Are you tired of trying to show students and staff why pictures from Creative Commons and Flickr are not only the right thing to use, but also much better for engaging audiences? This came up in class today, so I thought I would quickly share. I saw a student using this:
Then I showed her this:
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo shared by Captain Kimo – Catching Up!
Enough said! Ban clip art from your classroom.
Found this cool toy, and thought it might be an interesting way to share some photos, tell a story, or just spin your photos. I am thinking up ways to use it, but would love to turn the comments into a brain storm session.
Sometimes it’s the simplest stories that have the most meaningful impact. I outlined the fledging collaborative project that has begun with some SLA students in Zach Chase’s class in Philadelphia in the letter I wrote them. A look at the comments could prove useful for context of this post. As promised, I have taken the nuggets of poetry from their comments on my Flickr Set and set them to song.
Here you go SLA, my song to you. What will you do with it? Download it. Remix it. Add your voice to it. Set it to images. Create a video. Rap it. This version is only a draft and is not even close to being “done.” Tear it up!
Here is another version by a teacher in Canada:
Looks like NoiseProfessor in California has added his take to the mix. Take a listen here.
The nature of art in the twenty first century is that it never ends and doesn’t belong to any one artist. We are in this together…your move!
stones
sometimes I wonder how many stones
there are in the world.
i found a light in your simple “Hello”
like the way grass dances in the breeze
Choosing between clashing vibrancies
she sings ohh how she sings
i can erase what i choose to forget
we fear the pen because it leaves a stain
like the lives of rocks and flower,
that tell the story of the world.
These are the years in which life is beautiful.
Each and every day a miracle.
A tiny person in a large world
filled with intrigue and wonder.
a warm orange flower rests against my skin
sweet serenity full and wide
I grab the spoon of your smile and dig
in these moments we forget ourselves
we breathe the ecstasy of golden silence
heaven has not been that far off after all
we just had to open our eyes
we just had to be open
These are the years in which life is beautiful.
Each and every day a miracle.
A tiny person in a large world
filled with intrigue and wonder.
I don’t watch television much anymore
but whenever I do I can feel it on my hands
the dusty residue
from carrying fistfuls of stones.
lonely I lay flat
Among dull gray stones
I want to go home
I want to go home
lonely I lay flat
Among dull gray stones
I want to go home
To the Students of Zachary Chase in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (Or any other class whose teacher came across this post and wants to participate.)
A few days ago I shared, on my blog, the fact that I had finished the first month of a yearlong project in which I would take a photo everyday for a year. Why did I feel the need to broadcast this information with what we affectionately call the World Wide Web? Not sure. I tend to share anything and everything that leaks from my life. The photos the songs, the tweets, the insights, the rubbish, the random thoughts trickle out and dribble into a vast abyss I am old ends somewhere with you. Well in this case your teacher Mr. Chase.
You see, Mr. Chase commented on my blog:
Do you mind if I use some of these as journal prompts?
To which I responded
Yes, please feel free to use them as prompts, would love to read what kids write. Maybe if they post on blogs, they can leave their links as comments on Flickr. Would love to follow the stories of these photos. Could be a fun project.
Hmmm….brain turning for new ideas.
Mr. Chase:
Alright. Just posted the journal assignment to moodle. I’m curious to see how this turns out.
Me:
Cool. Sounds great. Would be cool to have a small collection of short stories or poems based on these images. Would love the interaction.
Sounds simple enough right? No big whoop. We are, after all, mired in the age of the social web, where people are connecting and creating all over the world. My question, however, is are they? Are you? Is this an everyday thing for you? Because while we all talk about collaboration, I am always floored when it happens to me. I was very moved by your words, your poems, your creativity and your engagement. I stayed up passed midnight watching your comments as they came pouring in. I had goosebumps and at times nearly cried. Take a look the comments for this blog post for a deeper look at why I find your action so important.
I just wanted to let you know that while, quickly typing a few words on some random Flickr set may not have been much more than a class assignment for you, your actions meant a lot to me. So what of it now? What happens next? Well that is up to you. I hope that this introduction can be a way that we continue to explore the power of art and words and connections. I was a born teacher and student, I would love to continue to teach and learn from you. Are you up for it?
I know teachers tend to throw out mixed messages, “Be open, share. Be careful, be scared.” I hope you use your judgment and the experiences which you have been taught by the more than capable teachers at SLA to move this project to the next level. This could be an authentic real world experience to create something beautiful with a larger group of people than those within our immediate community. (I invite other teachers to share this Flickr set and this post to see where it can go. Ask your class to leave poems, stories, haikus, comments anything. Maybe we can write a book, record an album…)
There are many things we can do with the images, the words, the connection. I hope that at least a few of you will share a few ideas in the comments below. I don’t know who will respond, but that is the beauty of sharing in whim, if you throw enough out there, occasionally something beautiful will come floating back.
After receiving your words, here is what I will do: I will scour your words mining for verses to a song, which I will sing and record. I will contact you soon about maybe singing a collaborative chorus. What else can we do with the words, the images? Who else is on board?
I haven’t talked much about my time in Africa on this blog, but just yesterday a friend and former Peace Corps volunteer asked if I could share some pictures, so I dug a few out, finally posted them on Flickr and added some short descriptions. You can watch the slideshow here or go to the Flickr set for a closer look at the stories behind the pics. In case you weren’t aware I began my teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mozambique from 1999-2001. I hope to tell my story in a much more comprehensive manner in my book, but I wanted to start the process by simply sharing some photos and re-entering the past. I look forward to exploring thise years using other digital story telling tools. For now, take a look, enjoy. Leave comments on what you would like to know more about:
