College Comp 2: Homework for Monday

Generate something creative (or ‘original’) to illustrate a point from Ch. 1-10 that you find most interesting or relevant to you.  I have included some sites that might inspire you. You don't need to use one of these sites.  Heck, you don’t even need to use tech for this, but if you do, maybe one of these sites will inspire you to do something creative.

http://www.glogster.com

http://popplet.com

http://www.imagespike.com

http://www.thinglink.com

http://www.easel.ly

http://www.wordle.net

http://www.ticklypictures.com

http://tripline.net

http://www.blubbr.tv

http://www.whatwasthere.com

http://glossi.com

https://narrable.com

http://www.utellstory.com

http://prezi.com

https://popcorn.webmaker.org

http://animoto.com

http://www.pixiclip.com/beta/

http://studio.stupeflix.com/en/

http://www.pinterest.com

Videos for Wednesday

Watch two of the "Everything is a Remix" episodes below.  Leave at least two responses (one per episode that you watch). See if you can draw connections between chapters 1 and 2 of Steal Like An Artist and the videos.

Then please leave feedback to two other students' responses.


Part 1 - music



Part 2 - film


Part 3 - technology



Part 4 - business

Creativity Crisis. Tuesday's Assignment

Assignment #1

First, read Newsweek's article on "The Creativity Crisis".  Then answer the question assigned to your table.  Share that with me via Drive. We will discuss these in class on Thursday.

Assignment #2

Go to this Padlet site.  Leave two examples of people or creations you find creative or innovative.  One should be an example of disruptive innovation.  For the other example, try to find someone or something creative in an area of interest of yours.

The subject we will be tackling next

Click to view Creativity: Learning to Steal Like Artists! on GLOSSI.COM

Friday's Assignment

Read the chapter "There is no map" from page 174-187 today.  Then read this article.  How are these people making breakthroughs with no map?  Find one other example of a company or individual who  either currently (or in the past) created their own map.

Leave your explanation of your individual in the comments section below.

Have a great weekend.

For Friday

Check your Google Drive account and see what occupation (yes, it was once an occupation) I shared with you.

Then do the following things:

1.  Find out what that job actually was.  Write a short description of it.

2.  Then explain briefly why it become obsolete.

3.  Go to this link and this link.  See what are the fastest growing jobs in the connected world.  Write a short response about how you see yourself and your future degree fitting into this world.

Please leave all of your responses in the comments section of this blog.

Assignment for Wednesday Part 1

First, watch this video segment from Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat and That Used to Be Us.  This is why becoming a linchpin is vital for each of you in the hyper-connected world.





Assignment:  Leave two responses regarding this clip.  Then leave one piece of feedback to another student's response.

Assignment for Wendesday Part 2

Second, watch this short video from Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators.




Assignment:  For this clip, come up with one really good question (after all, that is one of the key skills employers are now seeking) regarding all that we have been studying concerning becoming a Linchpin and excelling in the connected, knowledge economy of the next 50 years.

Then briefly explain which one of the seven skills (Wagner lists them at about the 4 minute mark) today's learners will need that you feel is a strength of yours.  Explain why.

Finally, explain which one of the seven skills is a weakness of yours.  Again, explain why.

Connecting (not collecting) those d*&^n dots

First, watch this video from Thomas Friedman.  Mr. Zutz actually shared this video with our staff this morning. As you watch "Average is Over," which is an excerpt from Friedman's book That Used to Be Us (we read two chapters from it last year).

This short clip illustrates why it's vital for you to evolve into a Linchpin.  Compare what Friedman says in this short talk to Godin's core thesis of becoming a Linchpin.





Second, watch this video from Thomas Friedman later in the same talk.  How do his four pieces of advice for his daughters - and you - correlate to Godin's work (either The Dip or Linchpin)?

 

Friday assignment #1

First,

To add to your discussion points for the first reading assignment of Seth Godin's Linchpin, leave at least one concept, idea, observation, or quote you agree with and leave one that you disagree with.  Please support each one.  

Of course, you can leave more than one response to garner addition points.

Friday assignment #2

Second,

Watch this video of Godin outlining the seven ways to become a linchpin.  Then leave a short response detailing which of the seven ways best fits you right now.

Our loss of wisdom

Watch the first few minutes of this TED Talk (please excuse his political commentary at the very start). Focus on the requirements of the job he discusses.  This ties in to what Godin means when he tells us to be artists, to exert emotional labor, and to do remarkable work.




Then look at the job description I put on each of your tables.  If you were applying for that job, what "soft skills" are vital for those positions?  That is, if you were to apply for that job, how would you turn it into an art form? How would bring emotional labor to it?  How would you turn it into a "remarkable" job?  In other words - to connect (see, connect the dots, right?) to Godin's previous book, The Dip - how would you become "the best in the world" at this job?

Explain that in a brief response in the comments section.  Be sure to include the job title that was at your table.

Stop Stealing Dreams

Watch this video and post 5 observations in the comments section for Thursday.

Remarkable Assignment (due by end of quarter #2)

Here is your remarkable assignment.  This does not need to be performed or presented in front of the class.

    A.  See the suggestions below.


Remarkable assignment --

This does not need to be a big production.  It simply needs to be an example of something you have done or create that is remarkable.

Possibilities (remember, in addition to the remarkable thing itself, you need to present a one page explanation of why it is remarkable.  Simple)

1.  Show me your acceptance letter to the university you plan to attend.

2.  Submit a video of a recital or performance or creation.

   * maybe this is a science experiment or FFA presentation.
   * maybe you hold your breath and solve a Rubics cube (as Dyrud did)
   * maybe you show us a project you have been tinkering or playing around with
   * maybe you helped your dad build a patio and your mother took pictures.  Put that together using
     iMove to show it all coming together.

3.  Submit a prezi or keynote.  See the example below.





4. Submit an essay.  See the one below

2.2.(Barista Revised for Scribd) by teacherscribe

 





5.  Submit a blog, Youtube video, or other multi-media project.  See the example below:




6.  Submit a service project you have done or plan to do.  Maybe you work with the Special Olympics or have a plan to save the world (think Pay it Forward).

7.  Submit a creative project or creation - maybe it's a Lego version of the climax of "Young Goodman Brown" or an original painting or sculpture or an original song or a photograph.

Source: tracymehrkens.wordpress.com via Kurt on Pinterest

You can go here and see better quality pictures.



8.  Submit a remarkable original creative project - think Glossi, easel.ly, Pinterest, thinglink, or you are your words.  My example is below.  I uploaded one of my remarkable creations (my daughter Kenzie Scout) and then I embedded over her image (using youareyourwords.com) my wedding vows (which I wrote myself).

Here is my thesis which earned Thesis of the Year at BSU.

Meeting Myrtle: A Memoir

Please don't be limited to these suggestions.  They are just intended to spark your imagination and widen the realm of possibility.
For more examples, go here.  For more creative examples, go here.

The final remarkable assignment must be submitted to me by the final day of the semester.

Thanks!

#linchpin

Created with Padlet

Pro and Con

Pro Five Paragraph Essay





Con Five Paragraph Essay

Culture Video

Here is the link to the Storify presentation Mr. Zutz shared with us.  Below is the final video from it.

Please respond to this prompt: "Do you believe this to be true?  What type of culture fits you best as you move into the world of college and work?"

You've Survived This Dip (almost)

Here are your final assignments.  Yes, that's plural.

First, go to this link and watch the Seth Godin TED Talk on Tribes.  Then do the following go through the five steps of the Flipped lesson (watch, think, dig deeper, discuss, . . . and finally).

You will, though, have to register with TED Ed in order to answer the questions.  This is not difficult though.  You can either answer the questions after the video or during.

On the ". . . and finally" part you will find the topic for your final paper on The Dip.  Below that you will find a link to a Storify document that contains several sources.  You need to use at least one of those articles as a source in your paper.

Good luck!

Definition Tips for your Definition Essay

For Friday's definition essay, choose one word to define in your own unique way.

We will explore this more on Tuesday.  But for now, here are some tips and ideas -

Advice:

Don't write in generalities.  Want to drive your professors nuts? Want to totally illustrate to them that you have no idea what you're talking about? Then keep your writing vague and generic.

Examples -

"Many people in this world find beauty all around them."  Really?  Why don't you tell us something we don't know.

"What is beautiful to one person may be ugly to another."  Really?  Thanks for the blinding flash of insight!


How to cure this:

Drill down to specifics.  Remember, this is ultimately a personal definition essay.  The main word their is personal.  SHOW ME WHAT YOU REALLY, PERSONALLY THINK.  SHOW US A UNIQUELY PERSONAL DEFINITION OF BEAUTY TAKEN FROM EITHER YOUR LIFE OR FROM YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD.

Examples -

*  I'm sorry that many PC junkies will hate this, but the truth is simple: every apple product is beautiful in that there is absolutely no wasted designing.  Everything on an iPad, iPod, or MacBook Air serves the function of making the product easy to use and aesthetically appeasing.

*  There is beauty in death.  I know this is hard to fathom, but the morning my father died from lung cancer was beautiful.  After his passing, the family gathered in the adjacent waiting room to wait for the funeral home director.  We began telling stories about Dad.  Soon everyone in that room had tears in their eyes.  Not because we were sad.  Rather because we knew we had been blessed to have Dad in our lives.

In fact, the funeral home director actually did a double take before entering the room.  He couldn't believe we were in as good of spirits as we were.  We were wrapped in beauty.  We were celebrating Dad's life.

Explore or define your term (whatever that it is) in a fresh and unique way.

Here are some past samples --

Macie's "K" theme

My Theme #2 (Time) by teacherscribe

Padlet Discussion

Using the Padlet board below, leave two examples to this prompt -

What does creativity mean to you?

Or click on this link to visit the actual Padlet page.

Created with Padlet

Best Tech Lesson so far . . .

First, leave a brief statement about the best technology lesson you have had so far in your classes.  This may focus on how you engaged students more effectively via their laptops or how you were able to present a specific lesson better using a form of technology.

Then, leave at least two responses to other teachers' responses.

Thanks!

Week 4 Syllabus

Probing / Telescoping

Here are some examples.  Remember to specifically mention Steven Johnson and which theory (either Probing or Telescoping) you are going to focus on.  Break your topic down according to each.  If you choose probing, talk about the four parts of it mentioned on page 45.  If you choose telescoping, be sure to explain how each skill builds on other skills.

Ace

Probing Example #1

Green Manicure

Everything Bad is Good For You First Prompt

As you read the introduction and the first chapter of Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You, click on the Padlet link here and leave one response to the chapter and one example that proves one of Johnson's theories about our pop culture.


Or go to it here
 

Created with Padlet

Here is our author giving one of his TED Talks

Last discussion on The Dumbest Generation

Here is Dr. Bauerlein one final (mercifully) time -




And here is a link to their debate for AEI.


Now here is his opponent, Neil Howe -

 

And here is Howe refuting Bauerlein's claim at the AEI discussion.  How can one generation be either the dumbest generation or the smartest?



Please leave two pieces of feedback.  One, offer a final summary of Bauerlein's claim against your generation.  Second, choose one topic Bauerlein criticizes your generation for and explain how Howe sees that topic as a positive of your generation.

8th Grade Exam

Go to this link on your laptops.  See if you could pass this exam.  As you read through this exam, leave a response to it.  Keep the following in mind

1.  What kind of knowledge is being measured here?

2.  Do you really think this test is really all that difficult?

3.  Would these students be able to pass an 8th grade exit exam from 2013?

4.  Many people believe this illustrates how little we know today and how our education system (and modern culture) has eroded.  Is this justified or not?

Then leave responses to at least two other people in class.

Dumbest Generation #1 in class assignment

Created with Padlet

College Comp 2: First Day Essay

College Comp II

First Day Essay

Yes, my scribes, you read that right!  There is a 4-6 page essay (minimum of one source ) due on the first day of College Comp 2.  This will count as a theme, and, thus, will be a significant part of your grade.  One goal of this class is to give you as authentic of a college experience as I can.  I have several students who have to not only write essays for their universities over the summer but also read books.  So I’m just preparing you for the rigors of college.

Here is your topic -

First, watch this TED Talk by Simon Sinek.

Then, write a 4-6 page explanation of your “why” (or your cause or your belief or your mission).  Explain not only what it means to you, but also explain how it drives you and will guide you in your future. You may also mention how it impacts your “how” and “what” too.  Remember to have one in-text citation (as well as a correct works cited) in the essay.  You may cite Sinek’s TED Talk. 

Here is my “Golden Circle” --

Please have this essay ready to submit by the start of the first day of class.  Thanks!  See you soon.  Can't wait!

Be Thinking About This NOW . . . Not Four Years Down the Road

Congratulations Graduate! Eleven Reasons Why I Will Never Hire You. from Mark O'Toole

Summer Assignment

For summer 2013 -

Watch this video and write a two page paper on it.

Digi Key Interviews

Here are the schedules for the interviews this week.  Remember be early and have your resume and dress sharply.

Monday's assignment

Watch the videos below and leave one comment per video.  Now, in order to receive full credit here (and this will go down in the discussion category), please leave a college level response.  Don't say what you liked about the video in three sentences.  Instead, give us some legit college level thinking and analysis: find a new insight into the piece, connect it to something you read in Steal Like an Artist or to another work you've read, or connect it to a current pop culture example.

Then respond in the same manner to a classmate's response to each video.

I'll get the ball rolling . . .

 
Everything is a Remix Part 1 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.


Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.


Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Remarkable Assignment (due by end of quarter #2)

Here is your remarkable assignment.  This does not need to be performed or presented in front of the class.

    A.  See the suggestions below.


Remarkable assignment --

This does not need to be a big production.  It simply needs to be an example of something you have done or create that is remarkable.

Possibilities (remember, in addition to the remarkable thing itself, you need to present a one page explanation of why it is remarkable.  Simple)

1.  Show me your acceptance letter to the university you plan to attend.

2.  Submit a video of a recital or performance or creation.

   * maybe this is a science experiment or FFA presentation.
   * maybe you hold your breath and solve a Rubics cube (as Dyrud did)
   * maybe you show us a project you have been tinkering or playing around with
   * maybe you helped your dad build a patio and your mother took pictures.  Put that together using
     iMove to show it all coming together.

3.  Submit a prezi or keynote.  See the example below.





4. Submit an essay.  See the one below

2.2.(Barista Revised for Scribd) by teacherscribe

5.  Submit a blog, Youtube video, or other multi-media project.  See the example below:




6.  Submit a service project you have done or plan to do.  Maybe you work with the Special Olympics or have a plan to save the world (think Pay it Forward).

7.  Submit a creative project or creation - maybe it's a Lego version of the climax of "Young Goodman Brown" or an original painting or sculpture or an original song or a photograph.

Source: tracymehrkens.wordpress.com via Kurt on Pinterest

You can go here and see better quality pictures.



8.  Submit a remarkable original creative project - think Glossi, easel.ly, Pinterest, thinglink, or you are your words.  My example is below.  I uploaded one of my remarkable creations (my daughter Kenzie Scout) and then I embedded over her image (using youareyourwords.com) my wedding vows (which I wrote myself).

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Here is a bag I designed through the website, Tumbuk2.

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Please don't be limited to these suggestions.  They are just intended to spark your imagination and widen the realm of possibility.

For more examples, go here.  For more creative examples, go here.

The final remarkable assignment must be submitted to me by the final day of the semester.

Thanks!

Every day Remarkable

Created with Padlet

Linchpin 2.0 reading (28-48)

As you read the next section of Linchpin for class tomorrow, watch this video and let me know what you think in class.

Who do you find remarkable?

Here is your FIRST wallwisher assignment for Linchpin.  We will discuss these in class on Wednesday.

Created with Padlet

Fourth Quarter, week one syllabus

Welcome to the final 8 weeks of your high school lives.  Be remarkable.

Final essay for The Dip

The Dip Second Reading Assignment

The Dip First reading assignment

The Dip - Assignment 1.0

First:

For our next book, we will read Seth Godin's short book entitled The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick).

Here is the man talking about the dip.  If you haven't had the great opportunity to listen to him, enjoy.

It's a trip.


 

 Please leave two observations below reacting to this short clip.

Next:

Choose one of these prompts to write a short (no need for more than 2 pages) expository essay on (due Thursday).

* Write about something you failed at.
* Write about something you quit.
* Write about something you stuck with, but now you really wish you'd have quit.
* Why do you think quitting gets such a bad rap in our society?
* What are the benefits of quitting?

Hyper Text Blog

Here is the link to Google Docs where you can see the assignment sheet for the Sticky Note Hypertext book review, which will be due NEXT WEDNESDAY.

Look at the "Hyper-Text Book Report Blogs" page at the top column of this blog for past examples.

Definition Tips

For the most part the drafts of your beauty definition have been less than impressive.  That's not true for everyone, but there are several that are just far too generic and vague (and to be brutally honest) just plain boring for serious college level work.

Advice:

Don't write in generalities.  Want to drive your professors nuts? Want to totally illustrate to them that you have no idea what you're talking about? Then keep your writing vague and generic.

Examples -

"Many people in this world find beauty all around them."  Really?  Why don't you tell us something we don't know.

"What is beautiful to one person may be ugly to another."  Really?  Thanks for the blinding flash of insight!


How to cure this:

Drill down to specifics.  Remember, this is ultimately a personal definition essay.  The main word their is personal.  SHOW ME WHAT YOU REALLY, PERSONALLY THINK.  SHOW US A UNIQUELY PERSONAL DEFINITION OF BEAUTY TAKEN FROM EITHER YOUR LIFE OR FROM YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD.

Examples -

*  I'm sorry that many PC junkies will hate this, but the truth is simple: every apple product is beautiful in that there is absolutely no wasted designing.  Everything on an iPad, iPod, or MacBook Air serves the function of making the product easy to use and aesthetically appeasing.

*  The is beauty in death.  I know this is hard to fathom, but the morning my father died from lung cancer was beautiful.  After his passing, the family gathered in the adjacent waiting room to wait for the funeral home director.  We began telling stories about Dad.  Soon everyone in that room had tears in their eyes.  Not because we were sad.  Rather because we knew we had been blessed to have Dad in our lives.

In fact, the funeral home director actually did a double take before entering the room.  He couldn't believe we were in as good of spirits as we were.  We were wrapped in beauty.  We were celebrating Dad's life.


Examples for beauty --

Definition essay 1.0 + assignments

Since our week is going to be so brief thanks to the unfortunate snow day, we will forgo the cell phone hiatus until Monday and Tuesday of next week.

For today and tomorrow, we will begin discussing our next essay, which will be a definition essay.  You will be asked to devise two drafts and then develop one into a fully developed essay (replete with at least two sources).  This will be due late next week.

To begin examining how to define something, today I will assign the essay Pearls Before Breakfast, which asks the question, "Can we recognize beauty when we see it out of context?"  Read this tonight and leave feedback on this post in the form of two observations from it and then two responses to classmates' observations.

Here is a video from the story -





Next, to explore the concept of beauty and how we might define it, I want you to create a "beauty blog."  There are several former examples from past classes in the menu bar at the top of the blog.  Below is the assignment sheet.  Include ALL of these on your blog, which will be due Friday.

Beauty Scavenger Hunt for College Comp 2 

Then - for your first draft of an essay seeking to define beauty, write a short research based essay around your personal definition of beauty.  To help you with this, I am embedding a list of quotes about beauty.  You may use one of these quotes (or one you find on your own) to write your first definition draft around.  For this rough draft, you do not need to include a works cited.

Beauty Quotes by

Your beauty draft will be due on Monday.

So to recap, there are three things due

1. Read and post two observations (and then another two responses to classmates' observations) regarding the article "Pearls Before Breakfast."

2.  Create a beauty blog and send me the url by Friday.

3.  Have a draft of a personal definition essay of beauty by Monday.

Everything Bad Assignment for Monday

Johnson is quick to note how the complexity of TV (and pop culture) in general is not as sophisticated as todays TV and pop culture.  On the site below, offer one example from the past that illustrates this point.  Then find a current example from our pop culture that shows how much more complex culture is today.
 

Created with Wallwisher

TeacherScribe: Storiy

TeacherScribe: Storiy: A few weeks ago, I received a Tweet from someone I follow that said I was quoted in his Storify article.  I was intrigued, so finally today ...

TeacherScribe: Rotary Presentation

TeacherScribe: Rotary Presentation: Last week I was fortunate enough to be asked to speak at the rotary club. I presented, as luck would have it, with my reverse mentor, who i...

Week Three Syllabus

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Week Two Syllabus

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Take These Bauerlein

Here is a 14 year old "citizen scientist" who makes a significant discovery.  So much for those millennials wasting their lives and intellects on digital media.  In this case, digital media helped cause the discovery.




Here are another couple of millennials who send a Lego mini figure to space.  For fun.  Damn millennials.  Again, digital media was vital.



Again, more about those self-absorbed and narcissistic millennials.

And here is an example of their tolerance and acceptance as a young man comes out to his entire school while accepting an award.  He receives a standing ovation.  If that would have been 1950, what would have happened?  Anyone remember the tragedy of Matthew Shepard?




And this millennial attempts to break a Guinness world record (and it's not for text messages in a day or Facebook friends added); it's for hugs in a single day.

And don't forget about Gen Z either.  An amazing trans-gender girl's essay in response to the President's speech..

Second Semester Assignment 1.0

Mark Bauerlein's book The Dumbest Generation has the subtitle, "How the Digital Age Stupefied Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future."

For Thursday's assignment, leave a response detailing how you think the digital age stupefies your generation.

For bonus points, you may choose to leave feedback to a classmate's response.

Thanks!

This is due by midnight tonight (Wednesday).

Error and Exaptation

Thanks to a snow day and a senior focus trip, we had to push our last two lesson plans from Where Good Ideas Come From back to the final day 

This final week of the semester was one of the most stressful I've ever had.  First, Monday went well.  However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Cash was sick, so I had to stay home . . . while my College Comp 2 class had their fist day of interviews out at Digi Key on Tuesday and my College Comp 1 had their first deadline for their research paper on Wednesday.  Thankfully, Gail offered to take the little ones at her house, so I could get back to school on Thursday for the second day of interviews at Digi Key.  

After the interviews, Taylor, presented her remarkable project, a piano recital, for us.  It was incredible.

What a whirlwind it was.  And we also had Sydney present her remarkable project, six cupcakes per student, that she baked the night before.  They were excellent.

I was so caught up with the "Error" assignments that I didn't have time to snap any pictures.  But that is a compliment to the lesson.  I was fully engaged in the riddles and wuzzles they had us work on.

Good job Alex and Ashley.

The final chapter, "Exaptation," belonged to Jenna, Miranda, and Amit.

For "Exaptation," which is a term used in evolution to explain how some creatures convert features designed for one purpose to another function.  For example, several species of dinosaurs didn't use feathers for flight.  Instead they used them for warmth.  Penguins, too, don't actually use their wings for flight, but they use them to swim.

So this group gave us Oreos, frosting, and wafers.  Then they gave us some world famous landmarks and had us repurpose the Oreos, frosting, and wafer to construct imitations of them.  Brilliant.

Here are the results.

Big Ben.  (Nice us of technology too)

Stone Henge

The Taj Mahal.

And the most remarkable thing of all: my College Comp 2 class.  

Robotics Week #2

Ch. 4 Serendipity

Here are the pictures of the fourth chapter of Where Good Ideas Come From.  This lesson had it all - brainstorming, collaboration, discussion, lecture, slideshow, and ice cream!

Kylie and Kirsten talking about serendipity.

Leandra leading a brainstorm/connecting session on, of all things (blasphemy, I know) - gulp, gasp - hockey!