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FATE Conference Paper 2007

Blogging for Apples

Technology is impacting our classrooms like never before. Blogs, wikis, and course managements systems along with other Web 2.0 applications have changed the way our students learn and network. As educators we have been given a choice: Dive in? Or continue pedagogical practices that are decisively moving away from modes of learning that engage our students. I have chosen to dive in… to go blogging for apples.

“…as a reflection of conscious thought and attention, the blogosphere has begun to have a powerful effect.”

- Tom Coates, PlasticBag.org

CUI: Classroom User Interface

Enter the Polychronic Classroom: any combination of Web 2.0 applications (synchronous or asynchronous) and educational course management technologies in conjunction with real and virtual learning environments. My vision for the future of education would be used to optimize learning outcomes based on providing channels of content transfer most familiar to the student while also allowing for emergent learning experiences. This vision is based on Edward Hall’s idea of ‘Polychronic’ time and the idea of polychronicity respectfully. Both ideas are based on highly functional multi-tasking abilities.

The Polychronic Class may be one that has no beginning or end, like a lifetime of learning, it engages the individual's addiction to information; a byproduct of the broadband information age. Student’s are enticed/ required to seek out content relevant to their chosen discipline. Learning outcomes can be measured by activities, whether they be in blog form, “show and tell” aggregation, or actual application of the information obtained.

To begin constructing my own Polychronic Classroom, I have chosen the blog as the first stone in the foundation. For several years I have based my classroom methodology on a quote derived from Confucius:

By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by Reflection, this is noblest;

Second, by Application, which is tedious; and

Third by Experience, which is bittersweet.

In each of my assignments the students are required to first ‘Reflect’ on the grand history of Art and Design, as well as the vast visual culture in which we live. From this they are to explore and identify the elements, principles, and conceptual issues they are introduced to in class through their blog. Later, they will ‘Apply’ that content into works of art and ‘Experience’ the results of its critique and exhibition. More so, they will find this process to be a repetitive one, something that can continually be used in a convergent practice ad infinitum in the same work or future projects, or be mashed-up in a much more personal and divergent practice.

The Journal

It has long been accepted that the keeping of a journal or sketchbook for a beginning art student provides a place to log what they learn, imagine, and discover; a record of sights, experiences, and memories. However, due to the inconsistent nature of freshman note-taking abilities, downright sloppy brainstorming processes, and atrocious handwriting it has often been the instructor’s struggle to evaluate the progress made with this learning tool.

Today, students are blogging in elementary schools, entering virtual worlds in middle schools, and podcasting in high schools. By the time a high school freshman reaches your class in college they will be using digital means to do more than half of their person to person interaction. Revolutionary companies like Google and Wikipedia will have provided access to more information than one could surf in a lifetime. In fact, has been predicted that by 2011 a terabyte iPod could hold 1/10^th of the Library of Congress. However, as every good teacher knows, it’s not about the technology used but instead the lessons created that use that technology.

Since the Spring semester of 2006 at Bowling Green State University I have ran an assignment completed solely on a blog for two reasons:

1. To get students to take a more active role in keeping a journal.

2. To make journals easier to evaluate through examination of learning outcomes, conceptualization processes, and documentation of resource information.

Also, to selfishly relinquish the bi-semesterly ceremony of carrying home 100lbs of sketchbooks.

As part of my Two Dimensional Foundations course each student creates a blog using Blogger.com. This particular site uses typical WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) formatting similar to Microsoft Word and is very simple to set up. Each blog serves as the platform for two assignments:

· Image Essays: Each student is asked to complete 15 image essays over the course of the 15 week semester.

· Blog Entries: Each student completes 7 separate writing assignments that are distributed periodically.

For the “Image Essays” students are asked to post one image per week that is an above average representation of the vocabulary of elements and principles, conceptual objectives, or artists we are studying in class. This image could be obtained on the internet, from photo, or scanned (as long they don’t violate DMCA laws). Accompanying each image was to be a minimum of 200 words written about the image, reflective of its representation of the vocabulary, principles, or concepts we are studying in class. Essentially, the students dissect the image to figure out exactly how the creator had chosen to employ these elements before they would have to employ them in class.

The written assignments called “Blog Entries” were handed out periodically throughout the semester and varied in length. They allowed me to be flexible and develop specific content for written reflection. These assignments were:

· A biographical statement asking them to consider what led them to pursue art academically

· Two surveys – assessing their perceived writing abilities pertaining to art

· Two written critiques about works they’d made for class

· One brainstorming exercise – questions about an episode of Art:21

· One essay about an inspirational artist in the field of their major

My hypothesis was that the students would build their vocabulary and articulation skills while increasing their awareness of two dimensional design in art history and visual culture. Also, I hoped the blog would provide a comfortable place for expression, conceptualization, and ownership of ideas and criticism.

Vocabulary and Articulation

As a requirement of the assignment students are asked to use key vocabulary terms in their weekly image essays. Each assignment presented to the class focuses on introducing 3-5 vocabulary words from which the student may choose to incorporate in their blog posts. Some students began to write longer essays later in the semester taking greater interest in they works they discover and applying their newfound vocabulary. This is witnessed in class as some become more articulate and responsive to the works. As students’ confidence in their abilities to write about art increased so too did their motivation to critically think about art.

Three examples of Image Essays on the vocabulary term, Tension:

1. Roy Lichtenstein on Merediths2d_blog
   “This piece of artwork uses sharp, angled lines against soft, curvy lines to create tension between objects. Lichtenstein has even placed a woman’s face in with abstract images.”
   
   
   
   
2. Soldier smile on Art 2d Foundations
   “Displaying a soldier with a smile slapped on his mouth, the image is then placed in an elegant picture frame. These images are undoubtedly conflicting and much can be read into the meaning of this piece.”
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Synesthesia on Jackie’s blog

“Even tho there are very hard cuts in the picture that create a sense of tension, it is smooth at the same time. I would look at this picture and think of it being in a spa.”

Awareness of Design Principles in Art History & Visual Culture

Many students’ first posts included clip art pulled from Google or Yahoo Image search engines. This changed as students began to realize that the vocabulary they were searching for examples of was found in their favorite Manga, nature photography, and art historical references (such as Monet, Van Gogh, Dali, M. C. Escher, etc…), perhaps a tie-in to what they were learning in Art History Survey.

I wouldn’t be the first to point out a freshman art student’s affinity or fondness for the drippy surreal or chunky impressionists. Nor would it be shocking to find out that one out of every ten of my students plays the massively multi-player online role playing game: World of Warcraft. In the wake of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the advent of Xbox 360 and PS3 graphic capabilities many (digital) artists are turning again to fantasy. And how many more are familiar with Manga or Anime?

Just as technology is changing the classroom so too is visual culture changing the artist. One may choose to avoid these mediums altogether, seeing them as nonsensical, immature, or unimportant. I however have chosen to find the correlation between Caravaggio and Miyazaki and present the students with the lessons of two dimensional art as seen in the mediums they love.

What they chose to display on their blogs also changed as I introduced them to artists like Inka Essenhigh, Erik Fischl, Lucian Freud, Chris Ware, Robbie Conal, Shepard Fairey and Sue Coe. Other sources of art search engines were introduced such as Drawn!, an Illustration blog containing links to many artist sites, and We-Make-Money-Not-Art, a blog for new art forms, as well as the Art:21 website.

Occasionally, an advertisement, font, movie poster, or commercial logo would make it on the blog. After all, some of my students are Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Interior Design, and Apparel Merchandising majors. Their visual culture of choice includes images of graffiti, book covers, and runway models. And so the symbolism of Bansky, the unity and variety of Chip Kidd and the color of Jean Paul Gaultier have made an impact on my students as well.

“I can truly say that he makes me want to become more
creative in every piece that I will ever make.”

-PuNk’D King about Chip Kidd

A Place for…

Expression

One of the advantages a blog provides a newbie to the world of art is a semi-anonymous place to release their feelings about the imagery they encounter. My students feel very free to blast some of the works shown to them in-class. While some of these opinions are not as elaborate or articulate as I’d prefer, the progress seen is that of a seedling breaking its shell.

Since the blog acts like a journal or diary, it provides the same “openness” that allows for non-edited stream of consciousness. Paragraphs and correct spelling are required in each post, however I choose to not be critical of every grammatical error. Perhaps it is because I am not certified to teach English, perhaps it is because of the added time it would take. For the goals of the assignment, posts written in a conversation like dialogue are equally regarded as valuable.

“I feel very comfortable talking.

It is easier for me to explain something.”

Erin K.

Conceptualization

Students were directed to use the blog as a stepping stool to brainstorming. After receiving the assignment the blog was the next place to go to find examples of artists and art that also investigated the same conceptual issues. My mantra in class was often: “The blog is a valuable step in the learning process. Skip it and you’re irresponsibly shooting yourself in the foot.” As a part of ‘Reflection’ it adds to the methodology of image creation.

One of the written assignments asks questions about childhood events, stories, and places. This assignment relies clearly on convergent methodology, strategy to execution, with the written portion playing a vital role in the final product as it not only influences what the piece will be about but also be part of the piece. From their written response they are to choose a word or phrase to be incorporated into the artwork. This process of writing, creating, and merging the two is important in understanding narrative.

Ownership of Ideas and Criticism

Since the blog was not tied to the university and instead it was “owned” by the student they were free to make decisions about what they could put on the blog. One student wrote a post about UFO’s in Renaissance Art, a personal interest. Another confronted her pursuit of art:

“But then, to tell the truth there is another reason I am in art school; my mother. She always dreamed of going to art school, but unfortunately when it came time for her to go, she was unable to. One of my earliest memories is watching her draw a person's portrait. It just seems natural that I would be here now. But at the same time, I feel used when she asks for the details, like she is living through me, which bugs the hell out of me.”

- 2DFoundations

When specific artworks were presented in class students would often seek to write about that artists work, using several images from that artist or just the one discussed in class, on their blog. This came back into class as some would refer to what they’d written during critiques of others work “I wrote on my blog that the one thing __ didn’t do was___”.

The Future of Blogging in the Classroom

One component of the blogosphere I have not utilized is its social networking capabilities. My first inclination was that the students would find each other, begin to comment on posts, and link back and forth such as they do on their mySpace pages. I have yet to see my students embrace these blogs in such fashion.

Other future innovations may include:

· Critique of peer art work, possibly anonymous

· Critique of one particular artwork by the entire class, an obvious choice for art historians considering incorporating blogs into the classroom.

· Collaborative blogs that have 2-4 contributors posting once or twice per week about a specific topic or area of research

· Adding blog functionality to Moodle, Blackboard, or other campus software

· Allowing students to Podcast, rather than type, their image essays

Summary

As we enter this new age of classroom computing we, the educators, shall encounter many new challenges. The least of which has always been a commitment to “keep up with the times.” Social networking, open source technology, and web as collective conscience has reminded humanity again: the many outweigh the few. And in the traditional classroom… the students are many and the teacher is only one. In the Polychronic Classroom, where knowledge is power and power is abundant, free, and ready to be explored, every student can be a teacher. The knowledge of many becomes one force.

Welcome!

This blog will be used by Anthony Fontana to present his paper, "Blogging For Apples" at the 2007 FATE (Foundations in Art, Theory and Education) Conference at MIAD.