Spoke to my CSE professor about children's cognitive learning techniques so I can have a more clear idea of how children can learn effectively from this program that I am designing. Her research is more directed at college students rather than elementary school children, so her focus is more on how to maintain their attention and get them involved in the lecture through use of iClicker and group discussions.
I also spoke to a Professor from the Visual Arts department about how my project is more of a design program rather than art, and what I can do to make sure that this is still "art". Mainly, I should focus on HOW children will be involved in my project. For example, the fractal art that they create through my program while learning math at the same time, will form a collection of generated art that will be displayed as part of my piece. The young students that I plan on holding a workshop for are students from my EDS139 practicum course (Education Studies), who are particularly from low-income families. Because most of these students aren't exposed to the opportunity of higher education, if these young students could see their own works on a art gallery or a university gallery, their views on college education may change and it may encourage them to work harder and achieve higher goals than before.
I began writing my code on Processing, using the basic Archimedean spiral shape...
processing - shapeprimitive, triangleflower, curves, translate, rotate, curvevertex
Archimedean Spiral: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ArchimedesSpiral.html
"Technology in the classroom is only successful if it engages" -Diana Oblinger
It's important that students' input is physically carried out onto the visual that they are playing around with.
Fractals, geometry, math education, art
generative art:
http://blog.hvidtfeldts.net/index.php/generative-art-links/
Elementary Mathematic Concepts found in Fractals
concrete-representation-abstract instructional approach
concrete stage: teacher begins instruction by modeling each mathematical concept with concrete materials
representational stage: may involve drawing pictures; using circles, dots... etc.
abstract stage: models concepts at a symbolic level, using only numbers
want to incorporate both concrete and representational, but omit the abstract; combination of the "doing" stage and the "seeing" stage
for example, to read and write fractions, the goal for teachers is to have the student develop the spatial organization, visually and kinesthetically
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/CRA_Instructional_Approach.asp
Electronic Media, Attention, and Visual Spatial Skills
ie: Tetris, third graders experimental group showed improved scores on a paper&paper test of mental-rotation skills
Electronic Media and Problem-Solving Skills
transfer from television is possible, as long as 1. children must understand the content of the program; 2. must create an abstract mental representation of that content; 3. must remember the content and see its relation to the new problem; 4. must apply the remembered content to the new problem.
Fisch recommends program repetition of the same content in multiple contexts, to increase the likelihood of transfer of learning.
http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=32&articleid=57§ionid=256&submit
Child Psychology
concrete objects can help young children understand symbol-referant relations, but ultimate goal must remain to help children comprehend more abstract relations
the best concrete object symbols may well be ones that possess elements of their own destruction, designed to become less necessary or relevant as children come to understand the more abstract representation
http://books.google.com/books?id=reWupx_OJs8C&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=children+%22abstract+representation%22+cognition+OR+perception+OR+learning&source=bl&ots=0s0lpSbhdw&sig=rVzxft-9su7lvIIlaqC1ROS-T4c&hl=en&ei=lvCtTKSGHY60sAO6tqWvBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=children%20%22abstract%20representation%22%20cognition%20OR%20perception%20OR%20learning&f=false
Visual learners
visual-spatial learners are individuals who think in pictures than in words. They learn all-at-once, and not from repetition and drill. They are whole-part learners who need to see the big picture first before they learn the details. They are non-sequential, which means that they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach. They are systems thinkers who can orchestrate large amounts of information from different domains, but they often miss the details.
SMART Notebook Math Tools
create lesson activities that inspire participation
explore math concepts using interactivity using interactive protractors and compass
how could the participant interact with the game in creative ways?
read http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6160&page=R9
Technology to Support Learning
an important use of technology is its capacity to create new opportunities for curriculum and instruction by bringing real-world problems into the classroom for students to explore and solve
technology can help to create an active environment in which students not only solve problems, but also find their own problems
interactivity makes it easy for students to revisit specific parts of the environment to explore them more fully, to test ideas, and to receive feedback. 197
more effective for creating contexts that students can explore and reexamine, both individually and collaboratively 197
9/30
Project idea 1: a visually aesthetic program/game that can be used as a math learning tool
Using Processing, I want to create an interactive program/game that can be used as a learning tool to practice elementary level mathematics. Young students seem to be more focused and involved when learning is more interactive and game like, especially when the material is on an electronic medium rather than the typical textbook. Also, some students tend to learn better visually rather than through hearing or reading. In my program, I want to put more emphasis on the graphics and motions of the visuals so that the piece camouflages the educational aspect and allows the player to experience some sense of visual aesthetic. Instead of displaying numbers and mathematical functions, the program will consist of random shapes that change in size, amount, and color in relation to the numerical values. The player will use the mouse to move around objects and solve simple math calculations, and visual effects will let them know whether the answer was correct or not.
The most difficult part of the project for me is to come up with how the game exactly works, the rules of the game, and how to present everything as artistic visuals (since I would like to avoid having numbers appearing on the screen). Through some research, I found several artistic programs that create dynamic visuals when interacted through the mouse clicker. These programs called Studio Toys are written by students from Columbia University GSAPP Advanced Studio VI. Their studio, “Computing Kaizen,” explores “evolutionary architectural structure and their potential to anticipate change and internalize complex relations1.” Their programs contain building blocks that can self-organize and morph into creative forms. The creators of Studio Toys used Processing to create these programs. In addition to the design of the program/game, another difficult aspect would be writing the code on Processing.
the movie trailer for 'Last Exorcism' on Chatroulette
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elYvi3I8MK4
This form of movie trailer functions as an attraction that first presents itself as an ordinary seductive subject, to capture the viewer's attention for the upcoming short narrative. Through the use of Chatroulette, the promotional discourse of this movie is able to disguise itself as an ordinary “show” at first, and when the girl gestures that she is about to begin a performance, the role of the spectator is quickly set. At this point, as mentioned in Gibson's article, the audience is invited to sit back and participate in the film's discourse in some way, while they are unaware that they are about to encounter a movie trailer. Because these viewers on Chatroulette automatically attracts their own gaze to the female subject, the movie trailer does not need to actively promote and sell their product. Even once they realize that this girl they met on Chatroulette turned out to a commercial for the 'Last Exorcism,' spectators continue to sit there in awe, because they are held back from the unexpected cinematic experience.
Fantasmatic Scenes
Wearing brand clothing/accessories
Many women are obsessed with having brand clothing and accessories, for the purpose of displaying them in public and drawing society's attention to feel like a celebrity. This is what Sorkin calls, “inhabiting the brand.” While the wearer feels like she is in control of the brand and fantasizes about attracting society's envious gaze, in reality she is simply walking around advertising for the fashion brand. In fact, her identity is no longer in power because she has agreed to surrender herself to be seen as a living ad display. Sorkin mentions that there is a sort of thrill that this experience provides; the closest she can get to being like a real celebrity. Her posing exhibit does indeed attract the public eye, but it is mainly concentrated on the branded object rather than the figure herself. In fact, once spectators mentally connect the brand to an actual celebrity, the focus is completely lost on the bearer, and now is only recognized as a logo, not an identity. However, the wearer is free to fantasize about her desires and enjoy the gaze to make herself feel famous.
Impersonations
Elvis Presley impersonators
There are hundreds of Elvis Presley impersonators in the world (so many that there's even a wiki page about them). While many choose to impersonate him as a tribute act to the famed musician, some specialize in experimenting in gender, sexuality, taste, and decency using Elvis's name and status. Wiki notes that some impersonation “points more directly to homoerotic implications...,” similar to how Ramakers describes drag as bringing about an “excessively sexualized” effect. These actions that serve more for personal reasons rather than paying tribute to the actual, is only purposeful in gaining public attention and causing commotion. As Ramakers notes that drag should be read as “nonproductive expenditure,” impersonating for monetary or personal benefits is also wasteful action that is solely aimed at increasing effect.
Intensities
nude protest
Some public protests use the tactic of public nudity in order to attract more attention. But their reason for disrobing is not purely for spectacle, but to send a message through exposing the self and revealing the truth. Examples of their slogans are “Disrobe for disarmament”, “Naked for Peace”, and “I'd rather go naked than wear fur!” In Nancy's article, she notes that “to be without any covering... is to reveal everything, but at the same time, to show that there is nothing more to see.” By uncovering themselves in public, these protestors are able to communicate effectively through both their voices and physical gestures, and put more emphasis in what they're speaking out for. Though undressing the self may be thought of as an embarrassing action, according to Simmons “humility is an expression of self-opacity,” and these protestors have the courage to unveil the ugly truths that most others prefer to conceal within themselves.
By giving my avatar a physically unattractive figure, I thought to experiment and open up a perspective on the ethical subjects of shame, humiliation, and loss of self-confidence, which appears to be a significant issue in today's narcissist society as mentioned by Frohne. Similar to Micha Cardenas's use of Second Life as a way to explore the topic of gender transition, I wanted to interact with the virtual world to experience an issue of social inequality that was based on figure appearance and emotional insecurity.
At first, I tried out regular interactions by attempting to start a conversation several times among groups that I found in random worlds. My avatar's greeting got completely ignored at a clothing store, caused one group's conversation to cease for a minute, and got rejected when she went up to a guy and asked him to dance with her. Dell mentions in her article that, qualities that players acquire in virtual reality--whether it's confidence or insecurity--can affect their behavior in the real world. Although my character was a made-up figure that only existed in Second Life, the feedback I received was perceived as real, and my self-assurance decreased as I began to feel discouraged for my poor avatar.
Later on, I asked some individuals in Second Life whether their avatars represent themselves accurately and why they dress them up the way they do, and the common answer was, “to feel better about myself.” According to Dell, the way we view ourselves affects the confidence we display in the virtual world; yet everyone in Second Life tries to look as attractive as possible, not based on their level of insecurity but more so due to their sense of narcissism and the desire to be the center of their self-staged media, by extending encounters via the web and reinforcing their avatar's profiles in virtual life. 
My first encounter was with a guy from Australia. He was sitting in his living room and I could tell he was from the other side of the world because it seemed like it was the middle of the day for him. Our conversation started out slow. We told each other where we were from. It quickly got awkward because his facial expression wasn't changing at all and he didn't seem interested in talking to me. He then asked, “Do you do this often?” and I answered, “no.” He responded saying, “Thought so,” and ended the session. He was one of those who presented himself in banal reality (as mentioned by Sourkes), in a clear setting with no change at all in his movement, that there was definitely not much to see or ask. I suppose the same went for him since I was nervous and presented myself as very ordinary.
10/2 3:59pm
I decided to have my second try at a time in the afternoon, hoping that there would be less obscene encounters than the previous night. This time, it was a man from Stockholm, Sweden. Similar to the first guy, this man seemed to have an inexpressive face. Eventually, the webcam view began to look creepy because all I could see was his head and nothing below. To add to the emptiness of the view, the wall behind him was blank and there was no background to support my image of him. He then said, “Do you want to see something?” and began to shift his webcam downwards. I noticed that he had no shirt on and I quickly moved on to the next. This man was a prepared performer who wanted to be seen, so he created a short narrative where he first formed a sense of fear through the unknown, and then used his webcam to uncover the unknown. The way he included camera movement to his narrative made his “performance” similar to a cinema.
10/2 4:10pm
Next was a 17 years old boy from Germany. At first, I wasn't sure if he was really chatting with me because he was facing a different angle and didn't change his facial expression at all. Our conversation was fairly normal and constant, and I was less nervous because he was younger than me. Out of no where, he began saying, “plz show,” and kept repeating that phrase over and over, but with absolutely no facial expression. Instead, he frequently used smiley faces in his conversation, but what he was saying didn't match his face at all. His indifferent expression confused me and put me off; it seemed as if didn't acknowledge that he was viewed by us, but was purely being a spectator.
10/2 4:20pm
This man(?) from UK displayed a blurry wall in place of his face. I asked him why he hid his face, and he said it was because he didn't have any clothes on. Unlike the other naked guys, this man wasn't as bold as the other “exhibitionists” who displayed themselves openly. But while he wasn't willing to reveal his intimate self physically, he was more open to me through words. He told me that he wasn't confident in his body and that's why he hid himself. Because I wasn't talking to a person's face, the experience was more virtual rather than realistic. I actually felt more comfortable chatting to this man because his identity was unclear therefore unrealistic.
10/2
4:34pm
Next, I got two guys from Texas who seemed to be college students. They immediately started joking around in excitement, making racist comments and yelling about Texas pride. Eventually they calmed down and began to be more friendly. After a few minutes of chitchatting, one of the guys performed a Dave Matthews song on his guitar for us. Unlike the other guys who went on Chatroulette alone, these guys seemed more open about showing their identities and personalities in front of the camera. I think that generally, people are more at ease to performing for the webcam when they have friends as spectators on their side. On the other hand, performing alone in front of the webcam is different because the seer is mediated by the virtual, and the immediate spectator is merely a recording device.
10/4 10:20am
I decided to try it earlier this time, in the late morning, to see if I'd get different types of people. I got another no-face; this time the camera was facing the window. This person wouldn't say where he/she was from, and I couldn't exactly tell their gender. He/she spoke in broken English, and it sounded like he/she was making up most of the things in our chat. This person was using the webcam to invent their identity and 'try out' a new one, but wasn't too smooth in making it sound realistic. This Chatroulette session was more abstract than the other ones because I couldn't form in my mind an imaginary figure of who I was talking to.
10/4 5: 45pm
This girl lookedreally bored and uninterested. She asked me why I was on Chatroulette so I explained that it was for an art class. I asked her the same thing and she said she was bored and was looking for something entertaining and fun. She sounded like she was only browsing to find something to watch, similar to flipping channels of the television. I asked if she was willing to “be seen” as well, and she just shrugged and said, “sure, it's not like I'm ever gonna see them again.” She was wiling to push the certain limit because she knew that there was no consequences for her in the real world.
10/4
5:48pm
Next was some guy from Colorado. This was the first person who actually waved at me when the chat first opened up. He told me he used to live in California, so he was easier for me to relate to. He was a college student as well, and our conversation went on ordinarily. Soon enough we ran out of things to say because our encounter became more immediate. There was no unknown or mysteriousness, and eventually there was nothing interesting left to see to say.
10/4 10:08pm
My ninth try was with another young guy. He seemed creepy, sitting in a dark room with his face lit up from the computer screen. He said that the most interesting thing he's seen on Chatroulette was naked women. I asked why his view was so dark, and he said it was to hide his face. I asked, “why not block his face completely,” and he answered that women will “skip” him unless his face was showing. Unlike Jennifer Ringley who did not care what her viewers looked like, some performers on Chatroulette do care who they perform to, and seem to only do a show for people who show themselves.
10/4 10:
11pm
My last person I met was a man from Hungary, who seemed to be working in his office at home. He said he was trying it out because his nephew told him about it. I asked for his thoughts on Chatroulette, and he responded saying that it was interesting to meet people from around the world. He also said that next time, he might disguise himself because he feels uncomfortable being displayed in the open, and he'd rather pretend like he's someone else. His idea can be tied to Sourke's idea of the “reconstruction of the self” and playing with one's identity. Although this man probably thought of this idea for privacy reasons, his actions can give him an opportunity to play as a performer.
