The Replacements

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) offers "Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required."

The work of the pioneering site is featured in a recent New York Times article to frame a story about the rise of online learning opportunities.  

"A decade has passed since M.I.T. decided to give much of its course materials to the public in an act of largesse. The M.I.T. OpenCourseWare Initiative helped usher in the “open educational resources” movement, with its ethos of sharing knowledge via free online educational offerings, including podcasts and videos of lectures, syllabuses and downloadable textbooks. The movement has also helped dislodge higher education from its brick-and-mortar moorings."

It's not just science and math, teaching artists have a large online presence. There's even a list of links to teaching artist videos on the ATA homepage. 

I love this stuff, obviously, but I can't help but wonder what will happen to teaching artists after all of the lessons have been taught, and videotaped?

Meanwhile, back on the ranch:

Districts Warn of Deeper Teacher Cuts (NYTIMES)

School budget cuts across the US projected for next academic year (Christian Science Monitor)

New Jersey's Governor Christie accuses the New Jersey teachers' union of "using students like drug mules" in school elections. (Star Ledger)

Also: Cinema - Body Snatchers

Future Perfect

The fact that a teaching artist can now scroll through a virtual copy of the world's oldest printed book online, while eating donuts, means we live in what I used to call the future.

The British Library is full of such surprises. They've uploaded the past, so you can read it in the quickly vanishing present. Read old newspapers online, turn the pages of virtual books and documents, listen to audio clips and more. It's useful for lesson planning, but a bit overwhelming if you don't know where to start.

Of course, you'll need a computer and a good internet connection to get the most out of multimedia sites like the ones maintained by the British Library. Schools and students who are without speedy computers and internet access can expect to land on the wrong side of the achievement gap in education. Is a technological gap growing because of school budget cuts, and bad planning? How can teaching artists expect to keep up with advances in social media and technology? 

Anyhoo, old books and stuff online, hurrah!

Drop In

Eyebeam Art and Technology Center invites teenagers to visit their Thursday afternoon drop-in program. This is an easy sell. The keywords are "free" and "computer".

The program runs nearly every Thursday from 3-6PM at Eyebeam; 540 West 21st Street in Manhattan.

Details are below: 

Eyebeam Youth Drop-In Program

NYC public school students between the ages of 13–18 are invited to spend their Thursday afternoons, from 3–6PM, at Eyebeam. Each month will feature a series of free hands-on workshops, starting at 4PM, where students will have the opportunity to work with different open-source software programs as used by artists and technologists.

Thursdays in April: Moving Image Design with Eyebeam Fellow, Aaron Meyers. Designer and programmer Aaron Meyers will introduce students to Processing, a free open source tool to code interactive moving images. Students will learn the basics of writing code using a visual approach; focusing on interactivity, drawing, and motion while checking out examples of other artwork created with Processing.

NOTE: This is a free program and students are welcome to drop in without RSVP'ing. Computer access is first come first serve. In the case of too many students, students will be invited to team-up and collaborate on shared projects. Students who drop-in cannot be guaranteed a computer and are strongly encouraged to RSVP.

To RSVP, contact Stephanie Pereira, or phone at 212-937-6580 x247http://www.eyebeam.org/events/youth-drop-in-program

Tech

At the recent CommonGround Conference in Albany, I learned about animation software that allows young people to turn text into movies, instantly. During a terrific workshop on Improving Literacy through creative engagement, Middletown Ecsd Teacher Matt Wentworth introduced his take on an effective "21st century learning approach to education."  Online resources, and text to animation software were a part of the formula. Xtranormal is one of the pioneering websites in the text to animation field--with a free online interface that allows nearly anyone to make an animated video in minutes.

Recent research indicates that Mr. Wentworth is onto something. Teenagers  in the U.S. apparently spend nearly every free moment tethered to the virtual world through their mobile devices, computers and video games. As the New York Times reported "If Your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online".

In the future, which is now...now....now...it seems inevitable that more Teaching Artist gigs will revolve around technology. Here's one. I wonder if employers will provide older teaching artists with training in the uses of technology, online software, and social media? Is a new kind of teaching artist specialty emerging?

Control

Electronic books have become something of an everyday convenience because they are profitable. On the website of the New York Times, Lewis Hyde, who wrote The Gift, one of my most favorite books, says an upcoming copyright case will give Google an inordinate amount of control over the catalog.

Advantage Google By LEWIS HYDE Published: October 4, 2009 Nothing in the history of copyright permits the treatment of “orphan” works spelled out in the proposed settlement between Google and the Authors Guild.

I wonder how this, and other radical technological changes like the PC Tablet, will impact my future teaching practice?

Also: XBox LIVE

The Information

Apple Insider says that Google has launched a mobile Google Book Search with finger-ready navigation for iPhone and iPod touch devices. That means iPhone users can now access more than 1.5 million books that are in the public domain because of expired copyrights and licenses.

Also, Amazon, maker of the popular Kindle e-book reader, is making it's e-book catalog available to iPhone users, which the New York Times says will allow access to Amazon's collection of over 240,000 books for a fee.

I use my phone for nearly everything: scheduling, note-taking, picture-taking, music, video, navigation, web-surfing, emailing and reading e-books.

We are very close, which is probably a mistake.

Video Epilogue: HAL won't go quietly (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Digital Divide

Organizations like New York's Ghetto Film School and Chicago's Digital Youth Network are giving young people the tools they need to be innovative artists and critical thinkers.

I think fostering media literacy and offering young people access to technology is part of the new civil rights movement.

If you can't get online you're not able to participate fully in the new society.

If you don't control your own image, then who does?

Maybe you could donate your computer to the cause?

Drive My Car

The Kennedy Center, in partnership with Daimler Financial Services, chose ten schools across the country for On Location: Spotlight On Your Community.  The program gives schools the opportunity to tell the story of the arts in their community through videos that will be shared on the Internet. Each of the ten schools selected gets a media equipment package, and both students and teachers will be trained in storytelling, filmmaking, editing, and producing video stories.  Daimler is providing the funding along with a tour bus, so the project can head cross country.

It's too late to apply for the Patridge Family video bus to come to your school, but the On Location curriculum is posted online at ArtsEdge. It will take you through all the steps to help students make a documentary that will feature an artist or arts group in your community.

Quickly, before Germany runs out of money.

Free Associate with me:

Daimler. 

Chrysler. 

Cars. 

Bankruptcy?

No.

The Beatles'  "Rubber Soul"