"When I first got into show business, my step-father bought me a wild shirt which....said more about what he thought show business was than what I thought it was." Known as one of the most interesting interviewees around, Tom Waits delivers the goods in his PBS Blank on Blank interview, "Everything and Nothing." Though he is only asked four questions, Tom still manages to speak for over five minutes on topics varying from why moles are awarded prizes for burrowing under rivers to the never-ending surreality of New York City. Much like Waits' music, the interview is an insightful, funny stream of consciousness ramble that seems to have emanated from some garbage strewn Los Angeles back alley. For any Waits fan, the interview is yet another spoken word jewel that he seems to be capable of summoning at will. Rather than recording a conventional interview, the creators of "Everything and Nothing," David Gerlach, Patrick Smith, and Amy Drozdowska, have fashioned an animated short film that transforms Waits' words into scenes. This decision breathes even more life into Waits' vivid words and transforms an already entertaining interview into a fully realized vision. Though this digital story would score well in almost all of Jason Ohler's Digital Story Assessment Traits, I have chosen to critique it using the Story, Media Application, and Media Grammar traits. STORY This interview is not so much a story as it is a series of Waits' observations about topics that interest him. For instance, when he is asked where he would like to go, Tom answers "Stonehenge," and then details the number of moles currently living under the monoliths, as well as why moles award each other for burrowing under rivers. The film animates all of this. Without the animated visuals, such an aside would seem quite non-sensical. With the film, Waits' observations, which venture into some even stranger territories, somehow coalesce into what feels like an actual story. Well, it at least has good story bones. MEDIA APPLICATION I feel that the creators of "Everything and Nothing" were wise to choose animation as the visual medium to support the Waits interview. A more cinema verite approach would be antithetical to Waits' fantastical and "out there" observations. The animations are well drawn and considered. The animator, Patrick Smith, does not illustrate all of Waits' meanderings, only the more bizarre ones, which makes the film visually stimulating. MEDIA GRAMMAR This "story" definitely has its fair share of bumps. It's rambling, non-linear, and does not seem to have a central theme. However, when interviewing Tom Waits, such considerations go out the window. Waits' musical sensibilities are firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. Thus, spontaneous improvisation is the norm. He practices this tradition not only in his music, but in his interviews as well. While matching Waits' words to images, Smith necessarily goes "off course," which, when viewed through the lens of Media Grammar, could be judged as being "wrong." However, in this case, I think such criticism would be misguided. Listening to or viewing a Tom Waits interview is meant to be disorienting. It's supposed to violate the rules of Media Grammar. That's what Waits is all about. All in all, "Everything and Nothing" is a well-done, entertaining interview conducted with a master of the form. I would recommend it to anyone. Your comments are always welcome. Please feel free to leave them below.
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A Digital Story Critique in Three Parts First, the background: In her moving account of her life as a Special Education student (published via Storycorps), Kaylynn details the shame she felt as she progressed through grammar, middle, and high schools. For her, having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), was a traumatic experience that seems to have brought her more sorrow than help. For those new to the world of Special Education, an IEP is a lengthy document detailing a student's learning disability, along with teaching strategies designed to help these students access the school curriculum in the same manner as their peers. Included in an IEP are:
An IEP contains a number of other components, but, for the purposes of this blog entry, we do not need to go into any further detail. I just wanted to give a quick overview of what an IEP is since Kaylynn speaks of feeling burdened by having one. Second, the critique: For this particular story, I chose to focus on the following Digitial Assessment Story traits (taken from Jason Ohler): Media Application, Economy, and Writing. Media Application: To tell her story, Kaylynn chose to record her voice. Her story was then uploaded in print from to the StoryCorps website. I found her choice of media to be apt. Simply recording and writing her story conveyed her message in an effective manner. However, I wonder if the reason it works for me is because I am a Special Education teacher. I know this story. I see it every day. For someone unfamiliar to the world of Special Education, a more visually oriented presentation would have been more instructive and powerful. Economy: Kaylynn told her story in a very abbreviated fashion. She did not deviate from her narrative's main thrust: that having an IEP for most of her scholastic career was a traumatizing experience. When she recounted how she used to wait until all the other students were in their classes before she would go to her Special Education class, I instantly thought of my students. There are a handful of them that come in late every day. I wonder if they feel the same way that Kaylynn does. For me, this story resonates. However, Kaylynn's story would have been more powerful for non-teachers if she had included a few other instances of the shame that she felt as a Special Education teacher. I would have also liked to see at least one example of a positive experience that she had as a Special Education student. Writing: Kaylynn's writing served the purpose of her story. To my eyes, it did not show any signs of having been extensively edited; it seemed like her first draft was the one she chose to publish. However, I am not familiar with Kaylynn's writing ability, so this may not be a valid criticism. Other than that, I found her writing to be insightful and precise. Now, the letter: Dear Kaylynn, One of the biggest challenges any Special Education teacher faces is helping their students regain their sense of worth. This is especially true at the high school level. I completely empathize with you. If a student has had an IEP since grammar school, by the time they reach high school, they often feel beaten down. Due to their learning disability, they have faced potential failure over and over again. But, these students fight every day. They fight to "beat" their school work. They fight to defy others' sometimes low expectations of them. Unfortunately, they sometimes even have to fight against other teachers who do not understand how their disability affects them. HOWEVER, THEY, NOR YOU, EVER NEED TO FIGHT TO GAIN MY ADMIRATION. I have worked with many students who, just like you, work hard every day and achieve great things despite their learning disabilities. Like you, Kaylynn, some of them are able to transition off of an IEP. Some of them don't. Regardless, some of the most resilient, kind, understanding, hard-working people I have ever met are the students with learning disabilities that I work with every day. I would not even consider working with any other group of students. I have experienced first hand the joy that a student feels if they are able to transition from an IEP. When this happens, I share the jubilation that the student and their family feels. However, I am also sad. Sad that I will no longer be able to work with this extraordinary person. Sad that I will not get to see them every day and listen to their views, their passions, and their hopes for the future. Alas, I have to tell myself that I, hopefully, helped them accomplish their goals. That's enough for me. Kaylynn, I hope that your experience in Special Education was not entirely sad. Regardless, your accomplishment is a great one. Well done! Sincerely, Andrew Polson DS 106 Visual Assignment:
With drawing software, create a picture using only:
MY SUBMISSION A Response to Guy Merchant’s Visual Networks: Learning and Photosharing “Online social networking can both strengthen existing social ties with friends and family and help to establish new relationships.” -Guy Merchant, Visual Networks: Learning and Photosharing In his contribution to Knobel and Lankshear’s DIY Media: Creating, Sharing, and Learning with New Technologies (Chapter 4), Guy Merchant postulates Flickr, the popular photo sharing site, as a new platform for relationship building. Much like the local drive-in restaurants of the 1950s, Merchant views Flickr and, most likely Facebook, Instagram and the other ubiquitous social media sites, as a location where users can congregate to discuss and post about common interests. He argues that these web-based interactions share similar traits with and are just as valuable as face-to-face interactions. In today’s world, many people would more than likely agree with him. Before I respond, let me start by stating that, by nature, I am a “both sides of the coin” kind of person. Even if I disagree with someone’s point of view, I am usually able to listen to their argument and understand why they might think the way that they do. So it is with Merchant’s assertion. I one hundred percent value the idea that, by creating a locus around which people can socialize, Flickr and its ilk have indeed changed the way that people interact. As Merchant himself states, “online social networking can both strengthen existing social ties with friends and family and help to establish new relationships.” In its most immediate sense, this quote postulates that online social networking can establish new relationships. I find this claim to be particularly important. Not only can online social networks connect us to anyone around the world, they can also provide a safe haven where people suffering from anxiety disorders, autism, or any other disabilities that hamper social interactions feel safe to engage others. Providing those who would not engage with others in the more “traditional,” face-to-face manner an avenue to do so is an extremely powerful and important development in the world of social interactions. However, this quote also argues that “online social networking can...strengthen existing social ties....” By using the word “existing,” Merchant is saying that online social networking sites like Flickr bolster social ties that already existed before the advent of social media. That they, in fact, reaffirm the more “traditional” face-to-face socializing familiar to the generations preceding the Millennials. So, really, Flickr and other social media sites are simply new means to an end that humans have always sought: the interaction with others that share points of view and interests similar to ours. Perhaps, this is not such an earth shattering insight, but, when I hear words like "genius" hurled upon Mark Zuckerburg, I can’t help but wonder: is genius really at work here? Or, are we, as a species, simply repeating a pattern of behaviors that have existed since the first “social networking” platform: the fire? As always, I would love to hear your comments and thoughts, concerns. Please feel free to leave them below. In John Green’s The Nerd's Guide to Learning Everything Online, he postulates that online community forums such as Tumblr, Reddit, and YouTube are, for many, more valuable classrooms than the “actual” classrooms housed in your traditional brick and mortar school building. While Green’s presentation could be critiqued via any number of Jason Ohler’s Digital Storytelling Assessment Traits, I have chosen to focus on only three: Originality / Voice / Creativity, Presentation / Performance, and Media Application. I chose these three not only because they are present in Green’s presentation, but because they seem to be of obvious importance to Green himself. Originality / Voice / Creativity As the author of the celebrated novel, The Fault in Our Stars, it should come as no surprise that Green’s authorial voice comes through loud and clear during his presentation. He obviously possesses a wide range of knowledge. In this presentation alone, he covers the relatively obscure cartographical novelty of “paper towns,” the causes of World War I, and, via videos created by others, Physics and Abstract Mathematics, among others. All of this is done in a creative, humorous manner. Much like his novel, this presentation contains philosophical underpinnings that transform what could have been a somewhat mundane topic (online learning communities) into something of greater merit: a window into how one man, due to the all too familiar extrinsic motivations of money and career, jumped the various “hurdles” that public education placed before him and, once cleared, gained an intrinsic motivation to learn for the sake of learning. Presentation / Performance Green’s presentation style is loose, humorous, and warm. Though obviously quite intelligent, he comes across as someone who would be just as comfortable talking about football as he would The Theory of Relativity. As someone whose favorite intellectual archetype is the “barroom genius,” I truly appreciate Green’s ability to deliver a rigorous presentation in common, layman’s language. The genius of Ernest Hemingway was that he could boil down the complexities of human existence into palatable, economic writing, a skill much more difficult than one might think. I believe that Green’s easygoing demeanor helps to accomplish a similar feat in this presentation. Media Application Green scores high marks here, as well. The images and videos that he uses during his presentation highlight his main points without becoming too “busy” and overwhelming his spoken content. All too often, presenters look for dramatic, splashy images that, while visually stimulating, detract from their spoken words. Green clearly chose his media with this thought in mind and did not commit this common mistake. The only area that I think could be strengthened in this presentation is the transitions between the videos that Green displays towards the end. While the videos are excellent examples of what an online learning community can produce, it might have been nice to pick only one video and then let its author detail the reasons and methods about its creation, as well as his or her insights regarding online learning communities. This might give that section the “human touch” that Green so expertly weaves in the rest of his narrative. All in all, this was a funny, insightful TED Talk that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. Insights? Comments? Please feel free to post below. |
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February 2017
AuthorI am a Special Education teacher currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Information & Learning Technologies (Option: K-12) at CU Denver. I work at Boulder High School in Boulder, CO. Here you will find my thoughts on education. Categories |