Creative Arts in Education
Throughout the semester while researching scholarship related to ‘the importance of creative arts in education,’ I’ve looked at many YouTube videos. I’ve critiqued and examined mostly creative everyday remix practices of teachers and the works of Ken Robinson. To round it all out, I wanted to create something that showed the students. What does it look like when creative arts are implemented into education?Different Colors
I chose to compile the videos set to Walk the Moon Different Colors. Since the first time I heard this song it made me think about why teachers do what they do and fight to make better experiences for their students. Hence the lines, “this is why we’re biting the bullet, we know the kids are right.” It’s not easy to change the landscape of ‘high stakes testing’ and integrate engaging, creative curriculum. Although there have been great improvements at some schools, as can be seen in the compilation video, others still lag behind due to governmental policies and funding. Never the less, we can see instructors “biting the bullet” as they may struggle to implement creative curriculum.The lines, “Different colors! We carry each other,” I also thought were poetic in regards to education. We know from Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences that everyone has several modes of thinking and learning. When assessed, we find some are more dominant learning perspectives than others. In the classroom and school setting these different ways of being and thinking must be attended to in order to fully engage students. This is why the arts are so important, because they engage students in several other ways that are otherwise alienated by sitting in a chair quietly studying for a test. There is additional poetry in the lines, “Different colors,” that can be seen in this compilation by the various ethnicities and cultures. As a member of various cultures one may belong to various Discourses through which they develop a sense of being and seeing the world. These often are expressed in the typical school day and must be respected and appreciated. I believe through various means of expression whether it be physical activity, the creation of visual art, or music, one can find ways to relate to another who may identify with a very different culture. These means of expression bring out potential collaboration and social learning.
How This Video Was Made
I first had to watch many YouTube videos to get a sense of some that may work for what I was trying to achieve. I tried to find some videos I knew would work with the lyrics and structure of the song. Fortunately, I was able to find most of what I needed on the Edutopia YouTube channel. I also used a video from Institute of Play. To edit these videos, I had to convert them into a format that I can import into Adobe Premiere. I used “clipconverter” to do this. This tool is nice because it is all web based and does not require the user to download any software. It is important to note that with ‘“free” to use software and web tools there is always potential for malware and viruses. I noticed the tutorial for this assignment linked to tools that were considered malware by my virus scanner. Hopefully I dodged a bullet on that one, but it’s another important lesson to learn about engaging with ‘new literacies’ to not blindly trust these “free” softwares or sources linked by others.Once I had all of my videos and music collected in Adobe Premiere, I was able to make different cuts and arrange them as I saw fit to sort of sync with the music. I also created a title screen and credits roll, and a few other transitional effects such as the flashes for “tonight we raise a fire!” I learned how to do all of these things previously last week when I created “Fish Out of Water - Boundaries Exercise tdc1276” a daily create. I was able to accomplish all of this simply by spending a half hour to an hour watching tutorial videos about Adobe Premiere.
Disclaimer
The intent of this remix is for educational purposes only. The work is intended to be transformative in nature. The work is not for sale and it is not to be used for profit. This work was a requirement for a graduate course INTE 5340 Digital Storytelling. Please see citations for additional links add credits.
See 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.
Citations
Walk the Moon (December 2, 2014) Different Colors, Talking is Hard ℗ 2014 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Edutopia, (June 15, 2015) “Rolling Out” a Game in the Classroom
Institute of Play, (December 5, 2014) Say Yay to Play: The Anti CookieCutter School
Edutopia, (May 21, 2013) How a Longer School Day Can Improve Academics
Edutopia, (August 29, 2012) Arts Integration for Deeper Learning in Middle School
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