Animator versus Animated

We didn't get to flash, but here's a great flash video that teaches one important lesson. Beware of what you create. :)

Video, Video, Video!

I really enjoyed the video projects that our class came up with, and thought everyone did a great job putting together their essays. A nice variety of approaches, ideas, and skill sets on display for everyone. Too bad Youtube rained on the party for some by not allowing certain sounds/music. We've been looking into alternatives and seems like vimeo will be a good alternate resource. We'll talk about it in class.

We're almost to the end! One more major project, and it wraps everything together (hopefully!).

Virtual Karaoke

Thanks to Jess and Luthando for a Techno Teach-In I won't soon forget. Listening to some Austrailian(?) guy with a heavy metal looking avatar singing the Blues for our class was both hilarious and pretty astounding. The way that the technology has advanced, and how it connects people in ways that you couldn't ever have imagined before this really blows your mind.

I also hope the discussion on Critical Media Literacy has your brains twirling away. I really believe that this is an important issue, and our approach as educators to it is extremely vital to how an entire generation will perceive media. Teaching kids to 'read' the media and imagery that they're bombarded with 24-7 is a step in their becoming informed and active citizens rather than empty vessels and mindless drones.

Looking forward to everyone's personal essay videos this week. If anyone has any questions or needs any help, please give a shout!

Mid-Term-a-palooza

I'm often left amazed by the variety and creativity that our class produces in its projects. People take the short assignment and go in all different directions, and our mid-term was no exception. I was very pleased to see unique takes on the narratives and some people really pushing themselves in terms of skills and technique with the software. And wow, Finalcut Pro! Way to go you guys. This leaves me very excited to see what happens with the video projects soon to be coming. You're setting the bar high for yourselves, but I have no doubt in my mind that I'll continue to be impressed.

I also really enjoyed the interactive class aspect of our techno teach-in by Caitlin and Meaghan. Very fun taking the entire class into a MOO, and especially amusing when we were called out in a matter of minutes as a class, and then seemed to cause a mass evacuation by the usual inhabitants of Lambda-Moo. Maybe they fled in fear of Artbot's critical eye and sharp wit?

The MCA? Thesis?

You browsed the website and as a class, the reactions were varied. You visited the museum, checked out the exhibits, and perused the technology (which is fairly minimal, I know.). How do the two (web and physical site) work together? How did they reflect/enhance/diverge/contradict the other? We'll talk about this in class, and also you've hopefully created your response to your visit and thought some of these questions through, but I'm still curious about reactions. Share a thought here.

Also, hope everyone's thesis proposal presentations went well! The ones I saw were all really interesting and I hope to hear more about everyone's at some point. And I hope you were all able to rock the panelists with your expertise in powerpoint/keynote. :)

If you create a powerpoint, will anyone hear it?

Not if the speakers are broken.

But our Techno Teach-In presenters, Amanda and Molly, were prepared with a back-up, switching over to Molly's laptop. A good reminder for everyone, always have backups ready to go in case your presentation doesn't work on the computer station at the site, or if the right equipment, cors, connectors, etc. aren't available.

The blogs they shared were really interesting and insightful. Hopefully everyone gets a chance to browse and read away.

Our discussion of technology and its' prevalence in all aspects of not just youth culture, but society in general caused a reexamination of my own technology usage. Between two laptops (one at work, one at home), cell phone with internet capabilities, and ipod, just to name a few, I realized I'm very heavy on the tech side (which I probably should be, considering that I'm teaching a class on technology, media, and art), but I also thought about the usages I make of this technology. I think I actually have a pretty decent balance of actual work usage (computer time for HPAC and SAIC purposes), practical utility (cell phone to stay in contact, using internet for weather, directions, information gathering), and general enjoyment (video games, television shows on both actual tv and internet, music). But still, I am tapped into lots of technology and media. Hoever many people out there choose to exist without all these 'conveniences'. Would my world crumble away if I lost all my technology? No, I'd survive, but I can see how some people become completely dependent on their devices, and in the process a little disconnected from the non-virtual world. Maybe this changes at some point though, and our actual physical world will beomce less important, and we'll all need to exist in the virtual world or risk becoming obsolete and irrelevant. Sounds like a sci-fi movie, doesn't it?

How dependent are you on technology in your life? Do you think you're overly dependent?

Projects

Thus far I've been really impressed with the overall level of the projects that everyone in class has been producing. I leave the project descriptions and assignments fairly wide open, in the hopes that people won't feel too constrained, and to allow some real creativity in the process, and I haven't been disappointed. Between the personal symbols, digital skins, digital photobet, and especially the typographic portraits, I've been very happy with how each person (or pair) have approached the projects.

I especially loved how unique each of the typographic portraits looked, and how different people really took them in very different directions. From Molly's intense and bright layered portrait, to Amanda's simple single letter character with her coffee and apple, to Mary's more abstracted form, all of you did something really interesting. I'm looking forward to how you all continue to interpret and reimagine the projects as we move into sound and video.

Inner Child

Here I am late again on my blogging. Maybe I should offer up a free pass on one week's worth of blogs to someone who makes note of it. I bet that would up my readership :P

Our trip to the Children's Museum was lots of fun. I hope you all enjoyed exploring the space and the museum as much as I did. Looking towards the space with a more critical eye is an important component of being an educator. Things that are fun can be more than mindless entertainment. They can support critical thinking and creativity, raise awareness of global issues, or elicit questions. Of course they don't always do so.

In my mind, the most successful exhibits at being both enjoyable and educational were the Skyline and My Museum exhibits. Skyline promoted creativity in design, critical thinking in the construction process, and teamwork, as evidenced by the creative collaboration by Katie, Meaghan, and Luthando (where's the link, guys?!). My Museum engaged kids in actually making things and even displayed several projects created by past groups. I also really enjoyed the Art Making studios. Lots of really creative and cool projects going in there.

Most disappointing was the Cyberchase exhibit. Just felt like a corporate sponsored showroom. Too many pieces that were not particularly engaging or directed. And you could tell that there was a drop-off in the number of visitors in that room versus some of the other spaces. What did you all think? Curious to hear.

Well, I'm looking forward to your typographical portraits tomorrow! These are always really creative and fun. Can't wait to check them out, as well as experience our first Techno Teach-In!

Illustratoricious

As life is wont to do, I have been pretty busy, and not keeping up with my own posting on our class blog. I shouldn't give you folks such a hard time. It's difficult to make time and be able to write something substantial on a blog every week! But some of you have been keeping up marvelously and I'm really enjoying your posts and the other bits and pieces of your lives as art educators that you've been sharing.

I very much enjoyed class this week again, and really was impressed with the variety of approaches you all took towards Project #3. I especially appreciated the variety of media that we got to see in your personal images, and the fact that so many of you took it as a chance to stretch your artistic legs out and make something!

Additionally our discussion was once again spirited and very enjoyable. You all have experiences at very different schools and to hear your perspectives on computers in the classroom was informative for me (and hopefully for you all as well). As we move ahead into other topics/issues, hopefully some of these early discussions will connect and provide a broader picture of technology in the arts and education. Please continue the discussions! Use the comments section or even our class message board on the portal. The conversation is only as strong as you make it.

Finally, on to Illustrator! I want to thank Meredith for taking on the daunting task of doing the workshop, and hopefully some of you all will take advantage of her additional workshop offer this week. I thought she did a great job and deserves a hearty round of virtual applause. If you all do have any questions, please feel free to contact either myself or Meredith.

Thanks folks, and I look forward to seeing all of you at the Children's Museum this thursday evening!

Digital Photobets and more...

Three weeks past and so far I've really enjoyed getting to know the class and seeing everyone's projects. The Digital Photobets were all creative (even the staged ones!) and I thought the abstract compositions really created some unique images. I hope the class enjoyed getting out and about, and exploring the city while also gaining some new perspectives on their surroundings. I particularly liked how individuals would relate stories of stopping and taking photos when they had finally spotted that single letter which had evaded capture in the digital image realm.

I also hope everyone enjoyed the visit to the Hyde Park Art Center. I will once again mention that if any of you have ideas for shows, projects, workshops, etc. that you're interested in putting together, let me know! Serving as an incubator for artists and teaching artists is one of our goals as an institution and I'd be happy to support you all not just in class, but outside of it at the Art Center. I also appreciate the feedback on our website. It's helpful to hear the outside perspective and look at changes we can make.

The conversation about the 21st Century skills paper was also spirited and insightful. Articles we read in class will not always reflect 'best practices' or follow in the philosophy of SAIC's Art Education department. It's important to know that there is research out there that contradicts, confuses, or even scares us as arts educators. Take the knowledge and use it to inform your own practice and philosophy.

Hope everyone's enjoyed class so far. Can't wait to see the personal symbols in next week's class!

Fascinating First Week

Some very interesting posts and fun introductions to the class. I enjoyed reading all of your blogs and look forward to many more entertaining and educational entries. If you haven't posted your critique yet, please do. Otherwise, please also feel free to explore the formatting, picture and video loading, and other features of your new (or in some cases pre-existing) blog.

See you all in class tomorrow night!

Welcome to CyberPedagogy!

This space, along with the SAIC portal, will serve as our headquarters. Our blogroll will collect the various blogs, discussions, threads that grow from our class, and issues, ideas, and generally interesting topics will be posted to this space. Use the Portal as our central hub for files and links, but this space for discussion. We're looking forward to an enlightening and digitally fascinating semester!