Pop Culture: Musical Solutions Design Challenge & the Business of Music

We'll start class with a little human litmus test to get a sense of our music listening experiences.

From there we'll talk about your blog post for this week.  It's a little research you need to do into the world of being a working musician in 2016.

Music Streaming

• How much do musicians really make from Spotify, iTunes and YouTube? | Technology | The Guardian
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/30/business/media/music-streaming-guide.html?_r=0
• A Musician's Guide to Streaming: The Pros & Cons of Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud & More :: Music :: Features :: Paste
• Musicians Who Hate Spotify | Flavorwire
• Apple Music hits 10 million subscribers - The Washington Post 

You might take a listen to this podcast about Grooveshark, a now defunct streaming service.  

And this story of Macklemore & "Thrift Shop"

SHOW YOUR THINKING.

Blog.  Imagine you are an aspiring musician.  What path would you take to making a living with your music?  Which streaming service would you use?  Would you stay independent or sign with a label?  Use information from the above articles and any other research you'd like to conduct to support your decision.  Include text evidence and/or links to video/audio that helped you come up with your decision
DUE.  Friday. 10.7.2016

You'll spend just a little time jumping into those articles on your own. Get a sense of what an answer to that question might be.  

And then we're going to dive into your next design challenge and how we might use music to solve problems.

DISCOVERY Phase.

I'll be sharing examples of real world solutions that fit our criteria. (LiveAID and "We Are the World" to "Same Love" and Lemonade, Walkmans and Discmans to iPods and Spotify and more . . .)  And from there we will have time in class to brainstorm and ideate, to identify possible users, and generally get our design process underway.

Here's the rubric that is also available in the Pop Culture Fall 2016 OUT folder.  

Pop Culture Fall 2016: Musical Solutions Single Point Rubric

How might we use music to solve a problem?  Personal? Local? National? Global?

OR

How might we solve a problem in the music industry? Creative? Business? Delivery?

Creative Constraints:  

• Your prototype must be visible and shareable, but it does not need to be physical
• You must document your process (Discovery (Research/Problem Finding), Empathy (User Needs), Experiments (Brainstorming/Ideating/), Products
• You must submit a written or recorded explanation of the intentions behind your prototype.

Criteria	Evidence of Exceeding the Standard (clever, insightful, unique, powerful, creative, meaningful, professional)	What Meeting the Standard Looks Like	Evidence of Needs for Improvement (gaps, missing pieces or evidence, incomplete thoughts)
Musical Solution Prototype (MEDIA)		I like how your prototype presents an effective solution to the identified problem.  I like how every aspect of your prototype seems purposeful. I like how I only have to ask minimal questions to understand your solutions.
Design Process Documentation (MEDIA)		I like how your design documentation shows that you have identified a problem, considered the users needs, explored several solutions, and worked up a prototype. I like how you organized your photos/video/notes/sketches in a way that it is easy to see your thinking.
Written Explanations (WRITING) (OPTION A)		I like how your details are specific and make it clear to me what you intended with your prototype.  I like how well organized your writing appears and how it seems to show your voice.  I like how I get a strong sense of how your prototype will solve the problem.
Vocal Explanations (SPEAKING) (OPTION B)		I like how articulate your explanations come across because your details are specific and you make it clear to me what you intended with your prototype.  I like clearly you speak with a deliberate pace. I like how I get a strong sense of how your prototype will solve the problem.
Mechanics, Usage, Grammar, Spelling (MUGS)		I like how your work is nearly error free in terms of MUGS.  There may be one or two minor errors but you generally show control of your writing.
Timeliness (HABITS of WORK)		The final product is turned in within 24 hours of the agreed upon due date.

AP Lit: Solving The Hours & Unpacking Dalloway

DESIGN CHALLENGE: SOLVE THE HOURS.


Today we will continue designing for the characters of The Hours and run a design sprint featuring 8 Box, storyboarding, and feedback.

What does a design sprint look like?  I didn't invent it.  It's a fantastic technique used by designers of all sorts.  We're adopting our own version but you can see more of it in the book Sprint by Jake Knapp and the Google Ventures crew.

We ran an 8 Box on Monday.  We're going to do another.  (The more you 8 Box, the better you get at it.)  Then we'll storyboard (3 post its that show your idea in action).  We may or may not have time for feedback on our storyboards.  We may do the feedback on 8 Boxes.

From here, you'll actually build your prototype solutions to the challenges and needs facing one of the characters from The Hours.

You'll have about 20 minutes to build.

SKETCHNOTING & POWER QUOTING:  DALLOWAY 3-29.

We use the last third of class to explore sketchnotes and visualizing as a means of notetaking and annotating a text.  We'll look at Clarissa, Rezia and Septimus, as well as discuss the value of meeting other Londoners in Woolf's narrative.

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

SUBMIT.
Synthesis Essay #1
Put a Google Doc in your AP LIT IN folder.
DUE. Today.

BLOG.

Critical Creativity Challenge:  Scoring Dalloway.   Create an original score for pages 3 - 29 of Mrs. Dalloway using either live instrumentation, Garage Band, SoundTrap  Wolfram Tones, Beat Lab, or another online/digital music generator/creator.

Analytical Post:  Make a case for or against the presence of Foster's vampires in The Hours.  Use text evidence to support your assertions. 

DUE. Friday.  10.7.2016

READ.

Mrs. Dalloway.  30-58.

Sketchnote. 3-58.

How might you organize these sketchnotes?  How might  you make visual meaning of this first quarter of the book?  All one?  A series?  Organized by character? Setting?  Idea?

Want to learn more about sketchnotes?  Check out http://sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution/    or http://sketchnotearmy.com/ or just search for sketchnotes on Pinterest, Instagram, or Google Image search.  

Pop Culture: Business of Music (Some of Our Resources)

Music Streaming

• How much do musicians really make from Spotify, iTunes and YouTube? | Technology | The Guardian
• A Musician's Guide to Streaming: The Pros & Cons of Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud & More :: Music :: Features :: Paste
• Musicians Who Hate Spotify | Flavorwire
• Apple Music hits 10 million subscribers - The Washington Post 

SHOW YOUR THINKING.

Blog.  Imagine you are an aspiring musician.  What path would you take to making a living with your music?  Which streaming service would you use?  Would you stay independent or sign with a label?  Use information from the above articles and any other research you'd like to conduct to support your decision.  Include text evidence and/or links to video/audio that helped you come up with your decision

Eng 9: 1st Fishbowl, Caine's Arcade, Advocacy Letters and More . . .

We'll start with a fishbowl discussion to explore our empathy and advocacy stations from last week.  This will be our first formally assessed listening and speaking experience.  We will formulate criteria together that I will use to assess your listening and speaking during the fishbowl.

We will be tying together the short story we read, the stations, and everything else we've done so far into this discussion.

We'll start with watching this video.  Be prepared to ask questions about the format at the end of the video.  I will be asking you to identify the rules and format established in the video.

Then we'll watch this fantastic video about Caine's Arcade, the mini-documentary that gave rise to Imagination Foundation.

You'll be completing a Notice/Wish/Wonder graphic organizer to demonstrate your understanding of the Caine's Arcade mini doc.   You only need to fill out

Once you finish your Notice/Wish/Wonder graphic organizer, you can start/finish your advocacy letter.  You have two choices.

Write a one page letter in which you ask a teacher, a parent/guardian, a friend, a coach or some other specific individual for help.  Explain what it is you need help with, why you need that help, and how specifically that person might help you.

OR

Empathize with an individual struggling with one of the challenges we've explored in class.  Adopt that person's point of view and write a letter in which that person asks for help from a teacher, parent/guardian, friend, coach or some other specific individual for help.  Explain what it is they need help with, why they need that help, and how specifically that person might help them.

OR

Empathize and advocate for an individual struggling with one of the challenges we've explored in class.  Ask one of their teachers, parent/guardians, friends, coaches or another specific individual to help that person.  Explain what it is they need help with, why they need that help, and how specifically that person might help them.

ROOTS 2.
Reminder that there is a Roots 2 quiz over Roots 1 and 2 on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  Use the quizlets linked in the sidebar to the right to help you study.   Use the jenga block creations you made the other day to help you -- ask your friends to send you the pics they took if you don't have them.

Next class, we are making stuff.  Next week, we are making stuff.  All month of October, we are writing and discussing and reading and making stuff.  What?  Yes.

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

Study.  Roots 1 & 2.

Quiz.  NEXT CLASS.

Write.

Advocacy Letter.

Due.  NEXT CLASS.

Put in your English 9 IN Folder.

Complete.

Notice/Wish/Wonder: Caine's Arcade.

Put in your English 9 IN Folder.

AP Lit: Solving the Hours, Peer Workshopping Synthesis, Dalloway Begins, Vampires & Music & More

Today we start Mrs. Dalloway.

We'll read in class to get a feel for Woolf's stream of consciousness style.  It is unique to most anything you will have been assigned in high school, though as contemporary of Fitzgerald you may find some similarities in language.  And since Woolf has been so tremendously influential, you may also find the roots of Laurie Halse Anderson and Markus Zusak in these pages.  

It is also the novel that inspired Cunningham to write The Hours.

Tonight read up to page 29.   Wednesday we will discuss and make sure folks are following the characters, plot, etc.

Speaking of The Hours, take a look at this trailer for the 2002 film.

And take a listen to the score by composer Phillip Glass, particularly "Morning Passages" and "Escape"

Think about how Glass' sounds reflect the ideas we've been been exploring class.  Why might he choose the sounds?  This instrumentation?  These musical arcs?  Might a little research uncover more?

Also, I recommend the fantastic documentary, Glassworks, which I believe is available on Netflix still.

This ties into your Critical Creativity blog post for the week.

PEER WORKSHOP the SYNTHESIS ESSAY 1

You'll have twenty minutes to work with a partner and get feedback on your current draft.  You'll submit your essay on Wednesday.

DESIGN CHALLENGE: SOLVE THE HOURS.

After this, we will continue designing for the characters of The Hours and run a design sprint featuring 8 Box, storyboarding, and feedback.

On Wednesday, we build.  Construct.

OUT OF CLASS WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Complete.  1st Submission Draft of Synthesis 1.

READ.
Mrs. Dalloway.  pg 3 - 29
How to Read Lit Chapter 3: Vampirism

BLOG.
Critical Creativity Challenge:  Scoring Dalloway.   Create an original score for pages 3 - 29 of Mrs. Dalloway using either live instrumentation, Garage Band, SoundTrap  Wolfram Tones, Beat Lab, or another online/digital music generator/creator.

Analytical Post:  Make a case for or against the presence of Foster's vampires in The Hours.  Use text evidence to support your assertions.

How to Post your Blog Posts on the Blog Tracker.  The blog tracker is in the AP Lit 2016 OUT folder.  You don't make a copy of this one.  You just edit it right there on the screen.

Here's a video to help you with posting the links.  You only need to worry about the first 3 minutes of the video.

English 9: Empathy & Advocacy Stations

Thursday and Friday we experienced a series of stations designed to help us empathize to those with struggles and to learn how to advocate for ourselves and others -- how to bring help and ask for help.

This is a continuation of the work we did with Lawrence Hill's "What Are You, Anyway?" the work with growth and fixed mindset, multiple intelligences, and "Who Am I (Right Now)?"

BTW. Next week we have a Roots 2 Quiz on Wednesday and Thursday.  Heads up.  It's over BOTH ROOTS 1 & 2.

Here are the stations and some pics from each.

GO & GET.

BUILD A LEGO SET.

ORGANIZE THE INSPIRATION SHELVES

JENGA THE ROOTS

And one class was able to play JUST KEEP TALKING

We debriefed about what we discovered about our challenges, our successes, advocating for others and ourselves.   All of this is heading toward our first big design challenge next week around need finding, understanding ourselves and more . . . 

Pop Culture: Catching Up & Breathing & Blog Tracking

On Friday, we took time to catch up and breathe and do a little mental reset for our next design challenge which is coming your way next week.

Here is what should be in your Google Drive Pop Culture IN folder:

POP CULTURE LINEAGE PROJECT
Photos/videos of your model/visuals/design
Written or Recorded Explanations

MUSIC ROOTS
Trace an artist back 3 generations
Playlist with examples of the music of each influence
Explanations and visuals

COUNTRY V HIP-HOP
Graphic Organizer and Synthesis Paragraphs

LEGO MY POP CULTURE
Any pictures and explanations of what you created

OREO DESIGN CHALLENGE: ADVERTISE the POP CULTURE YOU LOVE
Any pictures and explanations

DESIGN A BAND  DESIGN CHALLENGE
Album cover
Biography of designed band
Reactions  (See the Design a Band Challenge from last class for a complete description of what should be there)

Here's what should be ON YOUR BLOG.

1. LEGO my POP CULTURE pics and explanation
2. OREO CHALLENGE pics and explanation
3. MUSIC ROOTS playlist, visuals,  and explanations
4. DESIGN A BAND Post One (the band)
5. DESIGN a BAND Post Two (answering the critical thinking questions)

Here's a link the to POP CULTURE FALL 2016 BLOG TRACKER.  You have editing access.  No need to make a copy.

Here's a video to help you post your links to your individual posts on the blog tracker.  The relevant info goes up to minute 13 -- this is from last spring's class.

We ended the day on Friday with looking briefly at why people LISTEN to music and why people MAKE music.   We did some work on post-it notes with this.  More next week . . .