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#thisseptemberprj
It all started...
This summer I have been learning more about Holistic Education and Technology through an online course for my M.Ed. I toiled over many different ideas for my indidivudal project. Having a blog and a digital portfolio of sorts with about.me, I knew that I would either be looking at a resource website or a digital art project. So as I mulled over my options (sorry for constantly changing my mind classmates) I was reassured that the best learning opportunity for me would be to explore a digital art project. Now I don't consider myself artsy per se so this was a leap of faith. I love to create with technology, to tell a story, but in the busyness of the day to day I often find I'm rushed or limited to creating out of necessity. This was my opportunity to stop, reflect and play.
Why 'This September?'
There have been a few topics I have wanted to blog about this year: my wish for the 21st century child, the importance of relationships in education and technology as a tool; and just haven't found the time or the words so they seemed to be perfect topics to explore here. At first I thought I could squish them all into one. Many crumpled drafts later I realized it may be easier to explore each one individually. It was wonderful to see how the concepts we discussed in class around holistic education and technology, as well as my own passions around story, photography and film all came together through the project.
As a new school year begins and the day to day routines take over, I hope all three act as a personal reminder to take the time to focus on what is most important: the learner. Even if no one sees them, I feel that I have learned immesnely from the act of creating. I do hope that those who take the time to view them see them as a reminder as well. To spark further reflection each clip has ideas on how to extend, share and remix the creations posted.
I'd love to hear what you think!
Share your thoughts with me on twitter or instagram and make sure to include the #thisseptemberprj hashtag.
Stories. Photography. Film.
Holistic Education
Remix. Share.
More about the Clips
For more about the clips including a link to the story behind the clip, the tech tools that were used and how you can engage with the piece, please go to the individual page of each.
Similar to some colleagues in the course this summer, I wasn't familiar with the holistic education before we began in July. As our discussions progressed over the summer I realize how many aligned with my philosophy of education for the whole child. As you view the clips, I hope they value, better yet advocate for us to see the many facets of the learner. As the course comes to an end, this experience has allowed me to reflect and summarize some of my learning.
Click here for A Brief Introduction to Holistic Education from infed.org.
I have always loved a good story, no matter how it was told. In my current role I have found stories to be an invaluable tool to personalize, connect and start dialogue around change. Photography has been a more recent passion. I think my love for visuals drew me in. Capturing moments with family or learning experiences always puts a smile on my face. I find picture also become visual stories, a moment captured in time, a lesson learned. For this project I really tried to push myself past my comfort zone. I looked through my files and wandered the city to find just the right pictures for My Wish and the site and when I was stuck I am grateful for colleagues that stepped in and shared their images. Still so much more to learn!
How can we expand on the ideas presented, interact, remix? I wanted to make sure that each of the clips sparked a dialogue and to have a way that viewers could interact and take it further. For that reason each page includes the story behind the clip, some of the technical aspects as well as a section around remixing or sharing. All three clips and the images are also shared with a creative commons license so others can create as well.
For more information about Creative Commons, click HERE.