In theory, I work as a teacher.
2,000 people a day go to my site, watch my videos, and a couple of them even pay me for it. I get questions, compliments, and comments on a daily basis. It’s a great feeling, but there’s a disconnect.
I forget that I’m helping others, and it gets hard to keep creating. Something’s needed from time to time to spark inspiration.
My regular outings to a room full of business types wanting to learn about marketing or comedy types watching their 3rd show that week has become a routine. I love doing both of those things, but they’re not special. One’s my job and the other my hobby.
That’s why it was such an amazing feeling to head over to a good friend, Meg’s, 3rd grade classroom a couple weeks ago with Andrew, her fiancee, and read to her class.
It was National Reading Day, and Meg was under some misconception that we were doing her the favor and not the other way around.
I left the room inspired and amazed that Meg was with these kids on a daily basis, putting together a new lesson plan every day.
They hung on her every word and were fascinated by everything she threw at them. It was a great experience.
A big thanks to Meg. But also to Vanessa, Isaiah, Lindsay, Alondra, Antonio, Jade, Aiden, Jesse, Emmanuel, and everyone else in the classroom for the cards and the love.
Let’s do this again soon, Meg. Art project next time?
(Images are from the cards her kids sent me, in case that wasn’t clear.)
With my last post, Dear Seth Godin, Stop Dealing Steam out of the way, let’s move on to a couple far more constructive / researched articles.
In
Stop Stealing Dreams, Seth Godin writes:
43. How not to teach someone to be a baseball fan
Teach the history of baseball, beginning with Abner Doubleday and the impact of cricket and imperialism. Have a test.
Starting with the Negro leagues and the early barnstorming teams, assign students to memorize facts and figures about each player. Have a test.
Rank the class on who did well on the first two tests, and allow these students to memorize even more statistics about baseball players. Make sure to give equal time to players in Japan and the Dominican Republic. Send the students who didn’t do as well to spend time with a lesser teacher, but assign them similar work, just over a longer time frame. Have a test.
Sometime in the future, do a field trip and go to a baseball game. Make sure no one has a good time.
If there’s time, let kids throw a baseball around during recess.
Obviously, there are plenty of kids (and adults) who know far more about baseball than anyone could imagine knowing.
And none of them learned it this way.
The industrialized, scalable, testable solution is almost never the best way to generate exceptional learning.
In part 113, he asks:
Is the memorization and drill and practice of advanced math the best way to sell kids on becoming scientists and engineers?
To combine these sections, the question becomes:
How do you make students care about high level math in the same way they care about video games?
The answer lies in turning math into a project based learning experience. I’ve seen many attempts at this, including my own High School curriculum called C.O.R.E. It was an embarrassing effort to make every math problem a word problem. Instead of creating a purpose behind the math, it put a thin veneer of application that did more to confuse us rather than make us care.
It wasn’t until Sophomore year of college that I got the chance to apply math in an exciting way. I was coding in Flash, and wanted to create a tank game where you bounced cannon balls off of walls in an effort to hit the other tanks. To write it, I had to relearn trigonometry. Sine, cosine, tangent, and far more in depth topics suddenly had an application. For the first time I studied them and had a reason to care. By creating a video game, it all started to come together.
What angle should a cannon ball go at if sent at the wall at a 30 degree angle? For the game to work, I needed to figure this out. While the final results of the game were a bit of an embarrassment, it was an exciting project that made math fun.
How I wish my game was half as awesome as this. And no, I didn't actually play this game before grabbing this picture.
It’s easy to say “That’s nice for people who already know programming and are operating at a college level, but for the rest of us that isn’t particularly practical.”
Yet when I took on this project, my main thought was, ‘Why isn’t this how math was being taught to me since at least 6th grade?’
One of the answers is it requires the students to have a computer at their disposal.
The other answer is it requires the math teachers to teach basic programming as a prerequisite to make the students care. It’s not easy to teach this well, but it’s well worth the effort.
In fact, teachers have been using programming to teach math for decades. It’s just in the last five years that the idea has started to spread on a grand scale.
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Allison, a math teacher who runs Infinigons in New Jersey, tested the idea of using programming to teach math. She wrote:
Something that became obvious very quickly (and was integral in quelling my fears that I was under-qualified to teach a UC-approved programming class) is that almost every student in the class was into it. This was bizarre, having a class where 25 out of 27 students were really trying to figure out a problem and would literally groan when I told them they had to shut down their computers at the end of class.
It’s fascinating reading how she applied programming to teach math. She even includes examples of the games her Seniors in High School created.
Wikipedia has an extensive list of programming languages invented to teach math to all ages, from Stagecast Creator for Kindergarteners to Lego Mindstorm for 5th graders to Greenfoot for High Schoolers. They’re built to make programming accessible, and in that way make math fun.
There are plenty of books written on this subject, such as Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age.
In addition, there are books dedicated to teaching just about any of the programming languages. For instance, Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot is aimed at teachers looking to encourage students getting in to programming for the first time.
In 2004, I learned Flash Game programming through Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Game Design Demystified. While the Flash programming side of it is no longer relevant, Jobe Makar does a fantastic job of going over math programming in a fun applicable way. I’m sure there are far more recent books on the subject, but from a math perspective, this is a timeless introduction to the fundamentals of applicable trigonometry in game design.
I’d love to see more teachers take this challenge on. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, an expert on the subject, so check out Gameful where teachers discuss the best games for teaching Math, Physics, and Programming.
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Further Reading:
http://alice.org/
http://www.emanueleferonato.com/2010/02/23/11-flash-isometric-engines-you-can-use-in-your-games/
http://www.edutopia.org/video-games-classroom
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-science-math-lessons
Featured image via watz
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
-Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law
There are three major phases for a revolutionary technology.
- Phase One – Its invention in the lab.
- Phase Two – Its commercial release for early adopters.
- Phase Three – Its commercial release for normal humans.
Before, between, and after these landmarks are an ocean of other small innovations, but these are the pillars that any major technology stands on. Take the Polaroid.
Instant Develop Paper was first invented in the lab, followed by a series of cameras that had flaws such as accidentally spraying the users with acid if used wrong. It took Edwin Land, one of Steve Job’s main inspirations, to combine a few dozen technologies into what we know today as the Polaroid. Harry McCracken’s article, Polaroid SX-70: The Art and Science of the Nearly Impossible, is a brilliant look at how the Polaroid came to be, and the nature of invention itself.
Three days ago the Lytro, a camera based off of Light Field photography, was released. David Pierce at The Verge did a fantastic review of exactly how different this camera is, stating:
There are a few easy ways to make a digital camera better: make the sensor bigger, improve the quality of the lens, speed up the processor. But those are incremental improvements on a basic technology that hasn’t changed much in a long time. Lytro scrapped all that and built the self-titled Lytro camera, a digital camera that neither looks nor operates like any camera you’ve ever seen: it measures megarays instead of megapixels, captures light fields instead of light, and lets you focus your pictures after you’ve taken them.
The review can be summed up with:
It is a fundamental shift in how pictures are taken. The technology is brilliant and has incredible potential, but at the moment it’s a novelty proof of concept that isn’t quite ready for the market.
It’s generally agreed that The Lytro is currently little more than a fun experimental toy. It’s still in the second phase.
The first phase happened 15 years ago, when Light fields were first captured, and it’s hard to predict how soon the third phase will come. In theory, this technology or a competing one will become the new standard. Not because of its ability to refocus, but because it makes photographs work natively on a 3D plane. It might take 5 years. It might take 20.
This debate on whether or not the Lytro is a viable consumer device misses the point. It will be a while before the third phase. For now, it’s best to judge it for what it is.
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Science of Light Field Photography via Lytro’s website.
Reviews of the Lytro by people who have actually used it.
How Edwin Land inspired Steve Jobs via the NYTimes.
View Lytro in action.
I talked with this one artist, Skinner, at Comic Con, not realizing just how influential the guy was. He had a style where he did what he wanted.
“How do you make a living off of this?” I asked.
“What?” he said, surprised that anyone would ever a question as insulting as that.
“Hold up – I meant that as a compliment. In that you’re doing clearly what you love, unlike so many other people here who are just doing it in a style that the company would want them to work – you’re doing your own thing, and I respect that.”
“Uh huh”
“But making a living doing it in your own style – that’s so hard.”
“Well, I get hired, like on skateboards and buildings and shit like that.”
“I think I saw a piece of yours in Juxtapoz,” I said.
“Yeah – I was in there.”
He never quite said how he got to a point where people were hiring him for it, but I got the impression he’d been doing it forever, doing it for free, and from there people started paying him. At first, he was living in poverty, but over time he started making enough money to move out on his own and make a name for himself.
This is me projecting, as he told me nothing, and I don’t care to look it up.
It’s the same for just about any artist or writer I respect. For a long time they did what they loved for close to no pay. They always took little pay over doing something they hated, as they believed in what they were doing.
It’s the single minded focus, and a drive causing them to produce a ridiculous amount of work that got all of them to where they needed to be. Slowly, I’m starting to believe in my own ability to make this happen. I’m reaching a point where I’m amazed at just how much writing I’m doing. I’m surprised at the single minded drive I’ve been able to go at it with. My level of output recently has been crazy. But more than that, the amount of time I’m spending on it is even crazier. I can’t imagine anyone else spending/wasting this much time on something that has such a small chance of ever paying off.
When I tell people I’m writing 1,000 words a day as a bare minimum, the common reaction is, “Wow – that’s crazy.” If they knew how little of it was usable, how much of it a collection of self doubts and depression they might say something else. The follow up, if there is a follow up is, “So what are you writing?”
As it stands, the answer is, “A Modern Family script, a pilot, some sketches, a few short stories, and a longer novel – in an attempt for something to hit and to build a portfolio.” That’s a lie, however. The truth is I’m writing warm up entries and an endless series of blog posts for the sake of getting into the habit. The truth is I rarely get into a groove where I lose all track of time and go for hours on end. The truth is I worry about what’s next. And then I think back to that conversation with Skinner – just keep going. Do what I love, and see where it takes me.
All art in this post is by Skinner
I thought I liked the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, but now I’m blown away on a whole other level after reading this clip below from wikipedia on Mr. Brainwash and whether or not he’s real.
Mr. Brainwash speculation and theories
Since the release of the film Exit Through The Gift Shop, there has been much speculation that the film and story of Mr. Brainwash are a hoax concocted by Banksy and Shepard Fairey themselves. When Guetta is shown “working,” he is only seen splattering paint using aerosol cans to haphazardly color images and clumsily attempting to paste up a poster. Other aspects of the Mr. Brainwash character seem deliberately comical, such as his being pushed in a wheelbarrow after supposedly breaking his foot.
The Times of London noted that “The blogs buzzed with rumours: that Mr Brainwash is nothing but a front for Banksy; even that he is Banksy.” Fast Company concludes “The whole thing, it’s clear now, was an intricate prank being pulled on all of us by Banksy, who has never publicly revealed his identity, with Fairey as his accomplice. … [His work] looks like Banksy trying not to look like Banksy…”
Some suggest that Fairey and Banksy have been artificially inflating up the sales of Mr. Brainwash’s work. According to Rebecca Cannon, Mr. Brainwash’s work hasn’t sold as well on independent forums. “With both shows held outside of commercial galleries, no professional dealers have had their reputation on the line in making fake claims of high sales. However, if Guetta is a hoax, there also exists the possibility that these artworks are actually produced by Banksy himself, in a style deliberately intended to suggest inferior artistic skill.
As the movie opened in North America, in April 2010, The Boston Globe movie reviewer Ty Burr found it to be quite entertaining as a farce and awarded it four stars. He dismissed the notion of the film being a “put on” saying “I’m not buying it; for one thing, this story’s too good, too weirdly rich, to be made up. For another, the movie’s gently amused scorn lands on everyone.”
Read the rest on wikipedia
I have two modes – complete slacker under achiever and over the top – why the hell did you do that much work-that’s completely unnecessary. Even in school, my two grades were B- (Normally after some begging from the teacher to not give me a C) or A++ (A perfect 100, with some extra credit thrown in for good measure).
It comes out when I take on jobs. For instance, I read two dozen books, even more blogs, and spent well over 200 hours preparing for teaching my Social Media Marketing class. It can’t just be another good class. It needs to compete with Seth Godin or the most engaging TEDTalks out there. Otherwise, why bother?
This is all just a rather large prologue. I took on a freelance job to take photographs of the glass cleaner wipes my aunt and uncle sell. I thought it would be three or four, and when they sent me 50 different colors, I’d already said yes. I had never done product photography before, and don’t own an SLR, but figured I could figure it out.
First, I followed the instructions at JYoseph to set up my own lightbox.
Then I borrowed a camera from a friend, bought foam core, and saw I didn’t have close to enough light.
I headed to the hardware store, and got a couple of 200 Watt light clamps, and bulbs to match. Two 150 bulbs did the trick.
Then, with a well lit box, I photographed each piece.
I individually straightened and cropped them, ending up with 50 pictures like these.
When I sent in those samples, apparently all they wanted was this:
In the end I could have done the photos with my point and shoot in about an hour and a half.
Was it overkill? A major miscommunication with the client? Completely unnecessary extra work?
Yes, Yes, and yes -but now I have the supplies and skills to do product photography, so even if it was overkill, it was just the right amount.
(Original intended title for this post? Over Wiping, butt I decided that was a shitty idea.)
I spend stupid amounts of time manipulating photographs / teaching others how to do the same, and it’s good to know my history.
I got it in my head that I’d do a series reworking some of the classics out of tree branches, and it sent me on a bender of who’s done this in the past.
Arcimboldo (1527-1593) is considered the original Hidden Face Artist, and everything he did, and many things he inspired are fascinating.
People forgot about the guy for centuries until Salvador Dali dug him out of the archives and started referencing him.
It’s remarkable how Arcimboldo is one of the few early Renaissance artists that would still fit right in to a magazine like Juxtapoz.
Above is the same piece, both upside down and forward up. If you turn most of his ‘still lives’ upside down, you’d have no idea they were representational of something.
Beyond how great his own work is, the various copy cat artists that he inspired both directly and indirectly take it to the next level.
This piece is a fantastic sculpture by Philip Haas of the painting above, ‘Winter.’
Gives a sense of scale for the size of the sculpture.
It becomes a completely different piece of art with new framing.
‘Spring’ also inspired others.
Klaus Enrique Gerdes took a literal approach.
While Bernard Pras mostly rearranges garbage.
Some more pieces by Barnard Pras.
Joel Peter Witkin sticks to the theme of vegetable heads, but makes it his own.
Istvan Orosz is great above, while people like Octavio Ocampo are far less subtle. Attempting to make a head out of nature can look truly awful if not handled with care.
This is a lot of fun, but misses the subtlety – It doesn’t work as two separate images, and isn’t hidden if spun upside down. More than that, it feels like a copy. The question for artists post Arcimboldo is how to add to the conversation, and one up what’s come before.
Arcimboldo set the standards high with images like these three:
Here’s a few more directly inspired by Arcimboldo, but taking it in a modern direction.
Here’s a pdf on the making of Salad by Till Nowak - remarkable work.
What I love about this style is that there’s no limit to what can be done with it. It’s basically anything combining to form something it’s not meant for. When done right, it’s breathtaking.
Colossal frequently posts on artists working in this style, and it’s well worth checking out.
I’ve been doing a lot of writing, improv, and compositing related work recently, so it was good to do get back into drawings. I was attempting to challenge myself with each of these- seeing how far I could push the feathering on the bird, the volume on the cow, and the linework on the horse. They were a good stepping stone to put me back into a drawing mindset, as there’s a lot of drawing to do if I’m to finish a big project coming up.
I was planning on doing one comic per post for five or so posts. I scanned them in in one swoop, so figured why delay? Here’s three more comics to round out the set. If you haven’t read these, you don’t know comics.
Maus, Art Speigelman telling his father’s tale in the Holocaust.
Sandman, in which Neil Gaiman rewrote the comic genre
Sin City, Frank Miller being Frank Miller
PS. I’m starting to feel like my blog is lacking direction. I’m all right with that. Perhaps when I start wanting readers, that will change. For now, I’m happy.
Congratulation to all the New Rabbis out of AJU. Here’s my sketch from the ceremony last night.
