Week 2 of Module 3

Seeing the "Big" Picture

I see a distinct parallel between the world of design/architecture and teaching. It actually falls in line with much of what Sarah Susanka wrote about in great detail. Take for example the fact that I work in a training environment. I have specific guidelines in place that are a list of the most effective ways to train individuals in large groups, small groups, in a face to face classroom or virtually. These guidelines are called “best practices.” They are tried and true rules for producing the best learning experience possible.

Sarah Susanka seems to have the same set of principles in place for designing a contemporary home but she also recognizes the constant struggle to keep in step with the needs of her clients. She stated, “This confirms my belief that we are all searching for a sense of home, but we haven't developed a language to help define the qualities that we seek, and so we keep building bigger in the vague hope that somehow more will be better.” I experience this tug of war on a consistent basis in my daily practice. Everyone involved in the training process wants to produce something viable and effective, but at times it is difficult to form a general consensus for many of our training projects.

This is where establishing best practices really prove to be vitally important. It’s great to have a plethora of ideas to mull over when addressing training needs, but it is also more efficient to have a universal set of guidelines to start off with. I typically work with a multitude of people from different departments when I design training programs. I routinely collaborate with trainers, client services personnel, and managers. They bring a very diverse perspective to the training environment. While I implement many of their ideas, I also reject the ones that do not fall in line with my department’s best practices.

Sarah Susanka seems to maintain this delicate balance as well. She stated, “Our profession has an enormous ability to affect what the future will look like. As an architect who questions the advisability of building bigger rather than better, I decided it was time to suggest an alternative.” I realize that Susanka understands the obsession with big houses, but I also appreciate the fact that she sees the “big picture” in her profession. This is why I think her mindset easily applies to other professions, including teaching.

Reference:

Susanka. S. (2000). Big ideas behind the not so big house. Retrieved from:

http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0726/design_1-1.html

CNN Internatonal Debuts Their New Set

This isn't a "new" news story. It actually dates back to 2009 but I thought it fit in perfectly with this week's module. The coolest aspect of this video is that the moderator explains every element of the new studio and how it will be used. Also all the gigantic big screens thoroughly dismiss the idea that TV studios are filled with nothing but green screens. This studio is apparently the way of the future. It is fully loaded with ultra high tech stuff. Enjoy!

Design (Module 3)

There are some subtle links between the art of design and teaching. I can see several imaginary bridges between the two but the most obvious to me may be the least obvious to my colleagues. The bridge that these two professions seem to share is in the diverse ideas and perceptions of those who work inside these industries. There seem to be no shortage of banter about what works and doesn’t work in each of these professions.

Sarah Susanka reveals what she believes is an issue that exists in the contemporary world of design. This problem lies with the “bigger is better” trend that is all too common in the design of most American homes. Susanka is clearly against this popular trend. She believes that many designers are missing the mark when it comes to understanding what the masses want. They don’t seem to comprehend that people tend to steer toward small spaces inside those mini-mansions. Therefore designers aren’t tapping into what people want or need in a home. Susanka firmly believes that the focus on everything big goes against the grain of what most people want, which is a desire for small spaces.

So how do design trends or opinions on design trends tie into teaching? Well, in the educational community there is a wide array of diverse ideas about the best way to teach. There are educators who believe the best way to teach is with traditional measures or a focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic. There are others in the profession who believe a more progressive approach works better. This includes allowing students to have a greater say in what and how they learn.

Although I am not an expert on design, I recognize that it is similar to teaching in one major way. There isn’t a one size fits all answer that applies in every situation for either professions. For example, for every client that Susanka believes prefers small spaces, there are probably an equal amount of individuals who favor those super-sized rooms instead. Such is the case in the educational community. There is not a general consensus on the best way to teach. There are educators who believe that a traditional or highly conservative approach to teaching is more beneficial to students, but there are also a substantial number of educators who prefer Dewey’s progressive methodology instead.

So who is right on this issue? Actually, it may seem a bit wish washy to say, but probably both sides. A traditional approach to teaching may work well for some students, while a progressive approach works better for others. I would presume that the same theory holds true in interior design. Some people prefer small spaces, others prefer larger ones. Is one designer more right than another to cater to their specific group? Definitely not. Just like in teaching, it is good to have a variety of methods to successfully reach your core audience.

Imaginary Bridges Advertising (Module 2)

Advertisements are something most people either enjoy or despise. There seems to be no middle ground with this type of artistic expression. When ads have inspiration and creativity, like the Chrysler commercial during the Super Bowl, I believe they should be applauded. When you have printed ad pieces (i.e. subscription cards) falling out of magazines that you want to briefly scan in a book store, they can be rather annoying. So in the big wide of advertising what imaginary bridges can be connected with teaching?

I’ll start with the basic element of advertising. That would be creativity. One thing that can said about advertising is that it is based on creative concepts. Teaching isn’t always considered a creative endeavor, but perhaps if it was sometimes approached the way advertising ideas are, there could be a profound benefit.

After reading multiple descriptions of what advertising actually is, I surmise that it is ultimately a method of communicating a message. The message being communicated comes in many forms, which is where advertising could often intersect with teaching. Teachers routinely try to communicate a message to their students about the subject matter they are teaching.  Here are a few examples of how certain elements of advertising can be applied to teaching:

Example 1:

Teacher: Ms. Jones

Course: Math (5^th grade)

Element of Advertising: Create a poster based on a popular advertisement

Example 2:

Teacher: Mr. Smith

Course: Educational Technology (graduate level class)

Element of Advertising: A class interactive tool that is inspired by a popular advertising slogan.

Director's Commentary (Module 2)

Making a video/film certainly evokes a lot of feelings and involves a great deal of preparation. Now granted there was one part of this process that was fairly easy. I realized that I couldn’t write my Director’s Commentary until I had a finished product to reflect upon. That was the only easy part of working on this assignment. The rest was a real adventure but I followed our professor’s advice to keep it fun and try not to be too serious. So that is what I tried to do and here is my perspective on the entire process:

The Inspiration

The inspiration for my video was based on an experience my  husband and I went through a couple of years ago. We were still living in California and very interested in opening our own business.  We realized from the beginning that our venture would be a bistro, deli, or yogurt shop. Because we lived in an area where summertime temperatures normally hover above 100 degrees daily, the choice eventually became obvious. We decided to research opening a yogurt shop. With the growing popularity of shops like Pinkberry, it seemed like a sound decision.

After doing our due diligence, which took several months of consulting and research, there was only one other thing we had to consider. I had been thinking about pursuing a graduate degree and with all of the time, effort, and financial investment required to open a business, going back to school would have to be put on hold for an indefinite period. Ultimately my husband decided it was more important to support my dreams than a new business. Looking back I am glad that we did because this year I will be finishing up my Master’s in Education through MSU. As for the prospect of starting a business in the future, perhaps we will explore that idea again in a few years.  

The Idea

The work that goes into starting a business is daunting. It’s very time consuming and requires a lot of emotional and financial commitment. Even under the best economic conditions, it is still a big gamble. Of course if you have very deep pockets and money is not a factor it may not be as big of a deal. Many celebrities fall into this category and that is where the idea for this project came from. I decided to create a parody based on that concept. And the finished project is the fictional ad for “Rocky Balboa’s House of Yogurt.”

The Process

Since I didn’t have time to hire actors and book a location to film a real commerical, I knew it wasn’t going to be a live action production. So I decided to use the next best thing – a video produced with “Slideroll.” It is shareware software that is available for free on the Internet. To create the video, I hand sketched a story board, then transferred the idea onto PowerPoint slides and imported the slides into Slideroll. The best thing about Slideroll is that the editing software is included. Since I wanted to mimic a local ad I decided to keep the length below sixty seconds. I also wanted to add a sense of suspense by not giving away what the video was about right away. Deciding what audio to use was a no brainer. The theme music to the motion picture Rocky was a perfect fit and supported the video concept all the way.

Beyond the Average Ad...

This week's assignment involves critiquing one of this year's Super Bowl ads. Some might ask why are ads important or better yet are they? Well I believe the answers to both of those inquiries are yes. As much fun as it is to see the commericals that run during the Super Bowl, it is just as enjoyable to run across the ones that highlight a specific message. (By the way my favorite ad this year was the Chrysler commercial featuring Eminem).

But as far as ads go, here is a video about an ad/message that was created by CNN International. The message and the artistry certainly go beyond the average ad. Enjoy!

Teaching and Filmmaking

Upon first reflection it seems difficult to decipher any imaginative bridges between filmmaking and teaching, but after careful consideration, I realized that there is an interesting link between the two. For example, in filmmaking there is an ultimate goal. The goal is tell a story in such a manner that viewers will understand its overall meaning. In teaching there is also an ultimate goal. The goal is to take a subject and teach it in such a manner that there is eventually a successful transfer of learning. There are several things that teachers can learn from the art of filmmaking. Filmmakers have the ability to convey a story with enthralling scenes. These scenes can be particularly humorous, mysterious, scary, or surprising. They serve as the catalyst to understanding the story (or message) they are trying to convey.  Teachers can benefit from studying this talent that filmmakers have.  They can work to discover new ways to present content in innovative lessons that will lead to a more thorough understanding of the subject matter they are teaching. 

It’s equally interesting to note how teaching and filmmaking are sometimes presented in a collaborative effort.  This happens when the subject of the film is teaching and when education is the “star” of a film, there are often valuable lessons to be learned. Such is the case in the clip below:

Understanding the Element of Mystery with JJ Abrams

In conjunction with this week's theme of Film and Television, I want to share a video I saw some time ago on TED TV. It is a speech given by filmmaker JJ Abrams (of Star Trek, Lost, and Cloverfield fame). Abrams talks about the art of mystery and has a really fascinating take on the genre. Enjoy!