One last bridge to cross

I imagine this how someone feels who after running their first marathon. Along the way there were many points where I felt that I could not go on. That one more project, just might make colapse. But preserverance and patience, has brought me to the point where I can this is my last blog entry.As difficult and demanding as the assignments were, I did enjoy creating with them and reviewing the work of my class mates. It was always interesting to see what people would create. As look back on this journey, I won't say that I transformed, but I can say that if I had to run this marathon again, I wouldn't breath so hard. To clarify the metaphor a little more, I was creatively out of shape. Prior to the class, I was feeling stuck in a cycle of meetings, obligations, long days, and short nights. Hence, I had no time for creativity. While I am still stuck in that cycle, I do feel that this class forced me to stop, think, and question.

While I think a good amount of pressure is good, I think that less would have been more in this class. I would have enjoyed interacting more with my classmates, which may have resulted in more organic interaction. Additionally, I felt that there was a lot of focus on saying on what you learned, however I feel that learning occurs in the doing, and our projects, blogs, and discussions can best demonstrate what we have learned. Then the role of the professor becomes the role of the guide, who keeps us on "the path". Lastly, I think it would be good to utilize one tool for our group disucssion, blogs, and posts. My group seemed to gravitate towards the use of facebook.

That being said I really enjoyed the class, the discussions, and I learned a lot.

Rashad has left the building

Work of Art: A moment in rhyme

Well interestingly enough, the day I was supposed to record the interview my subject has to leave out for a week. So upon his arrival, I was playing catchup to complete the assignment.The goal of the task was to demonstrate the process of creating compelling art. To do this I solicited the help of friend, Lawyer, CEO, and poet; Andre Dandridgeor MSC (My Struggle Continues). Hip Hop, is an art form that more than any music is expected to reflect your life experiences.In the interview I tried to demonstrate how Andre upbringing in Detroit plays a role in the music he creates.The interview focused on two songs that I can flow with the best of them and Ghetto Family. Both these songs did a good job of capturing the two extremes of the same experience.MSC explains in the video that he uses the music as inspiration for his subject matter. From there he uses the subject matter as the framework that he uses to attach lyrics. After creating a sketch of the rhyme he edits and revisits it until he is done. The compelling nature of MSCs rhymes come from his content, delivery, and music. MSC chooses inspirational themes that address the common struggles of everyday people.He uses ad libs on separate vocal tracks to integrate different perspectives in the music.

Imaginative Bridges in Fashion

Impact of fashion on our lives is everywhere. Our ipads, ipods, laptops, school bags, shoes, have become symbols of style, access, status, and individuality. Fashion is about taping into peoples dreams and aspirations, but teaching can be the same. In the past education has not been held in this regard. Largely because the approach of educators has been to assume the role of the knowledge giver, and students have been forced to have a seat and listen. The crossroads between technology and education presents new opportunities to appeal to students in a new way. The availability of blogs, social media, and collaborative tools allow students to play a more active role in the learning than ever before. Society is becoming less and less dependent on traditional gatekeepers like academia, print, and broadcast news to the set agenda for how things should be. Students can choose their voices through blogs, tweets, and online communities. The new gatekeepers are the knowledge contributors themselves who rank and promote validity of the content they consume. The nexus between fashion and technology is relevancy. Using the right tool for the right time. A quote from our reading stated that fashion is in one year, and out the next. Likewise, technology has type of shelf life. Less that 10 years ago people were just catching on to the use of email. Today, email is the status quo, and is viewed an inferior form of communication in comparison to Twitter, Text Messaging, and Facebook.

Instructors can also apply lessons from fashion in the way they teach. For me my sense of humor has always been an asset that I use in the classroom. Other trainers have watched me teach, and commented to me that they wish they were able to be more humorous in the classroom. My advice to my colleagues is to identify their own strengths and play to them. If you are nice guy, you should wow your audience with your attention to their needs and follow-up. If you are a great storyteller, your analogies to bring simplicity to complex ideas. Teaching is just as much about style as any other profession.

Module 4: Music Project

Last weeks analysis of the John Mayer song had me craving some Curtis Mayfield. So when it came time to do the music project, he was an obvious choice. I chose Give me your love, off the Superfly soundtrack. The video I created had images that felt describe the feel of the music. I divided the journey or analysis into three parts. 1 The Seduction 2. The Acceptance 3. The Act. I love this song, and this project gave the opportunity to discover why. The song starts smooth, but steady grove that continues to intensify after every hook. The groove remains the same, but new elements are added that contribute to the song's sense of urgency.

Class instruction should follow a similar groove or progression. I find it good to begin with simpler concepts that users can wrap their minds around and find some success early on. Gradually, you can introduce more complex subjects that should build on the concepts that were covered earlier on ib the lesson.

Module 4: Listen for the hook

In this module we learned about the components of compelling music. In the Kapilow interview, his analysis of America the Beautiful, reveals how a song as simplistic as this can be so compelling. He goes on to describe the repetition of three notes, the slow ascension, return to the begining notes. There is safety in the predictability. In this module we also examined the typology of the hook in the Burns article. How various aspects of a song can qualify as the hook. The melody, rhythm, tempo and spontaneity can all contribute to the compelling experience.

There are many parallels to be drawn from this module to teaching. Repetition is one. Repeating key concepts helps audience key concepts. I have implemented this technique in the classroom, coining certain phrases that I want the learners to take away. For example, in an MS Excel class I would point to the class to tell me the first step in completing a formula. Which is to use the equal sign. Effectively this is my hook. In true Pop 40 fashion, I encourage the class to repeat the answer.

Other connections can be made from the world of music. It is most prevalent in elementary school setting where children learn the letters, states, and other knowledge through song. Many schools have incorporated hip hop as a method of teaching important learning concepts.The elements of a good hook can be incorporated in the classroom. If average attention span is 10 minutes before completely checking out, then adding a spontaneous vocal inflection can be just hook you need to bring your audience back around.

Module 3 - Imaginitive Bridges Post #2

I enjoyed comparing the shopping experiences. For my assignment I compared the Meijer and Walmart. I never paid much attentino to the shoppoing experience in either store but there were some very distinct differences. The Meijer store that I visited felt more quaint, than Walmart experience. However, Walmart felt like the place that I would find a better deal. The bridge that find to teaching is the importance of environment to learning. My eldest child has been to three different schools in the last three years. My daughter excels in schools, but my wife and I wanted an environment that would promote excellence. Her current school is that way, one of the things that was different from the outset was that they have somebody in the parking lot at the beginning of the day to greet the children as they come in.For security purpose you have to enter the school through the office.When ever we have questions we get answers, which is not the case at the other schools. So from the time you enter the building you are left with the sense that your child in good hands.

In comparing the experiences, I feel like the Meijer I visited did a good job of that from the time I entered to the store.There is someone to greet you, the appearance of the store is orderly, and well maintained, and the colors were vibrant.

There were elements of the Walmart that I like, but on a whole it felt more like a warehouse. When you enter the building there is a shopping cart area that is big and feels dungeon like. There is a greeter, but the first thing I saw was the tired looking fruit.

Relating back to teaching, it is important for children to feel that there is life in their school. I have been in far too many schools that feel like institutions. Where there isn't any color on the walls or evidence of life. Not to mention broken equipment or text books in disrepair. All of these things contribute to the environment, and send a message to the student.

Imaginative Bridges in Interior Design

As I reflect on the imaginative bridges that exist between interior design and teaching, one of the things that come to mind are the using different ceiling heights to make the room more interesting. As an instructor, I think it is important deliver your content in levels. Just as space with uniform ceiling heights can be monotonous, no one wants to listen to a presentation that all sounds the same. When providing instruction, you can enrich your delivery by interjecting humor, elevating your voice, soliciting audience participation. These are different methods of providing levels while teaching.

Additionally Susanka spoke about focusing your energy improving the rooms that you utilize the most. The bridge I draw to teaching, is that you should focus on the things that you set you apart as an instructor. I have seen trainers try to be funny, when that is just not their talent. It is important to decorate the room where your talent lives.

Module 2: Film and Television

It was a fun module. First off there was the video clip on The Godfather which is one my all time favorite movies. What a great scen because it speaks volume about the Godfather, and hardly speaks in the scene. Additionally We made our own compelling video clips, which was interesting because I utilized my family as the actors. It was a scene where I was trying to capture the stress of motherhood. Which is funny because I wife was actually mad at me as I started recording. I just cam back from traveling, so naturally three children can be stressful. However, as I started recording it lightened the mood; and she started getting into it. She kept asking me to allow her to put on some makeup, but I was looking for a raw and real feel.

One thing that I found particularly interesting about the reading was the interview with Walter Murch, where he poses the question why does the cut transition work in editing? What I found more interesting was rationale that he offered, which was the experience through dreams allows our mind to process a non-linear story line.

Work of Art

What I found most inspirational in this module was seeing pictures that my group members posted. Seeing the submissions is encouraging me to look at everything thing differently. So as I move through my day I have been trying to keep my eyes open for finding what is "interesting" in everyday things. It was interesting learning more about the mechanics behind what goes into good photography and shot composition. Photography is one of those activites that can be so simple on a basic level, yet so much complexity goes into the art of photography.

Imaginative Bridges in Photography

In drawing meaningful analogies between photography, my attention was drawn to the flash. What was interesting about the flash to me was its ability to draw out details. I found the flash analagous to the attention that educators pay to the student in the class. As I learned in the reading, the flash should be used in the day light to bring out the details. In the classroom, it is important to questions to engage the audience to see what they are thinking, and if they are truly understanding the content. Sometimes students are good at pretending that the are following you. Nobody wants to be exposed, so its good to turn on your imaginitive flash in the classroom.