Great body of work!

Hi everyone,

I'm back from my trip to Philadelphia where I attended the ISTE conference -- a lot of educational technology stuff. It was really interesting, but I have to say that the work that we did in our workshop blows everything out of the water. I kept thinking about the films you all made and how impressed I was with them. There were some stories that were so powerful and honest and I really appreciate all of your courage to "there" for this workshop. It made it so meaningful.

So technically, our work is not finished. Some of you still want to complete your films -- finesse them and so forth. I would like to give you time to do this, but do not want to prolong it and lose momentum. Can everyone please promise to be finished with your films by Friday, July 8? I would want everyone to upload their films to YouTube as well as send me a digital copy of it.

If you need guidance on how to export your movie and upload it on YouTube, I can be of help. Please email if you need help. 

Also, I would like you to now take the time and reflect on the work we did in class. Please think about what you learned, what you still need to work on, the process you went through in making your film, and how you would ultimately frame this project with your students. So, in short, I'm asking you to respond to this question and comment in the comments section below: How would you use digital self-portraits in your class? What other learning objectives could it connect to? What would be the challenges? What value would it add to your students' learning?

From this point, Kristin and I will help you get your project on its feet in the Fall. We will follow through with you so that perhaps, we can present our work at the ISTE Conference next Summer in San Diego!

Thanks again for your great work and dedication!
Matt

So many thoughts, so little time...

On Monday, our trip to MOMA and Zeum was quite inspirational. We were able to view amazing self-portraits from an array of visual artists like Robert Arneson's California Artist (shown on the left). We were able to gain insight into a variety of artists' processes. What issues/factors motivate them to create work. What choices they make in their work to convey meaning. The impact of those choices on the work itself and how the audience perceives it. Ultimately, the intention of this trip was to help you to understand the artistic process and perhaps help give you inspiration and guidance for your own digital self-portraits.

In telling a digital self-portrait, you must be specific. Narrow your ideas to a single idea/theme. Focus and do not be general. Do not tell your life story. Keep it simple. Some ideas that stuck with me during the museum visit was that the artists' work that we examined responded to a variety of themes. If you are having trouble, maybe pick one of these, or adapt it:

1. Create a response to how people perceive you. (currently or in the past)
2. Create a response to how you may have been stereotyped.
3. Explore a strong memory.
4. Explore a common emotion.
5. How do you value your family's tradition/culture? (a cross cultural/generational tale)
6. Express a relationship of yours - a person, place, object.

An interesting framing of your story can be told through the lens of you at the age of your students. So, if you are an 8th grade teacher, maybe you can create a digital self-portrait about yourself when you were in 8th grade -- but, be specific -- pick one of the topics above.

That's it. Keep thinking and planning. Create your scripts. And for now, we'll leave you with MOMA's description of Robert Arneson's California Artist:

 

Who am I?

Welcome video artist educators! We're so excited to be going through this creative exploration with you. Hopefully, this course will allow you to explore and express yourselves using video as a platform. The sky is the limit.

Today, we've discussed ways to think about self-portraits and what constitutes auto-biography. Hopefully, we have kept the conversation open but not overwhelmingly limitless.

Now, it is essential to begin to digest and unpack the information we covered today and begin to frame it around you. What do you want to tell about yourself? Are you going deep into the past? Is this a concept that is not bounded by time? How will you tell your story? What media will you use? Will you be opening old shoe boxes that contain photos from your childhood? Will you go out in the world and film? Will you surf the internet for found videos and images?

Remember, we will be keeping these videos to under 5 minutes.

Ok, enough talk, let's put down our thoughts. Please write your ideas in the comments section of this post.

Matt & Kristin