MAC wk2 BP2 Comment on Anne Alsup's blog

You seem to have clearly captured my own feelings in your blog post… and, you did it in a creative way! Kudos to you! I have completed my research on increasing writing skills using discussion boards as well as email, and other fun writing based projects with a group of fourth graders based on literature we were reading in class. Although, I feel confident that given the proper circumstances, my research would have been consistent with the literature I reviewed, unfortunately technical glitches made the project very difficult to complete. I do not feel that my results were very conclusive because of these issues that were out of our control. And I wish that I could have a chance to try it again, with more updated computers that were capable of performing the tasks with less trouble. Like you, I do not think that my results are worthy of publishing in a scholarly journal. I am planning to do the presentation. I think the presentation allows a little more freedom in reviewing our projects and hopefully lends itself to more personal inflection.

MAC wk2 BP2 Comment on Anne Alsup

MAC Wk 2 BP 1

Reading the book “ The Art of Possibility” by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander reminds me of one of my favorite sayings when I come to an obvious impasse in an argument or heated debate. I have often told the opposing side “Your perception is skewed”. When in fact, all of our realities are skewed in our favor from creation. If our perception of reality is invented by our brains to accommodate our experiences, then it seems that all of us should be capable of living happy lives by practicing positive and forward thinking skills. If we allow ourselves permission for our thoughts to wander beyond the constraints of how we see order and expand boundaries, then creativity begins to happen. When we begin to shift our perception, and look at situations from different angles, we allow ourselves the freedom to grow and learn and the power to invent or create. When we realize that we are just part of a larger construction and open ourselves to the realm of possibility greater than what our previous boundaries had allowed, it often changes our perspective in a very spiritual way. Allowing ourselves to consider another’s experiences brings about empathy and seeing a change brought about by a collective effort can alter our realities in a self-actualizing way.

Having this type of perspective as an educator opens up a magnitude in the realm of possibilities for each student. I love the analogy of Michelangelo’s ability to see a statue in each chunk of rock or stone to how educators could see our students. If we were truly able to forget the constraints of achievement testing and cultivate the individual talents and strengths of each student, the world would be a much better place. I think children would grow into happier adults. They would understand who and why they belong. They would be able to see how they fit into the grand scheme and value their contributions to the greater good.

MAC Free Choice Wk1

For Mother’s Day, I gave myself an iPhone 4. I’ve spent the last couple of days getting used to the interface and syncing with my iTunes. I’m so excited to have such a wonderful opportunity as the App Store available at my fingertips. However, upon my first few visits, I’ve become very overwhelmed at all of the choices available to me. Where do I begin?

I’ve searched Google for top 10 lists and other information. I’d like to know what’s available to educators. I found one app, called videolicious, that allows you to upload a song with your photos to create a little music video. I thought that might be interesting to use with students.

Please leave comments about any educational apps I might want to check out.

MAC Reply 2 Wk 1 Cherie Hellenbrand

You seem to be handling copyright law issues the same way that our professors have done at Full Sail. I'm curious to know if your students facilitate a great deal of creative commons materials. I'm also curious to know if they submit their own original works to creative commons. From my own perspective, I think it would be interesting to see how my own works might evolve or be used by others.

MAC Reply 1 Wk 1 Thomas Meringolo

As the child of an attorney, I agree that I never wanted to become a lawyer. Your statement about laws not keeping up with the times triggers thoughts about how our society is changing so quickly that nothing seems to be keeping up with it. Both our judicial as well as our educational system seem to be struggling to keep up with how rapidly the culture of our youth is evolving. The resistance to change is frightening.

MAC Reading Wk1 Creative Commons and Girl Talk

Years of grueling piano practice and lessons under abusive instructors left a nasty taste in mouth. I gained a valuable understanding of how music is read, and I understand how to read it, although not fluently. The artist GirlTalk has made me change the way that I think about music. Because of his story, I believe that with enough practice using the tools on my laptop, I, too, may create bits of musical genius that ebb and flow through the genres that produced the soundtrack of my life.

I first heard GirlTalk when I tuned into a local radio station one Sunday night a couple of years ago. I was delighted to hear Fugazi’s Waiting Room bass line under the lyrics of Rhianna’s Rude Boy. I assumed the DJ was local until recently a friend burned me a copy of his album “All Day”. I quickly recognized the mix that I’d cranked so loudly in the car years before. I searched the Internet to find out more about him and ran across the documentary several months ago. I was amazed

The evolution of copyright into the Remix generation hasn’t effected me horribly, however, I have been paying attention. One of my most favorite discoveries on the Internet before starting my Educational Media Design and Technology Master’s program at Full Sail University was the discovery of a sweet little network of torrent hosts. These sweet little packets of media files located all over the virtual world were available to download for free with ease at my convenience. I no longer had to fear that the government would track my IP address and embarrass me in public and shameful court procedures for having a copy of my friends’ cd’s in my iTunes account. But my computer soon fell victim to a deadly virus that eventually retired my machine.

Creative Commons has created an outlet that offers a more open environment conducive to sharing. Artists have more freedom and agility with their creative practices. I love remembering my teenaged years listening to Black Sabbath, and admittedly, Ludacris almost always makes me nod my head in rhythm as I drive. But listening to GirlTalk’s mash up of “War Pigs and Move Bitch” not only makes my whole body happy, but also seems to make the traffic so much easier to deal with. It’s this ability of taking the classic and evolving it into a new expression that should be protected and respected.