Pop Culture 3B: Circles and Oreos

Thirty Circles.

We opened today with the thirty circles exercise.


We will be revisiting this exercise a bunch of times, with variations on each,  to help us jog our brains and get thinking about possibilities and creative solutions.  This exercise is used by designers, engineers, and collaborative teams in all sorts of industries to help shake up typical ways of thinking.

Circles of Pop Culture

From there we identified the various categories of pop culture and then narrowed them down to eight.  These eight will constitute our curriculum for the semester: music, film, fashion, internet/social media, food, gaming, sports, TV.

We used sets of colored circles to demonstrate individual, and in some cases group, preferences and interest in the above categories.

I will use these images (and the others provided) as polling data to help me design the course for the semester, starting with next week.

Oreo Design Challenge

With our last twenty minutes, we tackled another mini design challenge: How might we create advertisements for the pop culture we love using an Oreo?   Using only twenty minutes, an Oreo (or two), and any materials/locations in the school, create a visual advertisement for a piece of pop culture you love.

Here are a few of our results.

Friday, we'll tackle our next mini design challenge and we'll use our DEEPdt design process for the first time this year.

Eng 9: Less/More, Thirty Circle & Guidelines & Expectations

Less/More Hashtag Activity.

Today we'll start with this video from Amy Burvall.

As you watch, you'll jot down the less/mores that speak to you.  After a think-pair-share, you and a partner will put a couple on Post-Its and we'll see which connected most.

We're doing this activity so I can get a sense of your abilities to watch a video for information, think about it, discuss it, and create something new from it.  

Then we'll take a few minutes to create our own and tweet/Instagram/Periscope them out.

Thirty Circles.

We are participating in a bit of an experiment with other students and thinkers in western Maine.  It's the thirty circles doodle experiment.  You'll have three minutes to fill all of the circles.

We're doing this activity so I can see how well you process visually.  We are going to be using sketching and doodling all year to help us understand complex ideas and develop rad skills.

Guidelines & Expectations.

Finally, the big activity of the day will be exploring Guidelines & Expectations.  We'll be using a notice/wish/wonder tool to help us better understand the handout you'll receive in class.

Here's a video of the Guidelines  & Expectations as well.  It's a bit hard to see but . . . it's there.

We're doing this to better understand what you will be doing in class this year and also for me to start assessing your reading and thinking skills.

All Classes: Guidelines & Expectations 2015

If  you prefer a video you have to squint to watch . . .

Everyone will also receive a hard copy and will be emailed a digital copy once laptops roll out.

Humanities 2BG: Shelves of Inspiration and Artifacts

In today's class, we opened with a quick review of names and attendance.  (I think Mr. Brackett and I performed admirably, if I do say so myself.)

The focus of our day was a discovery of the inspiration shelf in the back of the room.  Mr. Brackett and I have populated the shelf with items that inspire us as thinkers, creators, makers, teachers, people, problem solvers.  Each item is there for a reason.

We distributed a graphic organizer (Notice/Wish/Wonder) to help you explore and uncover the meaning behind those objects.

After being given time to complete the organizers, Mr. Brackett explained the cuneiform artifact and I explained both the Superman lunchbox and the Stanford d.School bookmark.

We ended with some quick takeaways on the day, etched on sticky notes and plopped in the front of the room.