This week in CEP811, we studied the concepts of remixing, reusing, and recycling. We also examined key assumptions that we are all “makers”. Dale Daughtery talked about how we are inherently “makers” and we should encourage students to explore and experiment with “making” in his TED@MotorCity video below. “We are Makers”.
As I was reading the description, before I watched this video, I was a little skeptical about the premise. I was looking at the concept of “making” from a narrow perspective. I have no idea to be an inventor or entrepreneur, so how am I a “maker”. After watching, my approach changed. The idea of “making” is much more about exploration, failure, and discovery than the idea of being an “inventor”. It is much more broad than I was initially thinking.
I “make” all the time: I make dinner, I make lesson plans, I make worksheets, I make music, I make BLOG POSTS, and so much more. The principle and act of making provides an opportunity to create and adapt to different situations to meet your goal.
This week’s task in CEP811 was to make a remix. We needed to take a concept from the “EdTech Cheat Sheet Infographic” and make a “remix” using photos, music, and videos about the topic. The “remix” was made using Mozilla Popcorn Maker. I had no prior experience using this technology. I explored this program by watching tutorials and “playing” with sample remixed videos. I found this process program difficult to master. While the set-up is fairly simple, the process of “mixing and remixing” multiple videos, photos, and music in different layers is extremely time consuming and challenging.
In preparation of “remixing” a video, we watched Kirby Ferguson’s four-part series, “Everything is a Remix”. In his series, he described how creativity consists of 3 steps: 1. Copy, 2. Transform, and 3. Combine. I found his theme of “creation requiring influence” to be extremely relevant to education. For example, my students are influenced by me and I am influenced by colleagues, professors, and former educators. Ferguson explains, “copying is how we learn”. This makes sense in education when we model a learning activity in school. He then discusses the principle of “transforming” the concept we have learned and “combining” the best ideas for creative expression. This concept is something we should strive for in education. We want to avoid just staying at the “copying” stage in educations and design a learning space that encourages transformation and combination to inspire creativity in the classroom.
The last part of understanding the concept of “remix, reuse, recycle” was reading the introduction to Lawrence Lessig’s “Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy”. READ HERE. On page 7, Lessig describes the process of copying by interpretation and translation as a “creative, active, and engaged” act. He argues against lengthy copyright time periods and strict infractions as this limits creativity and expression. He argues that it was never viewed as “copying” or “stealing” intellectual property until recent times. On page 18, he suggests “extreme copyright regulations make it almost impossible for a wide range of creativity” (Lessig p. 18, 2008). I agree that sharing ideas and the flow of knowledge is harmed by extreme regulations, but I also think it is necessary to have moderate laws in place to protect the creativity we so desire in our society.
Here is my REMIX Video on “Blended Learning”
References for Mozilla “Popcorn Maker” VIDEO on “Blended Learning”:
Definition:
Staker, Heather and Horn, Michael B. Classifying K-12 Blended Learning. May 2012.
^ “Blended Learning (Staker / Horn – May 2012)” (PDF).
Retrieved 2013-10-24. From (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning#cite_note-1)
Videos:
Klocke, Astrid. (Professor at Northern Arizona University). February 19, 2013. NAUeLearning Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkErV1M0K8Y
From Wikimedia Commons: A short video introducing Blended Learning. Original Youtube copy: http://youtu.be/lIh4jJlvF44 (Creative Commons Attribution to Frederic Skrzypek) (October 4th, 2013)
Music:
Gill Chang “Calm Storm” (From Soundcloud.com) licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
https://soundcloud.com/gillchang/calm-storm
Photos:
Grigoryan, Arthur. (May 25th, 2006). TC students at orientation session with Prof. John Nichols
[Web Photo] Retrieved from:
Author: Intel Free Press. (August 16th, 2013). “Kids with Education Tablet Computers”
[Web Photo] Retrieved from:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/9527140076_621d50f449_o.jpg
Scoble, Robert. (March 2nd, 2010) “iPad 2 with Smart Cover running iMovie”
[Web Photo] Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/IPad_2_Smart_Cover_at_unveiling_crop.jpg
Stone, Brian A. (KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia. May 6, 2011) U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian A. Stone/Released. Web Photo. Retrieved from:
November 4th, 2010 – Wikipedia Commons – Author: LG [Web Photo] Retrieved from:
Sagdejev, Ildar. (September 30th, 2003). From Wikipedia Commons “UNC-CH Phillips classroom”. [Web Photo] Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/2003-09-30_UNC-CH_Phillips_classroom_2.jpg
Cannell, Lisa. (slideshare presentation February 2014, Tanglin Trust School). “Providing PD for Library support staff at TTS”. [Web Photo] Retrieved from:
http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/11/04/05/35/learn-64058_640.jpg
CC Attribution. Wikimedia Foundation (File:Licensing tutorial en.svg) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. [Web Photo] Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Puzzly_at_the_computer_(RTL).svg
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