Last night I was shooting a wedding with 4 flower girls and a ring bearer. They were the coolest ones at the party. I of course would have preferred to jump around in the St. Regis Hotel flower beds instead of photograph... Something about kids and me connect. Kids treat me like one of their own... I treat kids with respect... sometimes I give them more attention then their parents, which can get weird for the parents sometimes when I introduce myself to their kid first.
My credentials weren't my camera, it wasn't my funky hair or charismatic smile... my connection with these 5 untamed wedding monkeys is what people would say to eachother about me.
It feels great. This blog post started out kinda vague and maybe it is still lacking a direction or voice... but I guess I'm just really encouraged when the father of the bride comes up and says "your heart is good... I was watching you interact with those kids, you're definitely studying the right thing."
Through all this academic and meta-academic teaching of future teachers, I still believe that without the ability to engage students a teacher will fail.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
FINAL PROJECT IDEAS
As with most people on the planet... I'm indecisive, sometimes and impulsive occasionally.
Some ideas that have passed through the cheese grader have either failed to excite me or the technical execution has discouraged me.
FLASHER!
This teaching tool would be for junior photographers at a middle to highschool level. It would cover basics on how to use flash in a photograph. Assuming the students had access to a DSLR camera and some sort of strobe, I would create 3 videos to cover different lighting situations. Gear would not be emphasized, just the basics of how to incorporate a burst of light into a photograph.
SMARTBOARD
In some counties, Smartboards are in every classroom. It is often that the incorporation of a Smartboard is a mandatory aspect of the Standards of Learning. Since most teachers are new to a smartboard, they will soon be required to be literate in something they know nothing about. I would first have to learn the smartboard basics and then create short and basic videos walking through some of the features of a smartboard.
GYOTAKU
Japanese fishprinting would be explained and demonstrated for elementary aged students. Good cleanliness habits would be stressed, hands-on-the-fish would be encouraged and Japanese costumes would be incorporated in the demonstration video. This would serve as a cultural exploration into an old tradition of documenting fish size to serve as a trophy. My adolescence in Japan would greatly influence the flavor of this video.
Some ideas that have passed through the cheese grader have either failed to excite me or the technical execution has discouraged me.
FLASHER!
This teaching tool would be for junior photographers at a middle to highschool level. It would cover basics on how to use flash in a photograph. Assuming the students had access to a DSLR camera and some sort of strobe, I would create 3 videos to cover different lighting situations. Gear would not be emphasized, just the basics of how to incorporate a burst of light into a photograph.
SMARTBOARD
In some counties, Smartboards are in every classroom. It is often that the incorporation of a Smartboard is a mandatory aspect of the Standards of Learning. Since most teachers are new to a smartboard, they will soon be required to be literate in something they know nothing about. I would first have to learn the smartboard basics and then create short and basic videos walking through some of the features of a smartboard.
GYOTAKU
Japanese fishprinting would be explained and demonstrated for elementary aged students. Good cleanliness habits would be stressed, hands-on-the-fish would be encouraged and Japanese costumes would be incorporated in the demonstration video. This would serve as a cultural exploration into an old tradition of documenting fish size to serve as a trophy. My adolescence in Japan would greatly influence the flavor of this video.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Black, white and media all over.
How can we ensure that all students benefit from learning in ways that allow them to participate fully in public, community, creative and economic life?
We are beyond controlling the internet and social media. We are severely delayed in incorporating digital media resources into our classrooms. Our students are socializing in an environment that are banned from classrooms. Are students then at a disadvantage because they're not being coached in social behaviors for their environment? Students without access or unequal access to digital media, media creation resources and technological training will be greatly disadvantaged as their peers with access excel.
For students in a family without modern computer equipment, schools need to pick up the slack and provide it. But just because a new computer is available in each classroom it doesn't mean that students will have access or be trained in digital media. If they have access to it already chances are they are more comfortable navigating social media than their teachers. So what if our teachers were to become adept in digital media creation? or just navigating a computer? or even just encouraging the use of something unknown to them?
Parents are the first educators for children. It is important for parents to continue or initiate analytical dialogue surrounding social ethics in an online environment. Parents should not simply ignore that one day their child will experience alcohol, the same with technology, online communities and social media. Parents should accept that their kids will sign up for a facebook account at some point wether they like it or not. If parents engage their children in questions of ethics, good social practices and morals, parents will be able to trust their kids online.
We are beyond controlling the internet and social media. We are severely delayed in incorporating digital media resources into our classrooms. Our students are socializing in an environment that are banned from classrooms. Are students then at a disadvantage because they're not being coached in social behaviors for their environment? Students without access or unequal access to digital media, media creation resources and technological training will be greatly disadvantaged as their peers with access excel.
For students in a family without modern computer equipment, schools need to pick up the slack and provide it. But just because a new computer is available in each classroom it doesn't mean that students will have access or be trained in digital media. If they have access to it already chances are they are more comfortable navigating social media than their teachers. So what if our teachers were to become adept in digital media creation? or just navigating a computer? or even just encouraging the use of something unknown to them?
Parents are the first educators for children. It is important for parents to continue or initiate analytical dialogue surrounding social ethics in an online environment. Parents should not simply ignore that one day their child will experience alcohol, the same with technology, online communities and social media. Parents should accept that their kids will sign up for a facebook account at some point wether they like it or not. If parents engage their children in questions of ethics, good social practices and morals, parents will be able to trust their kids online.
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