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kayane kathleen kouzoujian's blog ccad's mfa program research and progress: what i do and what i look at reflection and evaluation: what i'm thinking and how it's going random learning: jfj's wonderful quotes and paraphernalia to be inspired by teaching: my growth as an instructor, starting spring 2012

[kkayane]

This is my blog that Elena mentioned in class. It is an on-going project that may take beautiful turns in the future. I never really thought about it before, but it relates to my Thesis work. 

[kkayane]

[kkayane]

Musical score for one of my pieces - an example. 

Process is as follows:

Handwritten notation system/composing 

Digital notation system 

Record MIDI

MIDI into awesome quality

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 11

Today attendance was taken virtually. I asked them to email me their proposal ideas before the end of class time. I'm excited to see so many ideas competing against each other. Now is their chance to lead. 

We will get the final proposals by Thursday's class - another virtual class session. The timing for the virtual state is perfect because I really need to focus on my Thesis at the moment as much as I can and since almost all of my material is at home, I can work on my things and lead D4M at the same time. Excellent. 

I have a critique tomorrow. Most of my work doesn't have the sound finalized yet, because it's taking time to render out my MIDI properly, but it will all be done within the next two weeks. They have been composed and scored, I just need to record them. They're about a minute long each so it shouldn't be so bad. 

Questions from Day 11:

What project would I propose if I had the chance to have members to help me?

Is this awesome or what?

[kkayane]

A very neat video I showed my class.

[kkayane]

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 10

Yay! The big one-O. I really do have the best job in the world. I am having so much fun teaching this class and it keeps getting better and better. Today my kids were up at the MFA space for their presentations. Lulu kept everyone entertained during the break. 

Their presentations were spectacular. I will post a link to the blog shortly so that you can take a look at what's going on in my class. 

A new project was introduced - Project Ron Saks - and it's a group project. It has a complex build and the students are required to work in their groups. The project is whatever they choose to propose and the one with the most votes gets to have its team members and the author of it becomes its leader. There shall be some competition. 

Questions from Day 10: 

Can I use the MFA space more often during my class? 

How lenient and merciful should I be about tardiness and presence? 

[kkayane]

[kkayane]

Visit Original Link

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 9

Today I finally gave a stop-motion animation tutorial! Five total attended the workshop, excluding Charlotte, and together we created "First Date" a.k.a. Come Hither, previously posted. I had a ton of fun with it and I wish more students took advantage of this opportunity. I would have used Comic Sans as an undergrad to have someone show me something like this. 

Hm maybe not 

Next class is their finals at the MFA space. I sent out everyone a "Howler" email about attendance. I would like to tell more but FERPA, FERPA, FERPA. I am now working on writing my teaching philosophy. It's going great so far. My thesis is coming along great, but having trouble with the sensor idea.. perhaps I dreamt too big. 

Questions from Day 9:

When is late late? 

Sensors or no sensors? 

[kkayane]

A short experiment. 

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 8

I went to class simply because I could not afford to miss another day. Their finals are coming up next week and it is my job to make sure everyone's on track. Half the class was a no-show. Perhaps they thought my pain was permanent? 

I am conducting their final presentations in the MFA space. It will be a nice change for them. Tuesday will be dedicated to the tutorials. I'm excited. 

Not much to add.. Class went smoothly, minus the raging pain in my back.

Questions from Day 8:

When do I stop spoonfeeding?

How do I get them to take attendance and tardiness seriously? 

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 7

I have shingles/the shingles. It sounds very nasty, I think it needs a better term. But yeah, I never got chicken pox when I was a kid therefore my body recently decided to do this to me. I blame stress. I blame stress with a burning passion. 

With that said, I did not go to my D4M class on Tuesday. I just could not move. The illness has affected the right side of my lower back, thus making mobility a challenge. I never knew there was worse pain than teeth whitening. Boy was I mistaken. 

Anyway, I met with my students online on GoStudio through a chat session. I spent the rest of the day in agonizing pain. Tutorials were postponed to next week. I could only hope to feel better by next class. 

Questions from Day 7:

Why is it always me?

What other tutorials can I show my kids?

[kkayane]

Contribution by Mike Laughead.

[kkayane]

Lunchtime

Lunchtime in my family was a divine segment of the day for everyone. We all had to sit together, dine together, and leave together. No drinks were allowed on the table. "You'll get too full too soon", my mother would say. One thing that was always present during lunch was our conversations. Usually tense and multilingual, we would all talk about things that bothered us and made us happy. We would end lunch with a "Merci mama, it was delicious, may your hands be blessed." This divine segment ended when I left for grad school and I miss its redundancy. I miss the aroma of that table and the variety and color of food. 

[kkayane]

Pedagogy: Day 6

The students' ideas are becoming more and more evolved and I think at this point everyone is taking the assignments very seriously. There are a few bumps here and there but I'm keeping the questions coming, poking them to justify their art and design choices. 

I officially sent out a mini-warning about the texting going on in class. I didn't think it would bother me at first but I was mistaken. It is very disrespectful to the student presenting his/her ideas and to those who are paying attention and contributing to the learning curve. I'm not talking about just one message - I'm talking about a morning conversation. I just had to say something because owning a Basset Hound has tempered with my levels of tolerance and I refuse to teach in an environment where there is a lack of respect. I can be the "cool" teacher sometimes and dismiss the class early or screen an awesome film but some things I just can't accept. So there. I said it.

The students requested some tutorials regarding music addition, stop-mo and time-lapse processes. On Tuesday, I will lead a few workshops to answer their questions. I am excited about it. My students finally voiced their needs. Awesome, awesome stuff. 

Their first deadline is coming up on the 16th of Feb. and I really REALLY want to share their work on my blog. There's some neat stuff going on and it is amazing to see how each and every one of them is approaching the same project in a completely different manner. It's such a creative group and a very healthy and fresh break from everything going on in my MFA life.

Questions from Day 6:

What will I do if there's texting going on after my warning?

How do I encourage them to share their educational needs and wants?

[kkayane]

Grapes

A tree branch swaying in the wind. Before he got sick, my grandfather would take me hunting and on our way back, we would stop by a group of bedouins (nomadic Arabs) and drink some tea, eat grapes and share stories. They always rested where trees provided some shade. I remember looking up at the trees, feeling so small. I would count the number of leaves, the number of branches, until it was time to go. I never knew why I was drawn to the act of counting but it helped me remember the bedouins' stories and their tea recipe.