping score, horror movies can become almost comical. In Picturing the World by John C. Gilmour, the author states, "Music has an unusual capacity for direct expression of feeling" (Gilmour, 1986, pg 25). Visual artists such as Kandinsky strove to make their art more like music, more able to directly communicate emotion (Gilmour, 1986, pg 26). I especially noticed how moving a work of art made with music could be when I first heard Janet Cardiff's piece "40 Piece Motet". I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the choral work that I almost couldn't breathe. I had heard it from several galleries away and slowly moved towards the noise with so much anticipation. I didn't want to walk too quickly because I didn't want to have the experience of walking towards the haunting music end. I would probably travel a good distance to hear that piece again.
Walking around New York City, I get easily stressed out by the overwhelming sounds. I usually don't notice it until I get back to the quiet of my apartment and my shoulders suddenly drop from up above my ears. In the classroom that I am observing, the teacher sometimes plays calming music before the start of each class. I love the idea of using music and sound to create a calming, welcoming space for your students. I also think students could get really engaged in projects that involve sounds, such as creating audio documentaries, like in the TED talk podcast we listened to, or remixing/mashing familiar songs in audacity.
Gilmour, J.C., Picturing the World. State University of New York Press. NY. 1986.
Walking around New York City, I get easily stressed out by the overwhelming sounds. I usually don't notice it until I get back to the quiet of my apartment and my shoulders suddenly drop from up above my ears. In the classroom that I am observing, the teacher sometimes plays calming music before the start of each class. I love the idea of using music and sound to create a calming, welcoming space for your students. I also think students could get really engaged in projects that involve sounds, such as creating audio documentaries, like in the TED talk podcast we listened to, or remixing/mashing familiar songs in audacity.
Gilmour, J.C., Picturing the World. State University of New York Press. NY. 1986.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Impact 25 (6-3)
For our Impact 25 project Sophia Di Vitto and I asked people why they vote. The political scene right now is ruled by emotions and we thought it would be nice to get people thinking again about the causes and issues they care about. I've heard a lot of people saying that their votes don't matter, or they hate both candidates too much to vote, or they feel like the election is rigged. I thought that if everyone stepped back a bit and thought more about what's important to them they would be inspired to get more politically active.
We asked people to write down their name, the issues they care about, their zip code, and to find an image that sums up their thoughts. We then printed these images onto postcards using the laser engraver. We will then write our interviewee's name and message on the back and send the postcards off to their local senators and representatives.
The hope is that not only will we impact the people we interview, but by creating beautiful images we will also impact the politicians receiving the cards and maybe some of these messages will actually get heard.
We created a Tumblr page to showcase our postcards and we will include the web address of the page on the bottom of each postcard we send, so the politicians know that the card they receive is part of a larger movement. Sophia and I plan to continue on with this project beyond today.
Tumblr:
http://postcardsforpoliticians.tumblr.com/
We asked people to write down their name, the issues they care about, their zip code, and to find an image that sums up their thoughts. We then printed these images onto postcards using the laser engraver. We will then write our interviewee's name and message on the back and send the postcards off to their local senators and representatives.
The hope is that not only will we impact the people we interview, but by creating beautiful images we will also impact the politicians receiving the cards and maybe some of these messages will actually get heard.
We created a Tumblr page to showcase our postcards and we will include the web address of the page on the bottom of each postcard we send, so the politicians know that the card they receive is part of a larger movement. Sophia and I plan to continue on with this project beyond today.
Tumblr:
http://postcardsforpoliticians.tumblr.com/
Video Thoughts (6-2)
There are so many things we can learn from video production. I like the idea of this unit following after a unit on digital photography. Lighting and framing are really good concepts to teach thoroughly in digital photography. Once the students grasp this, you can transition into video and add panning and zooming. Getting the students to work on really artfully framed shots and get them thinking about composition and it's importance across all art forms. Then there is post-production, where students can learn how to edit clips to convey their message in the most efficient way possible. It would be interesting to challenge students to make a 5 minute long movie, and then in the next lesson ask them to edit it down to 1 minute without any loss of message or meaning.
Video is also a great way to convey a message. Videos can be more personal and intimate for the viewer because it feels like a more direct view of the subject. Once students understand the basic concepts to filming and editing a teacher could move on to discussing films as a tool for social change. Students could watch documentaries and art films with a strong social justice message and then brainstorm about their own causes they are passionate about. The teacher could then go on to have students produce their own protest/documentary films and post them on YouTube. Students will learn that video production gives them a voice and allows them to convey powerful messages.
Video Project 2 (6-1)
I wasn't quite happy with my original video, so I decided to do a bit more exploring. I wanted to do something with all the short videos I had filmed on my phone since first buying it in 2011. I liked the fact that all of these videos, when put together, formed an interesting picture of the year. Then I found Cesar Kuriyama's TED talk on his One Second Every Day film and app development. I decided I would take this concept and run with it. I took all of the video clips I had accumulated throughout the years, edited them to 1 second each, and made a series of short films, one for each year from 2011 onwards. Eventually I want to go through my old family videos and make a short film for every year of my childhood. There might be a few years missing, but it would be great to end up with a record of my life made up of whatever random moments someone chose to have a camera on.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Section 2 readings (5-3)
1) We are living in a culture defined by appropriation, reappropriation, memes, mashups, remixes, sequels, prequels and remakes.
2) New technology is making it faster and easy to participate in and contribute to visual culture. This technology is creating a resurgence of interest in the arts.
3) Digital storytelling is a good way to get students to push their interactions with new technology one step further and to get them thinking about how to keep listeners/viewers engaged over longer periods of time.
2) New technology is making it faster and easy to participate in and contribute to visual culture. This technology is creating a resurgence of interest in the arts.
3) Digital storytelling is a good way to get students to push their interactions with new technology one step further and to get them thinking about how to keep listeners/viewers engaged over longer periods of time.
Scanography (5-2)
Scanography is a quick process with instant gratification. This is something I could see students having a lot of fun with, and it's a good next step after digital photography. Students will already understand with digital photography that they can take images and manipulate them after the fact to create distortions or collages. Scanography will get students thinking about how to make the collage or the distortion part of the original image. I would like to have students begin by experimenting with the scanner so they understand what it is capable of creating. My next lessons would have them creating a series of thoughtful collages that they would plan and sketch out first. I would have a discussion about composition and materials, have them collect items to bring to class, then spend some time working with different arrangements before creating the final scan. As a final project, I would like them to either create a scanographic collage image that embraces distortion in some way, or create a scanography inspired digital photograph.
Scanographs: The lies we tell ourselves (5-1)
Still trying to figure out how to express the issues currently on my mind in a way that's not heavy-handed or cheesy or pedantic. Clearly I'm not quite there yet. Feel free to comment, any feedback would be helpful.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Connections to Teaching Children (4-3)
1) Children today are growing up surrounded by technology and social media. 'Selfies' and posts to Instagram are a constant part of today's culture. Kids are already engaging with digital photography and already understand it as a means of self-expression. It would just be a matter of switching their minds into 'art mode' by looking at examples from other artists and getting them to play around with photo editing tools.
2) A big part of teaching art is to get children to think more about observing the world. Most older children already have access to digital cameras through their phones. Even cheap flip phones come with digital cameras these days. Getting kids to start noticing and documenting moments on their daily walks and then discussing them in class is a great way to get children engaged in digital photography as an art form.
3) A good next step would be getting children working with fancier digital cameras. There would be an introductory class on manual settings and lenses. Then the children could be encouraged to take the same photos with the digital cameras that they had taken with their phones. The discussion afterwards comparing both photographs would be a really interesting would and would push the students even more towards understanding the artistry that goes into making quality digital photographs.
2) A big part of teaching art is to get children to think more about observing the world. Most older children already have access to digital cameras through their phones. Even cheap flip phones come with digital cameras these days. Getting kids to start noticing and documenting moments on their daily walks and then discussing them in class is a great way to get children engaged in digital photography as an art form.
3) A good next step would be getting children working with fancier digital cameras. There would be an introductory class on manual settings and lenses. Then the children could be encouraged to take the same photos with the digital cameras that they had taken with their phones. The discussion afterwards comparing both photographs would be a really interesting would and would push the students even more towards understanding the artistry that goes into making quality digital photographs.
Impact25 Progress (4-2)
Sophia Di Vitto and I are working together on our Impact25 project. We wanted to combine new technology and old technology in our project. We also thought a lot about what impact would mean for us and what kind of an impact we wanted to make. We were thinking about all of the political unrest in our country now and we wanted to find a way to give everyone who wanted one a voice in our political system. Especially at a time when it feels like the angry, fearful and divisive voices are getting all of the attention. We decided to reach out to friends and family with this e-mail:
Dear _____,
I am working on a project where we have to impact people in a way that spreads a message about something we care about. My project partner and I came up with the idea of sending laser engraved post cards to your local senators and congress people about issues you care about. If you would like to participate in the project, please send us the following information:
1. A drawing you made, or image you would like on the front of the postcard
2. Fill in the blanks of this sentence "I am a voter, and I care about __________, _________, and ___________."
3. The address of your local senator or congressperson.
Find out your senators address at http://www.senate.gov/
Find out your congressperson's address at http://www.house.gov/
Thank you for your time and for getting involved with your political system!
Sincerely,
Avery Forbes and Sophia Di Vitto
We would then type the messages up and print them out on printer friendly postcard paper. The images we would burn onto the front using the laser engraver. This creates a beautiful toned image that will hopefully make the politician stop and look and think for a moment. Even if they don't read the text, the image will be powerful enough to get the message across. The great thing about using new technology for this process is that the project becomes easily scaleable. If we needed to, we could create hundreds of postcards with minimal effort to really get our messages of peace and equality through to the politicians. And even if the postcard never gets seen, we at least got our friends thinking about what issues they care about the most, and hopefully they will be affected enough to get to the polls.
Explorations and Feedback (4-1, Part 2)
After talking to a few people, I decided to go with the second part of the second idea. The wrapping of the twine and bands around my face linked nicely with the wrapped object and still communicated clearly my idea of discomfort and disconnection. I applied a few filters to the image to give it a more desaturated, washed out effect that matched the original photo better.
Explorations from a single image (4-1, Part 1)
One idea I had was to relate these two concepts to my feelings about TC. I feel both comfortable and raw in this place. I grew up going to elite institutions and immersing myself in learning environments. A university where the smart and driven gather to try and turn themselves into the best teachers possible so they can make the world a better place for future generations should be where I feel most comfortable. But something feels very wrong about being here at this particular point in history. Being tucked away in an elite institution quietly racking up debt at a time when innocent people are being killed in the streets and a madman is terrifyingly close to the presidency feels wrong. But I don't know what would be right. I wanted to explore this idea of feeling swaddled, yet off and raw and uncomfortable. My thought was to create a series of photographs of a figure in my fluffy pink bathroom wandering around campus barefoot. I want the photos all to look awkward and for the figure to look exposed and unsure.
I also wanted to think about wrappings more. Wrappings create mystery. They cover an object, making it so we can only guess at what is inside. I thought about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's giant wrapped objects. I wanted to relate this idea to my own life. What do I wrap myself in to cover what is going on inside? I realized that I wrap myself in smiles. I smile as I nervous response. I smile when I'm angry. There's even a video of me smiling and waving right before leaping off a bridge with a bungee cord strapped to my ankles. This is how I was raised. In Connecticut, you smile through everything. Expressions of intense emotion can be hurtful to others and must be avoided at all costs. It's a hard habit to kick. My idea from this is to do a portrait of a forced smile. Either a series of photos of a person smiling for an hour or two (maybe one photo taken every 10 minutes), or a photo of a person with their lips forced into a smile with string and rubber bands.
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