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Monday, March 28, 2011

Art App Example




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Exploring Art Apps for Techno Teach-In

Here is a list of Art-related apps that we are going to hopefully explore a little during the techno teach-in tomorrow.  I wanted you all to have a link to the list of apps we will be talking about.  That's all for now.












Thursday, March 17, 2011

No Right Brain Left Behind

As some of you may already know, I have my b.a in marketing communications and I did a lot of work in advertising, which is how I came to find out about a competition called No Right Brain Left BehindA friend of mine works at Energy BBDO, which is a Chicago advertising agency in the final round of competition (and according to my friend, the team that won the entire competition, though the official website indicates no winner yet).  Their proposal is for a reality competition that will demonstrate how creative problem solving skills are essential for the nation's success.  A TV show will drive awareness of the issue and motivate the public at large to care about education reform, while online properties will enable viewers to take action for positive change in the country's education system.

I know it sounds crazy, but then I realized that most reality shows sound nuts in writing, at yet our country can't get enough of them.  Sure there are a million things wrong with this competition, but it is interesting to think about advertising social issues.  Let's face it, they can sell pretty much anything, so selling the public an idea--more creativity in our education system--shouldn't be that hard, right?   But if advertisers are busy telling me there's an education crisis, how am I supposed to know what to buy?
I'm only kidding, of course--I can buy my own toothpaste.  Sort of.  Either way, here it is.
Right Brain Revolution





Sunday, March 13, 2011

Example: Augmented Reality Apps for Art Education?

The article Ray posted about Augmented Reality Apps for Art Education  made me really curious about what these AR apps actually look like and how students might interact with them.  So, I decided to try it.  I found one for the iPhone called WaterColor by a company called AR VISION Inc. The information provided in the app explains, "Watercolor application is intended for photo to image with non-photorealistic effects"
I downloaded the app to mess around with it. The app has only one photo affect, which you'll see it a before and after of in the images below. I used a photo that I took with my phone a few weeks ago when our class went to the school forum at UIC. 

Enjoy.

Before



It is pretty boring, I think, and as a potential app for use in art education, it definitely has a long way to go.




After

Thursday, March 10, 2011

My cyberped Influence of the day

So, right now I am blogging to my cyberped blog from the blogpress app I just downloaded a few minutes ago. And, as if one blog wasn't new and scary enough, I have just created another blog specifically for keeping all the fragmented messy ideas i have for thesis in one all in one place.

This is clearly the influence of cyberped because prior to this class I would have never considered documenting the formation of my thesis in a blog! Never! And I'm so excited to have a single space for collecting, and eventually reviewing, the random thoughts and research ideas that I can instantly archive from wherever I am.

Whether or not I actually use the thing the way I envision it is not even that important because right now I'm just excited that i want to try documenting in this way. I hope I can keep track of and always reflect on my every-changing ideas about the thesis research process.

So.
Huh.
Blogging.
What a concept.

Thanks cyberped (Ray and Lee) for making all of this interweb net wideworld .com stuff less scary for me. Cheers!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Group Museum Interactive

Rationale
    We wanted to approach our understanding of an interactive art museum through the consideration of two specific populations: those who do not enjoy going to the museum because of a lack of understanding of the art and the hearing and visually impaired.  Each one of our group participants could think of a family member who hates going to art museums, citing such reasons as: 'I just don't get it' or 'This is boring.' We would argue that the one of the reasons for these types of feelings is the museums inability to relate art to the viewers lives. The museum assumes that museum goers will find interest in a painting just because its hangs on the wall. 
     But what have others thought about the painting? Does this painting hold special meaning for someone otherwise not associated with the museum/art world? Are there specific images in the painting that affect museum goers in multiple ways? Where do the visually and hearing impaired fit into the museum?  
     A museum goer who can see but not hear has their own unique challenges: what are the people around you saying about the painting? While a visually impaired museum has their own set of challenges: How to best experience the painting, without violating museum rules like touching the art work? These are the questions we have attempted to address in our proposal.

Description
     In the middle of each gallery exhibition, will be a circular room surrounded by glass windows. It is important that even though a person is inside of the room, they are still able to view the works of art in the exhibition space. The room will be soundproof so that sound cannot escape out while keeping sound in so as not to disturb the outside gallery space. Inside the room will be between 5-15 stations. Each of these stations will be in direct sight of a set of works inside the gallery. Each station would consist of: an interactive touch screen, headphones, interactive Braille machines, touchable versions of the works of art, and keyboards. 
    Once a museum goer is in front of a station, he or she will be able to: learn about the artist, learn how the particular piece of art was constructed, touch/feel the piece of art, listen (or read Braille) to what other museum goers think/feel about the piece, listen(or read Braille) to any personal experiences other museum goers might associate with the piece, record (or type) their own responses to the piece, use the interactive touch screen to learn/hear about specific particularities about the piece, and cross reference similar artist/artistic styles.



Design/Layout/Floor plan for Museum's Space
      (Coming soon)


The Station... in our Imagination 
     I found some pictures that showcase the kind of transformation of the museum's physical space that we were interested in achieving with this project.  I like the idea of trying something totally new in the museum setting.  Not just new technology, but new arrangements and physical spaces for interacting with exhibits.  Here are some of the images that best represent a new way of approaching digital interaction in museums:

Try to ignore the cave-like ambiance and imagine what might happen if this station was raised even just a few feet above the regular viewing area....
Digital Interaction inside the structure
Digital Interaction inside the structure
Digital Interaction inside the structure    

Conclusion
     It is our hopes that this interactive room will provide a connection between the art works and the lives/experiences of the museum goer. The interactive stations provide for opportunities to not only learn about works of art from an academic standpoint, but also how art works affect the lives of others. In addition, the interactive room provides a space for contemplation as well as personal interaction. The rooms also give the visually and hearing impaired additional ways to have experiences with the art works.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

 My brother sent me this video a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to share it with everyone.  It's a little long, and the information is not shocking, and it's probably even a bit redundant at some points, but I think it does raise some interesting issues.  I like it because it is the kind of video that you can show to non-educators to address any broader social misconceptions about teaching and learning and our education system as it currently stands.

I am interested in, and admittedly know nothing about, RSA Animate.  I will do some more research and if come across something else related to education I will share it with you all in a future post.