I'm sort of clueless about Timeline

So I know a lot about the Audio Tour section of the website; however, I do not know too much about the timeline. I was not on that team and I have not really been following their process. After spending some time playing with it, I've realized just how cool it is! I sat on it for an hour and a half just reading all the different things. They did a really good job and I love the fun fact by Darcy the Docent Dog. Not only is the content interesting and appealing but also the format is stellar. Maddy did an excellent job with it.

I'm just glad that I didn't have to be responsible for all that content. Phew! That must have been a heavy load to pull.

Course Reflection

As the semester flies by I realize that it is time to take a break and evaluate how I am fulfilling my course options. At the end of the semester, I need to meet with Dr. Spotts, Dr. Waecter & Dr. Hanley and articulate exactly what I have accomplished in my “courses.”

As I reflect upon what I’ve been doing, I realize that I need to step it up a bit! In the blog, not only am I going to outline what I’ve been working on, but ALSO I will create a list of assignments that coincides with my course options.

English 400

This blog. I have never done a real blog like this before. I’m learning how to keep my audience interested as well fulfill the requirements that Beth needs out of me. It’s hard to bridge that gap I’m realizing.

The podcasts. For the audio tour group, we are writing podcasts, which prove to be quite a challenge. We must orient people through the museum, inform people about the room, inform people about the object AND keep them awake…. It’s a tough job actually.

Room for improvement: update my blog more often. I’m really slacking on that.

English 299

I’m going to be honest…. I have no idea what this class is. So I’m going to say that this class is my PR class.

I have been working on planning the showcase. It’s coming along slowly but surely. The entire group has really been focusing on content for the Web site so other projects have been put on the back burner for now.

I’m going to write hometown news releases for each student. This is HARD. I’m trying to find the news value and the focus for these stories. I really need to sit down and pump these out.

I’m making a media kit/ programs/ invitations for the showcase. Still working out the details but I’m pretty excited! I’m hoping to make some neat materials.

Room for improvement: get my booty working! If I don’t start this stuff soon I’m going to drop the ball.

ITGRA 286

Basic Photography. I’ve been picking Loretta’s brain about cameras and I have picked up a wealth of knowledge from her. I’ve learned about ISOs and aperature settings and all kinds of fun stuff! I will continue to pick her brain.

I am taking pictures for the audio tour of the Web site.

Room for improvement: play with the camera more often.

ITGRA 282

Digital imaging. I’ve been playing on photoshop a lot. It’s fun! I borrowed Loretta’s portfolio from when she took this class to learn more about specific elements of photoshop.

I will be producing materials for the showcase to fulfill this requirement.

Room for improvement: play around with dreamweaver, photoshop, indesign and illustrator more often.

The Pitch.......

Just for the record, I’m very behind on my blog….. but hey, atleast I’m honest.

So a few weeks ago we had “the pitch.”

In attendance:

Peter Blume: director of the museum (somewhat friendly, but business-like)

Carl Shafer: associate director of the museum (friendlier and also business-like)

Tania Said: curator of education for the museum (always a pleasure to work with)

Joe Trimmer: Director of Virginia Ball Center (an absolute hoot, will talk your ear off, brilliant man)

Valerie [insert last name]: Not exactly sure what her title is, but she is a talented graphic artist (she always leaves us with new things to think about, which I LOVE)

Laura [insert last name]: media director for the VBC (keeper of all things holy at the VBC including cameras, computers and necessary programs, very friendly)

And of course our entire class was there along with our lovely professor.

We all dressed up for this pitch. We wanted to be treated like professionals rather than students. We even offered them water. It was great.

Our guests were given binders with all the information in it. (This was good for them, but there was mass confusion with our guests throughout the presentation because the formatting was not consistent. It was more of a last-minute packet because we were too busy to do more with it).

Beth (our professor aka the queen) was the first to talk then each section presented their section of the site. I presented the audio tour and THANK GOD they had no real criticisms of our section. Other groups had bigger problems, however. Peter was a bit critical of our site, which I do not think is a bad thing. Several students felt like they were under attack but I thought it was nice to be treated like a professional. A few individuals got defensive. My classmate Katie Pourcho really stepped up to the plate and delicately defended certain portions of the site. Kudos to her on that. To be honest, it was not just Katie that did an amazing job with the pitch. Our entire class really kept it together and acted like professionals. Going into this pitch I was worried that this would end up like several of our staff meetings where tempers get out of hand and voices are raised.

This was a great experience for me because last year I went into a “pitch” where the client hated our project and attacked us on the spot about things we could not change. After hearing Peter and Carl’s feedback, we can now make the appropriate changes and our site will be even stronger!

Overall, I feel like a grown up after having been in this situation!

Visit to Monroe Central High School

To continue my discussion about real-world encounters, I will now tell you about the art teacher we are working with at Monroe Central High School.

If I was required to describe Jeff Waggoner with 1 word that word would be "Cool." When we first met with Jeff, he sat down and talked with us during his prep period--which is quite a sacrifice on his part. After an hour of us picking his brain, his students came in..... [insert intimidating music here].

We all had mixed feelings of fear, anxiety and excitement when we first encountered the students, it was a bit awkward. PICTURE THIS: 15 university students drooling with anticipation of obtaining knowledge as they watch 30 high school students like caged animals interact. Luckily, Jeff did an amazing job at easing the tension and Beth suggested that we [art to go students] partake in the art activities alongside the High Schoolers. (If you haven't been paying attention up to this point, listen now. This is where the good stuff starts).

Although most of us scoffed at the idea of partaking in elementary-type games, we did end up participating in the class activities. Jeff's lesson was about realism, which is the style of art that depicts real-life scenes and people. At first Jeff gave a quick history lesson about realism (and by quick I mean no longer than 5 minutes). The lesson was interesting because he tied in interesting facts about realist artists and he pointed to examples of realism around his classroom. The students were interactive... I know, right? Who would have thought that students would actually be engaged in Art History. It was neat.

Then he changed direction and had the students (and us) do warm-up exercises--and no we did not run around the block to get our hearts pumping. The exercises taught us how to loosen up and pay attention to detail. Here are some examples of my work:

My eyes were open for this one. It was the first drawing I did.

I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with this drawing. It's my best one.

I did this with my eyes closed and my left hand.

I drew this with my eyes closed.

I got to do whatever I wanted with this one as well.

I drew this one with my left hand.

My eyes were closed for this one. I photoshopped some stars in with this one to be fun.

My eyes were closed for this one.

Sorry to disappoint, these drawings were not created by Picasso. They were produced by yours truly.

I also photoshopped all of these to get more experience in photoshop. It was quite a lovely time!

Overall, Jeff is a valuable resource for our project. He is our audience and if we do no not listen to what he wants, then our site will be unused. Although we took away several good ideas from our first visit to the school, the most important thing we learned is that Jeff--and most likely other art and humanities teachers--are adding a human element to their lessons. Teachers are asking one simple question: how can I relate this piece of information to my students' lives so they will be engaged, interested and ultimately retain the information?