1. Reflect on these readings and how you see a New Culture of Learning emerging in our schools and in our digital culture. What is the new culture of learning? I skim through the book with this question in mind. Roughly, I would say the new culture of learning, to some degree, is “collective learning” as the authors define “collective” as “a community of similarly minded people who help others with a particular set of needs”. (p.21) This is current trend which is popular. The authors believe that this kind of learning can augment current learning practice, which can occur outside of classroom. Certainly, it does not mean that teachers are not important anymore, or learning cannot happen in the classroom. I think the “collective” amplify the space of learning. The authors touch some background of 20th century education style, in which I am not familiar with, but I can definitely envision this picture. As they claim, in 20th century education, the knowledge and information are stable and unchanging dispensed by the teacher, however, the new culture of learning information is not static since technology completely change its form. Nowadays, most teachers may notice that current students catch up the speed of update of technology. More or less, they (iKids) are good at learning new things which is faster than teachers. Therefore, most of teachers have to speed up the pace of learning new things. Last semester, I’ve taken Multiple Applications for Teaching Art which is amazing, because I entered a new world with all technology. What makes me impressed is some tutorials are made by young age people. Additionally, I remember one of my tutoring students taught me how to use the most fashionable photo application (B612) with many different kinds effects and function, while I did not even know what this app is. In short, the old style of learning cannot catch up with the speed of change nowadays, and new media makes peer-to-peer learning easier, and the emergence of technology finally shapes the collective learning with new media. Relatively, John McCarthy sheds light on how different social media tools enhance student’s learning. This article pays attention to the social media tools, meanwhile, it helps educator how to choose the right tool which is vital. To be honest, some tools the author mentions I am not familiar with, even I do not know what they are. From this point of view, I believe this is collective learning example, because I read the article, and practice on different social media tools which fits well with my needs. Back to Thomas and Brown’s book, they demonstrate the balance between the individual(personal) and the collective. They assert that collective is the group constantly playing with and re-imaging its own identity, while the personal focus on who she/he is and what she/he can do. They suggest to fuse the personal and the collective as professionals and amateurs adding up are more than the sum of their parts. Regarding to collectives and education, Thomas and Brown claim that the students involved in the online study group are able to learn much more as a collective than if they work alone. I totally agree, because I have taken some online courses provided by our program which are meaningful and inspiring. Last but not the least, the most interesting statement is tacit learning, in which happens when “we learn by doing, watching, and experiencing”. (p.76) The authors claim that tacit knowledge can be absorbed into the body through the senses by participating in every activity. I have some questions according to this book, first, for the new culture of learning, how do educators assess students? What does the assessment look like? What if we use some digital assessment tools? Second, how can educators, schools implement the new culture of learning? I’ve noticed collective learning has emerged in schools, while I am wondering how we can implement this nature of learning completely? 2. Create: Utilizing a group of the same objects you find at home please create an art piece that visually represents Do Ho Suh’s big idea about “The Individual and the Collective” Artist Statement When it comes to the individual and the collective, it reminds me of the spiral of silence theory indicated individuals have a fear of isolation. It results from the idea that a social group or the society in general might isolate, neglect, or exclude members due to the members’ opinions. This fear of isolation consequently leads to remaining silent instead of voicing opinions. If you happen to know the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal, you may have the same question likes I have. Why does this issue can be concealed for over 30 years? Why didn't these victims stand up and speak up? Why is this event now exposed? It is true that the individual should get together so that they could have power, as one of victims said in court “imagine feeling like you (Larry Nassar) have no power and no voice. Well, you know what, Larry? I have both power and voice, and I am only just beginning to use them. All these brave women have power, and we will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve: a life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.” My work is like swirl, the bottom represents the individual while the top represents the collective. Obviously, when more individuals are collected, the collective would be powerful and their voice could be heard. However, most of the individuals are in isolation and they do not want to speak up. I used white color to describe this group people, because white, in my perspective, represents people who is pale with exhaustion. I used red to represent people get together and later they can gain power, like the top with yellow color. If you see inside of the swirl, there are bunch of sequins collected. This is my hope, listen to the individual, make them collected, make their voice being heard. The colorful sequins represent my best wishes, even though the world is not perfect and fair. 3. Reflect on this experience and how creative art experiences like this can be integrated into diverse disciplines.
Big idea is extremely important, because it could across barriers among diverse disciplines. Take Do Ho Suh’s big idea as an example, “the individual and the collective”, to some degree, is related to many subjects, such as social study, communication, journalism, political science and so on. However, artmaking extends people’s knowledge and with hands-on experience. I think objectification is, to some extends, more important than imagination. I know the importance of imagination, while my point here is, when you objectify your imagination, this process is more meaningful than something just in mind. Creative art experiences involve problem-finding, problem-solving, creativities, innovation and imagination, most importantly, creating. Artmaking extends sensory perception, vision, and hearing, which cannot be taught from other disciplines. Educators integrating art into different disciplines is the icing on the cake. Reference: Opinion climates, spirals of silence, and biotechnology: Public opinion as a heuristic for scientific decision making, in Brossard, D; Shanahan, J; Nesbit, TC, The public, the media, and agricultural biotechnology: An international casebook, Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press, pp. 231–41 Larry Nassar Sentencing: ‘I Just Signed Your Death Warrant’
1 Comment
Kathy
2/11/2018 03:08:38 pm
First I think your spiral creation in response to Suh's ideas about the individual and collective is very insightful. You represent that concept in your discussion of Thomas and Brown's book as well: "As they claim, in 20th century education, the knowledge and information are stable and unchanging dispensed by the teacher, however, the new culture of learning information is not static since technology completely change its form." as you learned personally in your Multimedia Applications for teaching art class. And here you note the relationship of one to some in the Thomas Brown book:"Back to Thomas and Brown’s book, they demonstrate the balance between the individual(personal) and the collective. They assert that collective is the group constantly playing with and re-imaging its own identity, while the personal focus on who she/he is and what she/he can do. They suggest to fuse the personal and the collective as professionals and amateurs adding up are more than the sum of their parts. " When we consider ourselves in our art classrooms we are also reenacting the individual and collective concept as we are there for the same purpose - learning (from each other).
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