Takeaways from Readings #4 and #5

For me, the readings that stood out most to me were the one's that included the philosophical and psychological history behind digital fabrication in education. I found that there were a lot of connections between the readings, what we are learning in class, and what I am learning in my out of major classes that are about technology and psychology of adolescents.
What I found most interesting about the reading, 20 Things to do With A Computer, was that it was written in 1971. It was written by the proverbial father of making, Seymour Papert. As I learned in the reading, An Insanely Brief and Incomplete History of Making, he studied with the psychologist Jean Piaget who studied cognitive development. With the background of learning about how people think and learn, Papert went on to MIT where he experimented more with how people learn with computers. With Piaget's ideas and working at MIT, he confirmed John Dewey's theories about how people learn best by doing. What made his work so interesting was how early on he was able to prove his theories about education and learning, but also making a case for children using computers.
Throughout the reading, 20 Things to do With A Computer, he described projects he has done with students at MIT, how he accomplished them with computers, and what students go out of using the computers. He finishes the reading by making a brief case for why all children should be experimenting with computers, and how people should by advocating for them in education. In my class, Technology and School Change, we discuss exactly what he was advocating for, technological advances and how it can bring about school change. I find that the evidence of advocating for equity of technology in 1971 proves the need for technological exploration in school.
Since Papert also worked with Piaget, there were clear connections to my class, Developmental Psychology of Adolescents. In the beginning of the semester, I studied the ways that adolescents develop from children to emerging adults. While studying Jean Piaget, we learned about his theories in cognitive development, which defined how adolescents obtained knowledge and the stages of how people think. These ideals can easily be applied to education because teachers can create curriculums that speak to the cognitive developmental level of their students so that they learn in the best way. As this relates to digital fabrication advocation in education, Papert made cases of how experimenting with computers can be beneficial.
In the readings, An Insanely Brief and Incomplete History of Making and Digital Fabrication and Making in Education, both touch on how many philosophers and psychologists inspired the ideas in digital fabrication in education. Learning by tinkering with computers is exactly what is done in the maker spaces. Specifically, Digital Fabrication and Making in Education details the importance of these spaces and how it has become so popular in education. Simply, since students learn better by working first had with materials and experimenting with them, these spaces make it the perfect opportunity to learn more as opposed to direct instruction. Working with newer technologies makes education programs more competitive because of the way that our culture is turning as well. In a larger sense, what is going on in the world currently dictates what should be learned in the classroom, which makes learning by doing and getting real-life experience with technology makes sense.
From these readings, I have concluded that maker spaces are essential to education, not just because of the kinds of technologies it bring, but because of the practice's they bring. For example, most of these spaces are communal and open to all. The nature of the space is collaborative, which brings more opportunity for creation and original ideas. Maker spaces also enforce the idea of playing with materials. As repeated in Judy Burton's Artistic Development Class, the importance of play gives people the opportunity to experiment with different processes that they can then add to their repertoire of knowledge for future creations. This idea of playing with traditional artistic mediums can be applied to playing with new media. (Which is also represented in the nature of our final project, mixing ideas from traditional and new media in art.)
In terms of classroom application, these readings give me ideas of how technology should be played with. Students should be allowed ample time to experiment with technology to see what it does. I find that in any situation, people always need more time with a material. While it is good to explore, I do believe that some technologies require guided exploration. This would be most useful when using a program that has specific functions, lengthly processes, and safety concerns. In this case, students should be guided by discussion questions/open-ended questions that help them think and see the medium in a different way than when they started.
In conclusion, maker spaces offer profound opportunities to experiment with technology in accordance to cognitive development strategies. These results could only bring support to schools in terms of academics and preparing their students for the real world.

Final Project: Initial Steps

The categories I rolled. New media: Vinyl, laser, cnc; Traditional media: Found materials; Theme: Identity

When I initially saw these categories, I was immediately intimidated by the vinyl, laser, and cnc because of the challenges that I faced while completing the creative assignment for laser cutting. But, I found that it was better that I had another try at it since I could use the vinyl cutter or cnc as well. I also found that because of my challenges, I knew what issues to look out for and think more creatively moving forward in the final project. When I saw I was working with found materials, I was not immediately sure what kind of materials it was. But, I decided that it would be any material or object that I did not make myself. For the theme, identity, I was excited to incorporate into my final project because of the vast possibilities in the subject. Identity development is also a topic that I learned about in artistic development with Judy Burton, and in my class this year, developmental psychology of adolescence. With this in mind, I came up with two initial ideas:
Idea 1: Identity stickers- I would design stickers that labeled or had different aspects of identity written on them for people (myself) to use to stick on found materials that they felt incorporated or contributed to who they are. In this way, I would be utilizing the vinyl cutter, graphic design (Adobe Illustrator), the theme of identity, and found materials as the objects one would put a sticker on. I envisioned that this project would have people putting stickers on anything, from their phone, their sketchbook, or even their bed. The found materials would be anything that they use/have day-to-day that make up their identity. I would also have to think of how I would present my project. If I were to pursue this idea, it would have to be between videotaping people using the stickers, or pictures of the stickers on found materials. The art would be in the act of using the stickers or the product of the found material with the sticker on it.
Idea 2: Chinese paper cutting on glass- This idea is more focused in the theme of identity and how it could be more personal to me. I was adopted from China and growing up, my mother tried to expose and immerse me in my culture as much as possible so that I had the option and opportunity to get to know where I came from. With this in mind and trying to come up with ideas of how to use my new media, I thought of paper cutting. I have a strong background in using Adobe Illustrator, so I thought that outlining and designing a Chinese paper cut to be cut by the laser or vinyl cutter would be a good idea. I also remembered that there is a glass circle shaped table top at my mother's house that I could use for my found material. The circle shape of the glass made me think of the Renaissance art and how only circle shaped paintings would be put into the female bedroom or study. This gave me the idea that I could use the circle shape and traditional Chinese cut design to represent myself.
Moving forward with these ideas in mind, I would have to consider the realistic and not realistic aspects of the projects. I will have to consider my materials, presentation, and time that I would have to put into these projects. My gut says that I will go with my second idea since it is more personal to me.

3D Printing: Tinkercad

The video shown above is my design on the website Tinkercad to be 3D printed.
The possibilities for 3D printing are endless, and using Tinkercad as a tool to use in printing enables much more creation. Tinkercad makes the 3D printing process more accessible for anyone to use. Since the website has predesigned pieces that are broken up into categories, it was easier to create what I was picturing in my head, opposed to having to recreate the pieces on my own.
3D Printing also allows for practical applications. In conjunction with the categories listed, connectors, people are able to easily create objects that could connect to others without having to "reinvent the wheel" and figure out what shapes they can make that could fit pieces together. With this, one could create a connecting piece to something that already exists, or an object they created themselves. Aside from connecting pieces, the practical aspect of using 3D printing is realistic because of the exact measuring and pre-made/popular objects available on Tinkercad.
Tinkercad is also associated and connected to other websites that involve 3D printing. For example, the website called Thingiverse is an online community where people can post their own designs. These designs can be downloaded onto Tinkercad and remixed based on what the user wants. A website like that provides opportunities for learning and collaboration.
Because of the possibilities of 3D printing and the features on Tinkercad, there are a lot of classroom applications that come to mind. 3D Printing provides a new medium that students can explore in the classroom. Whether they are using it as the sole medium, or combining it with another, they are able to create projects with the new possibilities that new media can provide. They are also able to explore how they could use different materials with a 3D printer. Students can also practice making things that have a practical use to them. They can also collaborate within their classroom and beyond because of the sharing aspect of Tinkercad and Thingiverse. Sharing and collaborating with one another could be really beneficial for their learning and growth. This also presents the opportunity for people to bring their work home with them, and work outside of class. Teachers could also communicate and send projects home to their students because of remote sharing.

Laser Cutting Creative Assignment

Wanqiu and I started our assignment by coming up with ideas for creation and communicating them over text message and email. I first sent an email about figurines that I used to play with as a child. They came in packs as sheets of pop out cardboard or wood with slots to put the figure together. For our figures, we decided to . cut a cat, raccoon, seal, and a lion. We each made two of the Illustrator files on our own to then come together and cut them in the Thing Space. Below are the pictures of our process and final pieces!

This is the sketch I drew to then trace with the pen tool on Adobe Illustrator to then send to the laser cutter.

This is the sketch I drew for the lion.

Once I traced the drawings on Illustrator with the pen tool. I was able to send it to the laser cutter. Little did I know, that there would be a lot of issues when transferring files from a newer version of Illustrator to an older one. For some reason, there was a mystery clipping mask that showed up on the file once it was transferred. There were also some mystery invisible boxes that were around my images on the file. These issues were found and resolved once I tried sending the file to print on the laser and it wouldn't print. I would press the green button, but it wouldn't cut anything. This definitely meant that there was something wrong with my file that I was missing.

I also ran into issues concerning technical things about the laser. When working with the laser, it is important to consider the material that you are using and how the laser itself is set up. The materials that we were using was left over birch wood scraps from the Thing Space. This presented an issue because the older pieces would catch on fire easily or break when we were trying to put the pieces together. We also ran into issues with the bed of the laser, if it was too far away or up close since many people were using it and changing the height. I would also tell people that they need to consider the weight of their material/the design of their cut so that it is balanced, if they are trying to make it free standing. There were some issues when trying to put the pieces together, but one part of it was too heavy to withstand the weight of itself.

The number one piece of advice and learning lesson for me with this project: It is always important to double check every parameter that could be changed in a long making process like this one.

Overall, I think there are a lot of applications that the laser cutter could have in an art classroom. Throughout the making process, the student is working with design (digitally and physically), color, physics (accounting for how a 2D piece is going to work in 3D), and the laser cutter itself. The project also required a lot of supervision and trouble shooting with a professional, so I could see how in a classroom it could be difficult if there were a lot of students wanting to work with the laser cutter (especially if there are problems along the way).

Blog Comments

I commented on:

• Sarah's scratch project
• Quinta's laser project
• Jackie's laser project
• Grace's stop motion project
• Madison's laser project
• Darien's scratch project
• Danielle's scratch project

Most of the comments that I wrote were praising their work and how it made me think of other possibilities in the classroom. I really admire all of the work that my classmates have done in class and always look forward to what else I could learn from them. I am especially looking forward to other people's experience using the laser cutter. Aside from doing the presentation for laser cutting, using it for the project made other issues and conflicts arise that I did not anticipate while creating/researching for the presentation I gave. I am looking forward to sharing my experience!

Scratch Creative Assignment

Creating this Scratch game was a challenge. Throughout the making of it, I was constantly experimenting, playing, and troubleshooting what would work and what wouldn't. I was also trying to utilize YouTube tutorials and friends of mine who know how to code. I found that the process of making can be similar to material exploration in fine art. Students could use Scratch to make their creations come to life as animations or interactive games. Scratch also lends the opportunity to use graphic design because of the feature to upload your own designs for sprites and backgrounds.