21st Century Schools or 21st Century Learning?

I read this and thinking about the discussion we had last class. I think business is really ahead of education itself. It means benefit/profit is always the first consideration in our society. We need more research before spend any money. I can't believe government try to cut the art class in Chicago.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/21st-century-schools-or-learning-george-couros

This has really been weighing on my mind since I started seeing a lot of iPads in schools in a 1:1 environment. I asked a group of students at one school how they were using their devices, and they told me that they now had their textbooks on the iPad. They also told me that they didn't like having the iPads because there were so many other things to do on the device that they couldn't stay focused.

Pretty crazy since they'd been given an online textbook to keep them entertained!

The mass purchase of devices for schools is happening way too often without conversations with educators about what learning should be happening in the classroom. This is actually frustrating many teachers that I have spoken with; it just becomes another thing being dumped on educators, not something that is going to make learning better. There is definitely some value in playing with a device and figuring out the wonderful things it can do, but should we really buy these en masse for that purpose? Shouldn't we try to figure out what the learning looks like and then discuss the device? It seems sometimes that we are doing the exact opposite.

New art Space!

This is called a new art spaces museum, created by the New Museum. I think this is a new perspective of viewing art in an international sense. Very interesting and successful!

http://www.newmuseum.org/artspaces/map

Animation as a Pathway to College and a Caree

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-career-technical-education-classes-model-video

Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change

I didn't feel I am in the Millennial age until I reach a certain age like now. I find out people in my age are very creative and fun. We are always trying to do something different but fun, that's why design industry becomes popular in my generation and people are dedicated into art and design. We want to change our life through design and visual communication because we don't really have to write, we type. We are in the age of connecting the world through technology and multi-languages ( such as internet codes, new languages... Orz). A lot of us speak more than one languages either its real language or sign language because we need to communicate to the world and live in multicultural environment.

 
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/.

Reaching A Millennial Generation

The culture of the millennial generation is highly immersed in technology. Especially, computing technology and the internet. Making way for the social networking phenomenon, this generations crave for instant communication with friends and peers changed the direction of the internet from a business only purpose to a collaborative, multi-functional program. This instant communication with peers has changed the culture from a “what do I want to do” as characterised with the generation X to a “what do we want to do”. For many decisions, this generation relies more on their peers to help guide them in their decision making process than past generations.

Link:
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/

Map for the World!

New Vision of the World with creativity and social and cultural observation. I love how the artists represent geographical vision combining with culture and contemporary living in her works. I would love to buy these works because I will never get board by looking at them.

Mercier Julie

French artist Julie Mercier has already illustrated many children's books and magazines. Here are now for L'Affiche Moderne two exclusive and monumental artworks teeming with colourful and cute details and creatures. This atlas and this NYC map will both definitely be a source of numerous questions and discoveries and will catch your child's imagination for hours. The world map print is available in three colours, in English or French.

 http://www.juliemercier.fr/

http://www.niusnews.com/=2rorbt2

Using the Art Education in Fashion Styling: Lulu Chen

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xekoq5_using-the-art-education-in-fashion_lifestyle#.UKU4tUQ1aDk

Fashion stylist Lulu Chen shares how her art education has informed how she defines style and applies it in her work. To Chen, style is a personal expression of oneself and one that makes them happy in their own skin. She pushes away from conformity and uses visual details and designs, from colors to silhouettes to patterns, and layers, to help others express their personality. 

http://www.luluchen.com/fashion2.html