Other+Artifacts

=**Other Artifacts:**=

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 * Link to Artifact:**

====I wasn't cognizant of the extent to which this digital text afforded my students the necessary design resources to truly analyze the Guernica until I wrote my rationale for having it. THIS digital text is in every way an affordance to student learning. If nothing else, watch it! This three-dimensional version of the Guernica puts a twist on perception. The video transforms the Guernica into a moving, textured, live being as it twists and turns, changing positions, opening spaces, it allows the students to “wander” through the painting visually. Details of the painting that are undetectable in a textbook become apparent. The unattached arm is clutching a flower in its hand, a dead mother’s breasts are exposed as if she were just nursing the dead infant in her arms, a candle is lit in a dead man’s hands. The video makes an impact, especially in context of the Spanish Civil War and the bombing of Guernica. My textbook has a picture of the Guernica that is smaller than a dollar bill. We are doing a disservice to our students if we do not use //these// types of designs in our classes. In my opinion, this is the definition of when digital counts! (Smart Tech Principle) ====
 * Discussion:**


 * Artifact:** Thinking about intonation and meaning

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Thinking about intonations in the voice…hmmm…what is in a word? Better yet, what meaning is in the intonation of the word? Who is delivering it? How the word is said; is there stress on it? Is there purpose behind it? The word is just a concept or a representation of meaning. But there is much more to a word. The politics behind the word include the intonation, intention and interpretation all of which determine the message. As individuals we draw on our **available designs** to find meaning. When analyzing the transcriptions in AR, the hmms jumped out at Linda & I. We realized that without hearing the intonation of the word, seeing the person as they said it, there was little we could do to try to interpret the utterance. Hmm //“Such knowledge is inextricably tied to the ability to recognize and act on patterns of dahttp://amyeportfoliomatsl.wikispaces.com/Other+Artifactsta and experience…very often, subtle and complex enough that no one can fully and usefully describe or explicate them.” (Cazden, “A pedagogy of multiliteracies:Designing social futures.”)//


 * Discussion:** Thinking about thinking and my thoughts brought me here. I never paid attention or noticed how many times you hear a "hmm" and how many meanings are in those non verbal cues. Staring to notice the little things and realizing how important they are, for example, the neutral "hmm" that can encourage a student to continue a thought or lead to a pause in which students can gather their thoughts before speaking. The "hmm" implying interesting, is there more you can say? The "hmm" that confirms, the "hmm".

Reflection of Design Blog Activity -Amy

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While creating my homework blog entry, I was challenged to find the “big questions”. What do I want my students to take away from this activity? I was caught up in the design unintentionally and I was having a hard time getting to the ideas. I’ve had to edit and reedit after realizing that I didn’t want to focus as much on the colors in the art but rather the ideas or the stories that are open for interpretation. I had to turn the frog around and start from the top. I changed my question from How is color used in art? to What stories are found in art? I’m still not sure that I like the question, so MATSLers, share your thoughts. The blog entry asks students to look at the painting of Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez and respond to the questions in the form of a blog entry. I tried to scaffold by asking a convergent question that leads to a divergent question with the intent of stimulating student responses. The questions guide students to think about the painting with a critical eye; Is there a central figure and what is it? Why do you think that? I ask them to explore how color is used and to play with the idea of changing color to perhaps change the “story” in the painting. I also ask them if there is a story in the painting and to give the painting a title (which I did not include in the blog entry). Perhaps I could ask them to include the story but I think the blog would be the homework and the conversation about the possible stories could resume in class. The activity begins with the “big questions”, provides scaffolding and is supported with the final activity, a link to an interactive vocabulary game with colors. As a result of this final activity, reflecting on the blog, I modified the blog entry and //my// assignment. Originally I had imbedded the link at the top of the blog entry but then switched everything around to allow the essential questions to be the framework for the task rather than allow the design to steer the direction. The technology afforded my students the opportunity to see art from Spain, as a teacher it affords me access to many authentic modes of text.

Lesson learned: start at the top and work down to the let the design support the ideas!

Discussion: A critical reflection on creating a blog entry. I would write more but it is analyzed above.