Faculty Members Bringing ARTStem Experiences Back to Classrooms

Bob King, a faculty member in UNCSA's Undergraduate Academic Program, writes . . .

. . . I've already directly applied some of what I gained from the ARTStem conversations and materials in the required "Digital Media for the Artist" class this year (**"Digital Media for the Artist" is a course required of all UNCSA undergraduates during their first year). . . . I decided to incorporate a short film we'd watched during the summer ARTStem session, Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (for more on this, see ARTStem participant Matt Bulluck's reflection). After they saw the film, I was surprised and delighted to see the significant traction that developed around it in terms of students wanting to talk more about, and learn more about, this concept. Ostensibly, this material had nothing to do with preparing them to be art professionals, etc., yet they were just plain interested. Of course I'm sure it helped that the protagonist is a musician, the film was well edited, etc. But even these factors sort of underscore the point that good current content in the sciences, well-presented and appropriately used in our courses, could be a huge plus for students. Anyway, I mention the movie in two course documents. One in the introduction to a digital-story I tell students in order to talk with them about the Liberal Arts, and also to provide an example of the type of digital-story they will be involved in telling later in the class. This mention is at: http://sites.google.com/site/mediastudiesnow/storylines-and-heartstrings. I also reference ARTStem in my DMA Instructor's Blog -- the post is called Electric Soup: http://digital-bob-class.blogspot.com/2009/09/so-were-having-conversation.html

Mid-Year Reflection from ARTStem participant, Diego Carrasco Schoch

Diego Carrasco Schoch is a dance faculty member at UNCSA. He writes . . .

So far, my participation in ARTStem has been a wonderful opportunity to grow as an instructor and will have lasting effects on the way I view my material and the manner in which I teach that material. Getting together with other instructors, from both UNCSA and Reynolds High School, and being forced to talk about education and the act of educating within a prescribed context within a formal setting is something that I find invigorating and necessary, although it happens all too rarely. In fact, I have never participated in such a format before and I imagine that this is unique. It’s been an honor to meet the teachers of Reynolds High. While I was delighted by some and frustrated or challenged by others, they all earned my respect. Hearing them talk reminded me of how privileged I am to be teaching the select group students who attend UNCSA. . . . Getting such a disparate group of people focused on a particular issue and looking at that issue through a particular lens is difficult at best, impossible if one thought rationally. The value of ARTStem – the formal conversations, the various lines of inquiry, exposure to particular readings, etc. – should not be minimized and will, at least for me, continue to reverberate. I feel confident that the value of the ArtStem Project will continue to express itself in me in surprising and subtle ways in both my teaching and my creative work. Lastly, as a new instructor at UNCSA, ArtStem has been providing a much needed opportunity to get to know colleagues I would never have otherwise had contact with and I treasure the burgeoning friendships I have formed.

November 20th and 21st--ARTStem Weekend

On November 20^th and 21^st, ARTStemmers joined together for our autumn weekend of learning and fellowship, for our first whole-group gathering since the summer workshop in August.

First up, on Friday afternoon, was ARTStem’s collaboration with the Center for Design Innovation—a hands-on SCRATCH workshop that was part of the CDI’s roster of events during the Winston-Salem Arts Council’s recent “6 Days in November.” SCRATCH is a free, downloadable computer programming language/application designed by folks at the MIT Media Lab, who explain that “Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.”

Participants, most of whom had no prior experience with SCRATCH, spent the afternoon learning the basics of creating "games" or short animations with the application, and had the added benefit of Winston-Salem State University arts faculty member, Scott Betz, being there to help us troubleshoot. Thanks, Scott!