TechIntersect

One fun project I like to have students do from time to time helps them to understand both how a digital camera captures pixels of color to create digital photographs, and also how that technology relates to Pointillism paintings from over 100 years ago. If you look at a Seurat painting close up (go ahead and click on the example, I’ll wait…)

Georges Seurat – The Side Show – 1888

Source: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/S/seurat/paradetl.jpg.html

… Ok, you’re back… (That was pretty cool, wasn’t it?) you will see thousands of little distinct colored dots of paint. That is Pointillism. Painting with dots. Working with the example of the Impressionists who did not completely mix colors on their canvas either, Seurat knew that the viewer would mix the discrete colors optically when viewing from a distance. The same thing happens today with our digital displays. The computer monitor you are viewing this on uses discrete dots of color called “pixels” in order to present an optical illusion of color. Check out the zoomed in version of the above image. (Go ahead, click it to enlarge it too.)

Digital images are actually a combination of three colors, Red, Green and Blue. Just as we mixed paint or crayon colors together in elementary school, we mix dots of red, blue and green light together to achieve millions of possible color combinations. The pixel is the smallest graphical unit that can be recorded or displayed, and each will be a variant of red, green or blue. A digital camera sensor records the pixels, and later we can view them on a computer display device or print them on paper.

To simplify things for my lesson, I like to eliminate color information altogether and simply have students record different values of light & dark pixels. I have done this exercise with computers and also using only paper and pencil. I create a pixel puzzle in which each student will recreate a portion of the final picture. The end result looks something like these two examples. (Click to zoom)

How to make the puzzle

Simply take your source image you want to base your puzzle on into Photoshop. On PS CS2 I use Filter->Pixelate->Mosaic, then adjust the square sizes so they are large enough to create pixels, yet small enough the image is still recognizable. Then I print this pixelated version and cut it into numbered squares. It helps to print a key, with corresponding numbers so you know how to reconstruct the image from the puzzle pieces.

If I’m using the paper & pencil method, I also like to print pages with square outlines in which my students can shade in the different values with a pencil. Have them squint at the puzzle piece to get an accurate reading on how dark or light the individual squares are. Then have them shade in the corresponding squares. If students reproduce their puzzle piece fairly accurately, you can reassemble a compelling and recognizable image of the original.

I am always surprised at how even though students can use a different stroke or shading style, yet the image manages to come together quite nicely.

If I’m using the computer graphics method, I still print the puzzle pieces for them, but instead of a pencil, I let them use Adobe Illustrator to draw the different value squares, then print their work out on a laser printer. Same idea, but less mess and usually less time to complete.

Hope you like this idea… my classes seem to enjoy the activity and they appreciate learning a bit of art history and it’s relevance to modern technology.

Tags: art, Art History, digital camera, drawing, education, Impressionism, Pointillism, technology, value study

After observing what is happening around the world with educators utilizing blogs and other digital media, I am eager to get started. I recently mentioned this to a colleague I work with who teaches writing. My friend is using “blogging” in a writing course with our Axio Learning course management software in a password protected environment. When discussing the possibilities of having student write in blogs that are publicly accessible, this teacher whose opinion I greatly value, was adamant that students be offered a choice to go live to the Internet or to remain in a protected environment. Her position is that students should not be required to put their thoughts into the public domain, which is in essence what happens when you post to the web.

I countered that students knowing that a global audience can access their work, might actually put in a greater effort than they do currently in a private setting. She agreed, but is concerned that once you put something out there, it is out there forever. In her opinion, requiring students to give away their intellectual property without their consent is not the thing to do.

So I put the question to my visitors from hither and yon– By requiring our students to blog in the publicly accessible web, are we violating their rights to their own intellectual property? Are we setting up a learning environment that to some might be intimidating and even down right scary, thereby inhibiting the very learning we are hoping to instill? Or are we simply creating a unique learning experience that documents progress in thinking and learning that can always be referred back to at a later time?

One unique perspective comes from my colleague at Kansas State University, Dr. Michael Wesch. You may know Dr. Wesch from his YouTube video The Machine is Us/ing Us.  He recently published an article entitled Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance. (Links to PDF).

I realize that the Edublogging community is very pro-technology biased. But I am very eager to explore this issue from every angle, because my friend’s concerns are valid. What are your thoughts? How are you creating a safe learning environment, but at the same time using the power of Web 2.0 in your classes? Have you thought about the concerns raised in this post? (Thanks to Sue Waters for encouraging me to start this discussion.)

Tags: art, blogging, critiques, education, technology, web 2.0

According to Marc Prensky, who wrote “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” kids growing up today have always been immersed in digital technology, while their parents have had to immigrate into this new world because they did not grow up with it. It is really similar to families who immigrate to the USA from another country, but their kids are born and raised here. With immigrant families, there are two distinct world views, those of an immigrant and those of a native.

Prensky writes, “the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” I agree with this assessment and am concerned with teacher education programs that do not direct enough attention to this problem. Are we simply going to wait for the digital natives to become old enough to be teachers before we have a majority of technology fluent teachers?

Several years ago, I was a fan of Clifford Stoll’s book, “High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don’t Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian“. In it, he extols the virtue of the profession of teaching, and urges teachers not to defer to technology as a primary teaching platform. I believe many of the issues and concerns he raises about computers in the classroom back in 1999 have been resolved with improvements in technology and it’s associated costs. However, one issue where he hits the nail on the head, and it is still on target in my opinion is that by and large, teachers do not know how to effectively use the technology that they have available to them. Lack of training, lack of interest, and lack of time are all reasons for remaining ignorant in the ways of technological pedagogy. (Obviously if you are reading this, you should not be counted among the aforementioned ignorant!)

When we permit new teachers to enter the profession with little or no grounding in the principles of good technology-based education, we are only prolonging the problem. Web 2.0 is upon us, and there are many innovators, thrill seekers, experimenters and otherwise fool-hardy teachers out there who are doing a marvelous job of using the very latest in modern communications technology for teaching. Schools that are preparing would-be teachers should take notice of these new developments in technology; the rest of the world certainly is.

Tags: internet, technology, web 2.0

This is a video my Networking class made to demonstrate how packets move between networks through the Internet. The quality is a little rougher than I would like, but we are still learning video production for the web techniques.

***Note*** If you cannot see the video, you may need to update your Flash Player.

Tags: fun, internet, networking, technology, web 2.0

One of my favorite classes that I teach is also the one that forces me to stretch the furthest and forces me to stay on my toes simply because it is near the edge of what I would consider to be my area of expertise. It is a survey course entitled “Humanities through the Arts.” I have taken hold of that class and adopted it as my own with the mission of connecting the arts with technology and the sciences. Our campus is a remote location from the main campus of Kansas State University, and as a result we have far fewer course options available for students to study in the humanities. As K-State’s College of Technology and Aviation, we have a strong technological bent which explains my desire to demonstrate strong connections between the arts and humanities.

One question I like to pose to the humanities class is “Why do all college curriculums require study outside of your major? Why do we like to see technology students study the humanities?” Typical answers include a desire to produce well rounded graduates, or to get more of our money, but I like to let the question develop over the semester to see if any deeper answers emerge. I believe some of my students really start to get it when I read some of their comments and responses to some of the art that we have been experiencing. Here are some examples:

Our first communication is usually visual. As infants we see somebody doing something and we do. We see a picture and look to see how our mother or father react to the image, and react the same way. We need to see something to believe it even if what we are looking at isn’t real. In art we see through others’ eyes. By color changes or texture of an art piece you can feel the hatred or love of the subject and with what you have learned from you parents you can like it or not like the art piece. But either way your mind grows from another’s experience/option.

Or how about:

The mind reacts to differently to different colors and music and textures. A ridged rock would raise our brain activity, hard metal rock would excite us, and the color red could anger us. Using this things in a commercial or performing art you could cause chaos. Now take a smooth rock, soft classical music, and a light purple color and you would get a calmer effect. Its how our brain works as humans and what we see hear, taste, see, touch, and smell can make all the difference giving artist the edge they need to get their point across.

Or this one:

I was recently effected from an art piece at the art center. I was about an Indian child who killed her self. It was in black and white so already in mind I was put into a good vs. bad mind set, or life vs. death. I hate to admit it but I had no good thoughts on Indians since recently my high paying job was sent to India; where they would only get $2.15 a week. I was hurt and angry. After reading and seeing that art display I realized the sadness and hurt some have to suffer, that most have to suffer. And that a child could take her own life over it. Its black and white there, you have the money or you don’t, you live or you die.

I believe we produce better engineers, scientists and technologists when they can see and understand how the work they do is for the benefit of human beings; when they can start to see the bigger picture. I believe that humanity suffers when technology people focus more on technology than on the people which it serves. My primary reason for starting this blog is to explore the interconnection between the arts and technology. As I teach this course, finding these connections has actually been much easier than I anticipated.

For example, I took the class on a tour of the Salina Art Center to see the exhibit of contemporary Indian art and there were numerous pieces that included video and interactive multimedia technology. It is almost as if I had specially requested these type of artworks be displayed for my class, but I hadn’t. Technology is playing a huge role in contemporary art and students are surprised to learn this.

We also toured the Blue Heaven Studios, a world class recording studio in a converted church right here in Salina. Then we watched the Kenny Wayne Shepherd DVD 10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads), filmed in part in Salina at the studio. Studens are amazed to learn that this even exists in their hometown and that every year the finest Blues artists come to Salina to perform.

Anywhere I can find a connection between the arts and technology, it is fair game for my course. I would love to hear your suggestions of topics to explore that address the intersection of technology and the arts.

Tags: art, education, technology

K-State Professor Michael Wesch achieved international recognition a year ago when a small video he made for YouTube caught on and was viewed by millions of people. His video, “The Machine is Us/ing Us” is about how the modern Internet, sometimes called “Web 2.0″, is learning from the people who use it and contribute to it.

The Internet is no longer a passive experience for many people, but instead it allows anyone to share ideas and contribute to the body of human knowledge. This has always been possible on the Internet, but until recently you needed a certain amount of technical knowledge to be a contributor. New technology developments have made it possible for more people to contribute. Anytime that you are able to put your ideas and creativity on the Internet without working directly with web pages and HTML, there is a good chance you are using a Web 2.0 application.

As a teacher, I am very excited about the new ways of teaching and learning that are becoming available with this new technology. As a resident of a small, rural Kansas town, I am really jazzed about the possibilities it offers for revitalizing our community. When else in human history could you start a home-based business far from any city, yet still have the entire world as your potential customer base? The potential is unlimited and I challenge the good citizens of Clifton and Clyde to dive it and start learning. There is no reason for us to miss the opportunities that are right in front of us. The technology of the Internet has reached a point where absolutely anyone can now be a contributor as well as a consumer of information on the web. This has enormous implications for anyone wanting to make a living on the Internet, since you no longer need to be a web developer to get started.

However, if as Dr. Wesch points out, “the machine is us/ing us” then it follows that the machine will reflect all of the characteristics of the human race, even our ugly side. This became apparent to me as I learned of the story in Florida where a teenage girl was beaten senseless by a gang of thugs she thought were her friends. These sick kids video recorded the beating with the intention of posting it to YouTube. Our culture has become infatuated with celebrity and it seems that some will pay any price to earn a place in the spotlight; even if it results in a jail sentence.

The girl’s mother was on CNN this week and she made an assertion that I find frightening. She said that parents pretty much have to operate on the information provided to them by their kids. She said that not much can be done if kids are hiding information from you. She mentioned that as parents, they were uncomfortable with some of the social networking sites such as MySpace and that they tried unsuccessfully to get MySpace to close their daughter’s account. She even stated that the family implemented filtering software on the computer that the “clever” daughter was able to circumvent.

Here’s an interesting idea– maybe the problem is not with MySpace. Maybe the parents should be removing some computer privileges if the daughter is not willing to follow some established ground rules. Parenting experts Jim & Charles Fay recommend that children not be allowed to have computers in their rooms. It seems to be pretty drastic, but look at the dangers. Most parents simply have less computer knowledge than their kids, and parents really need to be on top of what the kids are doing online. That is pretty hard to do when the computer is hidden away in the bedroom.

Wendy and I have noticed that our daughter is starting to explore a little on the Internet beyond Webkinz world. We are planning to set up a computer in a prominent location in the house so we can keep an eye on the kids as they use it. I will also probably soon be looking for some filtering software to help keep them safe. But we will not rely on software as a complete solution, only one piece of the puzzle in setting some limits.

I expect that my kids will become computer savvy enough to someday find work-arounds to defeat filtering software, so in the mean time we will have to work on building our relationship and helping them learn to make good decisions. We wear seat belts in the car for the same reason; to be safe, not because there is a law that requires it or because we cannot get away with not wearing them. I want my kids to grow up wearing seat belts simply because it is a smart choice, not because someone forced them to. I believe that a similar attitude towards the computer will help them make good decisions using that tool as well.

Kids do not outwardly appreciate boundaries and limitations, but at a very deep level they cannot understand, when they discover the boundaries, they feel loved and secure. Too many kids are growing up with few limitations, and it’s not healthy. I can’t help but wonder if the young girl in Florida was growing up with little supervision and few boundaries and limits. Maybe I’m naive, but I think parents can do a pretty good job of keeping tabs on their kids if they develop good strong relationships from the beginning.

I really want to encourage parents to look into the online activities of your children. If you don’t know what they do online, maybe you should ask. Be curious. Ask them to show you their site. See how many Facebook or MySpace friends they have. Don’t let your lack of interest or knowledge of technology keep you from taking an active role in their online lives. I’m lucky that my daughter is young. Right now, she begs me to play with her on Webkinz. My hope is these early online experiences will continue as she grows older and that she will want to keep me in the loop. One can only hope, right?

Tags: internet, technology, web 2.0

This week, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a measure requiring Kansas schools to implement anti-cyberbullying policies. While admirable, I believe this is largely feel-good legislation that looks good on paper but does nothing to help solve the problem. What would such a school policy have done for the poor girl in Florida who was savagely beaten and videotaped for posting on the Internet this week?

We need to equip our kids with methods that work when dealing with bullies. Sally Ogden’s program, “No Thanks, I Just Had A Banana” is full of these methods. I heard Sally at a Love and Logic summer conference in Wichita a couple of summers ago. It really helped me to prepare my daughter for her entry into Kindergarten and how to deal with people who are unkind. And you know what? It’s even helped me to deal with adults at my job who like to push people around!

Lawmakers, if you really want to help the children of Kansas, you might want to consider enacting some programs that will help teachers equip kids with knowledge of how to handle bullies.  And you might want to take a close look at the technology requirements in our state’s teacher education programs. I would expect that it might be pretty difficult to help kids with cyber-bullies if you don’t even understand the technology on which it occurs.

Tags: bullying, legislature, Love and Logic, technology