Last week, there was this horrible ice storm, and here in the Pacific NW we don't really get that nasty winter weather you do. So it was a big deal. I had this enormous, gorgeous black locust tree in my front yard. It was quite stately. These photos are of this once-beautiful tree.
I wanted to show the beauty and terror of the ice storm. So while I
took some photos that only showed the beauty, I ended up not choosing
them because I wanted the contrast with the terror. In both photos, you
can see the beauty of the ice and snow, but also the terror of the
damage this poor tree withstood.
In my more compelling photo, I did a couple of things. Most importantly, I positioned myself so that the fresh wound down the side of the tree was readily apparent. In the not-so-compelling photo, the wound is there, but not as noticeable. In addition, I tried to position the tree, with that obvious fresh wound, off center, using the rule of thirds. This creates a bit of white space on one side, but I think it works. In the less compelling photo, the tree is more or less centered, and takes up the whole photo. I didn't think this worked quite as well.
I also attempted to work with lines. I read that intersecting lines are more powerful, and that you want incoming not outgoing lines. Now, I can't tell the difference between lines that come into a photo and those that go out of it, as it seems to me any line can do either. However, I did see many interconnecting lines in both photos, as the tree still had many branches. In the less compelling photo, the lines are every which way. However, in the more compelling photo, the main branches all intersect near that gaping wound, which I think adds emphasis to it.
Another thing I learned about was framing. In the less compelling photo, there is no framing. The picture is just of an ice-laden tree, all mid-ground. However, in the more compelling photo, one of the branches is more in the fore-ground, which, if I understand correctly, adds some framing to the photo.
_____________________________________________________________________________Carolyn Moss I think you should play up the color of the moss! That is what strikes me the most from the photo. I think because it is so green but then the snow puts me in a different season. Interesting!
Ashley Wright I hadn't even noticed it. I was just so traumatized by the damage done to the tree, and trying to focus on everything I learned in those readings about how to take a good photo.
Filius Infinita Ashley, I think that your second picture is more compelling than the first. With the close focus that the first picture ushers the rest of the devastation is concealed that the second picture shows. To me, the wider area shown in the second picture elicits a stronger sense of nature's fragility
Marrakech Arbuckle I actually found the first photograph more compelling, perhaps because of the overall layout, or as Carolyn Moss mentions, the striking green moss - so out of place. Good job!Laurie Steed I have to agree iwth Filius on this one. I think the second photo is very strong, especially with the pull from both sides of the photo down to the center and the middle of the tree.
Neringa Katiliute T I agree with Carolyn. When I look at the picture, I see this lonely tree. But what makes it stand out is the moss. I think the first picture is more compelling.
Tara Swanepoel I also like the green moss! The tree is nicely off center, following the "rule of thirds." The dark trunk makes a great contrast against the surrounding white. And then that green just makes the whole thing stand out.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Photography Module Project
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Photography
I want to say, that I am very much NOT a photographer. In fact, I don't really have too much interest in photography. Maybe someday. However, I was pretty excited by this project when we got some snow last week.
I need to explain here. I live in the Pacific NW. Our winter consists of lots of rain, usually about 40F weather, some wind, lots of clouds. Not a lot of snow or ice, or anything else most of you would consider "winter." So when we get snow, everyone tends to freak out. And I thought, "wow, I can get some really beautiful photos!"
But then, the ice storm hit.
I was able to get not just beautiful photos, but ones that combine beauty and terror. In each of the photos, I worked to design a compelling experience using what I had learned in our readings. Lines, framing, background, placement (rule of thirds). Some were more successful than others.
I learned a lot with this project.
1) I'm not a photographer. Really, I'm not. This was HARD.
2) I do have some ability, now, to perhaps create a more compelling experience with a photograph, but I'll prefer to let the experts take and choose the photos.
3) The effects of the ice storm were devastating. Today, we're still out of power.
How can I apply this unit to my teaching? Well, I'm unlikely to really use much in the way of photographs to attempt to create a more compelling experience. But, I did learn more about compelling experiences that I can use in my teaching.
Compelling experiences speak to the audience. They don't all say the same thing. What I see in my photographs is going to be different from what you see. And that's okay, as long as I take that into account. But I want each of my students to be able to connect, on a personal level, with what I am trying to teach.
Different elements can help to make an experience more or less compelling, but they're not guarantees. I can follow all the rules to create a compelling photograph and still not take a successful photo, because the rules don't make the photo. Similarly, there are some elements that can help a lesson to be compelling, but they don't make the lesson. So I could have a hands-on experience that my students can really connect with on a personal level, but unless the lesson works, it's no good, as far as a compelling experience is concerned.
I need to explain here. I live in the Pacific NW. Our winter consists of lots of rain, usually about 40F weather, some wind, lots of clouds. Not a lot of snow or ice, or anything else most of you would consider "winter." So when we get snow, everyone tends to freak out. And I thought, "wow, I can get some really beautiful photos!"
I learned a lot with this project.
1) I'm not a photographer. Really, I'm not. This was HARD.
2) I do have some ability, now, to perhaps create a more compelling experience with a photograph, but I'll prefer to let the experts take and choose the photos.
3) The effects of the ice storm were devastating. Today, we're still out of power.
How can I apply this unit to my teaching? Well, I'm unlikely to really use much in the way of photographs to attempt to create a more compelling experience. But, I did learn more about compelling experiences that I can use in my teaching.
Compelling experiences speak to the audience. They don't all say the same thing. What I see in my photographs is going to be different from what you see. And that's okay, as long as I take that into account. But I want each of my students to be able to connect, on a personal level, with what I am trying to teach.
Different elements can help to make an experience more or less compelling, but they're not guarantees. I can follow all the rules to create a compelling photograph and still not take a successful photo, because the rules don't make the photo. Similarly, there are some elements that can help a lesson to be compelling, but they don't make the lesson. So I could have a hands-on experience that my students can really connect with on a personal level, but unless the lesson works, it's no good, as far as a compelling experience is concerned.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Ice Storm
I'm not sure how much everyone watches the news. I know I don't, much. It's just too depressing and scary. I'm not even sure if this made the news. But here, it did.
Thursday, we in the Pacific NW were hit with a massive ice storm. I woke up to our power being out, trees crashing down around us. A tree in my neighbor's yard had lost a limb, that fell into our yard, taking out our fence. I went over to their house to ask what they wanted to do about it. They have dogs, and I have chickens and ducks. It's important that the two don't meet. I noticed they had a lot more trees down than we did, and they had a giant tree that was already mostly dead, and could fall into their house. I offered them our chain saw, which they used to chop up the tree limb that had taken out our fence.
While this ice storm has been quite the inconvenience (we're still out of power, water, and internet service; I'm using my phone to access the internet), it was quite the opportunity for me to take some photographs for this unit. While I read everything on Monday night, I am still having difficulty with the photography thing.
What makes a picture more or less compelling? According to our readings, things like lighting, framing, the law of thirds, intersecting lines, and lines leading into or out of a picture. Speaking of which, how can you tell whether a line is leading into or out of a picture? Seems to me lines can go either way.
But in reality, also according to the readings, those "rules" are just guidelines, and what really matters is what works. Which leaves me questioning, again, what works? I'm just not sure I have the eye for it, at least not yet.
But, I went out there, and got several pictures of the disaster. My first set of pictures were from Tuesday. I thought, "how cool, we actually have snow, this will be really pretty, and maybe compelling." I was hoping for the "aww, how beautiful" effect. Then on Friday, I think it was, maybe it was Thursday, I went out and got pictures of some of the carnage. We have whole trees down in our backyard. My big tree in the front yard had several limbs start to break under the strain, though they're still attached to the tree. It'll be interesting to see how much, if any, of that tree survives till spring.
Did I get some compelling pictures? I'm not sure, honestly. They seem compelling to me, but maybe that's because this is a place I know and love for its beauty, and its purity. To see so much damage, so quickly, had quite the effect on me.
How does this relate to teaching? One way to create a compelling lesson is to include great tragedy or destruction. As much as I hated it, I'll never forget my units on the holocaust. I would say those were compelling, merely by content. Another way is in presentation, much the way photos are supposed to be compelling. For this unit, we're supposed to present two photographs, one more compelling than the other. The way I understand it, they're supposed to be of the same thing, so the compelling part comes from presentation.
Much the same way, I could present a lesson on classification in animals, and it could be pretty boring. Or I could present it in such a way, to make it more compelling. One way to make something compelling (I think) is to make it relevant to the audience. So if I can get my students to connect with the idea of classification, it will make it more compelling. I could do that by having them group several different animals into different groups, and then explain their classification system. Afterward, I would present the "correct" classification system, and see how closely students' classification systems matched the "real" one. I could also point out that humans, too, belong in the class mammalia.
Thursday, we in the Pacific NW were hit with a massive ice storm. I woke up to our power being out, trees crashing down around us. A tree in my neighbor's yard had lost a limb, that fell into our yard, taking out our fence. I went over to their house to ask what they wanted to do about it. They have dogs, and I have chickens and ducks. It's important that the two don't meet. I noticed they had a lot more trees down than we did, and they had a giant tree that was already mostly dead, and could fall into their house. I offered them our chain saw, which they used to chop up the tree limb that had taken out our fence.
While this ice storm has been quite the inconvenience (we're still out of power, water, and internet service; I'm using my phone to access the internet), it was quite the opportunity for me to take some photographs for this unit. While I read everything on Monday night, I am still having difficulty with the photography thing.
What makes a picture more or less compelling? According to our readings, things like lighting, framing, the law of thirds, intersecting lines, and lines leading into or out of a picture. Speaking of which, how can you tell whether a line is leading into or out of a picture? Seems to me lines can go either way.
But in reality, also according to the readings, those "rules" are just guidelines, and what really matters is what works. Which leaves me questioning, again, what works? I'm just not sure I have the eye for it, at least not yet.
But, I went out there, and got several pictures of the disaster. My first set of pictures were from Tuesday. I thought, "how cool, we actually have snow, this will be really pretty, and maybe compelling." I was hoping for the "aww, how beautiful" effect. Then on Friday, I think it was, maybe it was Thursday, I went out and got pictures of some of the carnage. We have whole trees down in our backyard. My big tree in the front yard had several limbs start to break under the strain, though they're still attached to the tree. It'll be interesting to see how much, if any, of that tree survives till spring.
Did I get some compelling pictures? I'm not sure, honestly. They seem compelling to me, but maybe that's because this is a place I know and love for its beauty, and its purity. To see so much damage, so quickly, had quite the effect on me.
How does this relate to teaching? One way to create a compelling lesson is to include great tragedy or destruction. As much as I hated it, I'll never forget my units on the holocaust. I would say those were compelling, merely by content. Another way is in presentation, much the way photos are supposed to be compelling. For this unit, we're supposed to present two photographs, one more compelling than the other. The way I understand it, they're supposed to be of the same thing, so the compelling part comes from presentation.
Much the same way, I could present a lesson on classification in animals, and it could be pretty boring. Or I could present it in such a way, to make it more compelling. One way to make something compelling (I think) is to make it relevant to the audience. So if I can get my students to connect with the idea of classification, it will make it more compelling. I could do that by having them group several different animals into different groups, and then explain their classification system. Afterward, I would present the "correct" classification system, and see how closely students' classification systems matched the "real" one. I could also point out that humans, too, belong in the class mammalia.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Nature and Design of Compelling Experiences
I have to admit, I'm super psyched about this course. Like, really, really excited. When I first read the description, my first thought was "that's what I DO!!" And I was only thinking about my bird show.
You see, I have an educational bird show. It's still developing, and really, I'm kind of putting it on hold while I work on my degree. But I have about a dozen different birds that I bring to classrooms and libraries mostly, with the occasional birthday party or retirement home thrown in. And while every program is educational, it's really about getting kids (and adults too!) interested and fired up about birds. Birds are AWESOME. They can fly, they have feathers, and air sacs, instead of only using about half their lungs like we humans do, they empty then refill their lungs with every breath, thanks to those air sacs. They've got this really cool part of their wing, the trioseal canal, which allows the muscles powering the updraft to be attached to their keel, maintaining their low center of gravity . . . okay, I get really excited about birds. But like I was saying, the main point of my bird show isn't necessarily to teach my audiences a whole bunch of new facts, it's really to facilitate a connection between my audience members and birds. Which means they get to hold some birds, touch some, I bring feathers and eggs and a skeleton they can look at. My show can be used to wrap up a unit in school, to help solidify all the kids have learned, but it's also great to start out a unit. To get kids thinking about birds and animals, get them asking questions, get them wondering. So, I thought, what better for me, than a class on compelling experiences?
But as the class started and Dr. Wong introduced us to his main ideas and I read the syllabus, I realized, this is really what I do every day. As a matter of fact, my bird show is really a side venture. One day it'll be big, but now it's mostly just fun. What brings in the money to pay my bills is my other business. I teach private music lessons. I'm not just a teacher, I'm also a musician, an artist. One of the categories Dr. Wong said we'd be looking at. And it made me realize, that compelling experiences are exactly what I provide my students every week. The process of teaching them how to create their own compelling experiences, is, in itself, compelling. At least, that's the idea.
So, like I said, I'm really excited for this class. I'm already brainstorming ways to incorporate what I'm learning here with the 4th grade science classroom I volunteer with, with my private studio, my bird show, and years down the line, with my own kids when I have them. What excitement!
Most immediately, I'm thinking about how I can make the lessons I teach my 4th graders more compelling. This Friday, we've planned to have a bird-fest. Well, that's what I've been thinking of it as. All year, the kids have been learning about birds and adaptations, and completing a webquest. Well, since all their work has primarily been on the computer so far, that's what they think scientists do. So our goal for this Friday is to introduce them to what scientists do - make observations, ask questions, make more observations, conduct experiments, etc. I'm hoping to make this a compelling experience for the kids. While I really don't care if they take away all the facts they've been learning, I want them to catch the main ideas - different birds eat different things, fly in different ways, use their feet in different ways, etc. I'm really hoping that getting to see all my birds interacting with each other, with perches, with food, with water, will really help them take these main ideas home. I'm hoping that when they go home, not only will they remember the main ideas, but they'll continue thinking, come up with new questions, and be instilled with a love and awe of birds.
Now, to make it compelling. I'll be bringing most of my birds, including several that aren't actually "show birds". Most of the birds will be in a large cage together, so kids can see which birds prefer to eat what, and how they do it. I'll also bring some of the show birds out, so they can see some more flight, take a closer look at beaks and feet, and generally get to interact with them on a deeper level. Will the novelty and thrill of having real, live birds in their classroom be enough to make it compelling? We'll find out, and I'm sure I'll learn better as the semester progresses.
You see, I have an educational bird show. It's still developing, and really, I'm kind of putting it on hold while I work on my degree. But I have about a dozen different birds that I bring to classrooms and libraries mostly, with the occasional birthday party or retirement home thrown in. And while every program is educational, it's really about getting kids (and adults too!) interested and fired up about birds. Birds are AWESOME. They can fly, they have feathers, and air sacs, instead of only using about half their lungs like we humans do, they empty then refill their lungs with every breath, thanks to those air sacs. They've got this really cool part of their wing, the trioseal canal, which allows the muscles powering the updraft to be attached to their keel, maintaining their low center of gravity . . . okay, I get really excited about birds. But like I was saying, the main point of my bird show isn't necessarily to teach my audiences a whole bunch of new facts, it's really to facilitate a connection between my audience members and birds. Which means they get to hold some birds, touch some, I bring feathers and eggs and a skeleton they can look at. My show can be used to wrap up a unit in school, to help solidify all the kids have learned, but it's also great to start out a unit. To get kids thinking about birds and animals, get them asking questions, get them wondering. So, I thought, what better for me, than a class on compelling experiences?
But as the class started and Dr. Wong introduced us to his main ideas and I read the syllabus, I realized, this is really what I do every day. As a matter of fact, my bird show is really a side venture. One day it'll be big, but now it's mostly just fun. What brings in the money to pay my bills is my other business. I teach private music lessons. I'm not just a teacher, I'm also a musician, an artist. One of the categories Dr. Wong said we'd be looking at. And it made me realize, that compelling experiences are exactly what I provide my students every week. The process of teaching them how to create their own compelling experiences, is, in itself, compelling. At least, that's the idea.
So, like I said, I'm really excited for this class. I'm already brainstorming ways to incorporate what I'm learning here with the 4th grade science classroom I volunteer with, with my private studio, my bird show, and years down the line, with my own kids when I have them. What excitement!
Most immediately, I'm thinking about how I can make the lessons I teach my 4th graders more compelling. This Friday, we've planned to have a bird-fest. Well, that's what I've been thinking of it as. All year, the kids have been learning about birds and adaptations, and completing a webquest. Well, since all their work has primarily been on the computer so far, that's what they think scientists do. So our goal for this Friday is to introduce them to what scientists do - make observations, ask questions, make more observations, conduct experiments, etc. I'm hoping to make this a compelling experience for the kids. While I really don't care if they take away all the facts they've been learning, I want them to catch the main ideas - different birds eat different things, fly in different ways, use their feet in different ways, etc. I'm really hoping that getting to see all my birds interacting with each other, with perches, with food, with water, will really help them take these main ideas home. I'm hoping that when they go home, not only will they remember the main ideas, but they'll continue thinking, come up with new questions, and be instilled with a love and awe of birds.
Now, to make it compelling. I'll be bringing most of my birds, including several that aren't actually "show birds". Most of the birds will be in a large cage together, so kids can see which birds prefer to eat what, and how they do it. I'll also bring some of the show birds out, so they can see some more flight, take a closer look at beaks and feet, and generally get to interact with them on a deeper level. Will the novelty and thrill of having real, live birds in their classroom be enough to make it compelling? We'll find out, and I'm sure I'll learn better as the semester progresses.
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