14.3 S.E.L.F.I.E.

(S)howed my process - One of my learning goals for this semester was to "holistically explore the variety of mediums presented throughout the course with an open and inquisitive mind," and I believe that I have certainly accomplished this in the semester. I approached each medium expecting to either gain something for my personal art practice, or at the very least, learn enough about the medium to be able to incorporate it into a lesson plan sometime in the future. While there were certainly challenging units along the way, for every medium, I certainly gained one of these things. This process of total exploration was something that I took very seriously, and I believe that it paid dividends. When scrolling back through my blog, I couldn't help but be proud to witness the progression between what I knew about digital media, and what I know now. 

(E)xplained my outcome - Another one of my learning goals for the semester was to "learn the ways in which technology and digital multimedia can be used to stimulate creativity and exploration, while also reinforcing learning," and I think this goal was also met through the extensive reflections that were demanded throughout the course. Not only were we challenged to create in entirely new ways, but we were also challenged to think critically about our outcomes, explain them, and articulate possible strengths and weaknesses. Exercises such as these helped to reinforce what we were learning, and expand our realms of knowledge into a more complete understanding of the mediums we were working with. One recent and fantastic example of this was the circuitry unit. For this project, not only were we asked to create a simple circuit, but were were also asked to make an instructable for it--meaning that we had to have a thorough understanding of precisely how a circuit is setup, and how it operates. While this is only one instance, it serves to illustrate how these projects stimulated our creative minds, while also supplementing our exploration with true learning.

(L)inked to vocabulary - Another goal of mine was to "to learn about the manner in which technology and digital multimedia are working to reshape the traditional landscape of art," and this goal was accomplished as well. One of the things that was handled amazingly in this course were the readings--the loads were light and not heavily emphasized, yet still important and impactful. Furthermore, it was in the readings that this goal was accomplished. The readings taught me all about the "maker movement" in society, the new and transformative curriculums of "tinkering," and even the manner in which the digital world serves as break in time. All of these things are drastically working to reshape the traditional landscape of art, and even society abroad, so having learned them will undoubtedly be of use to me in my future practice. It also doesn't hurt to have digital technology-based vocabulary in my repertoire.

(F)ound multiple possibilities - One of my more personal goals for the semester was to "refine my own personal vision for an 'Education Through Multimedia Creation' curriculum at the secondary level," and while my vision for this curriculum was indeed refined, I also found that there are more possibilities than I ever even considered. Coming into the course, I envisioned "Education Through Multimedia Creation" as a curriculum that would exclusively operate in the realms of my own expertise, i.e. video/film, animation, graphic design, etc. However, now I realize that perhaps "multimedia creation" should mean precisely what it suggests--the creation of multiple forms of media! This course taught me that there's so many types of digital multimedia that can be encompassed in the culture of art making and creation (forms that I wasn't even aware of). Of the many forms we explored, a few that I particularly enjoyed and would love to use in my future curriculum are sound, scanography, stop-motion animation, scratch, and tinkercad. 

(I) persevered through the work - Of course, this semester had its fair share of challenges, but I ultimately believe that I handled each to the best of my ability. It has never been particularly difficult for me to persevere through adversity, however this semester I was tested in new and unimaginable ways. One of the roughest units for me was the laser cutting unit, and this is primarily because I hate working with mediums that are completely out of my control. The laser cutter is largely reliant on strict technicalities; there is a certain formula of inputs that must be properly entered into the system dialogue to produce the desired effect, and at a certain point this became very overwhelming for me. Regardless, I pushed myself to keep working at it because I had a vision for the project I wanted to create (the "Toon Cube" displayed in 10.1) and I was determined to see it through. Eventually, it turned out for the best and ended up being an extremely valuable lesson in patience, which helped to alleviate possible frustrations in later units (circuitry).

(E)liminated carelessness - Carelessness is typically not a concern of mine, especially in regard to my own art, however, the blogging format definitely helped to remove any lingering carelessness I may have otherwise exhibited in my work. With blogs, all of our classwork throughout the course is public and thus open to the scrutiny of our peers (and maybe even the general public, depending on blog restriction settings). For me, this meant that I would put extra effort into my work to ensure that it was of the best quality before going on the blog site. Though our blog sites were simply an innovative means of uploading our homework assignments, in a sense, I came to value my site as though it was an actual blog. Thus, I felt that only the best was worthy of an upload. 

The potential of using technology-infused materials for art making and classrooms - As alluded to earlier, part of my vision for education is an "Education Through Multimedia Creation" curriculum that revolves around technology-infused materials such as the ones explored in New Media, New Forms. Thus, I believe that these materials have immense potential, for both art making and classrooms; in them lies the possibility to unlock new frontiers of creativity, innovation, and discovery. These mediums will challenge students in ways that they have never been challenged, and push them into territories previously unchartered!

14.1 | 14.2 Final Project: Nature Walk Photo Album

13.2 Lighthouse Circuit Instructable

STEP #1: MAKE A LIGHTHOUSE

This can be done with paper maché (as seen below) or any other collection of materials that you see fit. Just make a lighthouse!

STEP #2: MAKE A BOAT

Get a piece of paper and fold it into a paper boat. If unsure of how to create a paper boat, find an instructable that teaches how to create a paper boat.

STEP #3: CREATE A SIMPLE TEST CIRCUIT

Place two strips of copper next to each other. Then place two batteries on each strip of copper. One battery will be face down, on the (+) side, indicating that this is the positive side of the circuit. The other battery will be face up, on the (-) side, indicating that this is the negative side of the circuit. Ensure that the two batteries are touching each other on the same side (as shown below). On the other side of the copper strips, place the LED light so that the longer metal rod touches the copper strip attached to the (+) side battery and the shorter metal rod touches the copper strip attached to the (-) side battery. This will effectively create a simple closed circuit, and your LED should light up.

STEP #4 REPLICATE SIMPLE CIRCUIT USING THE LIGHTHOUSE AND THE BOAT

Using the same principles from your mini test circuit, create another larger scale circuit utilizing the lighthouse and the boat. The only differences is that the LED will connect to the (+) and (-) side copper strips atop the lighthouse, and the boat will act as both the battery and the switch, effectively closing the circuit when both batteries touch (and the boat lands on the copper strip). See photos and video below.

13.1 Two Takeaways from Section IV Readings

1. Blikstein Reading - In the Blikstein reading, the author presents a very fascinating idea that he terms "the democratization of skillsets." Of this he states: "Every  few  decades  or  centuries,  a  new  set  of  skills  and  intellectual  activities  become  crucial  for  work,  conviviality, and citizenship—often democratizing tasks and skills previously only accessible to experts. " Here, he is offering a very simplistic classification for a phenomena that I'd always observed without fully comprehending the gravity. His assertion here is undoubtedly true, for when skills or activities are in demand, they do indeed become nearly essential for every aspect of our day-to-day life. One example I can think of (which he lightly addressed in his discussion of the computer programming of the seventies) is the advent of modern technology, namely the internet and social media landscape. Simply within the span of my own lifetime, computers have evolved from e-mail-centric, AOL instant messaging boxes, to entire virtual landscapes, and proficiency in navigating these landscapes has certainly been democratized. Most jobs require some sort of base competency with digital operation systems, whether it be the basic proficiency in Microsoft Office Programs, or full-blown experience with computer coding. It is just very easy to see how quickly our society can weave certain skills or activities into the threads of our daily lives, if they hold potential value.
2. Dieter and Lovink Reading - In thesis #3, the authors note that the maker is still an outsider within academic contexts, and I have to agree. The maker is at an odd crossroads between the arts and the sciences, and most conventional spheres of academia don't really have a space for makers to fully delve into the type of work where innovation can thrive. Here at TC, we do a great job with the Thingspace Studio, but one might be hard-pressed to find such an expensive, state-of-the-art facility that is literally dedicated to makers elsewhere. Personally, NMNF represents the full extent of my own maker education, as I've never been able to engage in maker spaces throughout grade school or undergraduate. Considering the vast importance of making, which I've come to understand through this class, a greater effort should be expended toward bringing makers into the inner circle of academia, and this "outsider" problem is one that must be addressed. 

The role that making, tinkering, and electronics can bring to an art classroom: Making, tinkering, and electronics are great ways to spark students creative sensibilities in untapped ways that transcend the traditional molds of art education, while also bringing a certain extent of problem-solving to the arts. For example, when making our closed circuits for Assignment 13.2, Jackie and I were completely unfamiliar with how a circuit worked, so we simply had to experiment with the batteries and copper strips until our LED light lit up. All we had was the diagrams we were given, and the necessary materials to make it work, but everything past this point fell to our own ingenuity. Such an experience of simply "figuring it out" is uncommon in the arts, but I believe it is a necessary element of artmaking that can extend to other forms and materials. 

Digital Steward Lesson Plan Example: "Hyperlink Blink"

Purple ---> Supreme ---> Gucci Mane

11.2 Final Project Initial Idea: "Nature Walk" Series

My final project dice, as depicted above, rolled "digital photography," "environment," and "found materials," and this immediately gave me the idea to do a photo series of "nature walks." These walks would largely consist of me taking my digital camera and going out into different areas (i.e. parks, forests, specific boroughs, notable landmarks/places in NYC, etc.) to find preexisting objects, things, or materials that can be arranged into artful compositions which speak to the nature of the places I visit. To me, this was the most fun and efficient way to stay true to the the dice because I will be letting the dice dictate my project in the most technical and literal way imaginable: I will be in various environments, taking digital photos of things and materials that I find and place together. 

Possible nature walks might include:

-Central Park (Manhattan)

-Inwood Hill Park (Manhattan)

-Prospect Park (Brooklyn)

-Forest Park (Queens)

-River Park (Bronx)

-Hunter Island at Pelham Bay Park (Bronx)

-Greenbelt Park (Staten Island)

11.1 Tinkercad Experience

Due to the fact that my first experience with any 3D modeling software was using Maya at my ZERO VFX internship in undergrad, I was already somewhat familiar with this type of program, and I found Tinkercad to be a much less intensive version of what I'd already been working with. In spite of this, "less intensive" is not necessarily a bad thing because the ease of access that Tinkercad affords is extremely enjoyable when compared to the high skill ceiling of Maya. When I originally started working with Maya, I had to undergo about a week of tutorials to even become comfortable with simplistic actions in the software (i.e. placing, transforming, and arranging shapes). Conversely, with Tinkercad, I was off to the races in about 10 minutes and I became engrossed in the creative experience far sooner. Additionally, I think Tinkercad offers an interface that is more lively and playful when compared to its more professional counterparts; rather than featuring exclusively muted or gray shapes in a manner akin to Maya, Tinkercad's shapes are colorful, fun and almost toy-like, effectively giving the entire interface a more playful aura. When working with Maya, I couldn't help but feel that I was doing work, but Tinkercad felt like I was actually playing and exploring--and this makes the software ideal for both working artists and the art classroom alike. One other small thing that I noticed was that that there is an immense difference between working with Tinkercad on a desktop computer, and performing the same actions on a laptop. When I went home to tweak my project, I found the loss of a conventional mouse to be a huge barrier in terms of accessibility. Everything from moving the shapes, to even moving the grid itself became far more difficult, however, this is merely a minor inconvenience and can be fairly easy to work around if home-based artists have the foresight to find or purchase a USB mouse. 

10.2 Peer Homework Feedback

The blogs I commented on were:

• Danielle (Laser-Cutting)
• Annie (Scratch Game)
• Ren (Stop-Motion Animation)
• Madison (Impact25 Project)
• Jackie (Digital Landscape Painting)
• Wanqiu (Stop-Motion Animation)
• Grace (Scanography)

10.1 "Toon Cube" Creative Process

For our laser-cutting project, Grace and I decided to come together to create something inspired by the universal theme of "character design." While Grace chose to explore characters that she had already created for her scanography project, I thought it might be interesting to explore a series of cartoon characters and assemble them into an cool cube. The following pictures and video depict my process from drawing, to cutting, to assembling:

9.2 The Scratch Experience

I found the Scratch experience to be extremely fun and relaxing, primarily because it has been a very long time since I've worked with a medium that I'm completely unfamiliar with. Most of the digital forms that we've worked with throughout the semester I've at least encountered or explored at some point, however creative coding is entirely new to me and I found it refreshing to be able to experiment without really knowing what the medium is capable of. A lot of my experimentation involved using the preset sprites and inputs to simply see what could be created, and in this alone, I already see how someone who is more experienced with the Scratch interface could use it to create wonderfully imaginative and interactive works. There's a plethora of awesome options for creatives to take advantage of: drawing/customization tools for the creation or modification of your own sprites, import tools to bring in existing images as sprites, an array of coding blocks with seemingly endless command options, and perhaps the most fascinating, a create-your-own block option where those who are familiar with coding can make their own input commands using the pre-established interface. For the art classroom, potential educators could use Scratch to:

1. Introduce students to simple animation concepts and interactive art creation through, code-guided drawing lessons: I feel as though Scratch's tools are extremely accessible (if time and patience is applied) and can provide a valuable middle-ground for students who have no experience with animation and interactive art. Softwares such as Adobe Animate and Maya have somewhat of a high-learning curve, even for students who are proficient in drawing, and it can be a bit daunting to jump into these because they are heavily reliant on the users having an existing knowledge base. Scratch, however, is not at all reliant on preexisting knowledge, and because of this, I believe it could be very effective to teach students through it. Students might quickly find thrill in drawing their own sprites and getting them to shift and transform via movement or appearance blocks that are triggered by event commands. As students become more proficient with these techniques, I could even see the potential for students to be able to create moving digital drawings, collages, or landscapes that also operate via these event commands. 
2. Explore game design with students from an artistic lens: Game design and development are often overlooked in the arts because the final product is heavily-reliant on computing and coding, however Scratch's user-friendly interface works to alleviate this issue and could potentially make game creation a more approachable endeavor for artists and creatives. Game design, when explored within an arts classroom, could take a variety of different forms. On one hand, students might try their hand at creating their own flash games, and Scratch conveniently facilitates this by offering tutorials that instruct in the creation of numerous game types from the ground up. On the other hand, students might take a more immersive approach and try creating interactive game applications that work in conjunction with the other forms of art that they are already creating. I envision this potential pathway taking the form of "interactive exhibits," wherein Scratch is used to code fun game-based interfaces that accompany works of art, in a manner similar to many tech-savvy museums that are already moving in this direction (e.g. The Cleveland Museum of Art from Post 1.3). Much like Scratch itself, the potential possibilities for this sort of creation are endless.

9.1 Wizards vs. Dragon Animated Comic

8.4 Two Takeaways from Section III Readings

1. Kylie Peppler -- One of Peppler's more interesting points comes when she states that the aim of creative coding is artistic expression, rather than proficiency. I think it is immensely important to keep this consideration in mind with all digital art forms that are brought into the classroom, but this is especially true for coding, which can often be seen as "technically dense" or "difficult." With coding, it's very easy for students to get bogged down by the feeling that they are working within a field that they don't know (i.e. computer science), or working with a medium that requires a certain extent of foreknowledge (either of certain softwares or programming languages), but this is not the case. Coding, like all digital art forms, has the potential to be used for creative expression, but it is the duty of the teacher to eliminate any potential barriers to this goal and ensure that students understand that becoming savvy in a given form is not the aim. When students enter a digital art classroom, they should feel as though they are expressing through the exploration of new forms, not simply learning the forms for the purposes of becoming adroit--for this offers scarcely anything of value to the arts. 
2. Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager -- The portion of the "Invent to Learn" reading in which Gary Stager discussed composition vs. consumption was of particular note to me because he was articulating a sentiment that struck very close to home. In this short anecdotal excerpt, Stager articulates his feeling of immense loss at never being able to have his music compositions be played or heard because the pieces were either too complex, or his teachers and peers did not have the technical knowledge required to play the piece appropriately. In spite of this, he states that such instances of lost/unheard music are now in the past because most computers now come equipped with notation software and MIDI keyboards that can be bought for largely inexpensive prices. These technological innovations effectively bring the world of music to everyone and afford entirely new opportunities for creation, exploration, and expression--even for those who are not traditionally gifted in music. As a creative individual that has always struggled with music, I couldn't agree more with this sentiment because I have experienced it personally. Music was never my forte, and it seemed that I could never fully learn an instrument in the manner that I wanted to. However, since I've gotten my hands on Ableton (one of the many notation softwares that Stager is alluding to) and a MIDI keyboard, I've made significant strides in music that I could not have made otherwise. I have been able to learn a bit of music theory on my own by teaching myself through doing, and this has even lead to a few great compositions that I'm extremely proud of (one such example is last week's Assignment 7.1, "Bathroom Beat," which was created using Ableton). In a non-digital climate, I would've had to settle for my inability to naturally create music, or expend a significant amount of resources on instructors or training services, but now, neither of these have to be the case. The digital landscape affords opportunities for inexpensive, efficient, interest-driven learning, in places where it never existed before. 

8.3 "Scanimation" Lesson Plan

1. Title: Scanimation
2. Activity: Using Scanners to Create Animation
• Students will begin activity by thinking about how they can either: a) convey a short narrative through a sequence of scanned images, or b) create some type of movement or motion through a sequence of scans
• Students may then split into groups, or even work individually if they so choose, and work at placing objects onto scanners to create their sequences
• During this work time, I will be sure to inform students that they must pay special and careful attention to the placement of their objects on the scanner so that the animation created is smooth
• After gathering their images, students will put the scanned images together to create their narratives using either EZ GIF, giphymaker, Adobe Animate, or any other software that they see fit
• Once the student have put together their Scanimated GIFs, we will have a short class viewing and critique
3. Age Group: 9-12 Grades
4. Learning Objectives:
• To illustrate to students one of the many opportunities for commingling between digital art forms.
• To ensure that students understand that 2D art forms can be used to create movement and motion, even if that aforementioned movement/motion is not intrinsic to the form itself.
• To get students to think creatively about how a narrative can be created through a sequence of images.
• To get students to become comfortable with manipulating the unpredictability of a scanner. 
5. Materials: Scanners, online GIF maker or application, any additional materials that students may choose to scan

8.2 Inside the Making of "Don't Litter"

The first step of the animation process was gathering materials. This was probably the worst and most difficult part of the process because it involved actively looking for trash (which is obviously gross). Since I don't smoke, I ended up finding the two cigarette butts on a walk home, as well as the used nib bottle. The rest of the trash was found via a dumpster dive in my suite.

Once I gathered the materials, a huge part of the process was figuring out how I wanted to arrange the trash within the frame (different placements depicted below). Since I already had an idea of what I wanted to do for the animation, really the main thing to consider was the placement of everything. The main "characters" of the animation were my fingers, so I had to figure a way to place the trash in a manner where my fingers could easily "walk" through the rubbish. 

 One thing I really wanted to do was add an iStopMotion preset background so that it would appear as though my fingers were on the beach. I though this would add more potency to the narrative, but I ended up going without the preset background because it interfered with the placement of my trash items (as shown below).

After I completed the animation, I really wanted to the add this sign at the end of the narrative to seal the deal. Ultimately, I ended up going without it because I wanted to let the message I was communicating speak for itself. Often art is a bit less impactful if you spoon feed the viewers the message your are trying to convey as an artist. In the case of this narrative, I thought it would be more appropriate to go without "beating the viewer over the head."

8.1 Don't Litter

7.2 Sound Reflection

One of the things I find most interesting about sound is that our relationship with it is highly selective. While this may seem completely obvious, I've found that when we're listening for certain sounds, we hear them exceptionally well. But if we aren't listening for certain sounds, they fade into the background of our lives, becoming mere ambiances that we're accustomed to. To explain this phenomena more precisely, I believe that in many cases our ears train themselves to the "natural." By virtue of our daily activities, our ears (in a sense) become deaf to the basic sounds that flow through our lives like clockwork: breathing, our own movements, room tones, etc. When a sound that is out of the ordinary appears, our hearing snaps into gear: people's speech, a loud car horn, a door slamming, etc. The difference between these two types of hearing could be described as "passive" and "active." Of course, we are always "hearing" something, however the sounds we hear passively are largely ignored, whereas the active sounds are pushed to the forefront of our attention. For me personally, this sound project served as the perfect example of this. When I went around my environment, hunting for sound in various places, I noticed sounds that I'd probably always heard, but never really payed any attention to. For instance, walking into my bathroom to listen for sounds, I couldn't help but notice the faint whirr of the air condition--but in any other scenario, where I wasn't practicing active listening, this sound would have easily been ignored.

When artists pay attention to sound, it shows holistically. For the arts, there is so much content and meaning that can be communicated aurally if one meticulously places thought into sounds. This of course applies to any form of music, but even for visual art installations, the utilization of carefully crafted sound can go a long way to bring potential viewers into the world of the artist. Sound has a certain immediacy to it, and as such, it may communicate something to viewers that a visual component could not do as a stand-alone. In regard to our class curriculum, precisely the same principle applies. In many of our projects (such as the video unit, or some groups' Impact 25 works), solely using the visual would not have served to convey much of any meaning for what was presented. Sound was not only a desired complement to the visual, but an integral part of the total message that was being delivered. This integral nature of sound is something that we miss entirely when we go about our lives listening "passively." Instead as artists and educators, we must practice active listening, and be readily looking for ways to creatively use sound to express ideas and transform them into new meanings.

7.1 Bathroom Beat

After waking up to the faucet running in my bathroom, I decided to take advantage of the natural ambiences available in the bathroom to see if I could make a hip-hop beat. I am not unfamiliar with making beats, so I went about gathering sounds based upon the basic components that make up every standard beat: a main melody, a kick, a snare, and a high-hat. Each sound that I picked to go in the composition was picked with the intention of using it to fulfill one of these basic beat-making components.

6.3 Impact 25 Final Project Outcome

6.1 Head Smashes Board Videos

My Video:

Original Video:

6.2 The Creative Potential of Video for Art Classrooms

While video certainly affords a plethora of options for exploration, creation, and expression in many different regards, I believe that its true creative potential, as an art medium, is only realized upon considering the things that it allows for which other mediums simply cannot do. By its very nature alone, video is already set far apart from the vast majority of art forms because it enables its creators to utilize moving images; Most traditional art forms are largely static, and thus, dynamism must come through special techniques or other means (i.e. texture, placement of subject matter, color, etc.). With video, this is not the case. Images are fluid intrinsically, and these same images can be cut, sequenced, arranged, exchanged, flipped, distorted, recolored, and even holistically altered to create entirely new forms of meaning. Furthermore, the manner in which these moving images are presented opens up additional realms of possibility. In some cases, the creative presentation of video can offer just as much to the overall artistic product as how the video was made, if not more. One such example of this is the upcoming "Addressing Home" project being undertaken by Teachers College in December. The various video works on display will likely speak to the concept of "home" in their own unique regard, however, by projecting these videos onto the Manhattan Bridge (a bridge that is used by many New Yorkers for daily commutes, and actually coming home), the meaning of this project is deepened and intensified.

In regard to the potential of video in art classrooms and education abroad, video is best suited for facilitating collaboration and communication between student peers. For every step of the video-making process, from preproduction to postproduction, teamwork is an absolute necessity in order to ensure a suitable final product. In preproduction, roles must be properly assigned and adhered to. Who will be in charge of gathering the props, costumes, and makeup to be used in the video? Who will direct/film/sound-record the video? Who will be in charge of scouting locations? What is the shot list? In the production process, the collaborative spirit carries forward from preproduction and intensifies. Positive communication between directors, cinematographers, sound recorders, productions assistants, and potential actors must be maintained at all times, otherwise, time, effort, and resources (which are all nonexpendable) will have been wasted with scarcely anything to show for it. Similarly, for postproduction, it is completely counter intuitive for collaborators to butt heads in the editing lab. Compromises and team-spirited resolutions are the only way to eschew negativity and quickly resolve problems that may arise. Having students engage in processes such as these serves to strengthen their ability to work well together with others--a skill that is extremely important in all walks of life, and especially important for aspiring artists. Often in art, too much emphasis is placed on individuality and self-focused creative exploration, which can make it difficult when it is time for artists to come together and work collaboratively. Introducing video into art classrooms ensures that students are able to become acclimated to the spirit of collaborating early on, which will greatly help their artistic futures.

5.3 Three Takeaways from the Week 5 Readings

1. Papert and Solomon begin by offering a troubling view of computers and education, wherein educators and schools frequently resort to "using bright new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in thinly disguised versions of the same old way." What they describe here is a very formulaic approach in which computers are only introduced into the classroom for two reasons; either to be programmed by the student (i.e. used as a tool to reinforce what the student is already learning), or to program the student (i.e. to introduce the student to the technological way of doing or learning what they have already been doing or learning in the classroom). I certainly agree that this is immensely problematic because this approach is severely bereft of any potential for experimentation, creativity, and most importantly, actual doing. As discussed in other previous readings, technology in our society is already prevalently used for the aforementioned purposes of programming and being programmed, thus it is counterintuitive and completely redundant for this to also take place in the classroom. Classroom spaces (whether artistic or not) should be places of learning, and learning certainly should include introduction to new ideas and possibilities. By educators and schools resorting to this formulaic approach, they are "shooting themselves in the foot" by hindering both the function of computers, and what students can do and achieve with computers. 
2. Charny helpfully illuminates that since the Industrial Revolution, there has been a persistently growing gap between "the maker" and "the user," as most people are beginning to relinquish their ability to create in favor of simply using the technologies that societal advancement has afforded them. With this, comes the death of knowledge, understanding, and appreciation, in regard to the culture of making, as well as the actual practice of making itself. While this viewpoint is extremely credible, I believe the true power of Charny's argument lies in how it serves to build upon the problems put forth in other readings. In week one, we read about how technology is often misused, and incorporated into the human continuum of time (when in reality, technology is meant to be timeless and exist outside of this space). From this reading, we concluded that the problem lied in over-use, a conundrum where many have resorted to being "always-on" in regard to their technological devices. However, from Charny's argument, perhaps the true problem is "use" in general. Whether this be over-use, or even under-use, Charny illustrates that this reliance on "using" is extremely detrimental to our natural human faculties. While I don't think that he is necessarily advocating for us to use nothing at all, I do believe he is suggesting that we aim to consider our making/using ratio. If ever using tips to a higher percentage than making, technology is having an anti-humanizing effect on us, and there is likely a problem that needs to be remedied. If making is at a higher percentage than using, we should consider ourselves well-off because making is essential for forging new forms of knowledge for our future.
3. Aside from the power of making in a general sense, a common theme throughout these readings seems to be the idea of "learning through making" (and tinkering). This is a crucial theme that becomes somewhat obscured in the surrounding talk about the history of making and the various societal implications of making culture, however, the importance of this concept cannot be understated, especially for future art educators. One of the things these readings do exceptionally well, whether intentionally or not, is that they equate "making" to "doing." Rather than strictly defining "making" as a process where something is created, these authors allude to there being much more than this. Similar to "doing," making involves utilizing brain activity to engage with a problem or idea, implementing problem-solving skills to troubleshoot and come up with practical solutions/responses, and finally, taking action (i.e. the actual process of creation). By this view, making is more than just a physical activity, or the literal concept of "creating with your hands." It is an active process of doing, wherein learning is achieved on multiple fronts, starting from the mental and working its way down into the product that our minds inform our hands to create. This sort of "making," and not the traditional definition, is the type of making that we as art educators should strive to encourage and foster within our classrooms. 

5.2 The Potential of Scanography for Art Making

Simply by judging from our homework assignments, I can easily see how scanography could be used as a potent tool for digital art making. First and foremost, scanography is easily accessible because it is extremely similar to photography in many regards; scanned photos rely heavily on exposure (the light of the scanner, and of the surrounding environment), depth-of-field (the distance from the scanner), and subject/composition (the placement of items on the scanner, and movement of items within the frame). However, the crucial distinction that makes scanography fun, alluring, and ultimately potent as an art form, is the fact that images can be altered while they are being taken. The manner in which the scanner captures motion lends itself to a variety of amazing and bizarre effects, and one can also quickly change the arrangement of items as the scanner beam is moving, effectively producing a nearly unpredictable product. If one wanted to create a final scan that is more predictable, it would take practice, exploration, and a comprehensive knowledge of how the medium is working to produce the images that result. When considered in this light, scanography is certainly an art form worthy of art making in its own right, for it necessitates the very same things that other traditional art forms require of its artists--albeit in a unique way that is specific to the medium.

5.1 Scanograph eBooks

Daily Meals eBook:

Water Reflection & Refraction eBook:

4.3 Digital Photography and Children

1. Digital photography is a fantastic material for children to utilize for learning and exploration because it allows them to perceive their world from an entirely new lens--quite literally! While we may be constantly seeing the world around us, these long-standing experiences make us somewhat desensitized to our own perceptions and the manner in which our world is arranged. When young students begin to delve into digital photography, creating their works necessitates that they be aware of certain elements of "framing" (i.e. the things depicted within the frame of a photo) that will effectively bring the composition of our world back into the forefront of their perception. A great photo might utilize depth, light/shadow, focus, angling, and a variety of other techniques which would serve to heighten a child's critical eye, and re-sensitize them to the beauty of the natural world.
2. The process of digital photography also lends itself to mistakes, and greatly facilitates a child's ability to correct or perfect a work late into the creative process. As a opposed to traditional photography that is usually developed in a darkroom, and for the most part, developed to be the final product, digital photography is extremely fluid, and able to be greatly altered before the final product. Editing softwares, such as Adobe Photoshop, are not only fantastic tools to use for digital photographs, but they are also intrinsically linked to the medium, and as such, serve as an essential part of the creative process. A young child might be thrilled to explore the plethora of options available in Photoshop to see just how far technology can change a photo before it is presented as the final work. 
3. In terms of art education, digital photography is perfect for facilitating the artistic development of a child because there is no designated way to take a "correct" photograph. Whether it be for social media, professional, or personal use, we are all constantly taking pictures and using processes of digital photography, which makes us all digital photographers. Children are certainly included in this tally, and thus, they too do not have the shackles of "good creative work" or "bad creative work." This lack of boundaries is extremely congenial for their education, and it would certainly serve to foster their sense of confidence in exploration and risk-taking.

4.2 Impact 25 Project Update

Impact25 Idea: Digital Ink Blot Interpretations
Collaborator: Jackie Gropper
Synopsis: Our Impact 25 idea involves showing 25 (or more) people digitally painted ink blots and documenting their interpretations/reactions to our drawn ink blots using digital videography. For our digital ink blots, we were thinking of having a small rotation of various designs that can be somewhat randomized when shown to our participants. Participants would then be asked (on camera) to introduce themselves, interpret the digital ink blots, and explain/justify their interpretations. After showing all the participants our designs and recording their interpretations and justifications, our team was thinking of then recreating the ink blots to align with each participant's stated interpretation. This part of our project is not yet finalized, but we do think that this would be a great element to include for the purposes of contrasting reality (of our initial ink blots) and perception (of the participants).
Work in Progress: Our Impact 25 team has already begun to create our rotation of ink blots, and we are continuing to finalize the methods that we would like to use for conducting our project. The next steps are to secure participants, and set aside ample time for video recording and editing. Additionally, we might look into creating more ink blots to have a larger rotation to choose from, however this is contingent on the other elements of our planning, setup, and execution.

Sample Ink Blot Drawing:

4.1 The Flower Spectrum

Original Photo Taken in Class:

2 Ideas For Creative Component:

1. Digital Animation - Some type of animation design which might encapsulate the various colors of the flowers depicted in the original photograph and give them some sort of personality and flair. Perhaps each color shown could correspond to an emotion. (IDEA CHOSEN FOR CREATIVE COMPONENT, AS SHOWN BELOW)
2. Sense Painting - A painting (either traditional or via digital technologies) that might exemplify how the flowers depicted in the photo would serve to stimulate the various senses. Painting might correlate to any of the five senses, except for sight, since the image is already readily apparent. 

Chosen Creative Component: The Flower Spectrum

Digital Steward Lesson Plans: The Internet and Social Media

Lesson Plan #1: The Internet

1. Title: Into the Abyss of the Internet
2. Activity: "Hyperlink Blink"
• Students will begin activity with a Google search, aimed at anything their heart desires. It can be a search for something that is interesting to them, something random, or anything at all.
• After scrolling through the results, they will click the link to a page that gives them what they are looking for.
• On the new page, students will find another link to click on, or find some element that leads them to a new search .
• This process will continue on and on to see how far into the internet the students can venture. The objective is to go from link to link, website to website, and search to search, venturing deeper and deeper into the internet.
• At the end of the activity (whenever time is called), students will discuss their original Google search, along with where they ended up, and share their process of exploration.
3. Age Group: 9-12 Grades
4. Learning Objectives:
• To ensure that students understand that the internet is a massive resource! Any and all information that is available in the world can be found with a simple click. 
• To illustrate that the internet is a place for exploration and discovery. There is always something new to be found, and students should feel free to go out and find it!
5. Materials: Laptop/Desktop Computers, The Internet

Lesson Plan #2: Social Media

1. Title: Traversing the New Social Landscape
2. Activity: "Digital Novellas" - Students will construct a story that is confined to the characters allotted by a Twitter tweet. Stories can be anything from favorite memories, to funny/interesting thoughts, to fantasies, etc., but the only restriction is that their stories must be short enough to be contained in ONE tweet. When the students finish their Twitter stories, they will do a creative component that corresponds to the story they just told, and upload it to a different social media platform of their choosing (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.). Again, there are no restrictions for the creative component, however it must be something that can be uploaded to social media. When the students are finished with their activity, we will read the tweets, and examine what they've created. If students finish early, or have extra time, they may do additional tweet stories and begin the creative components for these as well. 
3. Age Group: 9-12 Grades
4. Learning Objectives:
• To demonstrate how social media can speak across platforms as a potent tool for expression.
• To highlight the extremely public nature of creation within the digital realm. With social media, even intimate thoughts/memories are publicly shared with the world!
5. Materials: Cellphones, WiFi/Cellular Data, Internet, Social Media Apps/Platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.), Miscellaneous Digital Technologies (to be used at the students' discretion)

3.1 Darien's Digital Landscape and Reflection

Digital Drawing/Painting Reflection:

Just from this exercise alone, I can see how digital drawing and painting can be potent tools for artists. I don't really consider myself an adept painter (or even a good painter), yet I found it quite easy to use the paint tool for the creation of my landscape above. What makes these digital tools especially useful is the fact that you can play with transparencies and layers, which allows you to have greater control over where things go in your work. Additionally, using digital mediums means that you can always Control-Z any misstep, effectively undoing the unsightly mistakes that you may have made along the way. Overall, digital mediums simply afford artists a greater range of tools and flexibility when working towards a final product, and this greatly alleviates many burdens that may be difficult to cover and work around with traditional drawing/painting mediums.

3.2 Two Reflections on Kylie Peppler and Nancy Baym

1. Kylie Peppler Reflection: I think the main point of Peppler's argument is crucial for potential art teachers because we must work to understand what students are already doing creatively, and then tap into that to create lesson plans. While there's no inherent problem with traditional art education, I do believe that in certain regards it must evolve with the times to reflect what young students are concerned with in the modern era. If you have a classroom full of kids who are already creating videos, animations, podcasts, graphics, and other things that they can use to build their "brand" in the digital world, there is scarcely a need for them to regress back into the formulaic monotony of Drawing Foundations or Painting 101(of course both drawing and painting are fantastic, but these are just examples). What I think Peppler is getting at is that interest-driven learning affords more flexibility for students to use their skills in the modern world, and apply what they are learning to things that they truly care about. While standard art education programs might inform these things as well, its more important to put student interest first in order to best gage what creative sensibilities need to be stimulated in the classroom.
2. Nancy Baym Reflection: The most interesting part of the Baym reading came when she described the "deterministic" relationship that we have with new technologies, wherein in we view technology as a cause-and-effect sort of deal; If some new form of technology arises, it becomes the cause, and we immediately jump to conclusions about the effects that it will have on our humanity or even our basic human conduct. Baym states that this deterministic relationship isn't necessarily the case with new technologies, and shouldn't be the case--and I have to agree wholeheartedly with her. We are deterministic in our view of technology, and I think this stems from a looming fear of how society might change for the worst (rarely ever do we have concerns about the potential positives of new technologies). However, just as Baym articulates, we determine how technology will factor into our lives with our use of it and adaptation to it. It isn't particularly fair for us to villainize our own creations simply because we are the ones who are misusing it. If ever a new technology arises which radically shifts the landscape of our world, we must understand that any developments that may result are the product of human action. This idea--that we are the catalysts, not new techologies--is the key to understanding technology, as well as its relation to our world; and perhaps this is what Baym was attempting to illustrate. 

2.3 On/Off Experiment Teabag Drawings

 Wet teabags drawn with my RIGHT hand, using charcoal and sketch paper.

Wet teabags drawn with my LEFT hand, using charcoal and sketch paper.