Nature and Design of Compelling Experiences

Artists and designers have always taken inspiration from nature. It had never occurred to me that Teachers could also take inspiration from nature and not just nature but from artists and these compelling experiences that these artists create. When the course began I had no idea that we would draw these bridges and today as we stand at the ending, it is amazing to find these connections . Our task has just begun and it has opened a window for me to look at things in a different light and extract things that makes teaching a compelling experience.

The foundation was set by the Photography module. It stressed the importance of composition and proportion. How simple rules of placing an object makes a difference. Contrary to general belief, not always things that are at the center, at your face will be compelling. How focus and depth matters and where and when to focus. These bridges when drawn for a subject matter and a lesson plan brings in a huge change to it. How color happens to bring in emotion, how the direction of light not only illuminates an object but also speaks about the time of the day and so many other emotions. This module taught me that “God is in Details”. Only when you break apart a thing, you are able to view it in greater detail and our job as a teacher is to bring in order to this chaotic world of understanding. Only when we view a plant cell under an electronic microscope, we are able to see that it is so much similar to the structure of the Universe. These connections have allowed me to bridge the gap between the micro and the macro.

Then we moved to Architecture and started seeing the implication of proportions put to real world. Something like applied knowledge being different from pure science. Another dimension of volume came into picture and how it affects our mood and behavior. How color from nature is applied on artificial surfaces to make us still feel being close to nature. How units and modular designs make a design universal and barrier free. As teachers too we need to follow standards so that someone else can understand it and then carry the knowledge further. Barrier free concept needs to be applied to teaching as well so that no child is left behind. More than one way of representing information is so very important and I came to better know of these by going through the course. How light can become a tool to drive a design. How it can draw people. Similarly we need to show the light at the end of the tunnel to our students for them to cross the tunnel. In interior design we learnt how a couch is much more comfortable than a wooden chair and thus we should strive to make our teaching like a couch and not just like a chair which was passed to us from the previous generation.

The Film module taught me the concept of motion. How a film is a journey between two perfect still pictures became clearer in this module. A film not just has the compelling experiences of a still photograph but it also has a forward motion to it. This brings in another dimension, something similar to architecture. How different goals can be achieved by juxtaposing two frames on top of one another at the same time a complete different experience is achieved by placing them side by side. I became more aware of narration and its styles. The difference between continuous and discrete narration became clear and how it could be used to achieve various goals. Similarly as teachers we should look into this flow and try to teach lessons in a fashion that the narration becomes clear and not just blindly follow the sequence of the syllabus.

Music module stressed the importance of repetition and hook. A simple information when put in a rhythm becomes easy to remember. Similarly the Fashion module talks about change. The need to know your own body and your own strengths. Then decide and choose things that suit you. Students should become more aware of their own strengths. Then they should adopt a learning style that achieves the goal that they intend to complete. The whole course has given me a different lens to look through. It has allowed me to frame my problems through different parameters and not just the ones that I was looking till now. It has taught me that a teacher is like a photographer, artist, who needs to look at things through a lens and then make a composition that is most compelling for the particular experience.

Computer games have cleverly designed levels. There are designers who create compelling spaces and environments. But creating compelling levels is not same as creating compelling spaces. Thus, designing levels is a different ball game. You have to keep refining your moves to create a compelling level. At the heart of any great computer game are expertly designed levels: the locales and stages that define gameplay. And at the core of any strong game development team are the level designers: the people who create the spaces and environments that you move through while playing the game. Thus a teacher cannot just be an architect. She has to be a combination of an architect, planner, and a game designer to design good lesson plans and levels within the lessons. It is a very difficult task to be a teacher in the current technology world. Today the teacher has to be a jack of all trades and master of all.

In photography there is a different category called Portraiture. How does portraiture differ from general photography? Well not very different. It is well within the boundary and rules of photography in general. Still there is a difference. What is it? I see the subject held very close. All the details are visible. The texture ,color and emotions are much more obvious. You are able to read each line and the emotion behind that. You now don’t just think about the subject in the frame but also start to question the motive of the artist. Sometimes we de-saturate the background to bring all the focus on to the subject.

Do we have similar bridges in teaching? How often do we pick the subject and put it at large. Something like a zoom facility where the details are very visible. But it is not so easy in teaching. If you pick up the subject without the context, students might become confused. Still there is a need to focus on the subject. I think this can be achieved by giving the context of the subject and then zooming in detail of the subject ,whereby we desaturate the context and focus on the subject itself. We then need to look at all the emotions. It can be achieved by looking at it through different angles. This is when the teachers motive and design skills will count for. The subject will then become clear to the pupil and stay in their memory as the smile of Monalisa.

This week’s module is on Fashion. I was wondering if buying a whole range of local clothes is better than buying a few branded ones. Should I have 2 Versace Trousers or have 15 from the Walmart for the same price? What is good, Variety or Quality?

I am personally very confused on the topic. Most of the time I want variety and would not want to wear the same clothes to a party. But again these clothes don’t last as long as my branded clothes, which I can wear for ages. Though I would like to have a variety of branded clothes, my pocket does not allow me to do that.

Similarly there is a constraint in teaching and learning. Should the teachers expose students to a lot of subjects or should they go deep into few subjects in depth? What is better? Lateral Vs Vertical is a choice we have to make because academic hours are after all limited. Also when we choose subjects to go in depth, should it be just science and math?

I like variety and quality both, but my resources are limited. Can someone suggest me how to prioritize myself? Is there a way to take the  middle path between quality and quantity?

The first thing s that we learn in early childhood are rhymes. Why? I never questioned. But looking back today, I find that music is a language that a child understands more than anything else in that stage. During my time, T.V was not that pervasive but in present situation I have seen my nephew, glued to the T.V whenever there is a song playing. What compels a 1 year old kid to pay so much of attention.

I think music is a language. We feel it more than we can speak about it. Traditional education has always taken help of music to overcome hurdles. Even the Math Tables that I memorized had a particular tune to it.

I can’t say I know a lot about music but this is what I have discovered for myself; set a tune to something and it is easy to repeat it, humm it. In this act of ours, we are putting a structure to the system that allows for easy repetition. Repetition or practice as we know is the crux of moving short term memory to long term memory. Am I seeing a bridge somewhere?

In this week’s module we are supposed to comment on the designs that go ahead to make an experience compelling. Before doing so we are asked to read the articles on film making. I personally feel, this is an approach which is like giving people lenses to look through. Where is the creative expression, if I allow people to look at things the way I see them? Instead I feel that the students should express their opinions and then go back to the literature.

One might argue ….as to what is the difference? I feel there is a big difference. Whenever we go through a material, we become opinionated and thus the true essence or feeling gets lost. Once you see Van Gogh, and you know that he was a stalwart in the field, you tend to copy him. Thus your true artistic expression is somehow curbed or suppressed. Instead if you first do the experimentation and then go and see Van Gogh’s work ,you learn from your mistakes. It is Important to make mistakes.

I always find a book to be more richer in imagination. Video on the other hand is another person’s (director’s) viewpoint. I would want the lessons to be planned such that it allows for a rich imagination, something closer to the book and not like the video.

I am very new to blogging and I am trying to play a little bit with words and photographs. This is one of the photographs I pasted on the facebook profile for the assignment of Module 1. I have not taught before and so don’t know much about teaching but I will try to compare some of the aspects of this photo with education. When I look at the image, I like it because of certain qualities. The subject (building) is at the center of the image, clear, uncluttered, on your face. The building in itself is beautifully designed and thus looks beautiful. The beauty is further accentuated by the framing. The light on the building highlights it’s main portions. There is a special green light chosen to highlight the dome. The figure and the foreground are separated distinctly. The reflection on the water adds to the beauty.

Similarly if I were to teach a lesson, I would want the subject to be very clearly presented (uncluttered and on your face). Like the building, the lesson in itself should be designed beautifully so that the essence of it could be realized. Again, we need to frame it properly within one or more contexts to enhance its effectiveness. Also, not all students are equal, so we need to highlight the main points, something similar to the lighting. We should also choose other modes to reflect the lesson better, may be a video or photo assignment or a game that will be able to provide the same role as the water does in the picture.