REFLECTION 7: Interactivity?

I'm skipping back in my readings a little bit to the article on interactivity. I have been thinking about interactivity alot because I do not have much for users to 'do' at my project website.

Thankfully, I am at the point due to a variety of factors, mainly my project management and pre-existing technical skills, where I have the luxury of deciding what else/where else I want my project to go. Currently, it's very much of the viewer/outsider/passive participant role vs. active and engaged participant. So, interactivity has been nagging at me a little. My site is very content heavy (which is good, nothing worse than a site that is all fluff unless it is REALLY REALLY cool fluff...)
I'll discuss the project progress in more detail below.

Anyhow, I wanted to revisit (and actually write about) this article in terms of how it might help me find a way to make my site more interactive in the span of just about two weeks.

First, what is interactivity in terms of design? A rollover menu? Hot potatoes quiz? Video segments? Sims sets the parameters in the beginning of the article:

It is no longer adequate to see our field of practice (or are we bold enough to label it a profession?) being limited to products where interactivity is trivialized to simple menu selection, clickable objects, or linear sequencing. Interaction is intrinsic to successful, effective instructional practice as well as individual discovery. --Sims, 1995.

Sims discusses the qualities of interactivity through revisiting definitions and concepts relating to interactivity. Interactivity is some kind of 'doing' from creating to watching and a trademark of good interactivity is a response coupled with a thought process. (isn't that learning?)

So, in the confines of those parameters, my project does have interactivity (user controlled slideshow of artwork, menus, video & audio segments) IF the user responds to it and it leads them to think more about their own creativity (or the creativity of others or even I guess, why I picked such a strange project!). However, I am considering adding a means for users to add their own thoughts on creativity and perhaps, even some sort of art related game. I'm not sure about the latter half in terms of time.

PROJECT PROCESS: I have smoothed out alot of the edges of my site; the design is solid yet funky, in my opinion. It will probably be the most 'out there' of all projects in studio, but well, that's kind of my style. ;) The next three things on my list are looking at interactivity more (what can I reasonably do in the such a short span of time...), finish up re-shooting video clips this week, hammer out the accessibility requirements, and make sure my CSS validates and is cross browser compatible)... anything else? Something is bound to come up, I know!
Reference:
Sims, R. (1995). Interactivity: A Forgotten Art? ITFORUM [electronic listserv]. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia. Available: http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper10/paper10.html

Word Count: 485

REFLECTION 6: Presenting information in multiple formats

In What is Universal Design for Learning? (Rose & Meyer, 2002), the authors discuss the principles of Universal design and how design can provide different learning opportunities based on learning styles through the use of multimedia. The authors cite Universal Design for LEarning (UDL) as being able:

To represent information in multiple formats and media.

To provide multiple pathways for students’ action and expression.

To provide multiple ways to engage students’ interest and motivation.

--(Rose & Meyer, 2002)

In order to achieve those goals, a designer/educator must follow these three principles:

Principle 1:
To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation
Principle 2:
To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship.
Principle 3:
To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for engagement.


Although my project is not learning centered in that it tries to teach a specific lesson with an expected level of mastery (as defined by a quiz, completing a certain task, etc.) , my project does allow for exploration of creativity from artistic perspectives. The hope (goal) is that there will be intrinsic learning and awareness that occurs through reflection and interest in the material presented. This reflection and awareness will hopefully spark interest in how people view their own creativity.

My goal is that exploration and learning will occur through multiple media materials presented. There will be no formal beginning to end structure (linear), instead users will be able to choose whichever section interests them. Furthermore, there is no requirement for the number of sections which a user must view. Instead any, all, or even some, will (hopefully) provide enough interesting content to encourage thinking. Users/learners/participants will be able to listen to artists, watch artists, look at artwork, read written thoughts on creativity, and provide their own insights into creativity.

Although each of these components will not be duplicated identically, there should be enough crossover to provide material to appeal to users of various learning styles.

PROJECT PROCESS: Currently, I am working to flesh out the resources, as well as doing followup video edits. Additionally, I am working on providing a means for participants to add their own contributions in terms of their thoughts on creativity (this may be a blog, messageboard, or guestbook, dependent upon the limitations of the arches server). I will also post the questions that I have presented. The response has been very interesting so far, and I hope that the project is useful and interesting.

Reference:

Rose, D. & Meyer, A.(2002). What is Universal Design for Learning? in Rose, D. & Meyer, A.(2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4.cfm

Word Count: 436

desk crit no. 1> From Ericka

Hey Robin,

I love the concept behind your idea for this project…very cool.
The navigation bar has a lot of red on the right side.
Are you going to add more buttons so it looks even of the left side? If not,
I would suggest moving the buttons over more to the right. I like your graphic
and font at the top of the page; it’s eye-catching. I really enjoyed seeing the
different artist’s work in the artist’s slideshow. The main page button goes
 away on the artist’s slideshow—you probably
want to add it back.

Mary Padegelek interview on being a creative child movie has a lot of
background noise. It was hard to hear. Maybe trying filtering outside using some
type of program.

You probably want to use a different font color for the yellow text and button
because the yellow on the white is hard to read.  On the participating artists page,
there is something weird going at the bottom with the purple boxes. Also should this
page say (Live Interview—wasn’t it another page with the video)? Also, you need to
 capitalize your name.

On the resources page, Mary’s name is capital but the rest of the artists’ name aren’t.

Desk crit no. 3: Jina Tollett

I thought your project looks really good. I like
the use of kid friendly primary colors and the
blocky shapes. Maybe it's because my eyes are
tired today, but it seems like the yellow text on
the red was a little hard to read. I was a little
bit confused about which part of the navigation
was yours (even having read your message), but I
don't think that is avoidable as this site is
obviously meant to integrate in with the current
content (which I think it does admirably well.)

http://www.arches.uga.edu/~jinayang/edit6200

Service Hours: team idesign

IT Department/Team idesign

graphic prototypes & graphic consultation
5 hrs.

desk crit no. 2: Li Qi

I really like the layout of your website. Very
clean design & easy to use. I like the color
composition and it works well with your photo.

Just a couple of things...
The title of your main page is misspelled... Most likely in the title tag (under page properties in dreamweaver or netscape/mozilla editor).

Also, I am not crazy about the scrolling marquee
feature... It's really just a personal preference
kind of thing, I think.

In all honesty, your site has a very professional
feel to it, and as a online portfolio I think it
is great!


http://www.richilee.com

REFLECTION 5: A new idea and restructuring...

In Project KID DESIGNER: Constructivism at work through play, Reiber et. al, discuss a project to have schoolchildren create their own online learning environments, particularly remaining awareness to those children who are deamed underachievers, unengaged, or just poor students. Reiber et. al, state that "school ought not to be this way. Hard work and creative ideas should enhance, not threaten, one's self-esteem and social standing."

In trying to find a better way to present information and engage students (and also provide a motivating tool), they ask "What tasks or situations do elementary and middle children find authentic and meaningful? " In the case of this particular project the answer is games, therefore allowing kids to develop and organize and CONSTRUCT their own learning experience.

In thinking about the KidDesigner program, I wondered how the question would relate to the IDD studio experience. If the question is re-framed as 'What tasks or situations do Instructional Design & Development graduate students find authentic and meaningful?', then one begins to see the role of the studio class in the IDD graduate learning experience. In many ways, studio class follows a similiar pattern to the KidDesigner program. Although a majority of the work is individual, there is much group work and collaboration throughout 6190, 6200, & 6210.

One of the reasons I naturally gravitate towards the studio classes is that my own learning experiences as I child. I think a majority of my education did not follow lecture/testing teaching module; at least half if not 2/3 of my classes involved self learning, projects, creativity, or scientific/mathematical experiments. I find this structure of learning very intuitive and natural; however, my largest challenge in this kind of learning environment is understanding the framework and rules. No where has this more apparent than in my project journal. :) I am still not sure I understand EXACTLY what I am supposed to be doing, but I think (hope) that I understand correctly.


PROJECT PROCESS:
Although this article deals with a specific project in children developing games, it does have broader themes and topics. My project is currently going along okay, and I probably should be actively seeking more desk crits. However, I have a hard time seeking desk crits when I still have a list of things to fix or complete. I did have a new idea which I have now incorporated into my project. I have emailed artist and creative people with my interview question list. This has proven very interesting and I think it will provide more content weight and depth.

Reference:
Rieber, L. P., Luke, N., & Smith, J. (1998). Project KID DESIGNER: Constructivism at work through play. Meridian: Middle School Computer Technology [On-line], 1(1). http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jan98/feat_1/kiddesigner.html

Word Count: 450

Service Hours: Remote Katrina animal rescue assistance/ address lookup

Researched addresses and updated spreadsheet for Katrina animal rescue assistance.
( I will post the link when I have it...)

3 hours.

REFLECTION 4: technical difficulties and rescaling

In Motivation: A General Overview of Theories, Wang presents an overview of motivation. Beginning with goals, the chapter includes definitions and examples of goals, as well as a discussion of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Goals can be both short term and long term; and can be characterized as performance or mastery goals.

"Self-efficacy affects some of the factors that predict motivation. According to Bandura (1982), self-efficacy is a self-judgment of one's ability to perform a task in a specific domain" which is impacted by experiences (mastery and vicarious), feedback (verbal persuasion), and physiology (well being, mental state, etc.)

Other elements of motivation in this article include attributions (world view, view of self & actions), self-regulation (being a "self-starter", individual learner, etc. ), volition (reaching a goal, staying on track).

PROJECT PROCESS:
Although this chapter is just an overview of motivation, it is a timely topic. I am having some motivational issues, which are completely tied to self-regulation and the physiological state. My allergies have been awful and I'm overworked with alot of different things between art, school, and work. In the past, when I get overworked, I lose motivation and energy, even if it was something I really wanted or was interested in. Instead, I manage to somehow make it through and then when I finally have a moment to re-group wish that I had more time to make the thing (whatever it is) as great as I envisioned it OR just able to enjoy the moment because I feel like I did a good job.

Nowhere is this more true than this semester. My project hit the wall: all of the first interview is almost unusable. The lighting wasn't as good as it could have been and the audio is awful. My project was to rely heavily on video of artist interviews, but I've hit several technical difficulties (poor lighting, too much background noise) which means that I will need to re-shoot.

Because of the need to re-shoot so much of my initial interview, I am going to have to think about what this means for my project. In most likelihood, I will need to resize my project: rather than interviewing 6 artists, I may have to just stick with 4 (including myself as one). Thankfully, the number of artists to interview isn't part of the contract! :)

I have also found myself dismally unmotivated when it comes to the project journal. I am not sure why. Although in the beginning I read the project journal guidelines, somewhere along the way, I forgot them and starting thinking of the project journal as well, emm... something it wasn't meant to be (more of a project PROCESS reflection, not a reflection on the class readings and their impact (or lack of) on my project. So, because my first three entries did not include citations or quoted references nor were they quite long enough, I have added to them. I have kept the original entries (I've divided them as PROJECT PROCESS)... Anyhow, the thought of actually writing a paper at the end was actually beginning to sound appealing(!!).

I think the other part of it is me: my internal motivation. I know what (un)motivates me ; but I have a harder time pinpointing what does motivate me, although I would think that feeling engaged and not overwhelmed has got to be part of it.

The motivation that I do have right now is external: grades (obviously), peer encouragement (thanks Ericka!), but also from the artists I have talked to. The interviews are amazing. As a creative person/artist, I really needed to hear these things. I couldn't have picked a better topic/subject.

On another good note: I do feel like my project is starting to breathe a little on its own and it now has a new name. It is now SPARC: spark of potential: artist reflect on creativity). Nifty acronym, eh? ;)

Reference: Wang, Shiang-Kwei, Motivation: A General Overview of Theories, http://www.coe.uga.edu/epltt/Motivation.htm in M. Orey , Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia, Department of Instructional Technology.




word count: 684

REFLECTION 3: working away...

In simSchool: The Game of Teaching, Melanie Zibit and David Gibson discuss a simSchool, a product to help new teachers develop the skillset they need to (hopefully) succeed in the classroom. This product is a classroom simulation and attempts to emmerse new teachers in a 'real' classroom, with all of its unique personalities and characteristics.

An interesting part of this simulation is the ability to create a classroom which will have a similiar group of students to a real class in that region. This software pulls data from the National Center for Educational Statistics Common Core of Data, thus insuring that the makeup of the class accurately reflects the reality.

Additionally, student behavior consists of three factors: (1) five "Traits and Needs"; (2) seventeen "Learning Preferences," and (3) a variable for "Social Expectations." Students in simSchool have an effectively infinite number—in the trillions—of nuanced combinations of these factors (23^10 = 4.14E13).' --(Zibit & Gibson)

simSchool attempts to strengthen new teachers in decision making and develop a core of expertise in:

* Which kinds of tasks work and do not work in this particular setting?
* How often does a particular student need teacher interactions to stay on task?
* Where is the zone of proximal development for this student as defined by task content and difficulty? --(Zibit & Gibson)

This article was interesting to me because I do not usually think of teaching as a field which can be learned via software. Yes, the technical aspects, software tools, etc. are certainly learned online, but, the art of teaching?

PROJECT PROGRESS:
This article was read in support of the GAMING SIG, where we discussed the roles in gaming, simulations, and the process of creating an interactive game. I found the GAMING SIG interesting in the notion of how learning could be situated in a different enviroment. I am not sure how that plays out in my project. I do hope to add some interactivity to my project, but I do not know if it will go as far as a game. I have really thought and reflected on whether (or how) I could use a game component in my project. I have also thought about whether that would be the best fit for my project. I am not sure. This SIG was definitely food for thought... the notion of storytelling and gaming seems like an easy fit for a project which is really on creativity... hmmm.

Reference: Zibit, Melanie and Gibson, David. simSchool:The Game of Teaching. The Innovate Gateway, August/September 2005, V.1, Issue 6
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=issue&id=9

word count: 432

Service Hours: studio assistance

at least 3 hours...
Assisted in the first few studio classes with helping students, etc.

REFLECTION 2: A name: SPARK

In Papert's Situating constructionism, he states that "Constructionism--the N word as opposed to the V word--shares constructivism's connotation of learning as "building knowledge structures" irrespective of the circumstances of the learning. It then adds the idea that this happens especially felicitously in a context where the learner is consciously engaged in constructing a public entity, whether it's a sand castle on the beach or a theory of the universe" .

Truly this is the key component of creativity. One of the means to engaging creativity is through creating (building/constructing) something (a book, a story, a painting, a new pair of shoes, a gourmet dinner, a new world view).

As Papert continues with, "although it is conceivable that science may one day show that there is a "best way," no such conclusion seems to be on the horizon. Moreover, even if there were, individuals might prefer to think in their own way rather than in the "best way." Now one can make two kinds of scientific claim for constructionism. "

My experience has been (and seeing the experience of other creative people) that much as a painter layers paint onto a canvas to create an image, people build their creative endeavors. Writers may proof, edit & revise; photographers may change lens or reprint; painters may completely rework the painting; musicians may re-record or change parts of the melody. It seems to be that the creative process
theory follows very much along constructionism. However, EXACTLY how each artist does it is complete unique; it is their response to their unique situation and enviroment.

PROJECT PROGRESS:
Well, my project now has a name and a few artists. SPARK. I haven't figured out how I can change that into an acronym. Something P Artist R K? Who knows. ;)
Also, I originally thought my project would be imovie for the video clips, but I have now decided to try windows movie maker. I have never used that before, so it will be a good tool. In the first part of the gaming SIG (I need to back up for a moment in discussing the readings and class stuff) we talked about creating games using powerpoint and hot potatoes as well as some of the elements of games (roles, rules, story, etc.) We talked about what is a game... also in the second session we talked about what is a story... and all of those elements related to educational/instructional design.

My project isn't really going to be game oriented, but I can see how elements of the story, as well as roles, may play apart in my project... and after all, wouldn't it seem that the structure of a project or the framework of a website, really "the rules"? Anything beyond is definitely out of bounds, at least in the constructs of a confined project....

Reference: Papert, S. (1991). Situating constructionism. In I. Harel & S. Papert (Eds.), Constructionism, (pp. 1-11). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Word Count: 486

What are your thoughts on creativity? (Interactive feature)

1.Do you consider yourself creative? Why or why not?

2. What does it mean to be creative? Personally? In a larger social context?
Are artists imporant to society?

3. If you create artwork (write, create music, draw, etc.),
where do you get ideas for your artwork and why do you choose what you do?
What about it interests you?

4. When you are creating art, your best artwork happens how?
In other words, what do you need to have a successful experience
creating?  Do you have blocks in creativity? If so, how do you  get past
it? Do you do warmup exercises, take a break, etc.?

Service Hours: studio/ imovie workshop

IT Department

IT Studio

Fay, Robin

Assisted mary miller with technology and assisted students in imovie workshop. Sep. 29. 2005. 3 hours.

(no pix, sorry, no one had a working camera!)

REFLECTION 1: the big idea

In Sebastian Fiedler's , The Studio Experience: Challenges and Opportunities for Self-Organized Learning, one of the challenges of self learning he states that
" In general, the roles and the responsibilities of students and faculty have shifted quite dramatically, thus creating opportunities for new learning experiences and more personalized programs of studies. On the other hand such a dramatic change also entails the potential of tensions, stress, and even failure among the participants. "

Well, I've been feeling that stress from the beginning. I think there is a unique tension that is inherent to any creative endeavor, or in more structured coursework which attempts to capture some of that creativity. Having the opportunity to think outside of 'the box' and perhaps, even the 'boundary' of a traditional classroom setting is wonderful. However, the 'freedom' to engage is self learning is still contained within a structure, which provides inherent tension.

Project progress: My idea right now is an artists studio like a&e's 'inside the actor's studio' but a multimediawebsite. I'm thinking I will interview/feature 4-5artists. I haven't decided if I will include myself or not, yet. (too much shameless self promotion)?
I don't know.

At this point, I'm thinking my audience will bepreteen and up (I will hopefully get to use my niece as a test audience), if I can get the artists to agree to that.For each artist, there would be an interview (kindof how did you get started, when did you know youwanted to be an artist, etc.), some samples of artwork, and I haven't decided what beyond that.Right now, I'm leaning toward a primary color scheme ala mondrian (white with red, yellow, blue, black accents) but that could change at any time. Black and grey are used by a lot of art related websites. I really want it to be insightful in terms of the artists mind. Anyhow, this is an idea I've been kicking around for a while. I haven't even decided if I want to limit it Athens area artists or southern or just put a mention of it in flagpole and see what I get. I do want folks that have some stuff digitized already, because digitizing artwork pluscreating the project would probably be more work than one semester.

In class, we have talked alot about gaming. In the Gaming SIG, we discussed the elements of story telling and how those can be used in an educational setting. I think my project will have elements of storytelling and it will be interesting to see how that impacts learning (if any) that occurs as a result of my project.

Reference:
Fiedler, Sebastian (1999). The Studio Experience: Challenges and Opportunities for Self-Organized Learning. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia, Department of Instructional Technology

Word Count: 472