Wrap-up

I feel a real sense of accomplishment. By the end of this course I have produced 6 projects I can be proud of. I have heard from experts in the fields of photography, film, architecture, music and fashion. I have explored what makes a work of art compelling. 

More exciting, this class has been a small journey into my soul. Each lesson invited me to peer into myself in a way I haven't done before. Today, I know a little bit more about myself, and for that I am truly grateful. I am also grateful to all my classmates for their support and the encouragement from Gaoming and Professor Wong. 

The journey began with a video introduction. The new year's resolution I proposed in my video introduction will likely have to wait until next year, however, I found this to be a very interesting way to get to know my classmates. 

Facebook, too, was an interesting way to communicate with my peers. I can't even guess at the amount of technology I've picked up along the way in this course. 

Addressing my thoughts in the blogsphere was very helpful. Through regular writing and reflection I was able to work out any grey areas and even come up with some exciting new ideas. The "bridges" we created from the lessons in this class were not at first obvious, nor easy to make, however, my blog gave me a place to work out these valuable connections. 

The lessons in this course were all very engaging. Each assignment pushed me beyond the edge of my thinking and required me to learn new technology skills. 

In the photography module I learned a lot about composition, the art of what to include and what to exclude in a photograph. I learned that many photographers employ the sacred geometry of thirds. It was very thrilling to learn the techniques that are used by many of the world's leading photographers. 

Following the photography module, was the film module, one of my favorites. It was in this lesson that I learned about the value of preparation. In the readings, Rabiger stresses the need for preparation, and this transcends filmmaking into everything we do, including teaching.

The idea of empathy, is another principle I took away from this module. In his radio interviews, Murch discusses the power of empathy and film. He says that most successful films share one thing in common, they are able to relate to people. 

Through the module on architecture I witnessed the value of spaces. We are a product of our environment, and it makes sense to create a space that best reflects our values and goals. Color and light can turn any rigid space into a bright welcoming area and can be very effective in the classroom. Spaces, too, can also benefit from their own personality. As I explored in our "Tale of Two Retail Spaces" assignment, the generic consumer experience of shopping at a chain bookstore, is not as thrilling or compelling as a mom and pop bookstore that specializes in used hard to find books. 

In the exploration of music, I focused on improvisation, jazz per say in the classroom. Spontaneity in the classroom can keep students on their toes and create an upbeat tempo to an ordinary day of teaching. 

Finally, fashion. This was the module that I found it hardest to wrap my mind around, but with some reflection in my blog, found it the most rewarding when I found a connection between fashion accessories and the small things we can do to make a difference. 

All in all, this course was a mind bending adventure. With most classes, I rejoice at the coming of the end, but this class was different. Sure, there were many hiccups and headaches along the way, but I sit here now with a new pair of eyes on the world. I want to keep exploring and creating. I look forward to continuing this journey that began with a 15 second video introduction.

Seventeen

Accessories

On the discussion of fashion I feel accessories need to be mentioned - the small things that have a big impact.

A woman wearing a black dress may feel her outfit is incomplete until she has a string of white pearls around her neck.

The glimmering gems aren't solely a status symbol, they work to contrast with the black to highlight and bring attention to her beautiful face.

It is often the cuff links, or handkerchief that complete a man's look.

Small things can make a big difference in the classroom, too:


Be patient
Smile
Make Time for Every Student
Offer Gratitude
Say Positive Things


...more to come

Sixteen

Fashion

I had to think long and hard about the contributions fashion has made to my life. And then I remembered the once fine fitting tailored shirt I used to wear and how it made me feel more sophisticated than I actually I was.

Though through the media fashion is given an air of self-indulgence, it really is a form of expression, in which we convey our personal meanings to the world.

Some fashion can be more appealing to others, but the important point is if whether or not it is important to the person wearing it.

In this sense, fashion can speak volumes about education. Even teachers can easily pass judgments on the styles of learning or communication in their students. It's crucial to remember that we all have different styles; styles of dress, styles of music, styles of learning. There is no right or wrong, better or worse. I think education needs to quickly move away from wanting all our students to think the same and pursue more individual experiences, embracing diversity and creativity a long the way. Our world is calling for creative action.

Fifteen

Music

Music's power is beyond any definition with words.

Education possesses similar enigmatic qualities.

Below are some thoughtful attempts at defining music's mysterious nature.

"Music is the shorthand of emotion." Leo Tolstoy

"Music is Moral Law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything." Plato

"See deep enough, and you see musically the heart of nature being everywhere in music." Thomas Carlyle

"Music can name the un-nameable and communicate the unknowable." Leonard Bernstein

"Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite." Thomas Carlyle

Fourteen

Cadence

Rhythm is just as important of an element to a teacher's classroom as it is to music.

Listeners to a song ride the wave of rhythm, the highs the lows, the peaks the valleys, the mood swings. All are necessary for a holistic, compelling, experience.

It's important as educators to set a rhythm to the classroom.

To draw students in with Adagio, to build up with Allegro, Intermezzo and reflect with Finale.

Thirteen

According to Copland, the great gift of music is that it lends itself to our imagination. And imagination is what lends itself to action.

Imagination plays an important part in our classroom. In many regards it is by the aid of imagination that students are compelled and curious.

As teachers, how can we be more like music? How can we persuade our students to feel, to react, to imagine?

One of the powers of music, is it's ability to be personal. 

Though not always easy, it is important to distinguish the individualistic and holistic needs of the classroom.

As a few notes of music can move a person, so can a few words from a teacher affect a student. 

Twelve

Simplicity

Experts tell us that most people cannot meaningfully grasp numbers higher than a few thousand.

To quote the I-Ching: "By means of the easy and the simple we grasp the laws of the world. When the laws of the whole world are grasped, therein lies perfection."

Studying the architecture of this week I recognized how certain spaces and structures evoked more feeling and meaning than others.

I was more moved by architecture whose form was more perceivable - not lost in complex design schemes to impress. In many of the examples I favored, simplicity ruled.

With the growing penetration of technology in our lives, the irony is our life is not getting any simpler. Our lives are becoming increasingly complex. We consume, we pollute, we deceive. We begin to overlook and take for granted what is very true and good.

I believe it is important we teach our students the elegance of simplicity.


“Simplicity is the glory of expression” Walt Whitman

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Eleven

Symbolism

This week we've explored numerous examples of compelling architecture. Many of these structures followed rules of design that have been used for generations.

Others are more modern spaces that embody contemporary ideas and thinking.

Architecture can be very symbolic. And these symbols can attract or repel people from a certain course of action.

Churches are a good example.

As teachers, we can also harness this power of symbolism by drawing on the numerous archetypes for hard work and perseverance.

Symbols of the power education, can strengthen a student's willpower to do his/her best in a class.

An idea would be to put posters of eminent figures of American society on the wall, symbols of hard work and determination.

Ten

Spatial Experiences and Teaching

Working through our first architecture assignment I began to think about the relationship between space and experience, and whether or not this could be applied to teaching.

I argue that it can.

I believe comfort is an important element in the learning process. How can the mind process information if it is constantly in touch with the body's discomfort of the space around it.

By creating a learning environment that resembles home, students will likely become more comfortable to the idea of leaving their thoughts associated to the body and focus on learning.

And I don't think it has to be too difficult. Every student can bring a piece of home with them to keep in the classroom. These artifacts can serve as a teddy bear of sorts and give comfort to students who need it.

Nine

Answering: So what?

Eight

Soundscapes

Having completed the initial edit of my short film, I felt something was missing. Though I felt I addressed the numerous elements of film making as presented in the readings at the end of my short clip I was still unmoved.

Missing: sound

In my second edit I layered different elements of sound, the sea, the sound of the wind, voice overs and subsequently created a much more compelling experience.

Often in my classroom there were times when I felt something was missing: maybe it was sound?

Sound, such as music, can create an ambiance that in itself is very compelling.

How often have we been at a restaurant where the music has set the perfect mood for the evening.

The entire experience can be amplified by the sound landscape that surrounds us.

Why not in the classroom?

Surely music can create the perfect atmosphere for learning.

I look forward to experimenting music and mood in the future.

Seven

Interactive Storytelling

Kroh's article on the art of storytelling really intrigued me.

It highlighted the power of stories and suggested numerous ways to create compelling experience through the art of narratives.

She argues that compelling storytelling is interactive storytelling.

Though how, do we invite our audience into our stories.

One way, is offer up opportunities for our audience to use their imagination.

We can see an example of this in comic strips. The blank in between scenes invites viewers to imagine what had happened versus being told.

Another example is by asking questions of our audience. Rather than offer a static storytelling experience, questions provide a dynamic that draw in the audience to think about certain aspects of the story.

As educators, we are the great storytellers of our age.

I don't think we realize this at times, but we have an audience greater than some novels.

We need to learn how to be great story tellers.

Six

Empathy and Compelling Experiences

Throughout last weeks discussions on films and ads I have realized that empathy plays a huge part in creating a compelling experience. Both the clips - My Best Friend's Wedding & Doritos commerical - failed to illicit any type of response from me what so ever. Unlike my classmates I was'nt moved by the acting or directing in MBFW nor was I overly joyed by the Doritos commerical. I acknowledge that both examples were aesthetic and professionally done, though within the paramaters of the design I found little in common with the characters.

This can translate into the classrom and make a suggestion to why some children pay more attention to subjects than others. Some may have an interest in it, while others may not. I don't believe as educators it is our responsibility to force feed students information. Though there are certain topics that students should try and grasp whether or not they hold any interest.

As teachers we may be able to overcome motivational issues in students by working to create compelling experiences for all the students in the class. We can accomplish this by taking a survey in the beginning of the semester to identify the interests of each student and working to shape assignments toward each student's particular interest

Five

"Undergrad students at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing has build a truly beautiful system called “Tai Chi Master“, designed to teach the martial art and meditation to a new generation of Chinese people. The students observe that the abstract ideas of Yi, Li and Chi are extremely difficult for masters to help students visualize. And they’ve noticed that office workers are often not able to practice in public parks, as a previous generation did."


Find more videos like this on DESIGN CHALLENGE PROJECT

Four

Reading McClouds' "Understanding Comics" I came across an interesting definition of creating a compelling moment.

The gap in between comic squares allows for the viewer to use his/her own imagination to fill in the missing scene of the story.

This indirectly invites the viewer to be an active participant rather than a passive reader.

Compelling.

Three

I keep running into this word "Flow." It seems to be the it word among intellectuals these days: The flow of life, the flow of learning, the flow of love.

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.

But what I would like to know is how do we become part of this effortless stream of mindfulness?

Especially if we are inundated with messages and our daily routines of stop & go.

One exercise I have found to be helpful is quiet.

I think students have a lot to benefit from this idea of flow. Poor test grades and motivational issues I would argue are directly related to a lack of discipline and focus.

Two

Here is my first attempt at imagining a bridge: Photography and Teaching

"While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see." ~Dorothea Lange

Photographers share with the world a glimpse of life that may have otherwise gone unseen. Good photographers are masters of this, revealing certain truths about life within a single frame.

Teaching can be a lot like photography.

As a good photographer tries to captivate his audience with a new perspective on life, so does a teacher try to captivate his/her students by presenting material in a creative way.

Both are powerful mediums for new ideas.

One

... Maybe some of you have seen this already: Photosynth Microsoft's impressive technology that takes your numerous static photos and synthesizes them together to create a dynamic 360-degree visual experience.

It's a great way to make a photograph more compelling.

A more compelling explanation of Photosynth can be found here.

CNN previewed the technology at the inauguration.

And, here you can watch a pretty compelling TED presentation on Photosynth by one of its developers, Blaise Aguera y Arcas.