Top 10 NDCE Ideas

Here are my top ten ideas from the course. Being a teacher (and in a teaching curriculum) I listed and talked about most of these in terms of how I could or did relate them to education. Listed from least to most amazing.

10. Compelling Videos. This sit at the bottom of my list. Not to talk down on any of my classmates but I think I interpreted our Work of Art assignment very differently. The project was to make a video about something compelling. My classmates did just that. I read the assignment as "make a compelling video about something that is normally not compelling". Which meant at the end of the day most of the videos produced were about something compelling but not compelling on their own. For this fact the WofA video project is at the bottom.
9. Fashion. I am not a fashion forward thinker. My blog for this week took a very literal look into fashion and talked about school uniforms. I think after discussing with my group it opened my eyes to the idea that fashion can be compelling beyond the literal what are you wearing. But to me I will always see fashion as something to photograph (and that makes the top) but not as a piece of art in itself.
8. Music. Like fashion I find myself not a music lover either. I prefer to think rather than listen. Although I did very much enjoy learning about breaking down music and looking for a 'hook'. Mainly because I like how one could relate this to writing/reading which I find much more compelling.
7. Movies. To me the movie industry is too broad to fit a category or a place on this list. Just because there are movies for everything. You can find slow-paced art movies with little talking, comedies where they never stop talking, or all the way to fast-paced action flicks with little talking. It seems that movie makers make one of each type every few months. I am not as compelled by the movie industry because they don't try to make a compelling film for everyone they just make different types and people will see what they want.
6. Commercials. I find the fast paced nature of commercials very disheartening. Although a very compelling topic (thus it is in the middle of this list). In relation to students it seems that advertisers have picked up on the frantic nature of young minds. Commercials are one of the best indicators of what their target audience is thinking and wanting and how they are acting. If you teach young kids but haven't watched commercials on Nickelodeon lately then you'd be in for a shock on how different they are from when you were a kid.
5. Architecture. The top of the top were mainly still images. I find quieter and less "in your face" components to be the more compelling. And it starts with where you are sitting and where are looking when creating things. Most students sit in boring rooms with dull interiors. I think chaining that up and bringing aspects of compelling architecture to school buildings would add to the learning environment.
4. Graphic Design. I very much enjoyed picking apart print ads for this unit. Getting opinions from all the group members also gave me a good sense of what and where people are looking when they see a flyer. We discussed ideas of color and fonts. And the strange concept that bigger and bolder doesn't always gather more attention was interesting. Then being able to take those ideas for classroom handouts was excellent.
3. Editing. While most of my top picks are still images I found great interest in video editing. Being able to combine pictures (whether moving or not) with music to create a new experience to be extremely compelling. Being able to create educational materials this way (taking bland images and editing them with sound to increase the appeal for students) also intrigues me.
2. Architecture. I really enjoyed the discussion from this week's unit about work spaces. I have never held a cubical job but found the motivation behind many desk arrangements to be fascinating. The psychology of getting people to work productively and happily is fascinating.
1. Photography. And the top. I was a photography student in undergrad and loved it. While my flatmates were sitting down to their piles of engineering math homework I was running around with a camera. And the best part to me is that it was all film. The compelling part of photography came from finding and working for the perfect shot. Digital has taken most of that away as you can take thousands of shots and see them right then. And if you still don't like them you can edit it all in photoshop. True photography is routed in getting the right shot the first time. Having to know what makes that shot compelling before you even take it is what attracts me.

Work of Art videos

So this week as a class we have posted our work of art videos. And in watching all of them I can see the different views of compelling. There were so many different subjects done in such a wide range of styles that it made me stop to think about the different styles found in a classroom. After watching all of them I realized that I can work for weeks on something to make it compelling but someone else might find it as dull as dirt. which makes sense since everyone is different.
So in a class room we (as teachers) have to take in everyone's interests when making educational material. What may be compelling for me probably wouldn't be for young kids. I have to remind myself that often when lesson planning. What I try to do is put myself in their age and position and what would be fun and interesting.
 I do think I have found there are some "Universal" aspects to making things compelling. From all the videos I think there were four things that made each person's project better. First was adding a soundtrack. Music has the ability to hook people in so adding it to a presentation draws more interest. Second having a point of focus. Whether in a presentation or a film there has to be a focal point. It might not be the main subject but something will always draw the audiences' eye.  Third, the use of color. While black and white does have a space in art I think that adding color to projects will always add an attractiveness to a project. And last, I think the pacing of the project or video is very important. Too fast and people can't pay attention so they stop trying. Too slow and people get bored and start looking at other things.
 With all those in mind I think that just about any project can be more compelling even if it is a subject that not everyone is interested in.

School Uniforms

While this week's lesson on fashion is more aimed at how a teacher can pull the compelling desire of people looking at fashion into their classroom the first thing that came to my mind was the use - or not - of school uniforms and how it can change a school's atmosphere.
 I have attended, work at, and visited many different private schools in my time and all with different ideas on how their school should dress. Growing up I attended one of the few private schools i have ever accounted that does not require a uniform. Their feeling was that individuality and creativity should not stop at what students do in class but should also be able to be reflected in what they wear.
 Later I spent a few years working at the other extreme when it comes to dress - a military school. There really isn't any room there for interpretation (even your socks had to match the kid next to you). Their feeling? that clothes shouldn't distract from the school atmosphere (this is one among a few other military reasons for uniforms).
 So do clothes really distract or add to a compelling student? I could argue both. I could argue that there isn't much inspiration in a grey uniform everyday. But there is also something very distracting in a skirt that is well above the required length.
 To me? I would have to agree with the uniform. while fashion can be a large contributor to turning something bland into something compelling I'm not sure if that type of compelling is right for the classroom. You should be able to see outside of the box and bring out yourself rather than your clothes.
 - Carolyn

Music that Moves

Here is my Music that Moves video.
I picked my all time favorite song: You''ve got to Hide Your Love Away by the Beatles.
Enjoy!

music in the classroom

I have had the opportunity lately to sub at many different schools and grade levels. I am, by choice, a high school teacher but have had some great time in the past year with kindergarten classes. What always strikes me is the amount of music the teachers use. They have songs for everything. Songs to wash their hands, songs to get their books out, songs to line up, everything. It is a great tool for getting the kids all focused on the same task (the task the teacher wants them focused on) and getting them quiet at the end of the song. It got me thinking about how as the kids age that music is faded out of the classroom. When I had a high school class of my own I would still play music from time to time but mainly just instrumental stuff as a background. We definitely didn't have any songs.
 This got me thinking about how music was so beneficial to those younger kids and what makes it not used with older ones. It might be the expectation that the older kids don't need a 're-focusing tool' or should be quiet on their own. Which would make sense.
 But then I got to thinking about how music aids in memory. I could probably sing every word to American Pie right now but couldn't recite all the state capitals even though I learned both of those around the same time. But I can recite all the states, in alphabetical order no less. Anyone out there learn the "Fifty Nifty United States" song? Because I bet you are probably singing them right now. So why is music not used more in education? It obviously works.
  Just food for thought for this week.

Compelling Film Storyboard

Hello all!!
 First this was posted on wednesday but apparently the internet doesn't like me and it never uploaded. My fault for not checking. So to those who were waiting with baited breath I apologize. Here they are!!

Before you applaud too loudly I would like to saw I never won the gene pool of drawing skills. So let me walk you through the idea that didn't fully make it from my head to the drawing board.
Frame 1- First we open on a closed door. Excited dog waiting to go out. less than excited owner.
2 - then black. a voice over sighs
3- repeat first clip
4- repeat sigh voice over and black screen
5 - repeat first clip
6 - repeat sigh voice over and black screen
7- First clip again but this time it slows down, door opens and the dog jumps
8 - Screen freezes and words: The Walk dissolve on screen
9- Scene 1: rush outside and then stop and focus on the clouds
10- Between scenes clip of fast/frantic walking
11- Scene 2 : Close up pan through a tree.
12 - frame 10 repeated
13 - Scene 3: cars speeding past.
14 - frame 10 repeated
15 - Scene 4: close up of a squirrel
16 - frame 10 repeated
17 - scene 5: a view through the grass. this will be the only shot as if the walker were a dog
18 - scene 10 repeated
19 - scene 6: viewing the home
20 - scene of relaxing owner and dog together
21 - repeats the first clip (like frame 7) but the words this time are The End

So my thoughts on this "compelling" film are to take that excitement of a walk that the dog has and make the owner (viewer) experience it as well. From interesting angles and shots I want to make the things a owner sees more interesting. Hope you Enjoy!!

Maintaining Focus

It seems that with the warmer weather here in Michigan that student spring fever as also come early. Usually students hold out until at least the end of March to begin to pine for the summer. So how do we as teachers maintain their focus?
  We can threaten. What teacher hasn't told a senior over and over that even if they are already accepted a college can take that back if they completely fail their last semester in high school? I have. I've ruined kids summer dreams by telling them that there is no beach anywhere near the summer school campus. Ive told students that their grades are on that fine line and these last weeks will mean a letter grade. I've lied through my teeth to get them to focus.
  We can bribe them. On those nice warm and sunny spring days you get them to focus by telling them they can go out early.
  But can we instead simply compel them? Can we create a better inside? While this might be the goal of a teacher year round these coming months might be the most important.
  While observing a teacher a few years ago (during this same spring fever) I noticed that he worked to play off the students. They wanted to go outside then they had a lab outside. They didn't want to read the chapter then instead they talked about the topic (he was very good at sneaking in the vocab terms). The work of making his class compelling revolved around a continued bounce back and forth from his plans and their behaviors. I found this to be very important. That teacher could have spent hours creating an experience but if the students were;t in the mood then all was wasted. Instead of trying too hard to create ahead of time he taught me to react to their demands.

Retail Spaces

Hello All!! Here is my video for the retail spaces project. I hope you enjoy it!

- Carolyn

Working Spaces

So while discussing different work spaces this week with our groups I got me thinking about how teachers set up their classrooms differently. As a science teacher I am somewhat confined to how the lab tables are arranged (its hard to change around work areas when there are gas lines) but I am often amazed at what other teachers do.

Example one. There is an old teacher (don't tell him I said old) who actually bought and brought in his own huge wooden table. He teaches using the Socriatic method and having them all sit at one table facilitates this. The English teacher down the hall uses this as well but instead of a fancy wooden table has just arranged the desks in a circle. Which do I find better? Well the large wooden table would always win. Its different for students. I think it helps to get them out of the normal school mind set and into a place where discussions and not preaching occur. Can the English teacher achieve this (can any teacher who won't be buying a 16 foot wooden table for their classroom)? I think so. But then it relies more on the teacher to bring the feel instead of the room naturally having it.

Example two. This links most back to this week's class discussion. I spent two semesters teaching an art class (stepped in for a teacher who left) and had the tables different for each semester. The first time I had them in a circle. The tables fit two kids each. that way I could walk around the front of what they were doing, I could set up a still life in the middle, and they could talk freely to each other. I liked the openness of this set up. It allowed conversation while working. Letting kids talk during class moves them beyond "work" and into a desire to make things mode. For the next semester I put them in rows like a 'normal' room. I made this change because of the students' behavior. The class was not happy to make anything unless they were making fun of the person across the room. To stop this I put them in rows so they concentrated more on their own work.

To me it is the difference between an open office and a cubicle. Depending on what type of work needs to be done and what type of workers you have in it.

I have also spent a lot of time substituting and am always interested to see how teachers set up their rooms. Clusters of desks or rows or circles. It seems that as students get older they get put more and more by themselves.

My preference? I like the 'old' teacher who, at the high school level, is bringing them back together.

-Carolyn

creating chairs

      I was substituting yesterday for a class that watched a film about art and design. It showcased the Bauhuas art school that was in Germany prior to WWII. The film followed the start of modernism in furniture design. It showed many design ideas but focused on the chair - as the narrator said the chair was the true test of any designer.
      One designer stated in an interviewer that he made crazy chairs. That they weren't comfortable. He would sit in a comfortable chair and look at the modern one. He stated that is what they were for: looking at. This struck a cord with me as we try and try to be modern and find new and amazing things for our classrooms. But are they useful? The purpose behind modernism was to rid the world of the useless and frivolous design gunk. All the ornaments and extra metal attached to everything. They liked the idea that they could make a high quality item in large amounts and sell them at low costs. Easy living was the idea.    
      We can take this idea to schools in the idea that we streamline everything. But at what cost. Is it crazy and new but all we want is to stay where we were and look at it? Modernism often looks like the best route to go. But when research is done on education some of the top schools in the country (if we think of Phillips Exeter then on to Harvard) are old and follow old 'frivolous' designs. In another of my classes this semester we read a book that talked about science education. The main idea was that although we can invent new experiments and new technologies to deliver it all Science (as an entity) hash;t changed in years. Things have added (mapping the human genome as an example) but the basics have been stable for  a long time. The material isn't changing so why does the delivery have to move by leaps and bounds?
      I have always seen modernism as an exciting path (who does't love walking around an Ikea and rethinking their entire house) but not one that lasts the times.

Flim Project

Here is my finished film. Enjoy!!

Directors Commentary.

            Let me start by bowing my head to all those in the film industry. It has taken me all of the given fourteen days to come up with anything. Not for lack of trying (This is actually my fourth attempt for this assignment). As I stated in an earlier blog I find stationary images much easier to manipulate.

            I knew I wanted to try and tell a story throughout the short minute. So that is what I set out to do. My film starts black with the storm noises setting the stage. Then the storm quiets as the bird flies through clear skies. I had the storm pick up and the music almost give up as the bird flies higher into the storm clouds. I then picked back up the music and lowered the storm as the bird goes on. To me its a story of perseverance.          

            When I sit and ask myself what makes it compelling I come up with three things. First, as I've said, you can follow it as a story. Second, the sounds pull you in but is not the only leg it stands on. I have watched the clip by itself and while I do not think it holds the same power I do still see the story. Third, the simple but rare beauty of a bald eagle flying makes you want to stop and watch. I played off this innate human draw in my selection of this clip. Knowing people have an natural curiosity about animals they rarely see immediately puts the film in their sights.

            On the technical side I had a lot of fun with making this film. I downloaded a free video editor and went to town! I will first admit that I did not film this section this week (or last week). I did film it, just over last summer. I was up at Lake Michigan and there was a resident bald eagle that lived down the beach from me. He seemed to only fly by when no one had a camera ready. Luckily on this stormy evening I did have my camera at hand. Instead of trying for a single shot I just tracked his flight. This past week after filming many things around my home and not finding any of them compelling I found this clip on my camera. Even watching it without the sound I found myself drawn to the bird. I realized with some good music I could turn his flight into a story.

            I went back and forth about the blur at the beginning. It was a part of the original filming as my camera sensor tried to auto-focus. I took it out and put it back a few times. I decided to leave it for the final cut because of the natural fade in it gives. The music also acts to guide it.

            I would also like to admit to some film editing as far as the pace of the clip goes. The original clip lasted only about 25 seconds. After realizing that the one minute requirement was not just a maximum but a minimum as well I slowed down the clip to about 60% of its original speed. The only reason I did this at first was to make the time limit for the assignment. But then looking back at the original and watching the slowed down one it works better slow. It follows the music better and gives the viewer a chance to see the bird in each stage of the story.

            I knew first I wanted to add a better background storm. In fact there was no storm noises in the original recording, just waves, birds, and my mother asking if I got the shot. So I stripped out the original sound and replaced it with a nature clip. I played with it quite a lot to get the thunder claps at the right moments.

            I then went through many great music choices but after some in-depth reading on copyright laws decided not to push my luck. So out the window went the theme from Schindler's List. I scored many sites until I found this piece. It is entitled Night Nurse and was composed by Jon Chilton and published by Freeplay Music. I picked it because of the similar haunting quality of Itzhak Perlman's piece but also had a quiet tempo that perfectly matched the beating wings of my eagle. I also played around with its timing to match the story line I was creating.  

            A few technical complaints. First the picture quality isn't as high as I would like. And second, if only I had the ability to erase that damn other bird that flies through the picture half way through the movie.

            Overall, even with all the struggles, I had a fun time making this film. Do I find it compelling? Yes, and I hope you do too.

creating instructional materials

These past two weeks have been very hard for me to work on the project. I am a photographer and trying to put together 60 seconds of movement has been very difficult.

 It got me thinking about the types of instructional materials we use in schools. For the most part they are static images. If we think about the supplies we use through the day we come up with a list of pictures: textbooks, overheads, posters, worksheets, and on and on. I do like to incorporate videos into a class. They can be invaluable at times (like the student who wouldn't believe me that sand dollars were real until I showed a video of an alive one moving) but I would say 95% of the materials my students use are still pictures.

 So I wonder how I would incorporate more film into a class. There are obviously lots and lots of video clips on everything one could ever want on the net. Even in the realm of instruction videos (I do have a great lab safety video a few students made way back in the 80s). But what about things like textbooks. I was watching Tv yesterday and saw an ad for a little kid reader that was interactive. You followed the text with the pen and it would help you read it or show you pictures. It had definitions for the harder words. What if we could incorporate this into a high school level?

 I remember spending hours with a text from college trying to read chapters. I would have the computer on, my notes everywhere and a dictionary open. If that text were like this interactive one I could have the definition of an unknown word and maybe a little video to go with it right at the same time.

 Just some thoughts this week.
- Carolyn

Tv and Teaching

   While I am normally a high school teacher this year I have been subbing for a wide range of ages. And just by chance mostly for the lower grades (I guess little kids spread more germs to their teachers than teenagers) which is new territory for me. What I have found is that as a kindergarten teacher you almost have to have ADD yourself. Kids at that age have trouble staying on one topic for more than 8 minutes so your day seems to be very frantic - while staying organized.
   This is a large change from decades past. I am not that old :) but remember sitting for longer periods of time on single tasks. Then I was reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder House on the Prairie books to my cousin and her accounts of school where they would have to sit still for hours. It seems as our society has gotten a faster pace so has our approach to schooling.
  This seemed to be the same with television. Tv programs now, especially for children, are very frantic. I sat down to watch one this morning and there was lots of quick things going on. Almost as if the show where to slow down they would lose the audience. Then if you watch older movies, or tv shows, the pace is a lot slower.
  To me I believe that tv/film has sped up to keep the relatively short attention span of children now a days. Teaching seems to have followed suit. I believe we, as teachers, should slow things back down. Have students, even the little ones, take time to process and enjoy an experience before jumping to the next.
- Carolyn

Photo Project

   So I sat around/ staring around today trying to think of something compelling to photograph. I had already decided to photograph the same thing twice (one normalish and one more compelling) using ideas from the videos and reading to change the first into something great. I decided to go for a walk around the gardens at Cranbrook (an art museum/school in Michigan). Braving the blistery cold wind I finally found this statue. It was one of the only ones not covered up for the winter and I first thought it might have been forgotten as it was tucked away down a wooded path. I would also like to ad there was no photoshop done to these.

Here is picture one. Normal (snap shot) picture.

I think its an interesting photo but fails at being compelling for a few reasons. First the background is far too busy. The tree branches jut out from behind it at all angles and don't add to the movement but just create chaos. Second I didn't do a very good job of framing it. The feet are cut off. Second, because of the plain and flat lighting there really isn't any mood to it. It is almost an archival photo. I don't get any emotion off the face of the cherub or get interesting feelings from the broken hands. Last, the exposure is a little too light in the background (the white snow is a little blown out). And the lighting makes it seem very flat, lacking depth.

Here is picture two. Compelling.

I tried many different views and framing of the statue to change the snapshot into something that spoke to me and this was my favorite. First, I would like to blame this computer for the exposure (on my laptop screen - where I have photoshop - the background next to the face is NOT blown out but a nice wintery blue) so please try to ignore how it blends in with the blog background that was not part of the idea. Second, the lighting here does allow for dimension. It brings the roundness of the face out and although shot with a very small f-stop gives it a nice sense of depth. Third, I really focused on the cropping. I took from the video the idea of reducing. The statue had a lot going on - broken parts, beautiful carvings, snow, vines, and more - but once I narrowed down on just the face I saw the emotion it evoked. Its very realistic looking - the cheeks and lips - and I like the double take a viewer might have to do. Then the gaze is off to the distance. I picked this specifically (instead of photographing it from head on) to make the viewer wonder what the statue sees.

When I think of the message I want sent with this versus the first one I think of a baby frozen and still. The first image (although in that one you can tell its a cherub) is a baby still in its normal chaotic atmosphere while this second one is more compelling because of its stillness.

Hope you enjoy!
- Carolyn

The Jabberwock

I was reading a book for another of my grad classes and came across a passage that I found not only interesting but meaningful for this class as well. The book is Probing Understanding by White, R. and R. Gunstone (1992). The book starts with breaking down types of understanding so that we - as educators - can see if our students "understood" what we have been teaching. In the fourth type: Understanding Extensive Communications they talk about how long pieces of work are understood through a process and not static single elements. The idea that you watch an entire ballet to understand and not try to pick apart each dance step to find the meaning. The authors then use a passage from Lewis Caroll's poem Jabberwock.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

I thought this linked very well with our look into what makes signs or photos compelling. The main idea that you don't have to understand what uffish means to get a sense of what the poem is saying. Imagery can be comprised of very confusing bits (like the travel ticker photo from the video we watched) but give a sense of feeling and lead to an understanding through that.

I think people too often try to understand each little bit and dissect it until they think they find the meaning when the intended meaning was right there all along if they looked long at the whole and not dissect the parts.

Bridges

    So I was thinking about the connection between Art and art some more. And then relating both back to education. The images we have looked at for our second week discussion are simple exercises on design principles. I was actually a photography major in college and spend countless nights working things like this out for my own projects (usually to have my 'theories' on human attention torn apart in critique the next day). I have also already started the two photos project. I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge of making a good photo and a less than one.
     But back to linking it to education. I think my group (group 2) had a great discussion going about educational material and how students see it. What catches their eye versus what would catch an adults eye. We were talking about how people are trained to read left to right. And this is very important for young students who are just starting to read. I substituted a kindergarten class the other day and was reading a book out loud for them that had many different pictures and word captions all over the page. Reading upside down (so they could see the pictures) I often found myself missing or going out of order. The little 5 year olds were better at staying left to right and top to bottom and would correct me. But the flow of the book to me was different.
     I think it is very important when designing educational material to know your target audience (what grade/reading level you are aiming for) and see art through their eyes.
    Thats all for today I am off to play in the snow with my puppy (it has finally snowed here in Michigan!)
   - Carolyn

Welcome!

Hello!
Welcome classmates (and professor!) to my blog for CEP 882. Enjoy!