Artistic Thinking: Week 5

Artistic Thinking: Week 5, Read and Respond:

What is the role of art education (or art educators) in teaching students to be media literate digital citizens?

 How to be an informed, responsable Digital Citizen

According to author, Mar Prensky, I am a “digital immigrant” since I am of the older generation that had to learn how to use the internet and other evolving technology. I like that term and the one he gives to the IGen kids that, “seem to know intuitively how technology works.” Prensky refers to them as “digital natives” (Rosen, 2010) Being a digital immigrant I am constantly learning the lay of the land, the nuances and dialects of the language and the cultural and social norms, rules and regulations. I may have the basics down and can confidently navigate my way, yet I still rely on the natives, at times, to tell me about new routs. However, I must rapidly learn and abide by the rules so that I can become a responsible citizen, assimilate with the natives and be able to teach other immigrants and new born natives how to be positive contributors to this worldwideweb we weave.

While watching the videos for this week, I was reminded of the sick and twisted nature of our media’s power to persuade, manipulate and assert their will over us with their subliminal and blatant images and messages. Visual Literacy is imperative and should be a national emergency! I will do my part to combat these visual assaults made on our students by equipping them with the best discerning knowledge of how to deconstruct, comprehend and defend themselves against these parasitic subliminal messages.

While reading the readings assigned, I felt somewhat relieved that I have almost erased all of the negative programing I received from being a young viewer of TV and believing that my tomboy attitude and my very fleshy body was not acceptable for a teen girl or a grown women. George Gerbner, the late communications scholar, states how, “TV influences people’s attitudes and behaviors,” and that the, “cumulative effect of watching TV is that people begin to believe that its messages represent the real world, whether it is the amount of violence, sex or crime, or something as simple as……” (how a girl or women should look and behave).  (Rosen, 2010)  I can attest to the fact that this is true. I still struggle with my own insecurities and body issues due to being an uninformed, young, passive viewer of TV and magazine adds. Even though I understand how this affected me the damage is done and for many years I have been striving toward rejecting and replacing those negative ideas and feelings with more appropriate and realistic ones.

We are bombarded with a constant stream of images that carry all kinds of hidden or written messages and at the same time we are creators and executors of them as well. Weather we are viewers, authors or casual, social posters, we have to be careful of how we receive and send out these different types of messages. In The Digital Diet the authors remind us that, “The Internet is a little like the proverbial elephant that never forgets, Our digital footprints are not like the footprints on the beach, washed away by the next wave or rising tide, Rather, they are like footprints left to dry in the wet concrete of the footpath-permanent” (Churches, Crockett, Jukes, 2010) Unfortunately know one ever taught me how to be a responsible, ethical Digital citizen and I know for sure, early on, that I have said and posted things that I now regret. I felt like a teenage punk rocker again and that I could be incognito or assume a character when interacting and having creative repartee with other strangers or MySpace friends. I thought of it as a form of improv. It was innocent and fun yet those inappropriate, rude or suggestive posts are part of the archival database and forever etched in Web history.  Researchers term this kind of behavior as, “online disinhibition” (Suler, 2004).  “Being thoughtless, unintentionally or on purpose, is the basis of many of the problems that arise when using Web 2.0 tools. Basically, “online disinhibition”, means that, “people will say and do things online they would never dream of saying or doing in person.” (Brooks-Young, 2010)

When thinking about ways to teach students how to be responsible users of these tools I know the lesson has to have a real, relevant impact on them for it to have a lasting effect.  Showing documentaries, reading news reports, studying the laws of copyright and copyleft, teaching security measures, and giving students plenty of current examples of what can happen as a result of online misuse, poor representation and abuse will be an important first step in changing the negative connotations and misstrust that schools and their students cannot use these technologies safely and responsibly.

 “They must understand the repercussions of irresponsibly using social and digital media and what affects it may have on their future…When you are presenting social media and digital responsibility, don't lecture your students on why it is bad to post inappropriate pictures on Facebook, but have them search for examples. Allow the students to not only find examples of inappropriate use, but also allow them to teach each other. Even though they have a Facebook account, do they really understand all that comes with Facebook? Do they understand their privacy rights on Facebook and other social media sites? Did they read the fine print?” (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-digital-media-citizenship)
 

 As an educator I firmly believe it is the duty of the schools and teacher’s to design and implement a user friendly interactive Web 2.0 media site that explains, trains and tests parents and students to prepare them for our 21^st century curriculum's that will take place in the classroom as well as within asynchronous and synchronous web sites. This type of training should be mandatory and incorporate each type of Web 2.0 examples, rules, regulations and a final test along with a contract stating that the adult or student agrees to be a thoughtful, ethical and responsible digital citizen. After passing the test there will be a ceremony with certificates awarded and membership into the 21^st Century Digital Citizen Resource and Safety network. Each 21c-DCz will be asked to be an advocate, guardian and guide to help spread the tenants and principals of exemplary 21c-DCz practices.
Having reviews and updating the guidelines will be needed throughout the year along with awarding nominated 21c-DCz’s with prizes for being good role models that report abuse, show respect, cite sources, ask permission, and create and share their own materials. This kind of education is needed and should be part of our standard expectations within each school so that we can easily transition and assimilate cutting edge technologies to aid us in our pursuit for more engaging, current, learning tools and skills. This is the age of connectivity and if we don’t stay connected we will loose our students and our abilities to relate to the worlds' technical evolution.

Here is the link to the PBS Teachers Website with 18 different links to various resources such as:

Digital Citizenship
http://digitalcitizenship.net/
Digital Citizenship helps teachers, technology leaders, and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately and prepares them for a
society full of technology.

Education World: Technology Integration
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/
This site gives examples of successful technology integration in the classroom and provides a back-to-school tech checklist as well as other free resources for teachers.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/digital-media-literacy/the-digital-media-landscape/how-do-i-use-it/

And now for some more Fab info from our wonderful NAEA: This was taken from a PDF and was hard to copy and paste into Blogger but I did my best.....Credits for this are under the article.

In the future, the POTENTIAL range of digital worlds for art teaching is endless…

Digital media, created using electronic communication


tools, surrounds us as a paradigm shift in education


simultaneously is taking place (Alexenberg, 2006; Lu, 2010;


Stokrocki, 2007; Sweeny, 2011b). Children as young as 6


years old are dressing their avatars (visual persona that they


customize), decorating their rooms, and networking with


friends on Club Penguin and the Pet Society (just two of


many popular virtual worlds for children). For adults, one of


the most prominent digital sites created almost entirely by


its “inhabitants” is Second Life (SL), with “an all time high of


126 million users hours in …2009” and an economy of “half


a billion US dollars, making Second Life the largest virtual


economy in the industry” (Linden, 2010). Even senior citizens


are starting their own geezer brigades on SL. Aside from


their entertainment value, these worlds offer art, business,


and educational opportunities for adults and youth, as well


as occasions to network with people around the world. The


educational resources are endless, including components


such as cultural understandings, medical advice, library


components, and artmaking and exhibiting artwork, to


name a few possibilities. By the end of 2011, Gartner Inc.


(2007) predicted, 80% of active Internet users would have a


presence in some virtual world. Teaching therefore requires


uncertain and changing pedagogical practices that are open


ended, daring, and risky (Barnett, 2007). So how do we teach,


learn, and assess results in these new digital worlds?

Digital Culture

Players participate and immerse themselves in the new


digital worlds through building digital culture. Digital


implies electronic technology and its major components.


Jenkins (2004) includes behaviors such as “play performance,


simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distribution,


cognition, judgment, transmedia navigation, networking,


and negotiation” (pp. 3-4). Intellectual practices range from


collaborative problem-solving to computational literacy, and


even informal scientific reasoning (Steinkuehler, 2009) that


involves several diverse types of digital media. These range


from serious video games (Parks, 2008) and digital animation


(Davenport & Gunn, 2009) to virtual worlds (Stokrocki &


Andrews, 2011), to name a few. These media enable students


to form various virtual communities that are linked with


Web 2.0 tools. Digital media are emerging into new complex


pedagogical learning sites that are products of informal visual


culture influences that support equal, collaborative efforts


from group members (Wilson, 2008). Contemporary culture


can be viewed as“the collective heritage of a group, that is, as


a catalog of ideas and practices that shape both the collective


and individual lives and thoughts of all members,” as well as


something that“only exists in the act of being performed, and


it can never stand still or repeat itself without changing its


meaning” (Bauman, 2004, Note 1, p. 21). Such digital culture


immersion requires use of new literacy forms.

Media Literacies

Traditionally, art education literacy usually involved reading


and writing to obtain knowledge, even including vocabulary


involving video game terminology. New forms of graphic


literacy now are emerging that are referred to as digital or


media literacy (Snyder & Bulfin, 2007). Media literacy can


be integrated with text-based forms to participate in a new


global society that is currently emerging (Delacruz, 2009).


Duncum (2004) argues for multiliteracies, “the making of


meaning through the interaction of different communicative


modes,” including music, gesture and motion, sounds, and


pictures (p. 253). Virtual worlds, including video games,


require operational, cultural, and technological literacies


(Guzzetti, Elliott, & Welsch, 2010). For example, operational


literacies include translating tutorials, procedures, and


applications using Photoshop; cultural literacies involve


understanding meanings within a given context, such as


a video game in leisure activities; technological literacies


contain visual and print texts, rules, and play maneuvers as


found in digital storytelling. Such practical understanding


entails soliciting peer cooperation and collaboration to try


out new games, critiquing them, offering suggestions, giving


advice about character and thematic building, and soliciting


contributions from peer audiences.

So HOW do we teach, learn, and assess results in these new digital worlds?

Using SL as an example, art educator Lu (2010) offered practical


learning principles for designing digital events for students in


virtual worlds. Those principles include learning by exploring,


developing a sense of self through avatar identity, collaborating


with others, collecting or uploading individual artworks,


creating personal rooms and sculptures, and expressing


and recording adventures through snapshots and writing


reflections. Other art educators also have presented virtual-


world learning experiences for students; Liao (2008) focused


on avatar identity, and Carpenter (2009) designed a classroom


where students could be observed continuously without the


teacher interfering in their individual learning modes.

Digital world users communicate through chat and instant


message functions, discover new sites, design new spaces,


share services, and exchange goods (Wilbur, 2008). They


also learn to communicate in a form of hybrid sentence


structure that contains abbreviations, facial expressions


pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, shortened


words, and specific vocabulary with spelling errors (Black &


Steinkuehler, 2006). Similar to video games, virtual worlds do


not substitute for literacy activities, but rather produce new


ones collaboratively (Gee, 2007).

New Communication Arenas and Visual Literacy

With literacy forms and functions rapidly changing in


today’s postmodern world, multimedia fluidity in different


communication arenas have expanded into multi-literacies


that include video, pictures, music and dance, computer


languages, Internet casual speech, and games, as well as


in print (Thomas, 2007). Most of the May 2009 issue of


Educational Researcher involved discussions over how to


expand on these new literacies that “include new skills,

strategies, dispositions, and social practices that are required


by new technologies for information and communication”


(Burns, 2006). Such new literacies are multifaceted, multi-


dimensional, and include multiple points of view.


Students also must be visually literate to navigate the


real world, which includes decoding, understanding, and


analyzing the meanings and values communicated by


images. “Just as readers of text draw inferences and construct


meaning from written representations of language, viewers


of images also draw meaning”(Burns, 2006, p. 2). Art teaching


and learning contexts are the primary place in today’s schools


where art students discuss the elements and grammar of


images, composition and camera perspectives, symbols,


props, clothing, color, light, text, and similar concepts. They


learn to read digital instructions as well, and create their


own Web pages and digital journals (Thomas, 2007), all of


which require diverse forms of learning. Higher education


art educators are in the process of inspiring schools to


adopt some of these ever-expanding educational forms in


a variety of ways for students to explore and experiment by


promoting imagination and immersion in cultures otherwise


inaccessible, and to integrate their art learning with other


technologies and disciplines (Salman, 2009).

New Forms of Visual Art Learning

Learning involves processing new knowledge, behaviors,


skills, values, or preferences in different ways. The formation


of learning based on the written word is changing, as images


dominate text and as screens overtake paper as the most


frequentmeansofdistributinginformation(Kress,2003).Since


digital worlds can be game-like, Gee (2007) presents three


kinds of current modes of learning in which art education


plays a major role: situated cognition (that is, contextual


learning including material, social, and cultural forms); new


literacy study that involves economic, historical, and political


concerns; and connectivism that stresses human powers of


pattern recognition. This call for networks of people, tools,


and technologies, as well as school programs to build better


modes of learning through media literacy, matches well with


future goals set for contemporary art education theory and


practice.

A number of questions arise about art education’s role in this new digital culture environment.

How do art teachers and school systems find a workable


balance between digital learning and real-life fact/process


learning? Digital learning can supplement real-life teaching


since it offers unique art instruction skills for diverse


audiences. These new technologies enable average people to


archive, add comments to, and alter content. Innovative and


pervasive networking forms, personified by weblogs, have


blossomed from the bottom up, and participation requires


that art teachers and art students mutually learn together


(Kellner & Share, 2005). There now is a remix of old and new


media constructed to respond to demands of novel ways of


communication through combination of recycled pieces of


information and materials.


For example, when art educators Stokrocki and Andrews


(2011) mentored disenfranchised youth to use SL to develop


their future art careers, the educators provided steps to


achieve discrete goals: learn basic communication skills,


acquire computer and digital literacy competence, develop


life skills, imagine a place for dreams, envision a home, and


build a business. One participant advertised his “in-game


architecture” via poster, and built a twisted tent-like form as


his sustainable home. (See Figure 1.)

How can art education help teachers with instructional assessment?    

U.S. education is dominated by standardized

curricula, instructional systems, and assessment procedures.


Due to the complex and rapidly evolving technologies,


standardized assessments have overlooked the richness and


unpredictable nature of inquiry that includes experiential


and uniform reactions alike (Dewey, 1938). Learning evidence


need not be only standardized, it can be holistic, multi-


methodological, and qualitative, full of experiential evidence.


That experience encompasses the visual, audio, verbal, and


now kinesthetic, as virtual worlds enable art teachers to


view their students’ three-dimensional accounts of learning.

Students also must be VISUALLY LITERATE

to navigate the real world, which includes


decoding, understanding, and analyzing the


meanings and values communicated by images.

Many art educators are examining these newer literacy


communication modes of engagement that can include


accounts of individual technological experiences or personal


learning environments in art (Castro, Danker, Delacruz,


Fuglestad, Roland, & Stokrocki, in press). Art education is


situated to be in the forefront of building practical arguments


and new assessments for success and interdisciplinary


connections (Salman, 2009). In her case study of three art


teachers using technology in midwestern high schools, Lin


(2009) noted that when making podcasts with Latino youth,


the teachers learned with the students about art content and


mastering digital media technology.

How does art education help students become more criticalof digital culture? 

Art educators see the role of digital media

not only as an expressive exchange, but also as embodying

socio-cultural change (Garber, 2004; Keifer-Boyd, 2004;

Stokrocki, 2007). Gude (2007) argued for“reconstructing social


spaces by transforming [them] with images and texts and a


space that stimulated wonder in the process of learning” (p.


13). Young people, however, as “digital natives may be skilled


with social networking …[but] they are not generally skilled


with online information use, including locating and critically


evaluating information” (Leu, O’Byrne, Zawilinski, McVerry,


& Everett-Cacopardo, 2009, p. 266). Critical digital literacy,


advocated by Buckingham (2006), is a means for eliminating


marginalized peoples, misinformation, commercial predators,


and cyber-bullying. Sweeny (2004) critically examined the


nature of privileged forms of visual culture, and explained


that art educators who teach about these new social creations


and critical forms should critique those aspects “that are


exclusionary, biased, and retrograde” (p. 210) in order to build


democratic art education theory and practice.


Whatever the future brings, digital worlds will be vibrant sites


for investigating these new participatory multi-literacies in art


education. Art educators Lily Lu (2008), creator ofThe Art Café,


and Sandrine Han, founder of the International Art Education


Association (InAEA) on SL, have designed their own meeting


transcend individual expression to incorporate collaborative


design, exhibition spaces for uploaded artworks, three-


dimensional constructions built by avatars, and virtual field


trips to different sites for building career awareness in the


arts. In the future, the potential range of digital worlds for art


teaching is endless, as art educators enable their students to


learn, plan, construct digitally, and transform their plans into


real-world possibilities.

TAKEN FROM:

Visual Arts and Multiliteracies in a Digital Age


Mary Stokrocki


Professor of Art Education, Arizona State University


Mary.Stokrocki@asu.edu


Living in Actual and Digital Visual Worlds:


One Big Goal for Art Education


Brent Wilson


Professor Emeritus of Art Education,The Pennsylvania State University


bgw1@psu.edu


Envisioning a Future Techno-Infused


Eco-Pedagogy


Karen Keifer-Boyd


Professor of Art Education andWomen’s Studies


The Pennsylvania State University


kk-b@psu.edu

Artistic Thinking: Week 4

Artistic Thinking Week 4. Tech Bootcamp ......

Artistic Thinking: Week 4, Read and React

What is your personal perspective on utilizing social networking sites (such as facebook) for education? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

            When doing my homework for this week, I started with the things I thought would be more fun and easy to do. I played with Lino then jumped onto Voice thread and over to Twitter. I have put off writing this to the last minute, and it’s not that I don’t like to write, but it takes so much more discipline and focus to read unfamiliar text, assimilate it and then extrapolate on it. Im not joking when I say, “much more time”. Therefore, I can understand and be an easy advocate for utilizing both Asynchronous and Synchronous technology to engage students. I am willing to try anything if it means I and my students will be able to sustain interest and gain real learning experiences together and separately. Curriculums and lesson content will never be one size fits all and with all of these alternative methods we can give students more choice in their personal exploration and absorption of material. I know it is easy for me to say this in my idealized classroom where time, resources and school policies are exactly how I desire them, but I have to start somewhere.
So here’s to Susan Brooks-Young and Larry Rosen; I thank you for starting the conversations and proposing that we embrace evolution, and find the best ways to communicate and relate to our students on their level while building curriculums’ inside the very things that usually take their time and attention away from traditional instruction. I did my student teaching at Lang Middle School in Columbia and I had to constantly do a song and dance and try every trick and more just to try to maintain some order and interest. Of course there is a lot to consider but my guess is that with a well thought out plan and a few test runs, using these online technologies will prove to be useful tools of the trade.

In Young they explore several ways to integrate, build and apply Asynchronous and Synchronous tech as teaching tools in and out of the classroom. I was already familiar with a couple of the applications, such as Wiki’s, FB, and Blogs but sill need to explore a few more such as Teenlife, online Games and Podcasts. I had mixed feelings about how designing a curriculum online would work and still wonder about the pros and cons of face to face interpersonal communication and hands on skill building compared to using technology that can be isolated, and possibly create a void of physical and emotional exchange. I would never rely on web 2.0 tools but I do believe in providing as many resources and mediums for my students to explore and use for their personal expression. After reading Brooks-Young I was glad to know that the trends and viewpoints about social networks are changing and I definitely agree that effective use of these Synchronous web 2.0 tools are important for giving our students practice in responsible use of collaboration within these tools. Teaching students how to use their tech as tools to become self-sufficient learners and seekers, and this is where I would start. I’m sure Ning would be a good choice yet if I’m going to teach them to be 21^st Century team workers, critical thinkers and problem solvers, I would use the networks that they are use to and associate with so that they can expand on what they do know and bring more sophistication and thoughtful application to not only their school work but to their own social circles.

I can think of many uses for both asynchronous and synchronous tools and to start I would use Brooks-Youngs basic idea of building an appropriate and creative profile to use as a portfolio.

Within that they can add links, videos, wiki’s, and have constructive conversations about their work with others.
I like the idea of having access to my students and being available to them as well. So, “Yes!” I do believe the benefits outweigh the risks and I am an advocate for taking risks since that is what pushes me out of my comfort zone and presents me with new learning opportunities. After proper training and testing of the rules and regulations for copyrights and other important guidelines, I will happily embrace these tools and do my best to incorporate them into my dynamic, 21^st Century art curriculum!  And for all the Fun Suff...Play time is my Favorite time!!

Skyping with Christine, 

It was nice to meet Christine and I welcome others to Skype me if you want to chat as well.
here is my screen shot of our conversation, As you can see Christine is adorable and I need to get myself to the beauty shop....STAT!  Ha ha ha...

Today I became a Great Aunt for the 5th time! I dont have any little ones of my own but I do have plenty to play with, entertain and try out all my art education theories out on! WhaaahaHaHa

Even though I feel like Im thinking and moving at a snails pace, I am getting there!!

 So here is my first Screen Cast below:

I will demonstrate what the basic layout looks like inside Final Cut Pro

http://screenr.com/Hw38

I checked back into my Twitter Account which has been in a coma state since I tweeted once and never again since tonight.

my Twitter adress is:

https://twitter.com/Sassysicilian8#

I forgot how much fun tweeting can be and a quick way to consume a large amount of info in one bite. Just dont forget to chew with your mouth closed, it is only polite.

And now for the voice behind the Tweets, the posts the ramblings.....Here is my Voice Thread and a quick story behind some photographs taken this summer durring my first trip to Joplin Missouri.  PS: Look on slide 5 for a comment left by someone named Erik, He thinks I should edit that photo and shows why, please give me your own opinion. I left a comment in reply to Erik, dont know if he will ever hear it but felt a need to defend my photo.
Also, my recorded comments do not start right away so you have to push play or wait till they start going. Thanks


https://voicethread.com/share/3382415/

">

Here is a link to my Face Book page and a screen shot:

ttps://www.facebook.com/Maria.Scuderi.SassySicilian

Artistic Thinking: Week 3

Artistic Thinking Week 3, Post: Using technology in the classroom

I love my Mac, my Iphone, my Apple TV and all other devices, technology and gagets that make my life easier, more efficient, can answer any question I have or record any idea or note I have and keep things interesting and fun no matter where I am.

I feel like I am a teenager with all my devices, yet I am always several steps behind what they know, what is new and how to access and/or use the latest and greatest.
I believe it is real destiny that I chose teaching art at this time in my life, since I love student centered learning and using technology to keep things interesting.
I want my students to have their own blogs and/or websites for my class since I think it is a perfect way for them to upload work, art images, ideas, videos, music..... anything that they are interested in and want to share. I love the idea of MVLEs, their flexibility, interactivity and collaborative platform are perfect for me and my 21st century learners.
The students can do work, upload it and then play for a bit or find other sources to add and share.
I enjoy my blog since I use it for class and for my own personal space to store good links, videos and ideas to research and share.
I see how attached teenage students are to their phones, and if everyone, in the class, has one with internet capability I will definitely use them from time to time for in class participation and as a learning tool. Unfortunately I know it will be doubtful that each student has one, and unless I could be sure that those that do dont mind sharing and teaching their peers how to use it, I doubt I would use cell phones as often as I might like.

I have already posted some of my art here and you should be able to view it on the right side bar of this page. I still have a lot to learn but I really enjoy working with photoshop. I also have some videos but will get to those soon.
As far as student work goes, I use to teach video production to and after-school group in Oregon and they made videos that were then shown on their Community Cable channel. I dont have any reacent shots of student art work done with technology, yet I made power-points and showed YouTube tutorials to introduce my lessons for the work shown below.
Here are a few done by elementary and middle schools students I taught:

Week 3 Supplement writing:

OPTION ONE: Creativity Project Extension – read and react to Bronson & Merryman’s 2010 Newsweek article “The Creativity Crisis.” Questions to ponder – how might this information be used as advocacy for art education in your school/district? In what ways can you put this information into practice?

After reading, “The Creativity Crisis”, I would use this article to advocate for art education in my district by making an eye-catching flyer, post, and newsletter to distribute and present to the school board about this issue and it’s major importance for the future of our students and society.

I have always felt like I belonged to the Alternative community since my ideas and my preferred activities had more to do with self-expression and being creative than anything mainstream. I have never shared many common interests with those that did not know about, care about or ever think about visual or performing arts. I have nothing against them but they usually were not the ones I engaged in stimulating conversations or respectful debates. I am slowly starting to see how art is beginning to open up and show itself more prominently in all kinds of venues, discussions and even conservative areas. This article and many books and interviews in the past few years have investigated and proposed the absolute need for a more balanced and creative way of thinking, problem solving and working within schools and business.

Just as Peace is not just for hippies, Art is not just for liberals. Art is for the health, wealth and evolutionary progress of us all.

In the article, “The Creativity Crisis.” I was sad to know that our creativity scores are dropping yet encouraged to read that, “Around the world, though, other countries are making creativity development a national priority.” We Americans like competition so hopefully we will jump in and get up to speed as well. I will use this article not only to advocate for the importance of thought provoking art programs in our schools but for myself to prove to family and friends that my choice to teach art was a very wise one!

‘The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future. Yet it’s not just about sustaining our nation’s economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.”

(The Creativity Crisis, Jul 10, 2010 4:00 AM EDT)

Artistic Thinking .... Week 2... Links related to readings and other good info:


(IAMLean) International Assc. for Mobile Learning:

http://www.iamlearn.org/home

Link to: Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Partnership for 21st century skills Blog:

http://www.p21.org/tools-and-resources/p21blog

Artistic Thinking: 2) Creative Commons and Public Domain

While trying to find websites for Public Domain, Creative Commons, Fair Use, and Open Source Shared images, music, video and even education, I came across some links to pass on and a few videos as well... Check these out:

Free Education sites:

http://oyc.yale.edu/about

http://www.khanacademy.org/

https://p2pu.org/en/

https://www.edx.org/

http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/

Videos:

Video about Open Education:

Copyright School by YouTube:

Copyright Basics: 

The next segments are taken from the site:
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter8/8-a.html#1

Welcome to the Public Domain

The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it. An important wrinkle to understand about public domain material is that, while each work belongs to the public, collections of public domain works may be protected by copyright. If, for example, someone has collected public domain images in a book or on a website, the collection as a whole may be protectible even though individual images are not. You are free to copy and use individual images but copying and distributing the complete collection may infringe what is known as the “collective works” copyright. Collections of public domain material will be protected if the person who created it has used creativity in the choices and organization of the public domain material. This usually involves some unique selection process, for example, a poetry scholar compiling a book -- The Greatest Poems of e.e. cummings.

There are four common ways that works arrive in the public domain:

• the copyright has expired
• the copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
• the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain, known as “dedication,” or
• copyright law does not protect this type of work.

Dedicating Works to the Public Domain Through Creative Commons

Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization designed to foster the public domain, helps copyright owners dedicate their works to the public domain. Copyright owners may dedicate their works immediately or they can choose to use the “Founders’ Copyright” -- the original copyright term adopted by the first copyright law in 1790. This consists of copyright protection for an initial term of 14 years after publication, renewable for an additional 14 years if the copyright owner so desires. The copyright owner fills out an online application and sells the copyright to Creative Commons for one dollar; in return, the organization gives the copyright owner an exclusive license to the work for 14 or 28 years.

Original authors can also choose to require that users of the works they dedicate attribute the works to the authors. Works dedicated to the public domain are listed on the Creative Commons website so people can easily find them. For detailed information, visit the website at www.creativecommons.org. O’Reilly & Associates, a major publisher of computer and technical books, uses the Founders’ Copyright for its publications (if their authors agree). This means that, 14 or 28 years after publication, hundreds of its titles will be released to the public domain. The Creative Commons website lists what will be available at http://creativecommons.org/projects/founderscopyright/oreilly.

Links to Public Domain, Open Source and Fair Use sites:

http://www.burningwell.org/

http://opensourcemusic.com/

http://osvideo.constantvzw.org/

http://archive.org/details/opensource_audio

 

Hello Artistic Thinking Class members and welcome to my Blog!

I have been out of the country for the past two weeks, celebrating my Mothers birthday surrounded by my family, having a Fab time and not getting much school work done. The internet in our rental did not work and I had sneak out late and find a 24 hour coffee house just to get a few things done.

However, I will do my best to catch up with all of you and get back on track!

I enjoyed reading your posts and I try to indicate that I did by checking the like button or leaving a comment.

Steal Like an Artist

Number 9 and 10 from:

Austin Kleon's 10 Things Every Creator Should Remember But We Often Forget

# 9:

Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use — do the work you want to see done.

# 10: 

There’s an economic theory out there that if you take the incomes of your five closest friends and average them, the resulting number will be pretty close to your own income.  I think the same thing is true of idea incomes. You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.

Taken from (steallikeanartist.com)

These are the kind of reminders I need in a frame.

Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift

I just cant stop myself, TED TV is my link to all that is just and pure and evolutionary and I simply must share the wealth and the good vibrations of hope I feel after watching many of these inspired speakers. So here is another yet never the last......

"Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance"

(ted.com)

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

(I apologize......but I cannot seem to get this link to work. You will have to copy and paste it
into your browser.)

Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity

Just had to share this cause this is the kind of art I would love to do every day!!


Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity

Post # 7 Love letter from a lonely Sun Tunnel

Dear Maria,

I heard some Tori Amos from a distant passing car radio and was reminded of you and our last encounter. You turned me on to Tori the day you laid in my lap, watching the sun set with your ipod echoing through my hollowness singing... "And Im so sad, like a good book, I cant put this day back, a sort of fairytale with you." I will never forget the connection we made and how good it felt to be fully appreciated. The time you took to visit with me and be present with me alone in the mid daylight till long after sunset is one I will never forget. Being out in the world is liberating. I have all the space I need to relax and be peaceful with the environment around me, yet I am alone and others like me are few and in distant areas. My relatives, as you know, are stuck inside and mostly behind glass or crowded beside others. But you came to me with great joy and wonderment. You took the time to get to know me, to experience the power, beauty and grace within me and without me. I miss that, and long to make that connection again. Dont get me wrong, I do have visitors and new admires discover me, along the way, yet  some view me as three, strange, displaced objects and dont even bother to come sit on top or within me. Photos might be taken yet most are out of novel curiosity rather then valued documentation of a glorious day spent viewing an amazing slice of life from within my circular frame that was intentionally placed on this specific spot for all to engage with and enjoy. Tori's song reminded me of you and how even though our time together was like a fairytale, you made me feel real, and worthy of being more than a hollow shell of concrete. Our interaction helped me to see my meaningful contribution as a part of the the bigger picture. Im sending a few more photos for you to remember me and. "like a good book", share me with all your friends.
Sincerely,
Sun Tunnels...
By Nancy Holt.....(located in the Great Basin Desert, outside the ghost town of Lucin Utah)

Post # 6.....Peter Pan, Play and Pleasant Surprises!

Whenever I think of the idea of Play, I think of Perter Pan flying back to never never land and creating his imaginative world with the lost boys who wont grow up. When I was in 6th grade I was in the play and I will never forget the lyrics to the song..."I wont grow up, I dont wanna go to school, just to learn to be a parrot and recite a silly rule. If growing up means it would be, beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up never grow up, no way, no sir, Not ME!"

While looking at the photos I took of our paper structures I could not help myself and continue to play even more. Tinker Bell must have snuck in and sprinkled fairy dust on me because I started playing around 8pm and when I finished It was 10:30 and I was shocked how much time had passed without my realizing it. Most artists that loose themselves in the process of art making call this being 'in the zone', 'getting in the groove', or entering the 'flow'. I guess it is the same as flying off to never never land for a visit.
Below is the succession of photos from a wide angle shot to abstracted close ups. I have included some original shots paired next to their digitally enhanced, cropped and/or rotated twin.
Please scroll down to read the answers to the Questions posted in relation to our "Play" time and these photos.
(CLICK ON A PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND VIEW IN A SLIDE SHOW)

{You have created a photograph of a section of your paper structure...
How are the 2 artifacts ( structure and photo) different? similar?}

I am sorry I could not and can not choose just one section of our paper structure. This playful idea and experiment has expanded beyond the stated perimeters and evolved into a new experiment and entity of it's own. While editing photos that I took of the paper structure, I was overwhelmed with all the different combinations, configurations, color saturations and abstractions that presented themselves to me as unique sections that asked to be represented and admired for their contribution.

{How are the 2 artifacts ( structure and photo) different? similar?}

The structure was several parts constructed separately that came together in collaboration to form a whole. The photo, or in my case, photos were intentional, manipulated images of the form with specific attention to it's representations of light, shadow and color. 
The structure was created out of game like rules, with a set goal and set time limit. Quick critical thinking  along side improvisation had to be used to accomplish the given task.
The process of capturing a photo was less about problem solving and imagination and more about observation and framing. 
Similarly the element of surprise, happy accidents and unexpected outcomes applied to both the creation of the structure and the viewing of the photographic images. Having time constrains or not, both products of exploration and creative play had their own agenda and therefore created themselves with the aid of our hands or eyes to be the conduits to translate and give form to inspired thoughts.

{How does your vision translate from 3D to 2D?}

The 3D form is tangible and flexible, it can be reconfigured, deconstructed and then reconstructed again into a new form. 
This too is true of the 2D image, yet it is only a representation and a single angel or slice of the whole.

{Does this process change the way you SEE the structure?}

Yes, the structure becomes a modle, or a prop, something that can be used for creating art.
Therefore the 2D photographic image becomes an art piece by selecting what view, angle and abstracted area of the 3D form to highlight and present.

{Synthesis of PLAY experience (Symphony) Why do artists play?}

Artist play to liberate themselves from expected common, constraining movement, speech, behavior and thinking processes. Playfulness is part of improvisation and improvisation is part of exploration and exploration is part of discovery and discovery is part of trusting our senesces to lead us into uncharted territory to experience the unexpected. The unexpected can be an intangible, inspired spark or a tangible material creation. Just as a symphony has many separate instruments with different arranged notes so does art making. The artis needs to play so that they can try different instruments and listen to different notes before they can choose the right ones to arrange into one harmonic piece.

{How has playing with paper reinforced the importance of play? What did you learn about play in this class?}

Playing with paper reminded me of how a child can be content and stay interested in a simple material or object such as a box. It reminded me of those days when I did not have anything but a sheet to create a fort or paper bags to make moon boots. I can see how taking time to play builds creative muscle. If I let my imagination have the stage, without putting any restrictions on it, then my imagination becomes the performer and the material or medium becomes the interactive audience or participant which is needed in the symphonic exchange. The fule and the oxygen, the teacher and the student. It must be an open, fluid, symbiotic relationship for real meaning making to take place.

{I attached a presentation by Olivia Gude about the PostModern Principle of PLAYING. View and respond on your blog.}

Olivia Gude mentions how..."Every man and every woman deserves the personal conviction that they themselves can, by right, have resource at will to this language which is not in any way supernatural, and is the vehicle, for each and every one of us, of revelation."

"Awe, surrender, gaming, and collaboration" These are important for allowing the 'Principles of Playing' to engage in any combinations of possibilities of manifestation.

This weekend I saw an amazing documentary on Marina Abromovic, an original performance artist. the movie was called, Marina Abramocic: The Artist is Present.
She is quoted as saying:"Through performance, I found the possibility of establishing a dialogue with the audience through an exchange of energy, which tended to transform the energy itself. I could not produce a single work without the presence of the audience, because the audience gave me the energy to be able, through a specific action, to assimilate it and return it, to create a genuine field of energy."

She also says "The Artist must be a warrior" To me I think that translates as...warriors are fearless, yet prepared to confront what they encounter on their journeys. They must be sensitive, and alert, ready to accept that which may present itself to them.

It will take big, creative imagination for us to evolve to the next step. Imagination is not fed by fear, but by beauty… greater than our knowledge of a thing, is a sense of wonder. And, out of that wonder, curiosity, and from that curiosity, a seed of creation. – Susan Osborn