Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud 2

Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud 2

                                                 Nate Stemple doing a signal flag presentation

                                                 Photo by Richard Stemple

After going through many, many journals I am finding that publishing may not be the best option for me. The ABA Journal’s, Behavioral Journals, and Speech and Technology Journals either want empirical data that has been gathered over months or have guidelines that restrict me from doing research at the same place where I work (a conflict of interest). The educational journals either had too many written requirements and no room for multimedia data or my research simply did not apply to their specific journal. I am now looking for a conference to present my findings. As a teacher, performer, and a professional musician I do not know why I did not think of this sooner. There are several conferences that look promising. There is the annual ABA Conference that my place of employment often makes presentations at and there are several educational conferences within the area (New England) that look promising.  If anybody knows of any educational conferences within the New England area feel free to post it on this blog. Any and all help is welcome.

Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud1

Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud1

                                                            Noah Stemple on an iPod Touch

                                                            Photo by Richard Stemple

It is difficult to imagine that I am almost finished with the CBR (Challenged Based Research) project and the EMDT program at Full Sail University. Since I work with children with special needs, specifically children with severe autism, I thought it would be great to base my CBR project on something that would benefit me and my students. My project turned out to be.. Motivation. How to motivate my students and staff to use the communication device is more? The students require 100% supervision and sometimes full physical help to move and communicate. Technology has advanced so much that instead of using pictures and a picture book to communicate, students can now use an iPod Touch or a Dyna Vox to communicate. However students and staff are sometimes reluctant to use these devices in the classroom, at the residence

 (where the students live), and out in the community. I think it would be great to publish the results of  my CBR project in either an ABA Journal, Behavioral Journal, a Speech and Technology Journal, or an Educational Journal.

Wk4 Publishing_Leadership project: Richard Stemple, How to improve communication for students with varying disabilities.

Wk4 Publishing_Leadership project: Richard Stemple, How to improve communication for students with varying disabilities.

Pennsylvania Educational Technology Exposition and Conference the web site is

http://www.peteandc.org/default.asp

My plan for presenting my CBR project involves just one conference, the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Exposition and Conference in Hershey Pennsylvania. This conference and exposition has a scope that my presentation is ideal for, the strand of Adaptive Technology/Special Populations/Accessibility. Since I am employed at a special needs school and my CBR is about motivating students, teachers, parents, and staff to use assisted augmentative communication (AAC) devices, this conference seemed the natural choice. I chose this conference and exhibition because it encompassed my entire CBR project and I felt it was the best option to share my work. 


Here are some blogs of my search to publish or present over the past several weeks.

Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud1

http://rstempleedm613.blogspot.com/2011/08/week-3-publishing-leadership-thinking.html

Week 3 Publishing / Leadership: Thinking Out Loud 2

http://rstempleedm613.blogspot.com/2011/08/week-3-publishing-leadership-thinking_26.html

Here is the link to my presentation document, enjoy.

files.me.com/rstemple/myskxo

Response to Edwin’s WK 4-Think out Loud 1 Leadership Presentation

Edwin Moy Posted:

Week 4 and thinking about a paper or creating a presentation for publishing.  With my back ground writing is not the path I would chose if ever given an option, so presentation is the path that I will be heading down as week 4 and month 12 approach.

In reviewing choices to submit I searched for conferences that were excepting submissions during the time frame of the EMDT program.  I started thinking about not looking at conferences geared towards solely teachers, but in thinking about the book The Art of Possibility I didn't want to limit and start a downward spiral of thinking so I looked at most sites.  EduComm is excepting submissions and will be located in Las Vegas next year.  The location was a factor but they are have a leadership category for presentations and I think my project would be geared towards that audience.

Now that the conference submission has been decided I guess it's time to get to work on the presentation.

                                                       Nate Stemple giving a presentation on communicating with signal flags

                                                       Photo by Richard Stemple

My Response:

I love your picture and your quote, this could be a chapter in the Art of Possibility. “ If you look high enough you can see your thoughts”, awesome, I wonder if anyone else could see my thoughts to? I thought I would love to publish some of my research, however I have to agree with you that not everybody’s strength is writing. I think a lot of us as teachers will find that presenting the research will prove to be a more logical choice since we spend most of our day presenting educational material already. I specially like the fact the found a conference in Las Vegas. I was excited for Heidi because she had found a conference in Austin Texas, however now I’m just jealous of you because you found a conference in Vegas. I’m sure it will be a great presentation and have a lot of fun. Remember “ what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Good luck with the presentation, I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Response to Heidi's Wk4: Publishing Leadership Project:

Heidi Faber wrote:

Wk4: Publishing_Leadership Project:

My plan for presenting my project involves two educational technology conferences. I initially wanted to apply for the Project Based Learning Conference or the National Art Education Association’s National Conference because my literature review and CBR project focused on art and project based learning projects to inspire motivation. However, these two conferences were closed to applications. I decided to turn to educational technology conferences because my ideas included a high amount of technology to supplement the lessons.

My first choice is the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITTE) whose next conference will be held in Austin, TX in 2012. Topics appropriate for this conference that coincide with my CBR include: Digital Storytelling, New Possibilities with Information Technologies, Arts & Interdisciplinary Education, English Education, and Teaching with Technology: Engaging Students through 21^st Century Learning. I chose this conference because it’s topics encompass my CBR project and I felt it was the best option available to share my work.

http://site.aace.org/conf/call.htm

My second choice is the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education (KYSTE) whose next conference will be March 7-9, 2012. This conference’s theme is “Connect, Collaborate, Change.” They are looking for presentations, which support technology as an education change agent, through connection and collaboration. I chose this conference because that is what I was trying to accomplish with my CBR was to use the knowledge I gained in the EMDT program and find a way to change and improve education to better engage and motivate students.

http://kyste.schoolwires.net/kyste/site/default.asp

                                                            Photo by Richard Stemple

Response

Great blog and what a great idea, I wish you were presenting a little further to the north east so I can take a road trip to see your presentation. Austin Texas is a lot of fun, they have great music, great clubs and bars, and from what I hear a fabulous art scene, I hope you get a chance to present their. Louisville Kentucky is nice but I’m not sure where your presentation in Kentucky will be, but it should be a lot of fun as well. I look forward to catching up with you in a few weeks. Hope you have a great first week of school.

The Last Blog about The Art of Possibility, Week 4

We know from previous blogs how much music means to me, which is why my last blog about The Art of Possibility will focus on the last chapter, which is about the New England Conservatory Youth Orchestra. The first quote that sticks out in my mind is “When the door of eye sight closes, what door is likely to open? Listening”. When 88 people choose to work on something with a common goal in mind things either go amazingly well or tremendously wrong. This is true in a classroom, a sports team, or an orchestra. The musicians in the story had evolved from playing music from memory to play music from their heart. Dvorak’s New World Symphony is a fabulous piece of music yet very tricky play.

                                                     Nate Stemple in the Marlboro Middle School Band

                                                     Photo by Rick Stemple

On a side note, and reference to my other blogs, Dvorak is a great example of why we do need copyright laws, Dvorak died penniless, alone, and in poverty in an apartment in New York. Almost immediately after his death his music became popular and was recognized as one of the great composers of the time.

The Art of Possibility had another great moment from the author was talking about how great the performance of Dvorak had been. He said “ it was a high point not only of the to work, but also of the year, and it took place in a small town between the major engagements, where nothing of importance was likely to happen.” As an old friend of mine used to say “ the Angels are in the details”. I know the quote is “ the devil is in the details” but we always try to be positive for the students. It is not always the big performances that make education and performing great, it is the learning moments in the classroom and in the practice room that you remember the most.

The authors use a musical term to describe the ending, or in this case the code which is Italian for tail. The authors describe the book is not a self help book, but as a tool for transformation. A transformation from a person who meets challenges that life serves up, to one who designs the stage on which life plays out.  What a great idea, and how do we achieve this transformation? Through practice, lots and lots of practice.  Just like performing or teaching, you only get better by doing it over and over again. Good luck and hope you all have a great school year.

Free Blog, Week 4, Thoughts on Technology and Media History

I would love to talk about the Rise and Fall of the Music Industry, however having lived through it, I feel that is a discussion for another day. I enjoyed to the NPR interview, I but was surprised to learn that the music industry let the computer industry have the right copy files from hard drives to CDs or other computers. This is a giant loophole they can drive a truck through and the computer industry obviously took advantage of it. I believe this is not only the fall of the music industry but caught in its wake music education will also fall as well, this too is a discussion for another blog.

                                                            Picture from Full Sail University interview with Ron Smith

 This blog is about the interview with Ron Smith. The interview was about how to use any method to reach students. Within this interview Ron Smith a teacher in the Hollywood schools discussed how his students use programs like Google Sketch Up, and Blender. These are all free software that you can use to create three-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional animation. I am anxious not only to try this new software but to see what my students can come up with as well. Mr. Smith also discussed the software Scratch which is supposed to be an easier version of Flash. The tutorial for Scratch seemed complicated, I cannot imagine how the actual software is. That being said, Flash is even more complicated so maybe Scratch is a little easier. I am interested if anybody has used any of the software? Also, if you are successful in using this software with your students in the classroom? I look forward to our next blog. 

Free Choice Blog, Week 3, The Importance of a Good First Day of School

Free Choice Blog

                                                   Photo By Rick Stemple

The Importance of a Good First Day of School

The first day of school is very important for teacher as well as their students, it sets the tone sometimes for the week to come and sometimes the entire school year. With everyone getting ready for school I thought it would be great to talk about, what is your favorite “first day” activity?  Here’s some activities that I have done or have borrowed from other teachers that have been fun for the first day and sometimes continue to use as an icebreaker or as an introduction activity for my classes for the following weeks. For my kindergarten classes I would sometimes have the students learn the song “If your name is (insert name) stand up straight, and take a bow.” Every student gets to hear their name some other class and get to have a cool motion which is sometimes a great way to loosen up pre-K and kindergarten students are very nervous on the first day of school.  Kindergarten through second grade could also use the song “That’s a Mighty Pretty Motion” which older students can sing their name and create their own motions.

For my middle school students I would usually do a name game.  There are many variations of this game that can be used, which usually depends on the class. 

Variation #1:  This game is recommended for grades two through four. Students say their full name and their favorite fruit. Then they have to say their name and their favorite fruit in order as fast as they can and time them. You will need to have a stopwatch for this game. This not only gets students to learn each other’s names but is also a teambuilding exercise. The students have to find a way to beat the top score of 30 seconds. Hint: the directions said in order it didn’t say they could not say their names and fruit all the same time but do not tell them that, let the students figure it out for themselves. If they cannot figure it out the first class, let them try it the next time you meet.

Variation #2:  You also need a stopwatch and a soft Nerf like ball for this variation. I recommend  using this game for grades five through six.  Students should stand up and push their desks aside so they can sit in a circle. The directions are simple say your name and your favorite fruit and pass the ball, but remember the name and the fruit of the person you pass the ball to. They can passs the ball to anyone they want. You may want everyone to stand in as they pass the ball to someone they can sit down. That way they know who they can pass to next. The next round you have to only say the persons name and fruit you pass the ball to before you pass the ball to them.  If they forget who they pass to or the name of the person they can ask the class or that person, remember this is also a teambuilding exercise. Remember to time them each time they go through the entire class and remind them they should be getting faster and faster. Once they’ve tried several times you can remind them that the record is 40 seconds and that their only directions was to pass the ball, say the name and the fruit of the person they’re passing the ball to, and pass the ball in same order. Hint; students can arrange their order so it’s easier to pass the ball, or they can put the ball in the middle and touch it in order while saying each other’s name and fruit. Do not under any circumstances give them the hints. Just remind them of the rules or of the record and let them figure out their own solutions. It is always amazing to watch students group dynamic development and see your class work as a team for a common goal. There is no correct answer to this game however there are many variations. For teachers that have done this name game in the past try it with all the students sitting on the floor saying the name of their peer and peers favor fruit while passing the ball with their feet.

Variation #3: Create a bingo chart with questions in each square about students summer or about students. The students then have to go around the classroom and get signatures in each box to get bingo. The game is recommended for students in seventh and eighth grade. Students can only sign their name once and they cannot sign their own bingo card. This is a great way to get students out of their seats and to get to know each other a little better. Here are some sample questions you can use in the bingo card;

Someone who went to the beach.

Someone who visited another country.

Someone who visited another state.

Someone who has brown eyes. 

Someone who has green eyes.

Someone who has blue eyes.

Someone who is rode on a boat.

Someone who it  flown on a plane.

My favorite the free space.

Someone was seen a live concert.

Someone who is wearing green.

Someone who has or had braces.

Someone who has a pet.

Etc.etc

 Please share any first-day activities that you may have. Have a great school year.

Response to Cheryl's Week 3 Reading

Cheryl Post

Well, week 3 and it is chapters 5-8.  There were many tidbits that I picked up from this reading of "The Art of Possibility".  I will share my favorites with you.  The first major ah ha moment for me came when the author told about getting in the taxi and the passenger tells the driver to hurry! They need me everywhere!!!! This is so true in life.  As a mother or father, you are needed everywhere all of the time! You wish you could grow 8 arms and 8 legs.  As a teacher it seems that every student needs help at the same time on a different problem.  The next one that struck me was that power is the ability to make other people powerful.  This thought we have heard before, but maybe not in this way.  We may have heard it as give a man something to eat and he eats right then, teach him to grow his own food and he will be forever full.  Here is another: grab what you love and give it everything.  So often we tend to meander through life, giving what we feel comfortable giving, but to give it everything possible leaves the possibilities completely open!  As I continued to move through the reading I came to a spot where the author asks us to think about putting Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" before every remark we make.  Can you imagine? The last chapter was all about letting go.  That is where this week's picture came from.  We have to jump without worrying about every little thing to reach the highest and furthest that we can.  I think of the movie "The Great Outdoors".  We often forget that very simple command to let go.  John Candy is water skiing and after giving his son lessons on safety and letting go of the rope if you get into a situation, he totally forgets this himself and his son is screaming for him to let go of the rope but he doesn't.  I hope all of us this week can let go of our ropes and travel further and accomplish more than we or anyone else could ever expect! Have a great week! Cheryl

                                             Nealon Stemple excited about catching a "stick fish" Rick Stemple not so happy

                                             Photo by Shannon Stemple

Ricks Response

 Great blog, you are right there are so many tidbits it is hard to pick just one. I love how you talk about teaching in reference to the taxi quote “ I need to be everywhere”. Teachers and parents need to be everywhere at the same time. My class and my boys are constantly making requests and my wife and I sometimes respond with “ I am not an octopus,” or “ patience is a virtue,” only to follow-up with my favorite kindergarten quote “ you get what you get and you don’t regret.”

I have not heard the grow food quote before, however it does work. I have always heard the saying “ give a man a fish he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for life.” I liked the idea about adding “I have a dream” before every remark we make however that part of the book sounded a little fortune cookie-ish to me. Let me elaborate, in college when you opened it fortune cookie you would always add the phrase “in bed” after the fortune to make it sound more interesting.

 I love the movie The Great Outdoors, and I wholeheartedly agree, I cannot wait to let go of the rope. I hope we could all meet at graduation, good luck.

Comments for Marcos, Week 3 Free Choice: Being a teacher

Week 3 Free Choice: Being a teacher

Marcos Post

After being out of a job for a little over six years due to illness I recently started working again. Last Tuesday I began working as a sixth grade teacher in a private school here in Puerto Rico. This is my first experience as a teacher so I am learning as I go. Lesson number one is that the hours are very long. This is no regular 9 to 5 where you clock in and out and that’s the end of the workday. Here you have to take work home with you. Lesson number two is that patience is a virtue. Kids will try to see what they can get away with and keep pushing until they realize what they can and cannot get away with. Lesson number three is that rest is a luxury. The hours are very long and the rest is very short. After all, once you get out of school you have to start preparing for the next day. The reason why being a teacher is not a job most people would even consider is because it is not a mere job; it is a vocation. It is something you do because you love it.

Picture by Thomas Barwick

Obtained at http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/sb10066020k-001/Digital-Vision

                                                                                Don't feel  overwhelmed like Nealon Stemple in the snow.

                                                                                Photo By Rick Stemple 

Ricks Response

Congratulations my friend on your new job. You are absolutely right teaching is not a job it is a vocation, a calling if you will, and you’re right, you have to love it.  As time goes by your find teaching easier and easier, because you will have that experience behind you and you will have lesson plans that work and you know the ones that don’t work. Middle school is tough, don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. However, it can also be the most rewarding, the students really want to learn but they also want to be more independent. The only advice I can give that is worked over the years in high school and middle school is the same advice a college professor gave me many years ago, is “make them believe they came up with the ideas all on their own, and you were just a guide or a helper” for example in my case many students would always come to me and tell me about a cool new program that discovered on the Mac like GarageBand, or iMovie. I would answer “ Wow, that’s interesting, tell me more about it, let’s talk more about it in class.” I would also suggest large thematic units that take a month to complete. Good luck and congratulations. 

Blog Art of Possibility Chapter 5-8, Week 3

Blog Art of Possibility Chapter 5-8

I have thoroughly enjoyed the book “Art of Possibility” by Roz and Ben Zander. I would like to discuss chapters five through eight,but I'll mostly talk about chapters five and six because they were my favorite. There is a great story in chapter 5 about American orchestra going to play with a Cuban orchestra in Cuba. I have not only had personal experience with teaching music from other cultures to students, but have also performed in choruses that have had difficulty learning complex ethnic rhythms. I love that the conductor told the orchestra players/students “Your job is to teach these rhythms to your stand partner.” This not only made the students responsible for teaching the music but also made the students responsible for whether they would perform the concert or not. This usually becomes a great learning experience for everyone involved.

I of course love music, and the music section in this book brings back so many memories for me. I have many fond memories of sitting in the dorms at the Conservatory or in the practice rooms listening to the various instrument players complain about who got first chair or second chair and how they are better player than all of them. All I can think of was how lucky they were to play in the orchestra because I would only play in chamber music. Does it really matter where you sit because the audience really only hears each section, strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion not first chair, second chair, third chair. I wish I could read them this quote from a youth orchestra student to the classically trained conservatory musician. “… I have the force of personality to power the section from where ever I sit and I believe that I led that concert from the 11th chair”

                                      Noah, Nate, and Nealon Stemple ( N3) Rocking on Guitar Hero 
                                                    Photo By Richard Stemple


I currently play in a rock band, but over the years I have sung in chorus, played in chamber music ensembles, and it played in various types of musical groups. When you play with any group long enough not only know the music, you begin to know how each musician plays their part. I am always more impressed with the group or performance when someone does forget a part or has a memory lapse how the rest of the group or performers react and continue with the show. Great performers go on with the show, good performers will stop and do it again or fumble for while, bad performers just quit. Really great performances you never know there was a mistake much like in the Art of Possibility when he describes how the first violin had a memory lapse and the second violinist picked up in the next beat. They asked him at the end of the performance how could you possibly known what to play, he answered “ I could see your third finger was poised over the wrong string, so I knew you must’ve forgotten what came next.” Amazing.

Is using movie clips others have taken from other movies “OK”?

Is using movie clips others have taken from other movies “OK”?

 My 12-year-old son, Nathaniel has begun to make his own movies. Early on in the Full Sail University EMDT I began to use iMovie. I thought it had developed into a great program and that my son would enjoy making movies on it. Being that he is a digital native, he took to it like a fish to water. He began to make clips for his honors class, he made movies for his brothers, and then he began to post some movies on YouTube. As a protective parent this is where I began to worry a little, because I do not approve of everything that is on YouTube. However my son has acted very responsibly and I’m proud of the work is done. This brings us to my blog question. We have discussed copyright law and the fair use policies, however I am a little concerned on how that applies when someone makes a copy of a copy of someone else’s work.

 Is it okay to take various clips from YouTube to create your own video? Under fair use policy since he is only using a few seconds of video to make another video then he should be fine. However since he is taking the clip from someone else’s small video clip the percentage he is taking from the clip is larger. I am not sure that I even can explain it clearly therefore I am including the video as part of my blog. I was going to make comments on it however I do not feel that would be fair to my son. I left the video as my son produced it. The video is a movie trailer competition, for “The Hunger Games” that will come out in 2012. The movie is based on a series of books that my son has read and enjoyed very much. My son has been watching other people’s trailers on YouTube and decided to create this one. Reading books and making videos is definitely better than getting the trouble and playing video games all day. I just want to make sure he is not breaking the law in the process. Enjoy

Response to Sheri's Blog, week 2 review

Sheri’s blog

All of the structure and ideals we use to bind ourselves into our lives are invented.  Only looking beyond the proverbial box can help us see beyond our immediate world.  I have often thought about how we create our own world based on our experiences. “The Art of Possibility” by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander is one of the most amazing book I have ever read. Unleashing the possibilities within should be the goal of every person.  It really is all invented.  Someone created the ideas we use to guide our lives.  What could we accomplish if we did not know fear?  Assumptions are the biggest hindrance for me in opening up to the realm of possibility.  It is so easy to make a judgment about someone or a situation.   

During the last week, I have focused on trying to stop making assumptions about situations.  I find that when I do this I have an easier time giving someone an ”A.” I have found that I have more patience with people because I try not to make assumptions or judgments about behaviors and actions.  It helps to think about how you are contributing on a daily basis.  I loved that the idea of being a contribution releases one from the cycle of success versus failure.  The chapter where the author describes his class after giving everyone an “A” is very intriguing.  I have toyed with the notion of presenting this idea to my students.  Though I do not think my administration would be receptive to the idea, I like the affect on the students.  It releases them from the cycle of success versus failure and brings them to a place where they can focus on their personal journey.   

An excellent education teaches students how to live beyond the course material.  This class is an excellent example of the concept.  Though the course is titled “Media Asset Creation,” I feel as though I have learned more about how I want to live my life.  Lessons taken from this week’s reading have affected my personal thinking in ways that will extend beyond the course itself.

                                Picture by Richard Stemple and the reason why he will never complain about the heat

Response

I like the idea that we are all connected much like a tree. The great photograph you took of the tree makes your blog come into perspective.

 It is always hard not to have some assumptions but keep in mind teachers are people too, we all have some assumptions. The real trick is not to let our assumptions get in the way of our teaching. The idea that everyone gets an A is great, of course as long as they earn it. You can give everyone an A and then just deduct from the grade when assignments are not completed, however I’m sure you’ve thought of that already. Great point that an excellent education gets you to live beyond the course, school, and the material. It is not always about getting an A.

Response to Cheryl's Week 2 Reading

Cheryl’s post

This picture depicts this weeks reading exactly as I interpret it.  Life is what we make of it.  We choose the direction.  There were many things in the reading that I enjoyed.  I loved how the author described success and failure as a two sided coin, but if we choose contribution instead, it is a one sided coin and therefore a win-win situation for all.  I also loved the wording well heeled and down at the heel. I had never heard that before.  It must be the way that other countries describe the highs and lows of life.  Something else that would do us all good to remember is to "engage people in your passion for life", and "don't speak to cynicism, but to passion" (Art of Possibility).  I try to envision a world where there was no cynicism, only passion for life, and it is definitely a mind blower! The thought of giving all students an A the first day of class was awesome! Can you even begin to imagine the look on a bunch of kids faces the first day you handed out all A's? Talk about a jaw dropping experience! The thought of throwing your arms up in the air and exclaiming "how fascinating" when you make a mistake is also cute.  All in all, I think that this weeks reading had the intended effect on me.  It got me thinking, and at just the right time. School is beginning and this was a great reminder that life is all a story, and it is all in the way we choose to tell it! Have a great day!

                                                          Photo by Richard Stemple. Nate Stemple waiting for the school bus in 2007

Response

Cheryl, great insight and what a positive attitude.  I like the picture you chose as well, because the right path is not necessarily the road you are on.This is the time that I miss regular classroom teaching, the first day of school and the excitement of all the teachers and children. I also cannot believe that our program is coming to an end. I’m sad that we will not be able to meet on a weekly basis, however I am optimistic about the future. Everyone in this EMDT  class are amazing teachers and exceptional individuals, I hope we will all be able to keep in touch in the future especially in the new digital age.

My thoughts on the book The Art of Possibility/ Week 2 reading

The Art of Possibility  a nice book by Rosamund Zander and Benjamin Zander.

 I love the fact that this is not a how-to book or a happy feel-good book. The book is a little difficult to describe but I believe the author puts it best by saying; “…the object of this book is to provide the reader the means to lift off from the world of struggle and sail into a vast universe of possibility.”

I also love the fact that this book is written by the perspective of two different people, one a music conductor and the other a therapist. The conductor makes it great point about practice. In today’s society we do not need to practice much of anything anymore. Everything today is almost instantaneous, if you need to look something up you go to the web. Besides, music, dance, sports, and theater we as a society do not practice much of anything before we go out and do it. Here is another excerpt from the book that explains practicing. “ What? You been practicing it for 3 minutes, and you still can’t play it? Our practices will take a good deal more than 3 minutes to master.” This is a great rule of thumb, life and goals require little more than 3 min. a day of practice before we can master them and put them into our repertoire.

 The therapist also makes some great points, I love her analogy of “ out of the boat”.

“ Out of the boat could refer to something as simple as losing all memory of ever having been on exercise program, or could referred to floundering in the wake of a management shakeup.” It also refers to not only being off-track, but it means you don’t know where the track is any more. The therapist goes on to say that you’ll need to call on something that has been established in advance, like in oar, friends, or catchphrase, like “toes to nose”. I believe the idea is twofold, we all need help once in a while and that we all need to step back her once in a while to regain our point of reference.

 The next several chapters go on to discuss how her brain works and how people can view the same situation totally different. They discuss the shoe salesman’s in Africa which is a cute story. They also discuss the 9 dot puzzle which I had forgotten about as a child. The highlight for me was an old quote from one of my favorite artists Pablo Picasso. “Recognizing Pablo Picasso and a train compartment, a man inquired of the artist why he did not paint people the way they really are. Picasso asked what he meant by that expression. The man opened up his wallet and took out a snapshot of his wife, saying, that’s my wife. Picasso responded, isn’t she rather small and flat?”

I love this picture. It is a picture my wife took of my youngest son Nealon and I found it to be a great example of what the authors were talking about in The Art of Possibility. Some find the picture disgusting and ask, why would we let him put a frog on his face? Others thought what a great picture of Nealon having fun with nature.

 I hope you enjoyed the first five chapters as much as I have. Let’s hope that the rest of the book is as much fun as the first chapters. I look forward to next week discussion.

More Thoughts on Copyright " The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Part 2"

Here is a video blog I created for musicians, music teachers, drama teachers and anyone who puts on live performances might find helpful and entertaining. Yes, that me singing and playing guitar, enjoy

There are many creative ways to get paid as a performer or musician within a nightclub or bar. Some bands are paid partly by food and drink. The rest of the bands earnings can sometimes be a percentage of the bar or technically “tips” from the audience even though the cash or check is given by the owner of the club. There are many other tricks of the trade, feel free to share your stories and thoughts on this blog. Please remember to support live performances. Remember, be careful out there you never know who might walk into your audience. If you like the band RHED feel free to look them up on Facebook and MySpace.

@Helen, Week 1 Free post

Post

Wow...Week 1...is already done...

My brain is going crazy! I cannot stop talking to people about copyright laws because I was soooo unaware of it...You would think that it being so scary that we would know more about it...

It is really crazy to think about how many people are disobeying this law of copyright and are just simply unaware of it...I talked to Mr. Bustillos more about it and he said that we would be talking more about it this next week but I feel that my brain is sooo overloaded with this that it makes me scared of what our future holds and how these people posting videos on YouTube every 2 seconds needs to be aware of this. 

Commenting on Cheryl's post really made me realize things that are right in front of you....resources and people that you have made connections with that can make us into more educated people. I really push my own students to use their resources...google, wikispaces, the web, and the people around them....and I need to realize that too...How did I not know about these ideas or thoughts when I see my librarian at my school on a daily basis?! It really makes me question myself with how opened my eyes really are....

This week just flew by and I had also already started our reading and I must say...I hate reading but the book is really good...(sorry to be a spoiler if you haven't started yet). I am really looking forward to what this class has to offer and what is to happen in the weeks and days to come. 

Response

@Helen,

I am with you, I cannot believe week one is done either. I also agree 100% that we do not take advantage of the talent that is right in front of us, librarians, art teachers, English teachers, etc… Cheryl is amazing, I feel some of the best work I have done came out of collaborations with colleagues or students. Thank you Cheryl and Marcos. I did look over the textbook a little as well and I think we’re going to have a good month.

@Heidi Faber "One View Point"

Heidi’s Post

The video “Fair Use Fairy Tale” was an accurate and creative way to relay the copyright information in an extremely relevant set-up. I will admit, I was shocked that a copyright now last a creator’s lifetime plus 70 years. I don’t see how the extra 70 years is relevant, the creator is dead; the family of the creator should not ride the creator’s coattails just to milk out more money. The lat I new, or thought I knew, copyrights last 75 years or the life of the creator. I used to agree with this when I learned about JD Salinger (wrote Catch in the Rye). He virtually vanished from society to escape the having to be hound by media to create a movie to his classic. He felt it would ruin the integrity of the book. However now days, I think media giants and influential “powers that be” have bastardized the original intent of the purpose of copyrights.

I think it is great that independent documentarians have stood up and created the “Best Practices in Fair Use” manual. What I don’t understand is why don’t people take more of a stand. If lawmakers can move the copyright length back to a lifetime plus 70 years, then with enough protest and civil disobedience it could be brought back to a more reasonable amount of time. I was particularly shocked by the video “Eye on the Fair Use of the Prize.” I think it is horrible and should be downright illegal for people to “lock away” our true history. It is truly a conspiracy of those in power to manipulate citizens (particularly young people that don’t have a reference) to make their political agendas reality. I find what was portrayed in that video to represent media using copyright laws to whitewash our history through lies of omission. I want to go beyond just “following the rules and sneaking around with Fair Use” people need to stand up and change these laws back to the people and not for profit makers.

I understand why copyright was put into place, to protect artists and creators, but like everything in America, copyright goes beyond protection…it has become a way for corporations to make ungodly amounts of money and greedily keep art to themselves that they really don’t appreciate anyways and the common man gets screwed. Art is not about money, art is about expression and that should not have a price (or a copyright). Fear of copyright infringement kills creativity. The idea of Creative Commons is a cool idea for getting the focus on art back on creativity, but when the video mentioned how the Internet made it so anyone could participate without asking permission. I must ask, why is that bad? It is everyday people taking back some kind of rights that laws and lawyers and corporations have striped away. These greedy people took copyright laws to the selfish, money-hungry place it has become and the Internet is the average person’s way of expressing their creativity and to fight back.

Response

@Heidi

Great blog Heidi, however there are some facts that the videos and many others seem to be overlooking. The computer and the photocopy machine have almost totally destroyed printed newspaper, books, and music. Over the past several decades print houses and publishing companies have been closing without a tear from anyone. No one needs to buy newspaper or printed music when you can simply get it online for free. Your parents gave you a great example of selling bootleg albums on street, now the bootlegs are on the Internet. I do not think the millions of dollars have been lost to illegal purchases is all that far-fetched. Think of the 60s and 70s when people would buy an entire album for $10-$12 to get one song. Nowadays you can purchase one song for $.99 this is great for the consumer but horrible to the artist, record labels, and the sheet music publishing company. I am not a mathematician but a loss of $10 to nothing or $.99 is at least a 90% decrease in sales and revenue per album is a staggering figure. Keep in mind the factories that made the records and the artist that created the cover art no longer really exist. These figures are for just for one successful music album, multiply these losses by least 100 artists and you'll get losses in the billions. I have to agree a little that a lifetime +70 is a little excessive for ownership of the copyright. However I think everyone would love to leave a little something for their children and grandchildren when they pass away. Every art and music history teacher will tell you the sad truth that many artists works are not valuable till after they are dead. Most of the time the artists die in poverty and are not recognize till years later. Most of the time their families receive very little then the artist work would become public domain and the families would receive nothing. For example; Monnet, van Gogh, Bartok, and even Kurt Cobain. I do not believe Courtney Love should not receive any of Kurt’s money but I do like her as an artist.