Fifth session of Sony Acid and the day starts off right on time with everyone in attendance! Today was mostly a work day, with a quick review in the beginning and a Permit Test in the end.
The day began with Chris making the announcement that today's lab would be ending about 45 minutes early because there a performance planned that would require more time then usually allowed during community hour. Oh yeah, and that performance/poetry/workshop was great!
So after the quick announcement, Chris continued with the lesson and moved right on to a quick review of the Sony Acid interface and and tools. This review was well needed, as it covered the functions of the main tools, the difference between Draw tool and the Paint tool, and some very helpful vocab that Acid uses quite frequently such as "event clips" and "snapping."
Directly following the review, the students were given their time to finish up the beats they've been working on from last session for their mini BTW project. Some of them were very far with their 24-measure beat, while others were still in the beginning phase of the process and still trying to find the right sounds. For the next 45 minutes or so the students spent working on their mini BTW's and Chris and Tony where constantly moving from student to student helping them along with their beats, answering questions, and troubleshooting any problems they may have been experiencing; everyone was quite busy, which is always a good sign! (unless of course everyone is all tired and stuff :]).
By the time their work time was just about up, a lot of the students had made outstanding progress with their mini BTW's and many were already finished! Following their work time the students were allowed a quick break and then upon their return they began their final portion of lab: their first attempt at the Sony Acid Permit Test--and I've got a feeling that they all did quite well on it.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
EPIC DAY 6 - BTW CONQUEST!
What a title, huh? As today was mostly working on the BTW projects due at the end of next session, Elizabeth attempted to liven things up at the beginning with a pirated youtube LOTR video. Theoden and Aragorn charging against all orc odds at Helm's Deep ought to motivate anyone, right?
After this brief intro, accompanied with the suggestion on the part of Alli that we have a movie day (wouldn't that be a fun way to end the last session?!), Elizabeth launched the class into the learn@UW quiz. After clarifying a few details, such as the fact that the BTW is due at the end of NEXT session, the class was ready to begin worktime.
Many people were missing today, but groups made do with the resources they had. Krystal and Malibu quickly got together and decided on a course of action, running to the other tower to use the conference room to record. The rest of the class, in the meantime, continued working on their scripts. AJ eventually came in to introduce the feedback quiz on learn@UW, and to ask each student to take it. Soon after, Alli and Nina were ready to record as well - Paul esocrted them to the recording studio.
Before this, however, the class discussed, prompted by Elizabeth's question, what everyone was doing over spring break. Alli and Nina have track practice thwice a day the entire week!! Wow, you go girls! That's pretty intense. No one else seemed to really have any special plans.
Random sound effects, from screams to bells ringing filled the air over the calm solo piano that Elizabeth put on as background. Eventually, Michelle, Anny, Tenzin, Jose, and Diana were able to start working in earnest - for the first half Tenzin was writing their script so there wasn't as much to do. Jose and Diana, the two main actors, left for the recording studio after Alli and Nina had finished their time.
Elizabeth shared facts about romantic composers during the break (did you know that Felix Mendelssohn's sister was a virtuosic performer and composed Queen Victoria's favorite Mendelssohn piece?) and Michelle and Anny debated whether or not they could jump down to the outdoor courtyard without breaking something . . .
Switching up from Chopin Nocturnes to extravagant romantic orchestral settings, the end of class began in earnest. Perhaps music really does influence our actions - the students seemed particularly attentive during this last set of worktime. Wrapping things up with blogs at 2:45. Another fine day of ITA. BTW conquest to be completed next time!
After this brief intro, accompanied with the suggestion on the part of Alli that we have a movie day (wouldn't that be a fun way to end the last session?!), Elizabeth launched the class into the learn@UW quiz. After clarifying a few details, such as the fact that the BTW is due at the end of NEXT session, the class was ready to begin worktime.
Many people were missing today, but groups made do with the resources they had. Krystal and Malibu quickly got together and decided on a course of action, running to the other tower to use the conference room to record. The rest of the class, in the meantime, continued working on their scripts. AJ eventually came in to introduce the feedback quiz on learn@UW, and to ask each student to take it. Soon after, Alli and Nina were ready to record as well - Paul esocrted them to the recording studio.
Before this, however, the class discussed, prompted by Elizabeth's question, what everyone was doing over spring break. Alli and Nina have track practice thwice a day the entire week!! Wow, you go girls! That's pretty intense. No one else seemed to really have any special plans.
Random sound effects, from screams to bells ringing filled the air over the calm solo piano that Elizabeth put on as background. Eventually, Michelle, Anny, Tenzin, Jose, and Diana were able to start working in earnest - for the first half Tenzin was writing their script so there wasn't as much to do. Jose and Diana, the two main actors, left for the recording studio after Alli and Nina had finished their time.
Elizabeth shared facts about romantic composers during the break (did you know that Felix Mendelssohn's sister was a virtuosic performer and composed Queen Victoria's favorite Mendelssohn piece?) and Michelle and Anny debated whether or not they could jump down to the outdoor courtyard without breaking something . . .
Switching up from Chopin Nocturnes to extravagant romantic orchestral settings, the end of class began in earnest. Perhaps music really does influence our actions - the students seemed particularly attentive during this last set of worktime. Wrapping things up with blogs at 2:45. Another fine day of ITA. BTW conquest to be completed next time!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Learning About Mother
Zon escorted her students upstairs where their laptops were already set up and ready to go. However, since there were a shortage of computers in Elizabeth's classroom, the computers were given up.
The students sat still in their seats with a pen in hand scribbling furiously at their packet of notes for hardware. Everyone had questions about every part on the mother board.
Finally after about 50 minutes of lecturing, the students were given a quick 5 minute break. Afterwards, the class gathered around the small table and looked inside Yangchen's computer tower. Zon had the students point out each part and describe what its function was.
She also showed the students how to take out a RAM of stick and how to put it back. The students' faces lit up with amazement at how easy it was, and how much people are paying for other people to do such a simple task. Aliyah got a chance to try it out and she seemed proud of herself for figuring it out.
After awhile, the students began to complain about how tired and head-aching they were. So, Zon took them on a field trip to the ITA office. When they arrived there, AJ answered some of the questions they had about hard drives. The confusion on the students' faces cleared up.
The class was suppose to take their PowerPoint permit test and a learn@UW quiz, but the laptops were upstairs. Zon had forgotten that they needed the laptops.
When the class came back into the room, they began to write in their journals about what they learned about and what more do they want to know about. Also, they had to choose on focusing on either getting certified in PowerPoint or hardware. After everyone finished their journals, they walked downstairs for community hour.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Digital Audio Session 5
And it's off to the races . . . as students meandered in around 12:10-15, Paul started off another day of Storytelling with Digital Audio! And what better way to begin than with a learn@UW quiz?
After the quiz, Paul gave a brief overview of how to render files as a reminder - then, he set the students to work on their Behind the Wheels. After a bit of trouble getting freesound.org up (Jaylah and Taylor thought that it was freesoundS) the students began diligently working on their scripts, the end result and goal of the day. After their scripts were completed, students were free to start searching for sounds and recording. Soon the room echoed with intriguing noises students were checking out, while Paul and Elizabeth looked on fondly and discussed old Christmas TV specials. Students were so enraptured with their work, that they didn't even take their first break.
As she was going around checking on students to see how they were, Elizabeth discovered Carrie was in a lot of pain with a toothache - apparently, she'll have to have some dental work done tomorrow. It was difficult for Carrie to concentrate, so Elizabeth set her up on some comfortable chairs in the smaller partitioned part of the room. Feel better soon Carrie! AJ came in later and told her to head on home.
Promptly at 1:20, Paul introduced the permit test, explaining that today was the first attempt.
The room fell silent as students stared intently at their computer screens, weighing their options. Towards the end, Malibu asked when we were doing blogs. Good call Malibu! Though originally planned to be at the very end of the session, it seemed to make the most sense to use the current post-PT silence for blog writing time. Paul and Elizabeth switched the schedule around slightly so students could complete their blogs immediately. This way, the instructors already had a captive audience and didn't have to gather the class's attention from something else!
The students were very on top of things today! As they commenced blog writing, Diana asked if there needed to be a picture this? Excellent work Diana! Artifacts are always required for ITA blogs, though today Paul and Elizabeth forgot to mention this!
Class ended early at around 2:00 in order to allow plenty of time for the students to make it to community hour in the basement, escorted by Paul as per the new rules of ITA
When Paul returned, as this blog is unnaturally short considering the shorter day, he wrestled the computer away from Elizabeth . . . . ahhh!!! Paul - no!!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And then some other stuff happened. A long, sinewy creature descended from the sky in a cloud of mist, sunlight flashing on its golden scales. It was Tianlong, the great and powerful celestial dragon of China. With a voice like a hundred thousand cheering soldiers, Tianlong whispered to us the secret of Creation, granting us a all a brief glimpse of the eternal wonder of the universe before breathing salient vapors on us and making us forget what he had said. Though we no longer remember the secret which he told us, the moment of awareness left an indelible mark on the heart of each and every one of us, manifesting as a subconscious joy that accompanies each passing moment.
But, maybe I just imagined that. Still, it would have been cool, right?
After the quiz, Paul gave a brief overview of how to render files as a reminder - then, he set the students to work on their Behind the Wheels. After a bit of trouble getting freesound.org up (Jaylah and Taylor thought that it was freesoundS) the students began diligently working on their scripts, the end result and goal of the day. After their scripts were completed, students were free to start searching for sounds and recording. Soon the room echoed with intriguing noises students were checking out, while Paul and Elizabeth looked on fondly and discussed old Christmas TV specials. Students were so enraptured with their work, that they didn't even take their first break.
As she was going around checking on students to see how they were, Elizabeth discovered Carrie was in a lot of pain with a toothache - apparently, she'll have to have some dental work done tomorrow. It was difficult for Carrie to concentrate, so Elizabeth set her up on some comfortable chairs in the smaller partitioned part of the room. Feel better soon Carrie! AJ came in later and told her to head on home.
Promptly at 1:20, Paul introduced the permit test, explaining that today was the first attempt.
The room fell silent as students stared intently at their computer screens, weighing their options. Towards the end, Malibu asked when we were doing blogs. Good call Malibu! Though originally planned to be at the very end of the session, it seemed to make the most sense to use the current post-PT silence for blog writing time. Paul and Elizabeth switched the schedule around slightly so students could complete their blogs immediately. This way, the instructors already had a captive audience and didn't have to gather the class's attention from something else!
The students were very on top of things today! As they commenced blog writing, Diana asked if there needed to be a picture this? Excellent work Diana! Artifacts are always required for ITA blogs, though today Paul and Elizabeth forgot to mention this!
Class ended early at around 2:00 in order to allow plenty of time for the students to make it to community hour in the basement, escorted by Paul as per the new rules of ITA
When Paul returned, as this blog is unnaturally short considering the shorter day, he wrestled the computer away from Elizabeth . . . . ahhh!!! Paul - no!!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And then some other stuff happened. A long, sinewy creature descended from the sky in a cloud of mist, sunlight flashing on its golden scales. It was Tianlong, the great and powerful celestial dragon of China. With a voice like a hundred thousand cheering soldiers, Tianlong whispered to us the secret of Creation, granting us a all a brief glimpse of the eternal wonder of the universe before breathing salient vapors on us and making us forget what he had said. Though we no longer remember the secret which he told us, the moment of awareness left an indelible mark on the heart of each and every one of us, manifesting as a subconscious joy that accompanies each passing moment.
But, maybe I just imagined that. Still, it would have been cool, right?
Monday, February 22, 2010
And the beat goes on... without Zon
For the 4th session of the extra awesome fun lab, the students had to put into practice their promise to work independently to learn and understand technology at their own pace.
A.J. filled in, with Ryan and Chris' help. Here's how it went down, by student:
Gavin decided to audit the ACID class with Chris and Cristina, with the explicit instructions that he is not to ask for help, but rather figure things out himself, and pay very close attention. We've never seen such a focused and driven Gavin. It was wonderful to see that he not only stayed with it, but did a great job with one of the only preserved beats in the class.
Jamarra got a little antsy sitting in the back of the Senior classroom. Definitely the Seniors hard at work rubbed off a little on her and her friends though, because they were all pretty focused as well. Jamarra delved into Lynda.com to watch and learn how that site works. She also went around and helped her classmates to sign up for Lynda.com accounts through the STS site.
Maddie was another star for the day. She finished her powerpoint, started working on an adventure shopping spree with GoogleSpreadsheets, and also helped her classmates out. In the end, she sent A.J. her powerpoint and her blog entry which was a detailed account of her accomplishments of the day.
Jenny was hard at work as well. She mostly worked on getting pictures of all her friends and finishing her powerpoint. We are unsure if she wrote a blog entry.
Finally, Aliyah was also hard at work. She had a fabulous powerpoint emailed to A.J. by the end of the day. She put a lot of effort into it and obviously was able to successfully try new and exciting ways to layout a powerpoint slideshow.
Overall, good day. Next time we have to present those powerpoints and possibly take a Permit test on the subject!
A.J. filled in, with Ryan and Chris' help. Here's how it went down, by student:
Gavin decided to audit the ACID class with Chris and Cristina, with the explicit instructions that he is not to ask for help, but rather figure things out himself, and pay very close attention. We've never seen such a focused and driven Gavin. It was wonderful to see that he not only stayed with it, but did a great job with one of the only preserved beats in the class.
Jamarra got a little antsy sitting in the back of the Senior classroom. Definitely the Seniors hard at work rubbed off a little on her and her friends though, because they were all pretty focused as well. Jamarra delved into Lynda.com to watch and learn how that site works. She also went around and helped her classmates to sign up for Lynda.com accounts through the STS site.
Maddie was another star for the day. She finished her powerpoint, started working on an adventure shopping spree with GoogleSpreadsheets, and also helped her classmates out. In the end, she sent A.J. her powerpoint and her blog entry which was a detailed account of her accomplishments of the day.
Jenny was hard at work as well. She mostly worked on getting pictures of all her friends and finishing her powerpoint. We are unsure if she wrote a blog entry.
Finally, Aliyah was also hard at work. She had a fabulous powerpoint emailed to A.J. by the end of the day. She put a lot of effort into it and obviously was able to successfully try new and exciting ways to layout a powerpoint slideshow.
Overall, good day. Next time we have to present those powerpoints and possibly take a Permit test on the subject!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Digital Audio Day 4
Today was a big day for the Storytelling group. First, Tony filled in for Elizabeth, doing a great job of leading the students through a quick review of several key concepts. He showed them how to use Distortion and Flange in their projects, and how to remember to use the Track FX tool. Since this was a review, a lot of the students already knew how to use a lot of these tools already, and Jose and Jaylah were able to answer a lot of his questions without help.
Next, they went straight to work, finishing their "Stories Without Dialogue" exercise. They all did a great job staying on task and helping each other as needed. By the time they were finished, there were some really good projects, including Diana's, which was a humorous take on the Chariots of Fire theme, and Jose's, which was about a man running from a zombie attack. Good job, everyone!
Here's some nice screenshots of what they did:
Jose:
Diana:
After they finished that project, we let them get into their groups and work on their BTWs. I gave them a sheet with a bunch of helpful hints for writing script outlines, character sketches, mapping out settings and music/FX lists. The groups did some great work, delegating responsibility in preparation for getting their rough drafts for their scripts finished. They're due March 3rd, so good luck everybody!
Next, they went straight to work, finishing their "Stories Without Dialogue" exercise. They all did a great job staying on task and helping each other as needed. By the time they were finished, there were some really good projects, including Diana's, which was a humorous take on the Chariots of Fire theme, and Jose's, which was about a man running from a zombie attack. Good job, everyone!
Here's some nice screenshots of what they did:
Jose:
Diana:
After they finished that project, we let them get into their groups and work on their BTWs. I gave them a sheet with a bunch of helpful hints for writing script outlines, character sketches, mapping out settings and music/FX lists. The groups did some great work, delegating responsibility in preparation for getting their rough drafts for their scripts finished. They're due March 3rd, so good luck everybody!
ACID Day IV
It seems like "Technical Difficulties" is the theme for Chris and Cristina today. All pumped up, Chris was excited to show the students his Double Dutch Bus video (by Frankie Smith) BUT... the speakers weren't working.
AJ to the rescue!
The speakers started working and the dance floor was set!
AJ and Chris were dancing all over the aisle of students. Unfortunately, (except for Brandon) the students were all sitting down.
At the end of the song, Chris asked the class, "Did it click?" and received no response. What he was getting to was the song Double Dutch Bus was sampled by Missy Elliot's Gossip Folks.
Next, the students went to search for their own sampled songs and the class discussed where the original sampled part came from and how it was manipulated.
Once the sharing ended, the learn @ UW quizzes were up and being completed.
Next, Chris showed examples of how to being making a song to the class and then played some of his first works. AJ also played his first beats/songs.
During the exploration unit, the students were let loose to create their own song. Although they only needed 24 measures, the students felt like they needed more time. They only had 38 minutes and counting.
At some point in time, the room became deadly silent. The students were vigorously working on their "Mini BTWs."
Then Chris decides to make an announcement, asking if all of the students found where the beats are. He called out, "Tenzin!" Which is common, but... there were no Tenzin present in the class. Doundup once again corrected him, but this time, his classmates corrected Chris.
After this moment of noise, the class went back to their silence. Back to working on their songs.
When it was time to share their projects, some of the students were eager to showcase their works while others hid in their shells and closed out of ACID (just in case they were forced to share their works).
AJ to the rescue!
The speakers started working and the dance floor was set!
AJ and Chris were dancing all over the aisle of students. Unfortunately, (except for Brandon) the students were all sitting down.
At the end of the song, Chris asked the class, "Did it click?" and received no response. What he was getting to was the song Double Dutch Bus was sampled by Missy Elliot's Gossip Folks.
Next, the students went to search for their own sampled songs and the class discussed where the original sampled part came from and how it was manipulated.
Once the sharing ended, the learn @ UW quizzes were up and being completed.
Next, Chris showed examples of how to being making a song to the class and then played some of his first works. AJ also played his first beats/songs.
During the exploration unit, the students were let loose to create their own song. Although they only needed 24 measures, the students felt like they needed more time. They only had 38 minutes and counting.
At some point in time, the room became deadly silent. The students were vigorously working on their "Mini BTWs."
Then Chris decides to make an announcement, asking if all of the students found where the beats are. He called out, "Tenzin!" Which is common, but... there were no Tenzin present in the class. Doundup once again corrected him, but this time, his classmates corrected Chris.
After this moment of noise, the class went back to their silence. Back to working on their songs.
When it was time to share their projects, some of the students were eager to showcase their works while others hid in their shells and closed out of ACID (just in case they were forced to share their works).
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