Week 11 Refelections

This was a challenging but fun project.  I did have some difficulty with the movements.  I was trying to make my android dance but for some reason I could not get the movements to work the way I had envisioned.  With a lot more time I would love to explore the more advanced features of character design.  I like how the sound really flows with the end of the movement.  If this is that basic of basic, I can't imagine the type of work that goes into game design.  I new found respect!



 This game was fun to build. I added a few features to this game.
- You change tracks by clicking the green button in the bottom right.
- Change player characters by clicking the number 1 for player 1 and the number 2 for player 2
- You can move in all directions:
- Player 1 use arrows (up, down, left, right)
- Player 2 use W-up, Z-Down, A-Left, S-Right

I decided to add a sound when the two players touch and a few variations to the tracks.

Week 10 Reflections

Article 1

3d printing and education

10 WAYS 3D PRINTING CAN BE USED IN EDUCATION 

 http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/10-ways-3d-printing-can-be-used-in-education/

This article is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, it's a general list of ways that 3-D printing can be used in education, but to takes it a step farther shows somewhat of a mind map to demonstrate how 3-D printing works in a classroom. The quote that stuck out to me the most from the article is as follows. "As far as how this can be used in education, it’s a matter of bringing objects out of the computer screen and into the hands of students for inspection, analysis, and other processes that can get the benefit from physical manipulation." I can't agree more with this statement, and how teachers and students can be immediately turned on to the idea of 3-D design/printing can be used to further and better their educational experiences.

Article 2

Video: 3D Printing Ignites STEM Education

https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/media/manufacturing-processing/video-3d-printing-ignites-stem-education

This video really excited me, not only because of seeing the abilities of 3-D printing in the arts and sciences, but the fact that this was a SUNY New Paltz program which I am an alumni.   I wish they had this facility there when I was a student. It's great to see how the school has grown with their technology department and that it is being utilized in various academics. This is making me want to get a 3-D printer for my classroom.  How close is photography and 3-D printing related?

Article 3

Importance of 3-D printing in education

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/03/importance-of-3d-printing-in-education.html

This one absolutely wowed me! Basically the reason that 3-D printing is important to understand is that it is going to change the world. It technology is like something out of a movie it's almost hard to believe it exists. You'll understand after watching the video that's attached to this page. Enjoy!

As an art educator it's hard not to get past the creative possibilities of 3-D printing, but considering how one can create prototypes to bring into automotive classes or biomedical classes you still have to incorporate the understanding of the machine or organ that you're going to be 3-D printing.  The educational value of 3-D printing is in the further understanding of the working functions of tools, machines, and even body parts.  It seems that the sky is the limit when it comes to 3-D printing possibilities.

Week 9 Reflection

This week we explored different ways of creating a podcast.  After watching some of the tutorials, I became concerned with the quality of the sound that I was limited to with just using my laptop or desktop computer.  I decided to ask my buddy who is a musician to help me out with mic equipment. After a crash course on setup and refining, I began my podcast.
I decided to focus around the theme of photography and the topic of photographers vs snappers.  In the podcast I discussed my own personal opinions on the topic, along with conducting three different interviews to attempt to get the most diverse range of opinions.
After all recordings were made, the editing process began.  This was a lot different from editing a slideshow or even a streaming movie.  Sound can be so funky depending on were the recording was made, how good the equipment you are recording with, and the volume of the voices being recorded. It took several hours to get everything in lined up and sounding right.  I played with adding some music to add a fun mood to the show.
Overall I really enjoyed this project.  Even with the frustration of the extensive amount of editing, it I'm glad it was so involved because it allowed me to work with WeVideo even more, getting me to a higher level of understanding of the program.    

Mind Maps for Creativity

Here is the final video that my collaborative partner Nick and I created.  It focuses on using mind maps as a key tool to use for exploring how to help schools become more creative.  We used the video share feature in WeVideo to collaborate with our creation.  Google docs allowed us to create a list of facts and ideas that could be used on both ends of our work.  I feel that we were successful with creating our artifact, and know that from this experience, I will not only be using WeVideo more in my own curriculum, but also create more collaborations in my teachings.  

Weeks 7&8 Collaboration

For the past week we had to collaborate with another classmate and come up with an artifact showing how schools can become more creative.  The process began with personal brainstorming of ideas. Then the first difficult task of finding a partner.  This is not the same as sitting in a class looking at faces you recognize, and have sat next to for months.  Looking at the work and posts of fellow classmates, along with the assistance of the teacher, groups were created. 
Once there was a clear understanding of who was working together, ideas started to meld.  Through various back and forth emails, my group partner and I decided to focus on a mind map theme, while incorporating other tools we have learned about during the first half of the course.  This is where online collaboration can become difficult.  
Working together is one thing.  Working together when you may never have the same time schedule is a challenge that I have never experienced before.  You have to put all trust in your partner that they are going to complete their end of responsibilities for the project. With time restrictions, that can be a stress,  limiting the time for revisions or alternate ideas.
I'll admit there were frustrating moments where I wanted to know what was being done and felt like time was being wasted because I didn't have full control over what was being done for the project. But respect and trust are key factors for a successful collaboration.
As the days passed more and more communication was made, sharing the progress on each end of the workload ensuring we were each doing our part.   Now that we are coming down to the final days of our collaboration,  I am proud of what we have created and have become that much more confident with online collaboration. These skills are crucial to understand if I want to offer new directions of offering online versions of my own course.

Week 6 Reflections Part 2

Working with WeVideo was a lot of fun.  I decided to take a different approach with the the subject matter, focusing on a type of photography I really enjoy doing.  Using the program was very similar to iMovie, which we have used for projects in my class.  It is so great to be introduced to more and more tools that I thought was only limited to hard drives.  I challenged myself to work in the more advanced mode playing with sound fades, transitions, overlays, and recordings.

Week 6 Reflection

After reading through all of the creativity challenges, I realized that I face these types of challenges almost every day.

CREATIVITY CHALLENGE #1: PUSH YOURSELF TO THINK DIVERGENTLY AND CREATIVELY.

During a recent photo shoot to challenge myself to new techniques that I have not explored before I observe what others have done or attempted and with the van with Bill environment I was able to achieve something I've never done before.

CREATIVITY CHALLENGE #2: INCREASE YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT.

I do not journal my dreams typically but I do journal moments of “genius” that occur to me. These ideas are a bit out of the box but some have led me to become more creative with my teachings or even more self-efficient in my own life. With these ideas, I typically use speech to text because my typing skills are not on par as my thoughts skills. Speaking into my notes allows the thoughts to pour much faster hour rather than thinking about typing the words.  These ideas are not strictly based around my own wants and needs, many times I'll be thinking about the students work and brainstorm an idea based around their project. Intern helping others with my thoughts ideas.

CREATIVITY CHALLENGE #5: ENCOURAGE AND ACCEPT CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.

Being an art teacher this technique is used every time we look at different artwork whether it is by a professional artist/master, or has been created in my own classroom.  I am in complete favor of pointing out flaws in areas where improvement can be made.  Even if it's related to the world of art, there's reasoning for all creative decisions we make.  Backing up that reasoning and reaching a full understanding is what I teach and what i personally strive for.  

CREATIVITY CHALLENGE #6: WARM UP A GROUP.

At the beginning of each semester I like to do what I call a getting to know you spectrum. Giving various topics ranging from preference of season to types of food you consume along with various other topics.  Based on where these kids feel they are on the spectrum they move and shift watching as their differences and similarities bring each other closer and farther away from one another, while they all stay on the same spectrum.  After noting various differences and similarities students attempt to partner up with people that they had the most differences with, and introduce each other to the class.