FSI 2009 Campus Tour Learning Team

My pics from yesterday

2009-05-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

I do not have that many, but I thought it was interesting to try taking a picture of a clear glass object.

Dizzy?

2009-05-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

This was at the Krannert Art Museum. As you moved by the exhibit, the pattern would change. I wanted to see if it had the same effect as seen through a camera. Not quite, but it still makes me dizzy! (I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the name of the exhibit...I did take pictures of other signs, but forgot with this one and it's driving me crazy now that I don't have it!)

Dr. Pitard Discussing the unique HP PTM Camera

2009-05-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

Head of the Spurlock Museum, Dr. Wayne Pitard explains the HP PTM camera, a highly-specialized tool that helps digitally highlight the intricate details of ancient cylinder scrolls.

My favorite piece in Spurlock

2009-05-20T20:07:00.001-07:00

Although there were MANY fascinating things in the Spurlock museum, I was drawn to the sculpture "Boy with a Goose" (ca 125 BC). This totally would have been my 3 year old son, had he lived in ancient Rome.

Capturing the Moment: Preserving Memories

2009-05-20T19:58:00.001-07:00

Exploration: Learning the Campus

2009-05-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

Our Concluding Remark

2009-05-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Alas, I am unable to upload our photo on this poor-excuse-of-a laptop this evening, the eve before our presentation at FSI 09, ... Nevertheless I will share our concluding remark about this Campus Tour Learning Group:

"VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRY (rolled R!)
INTERRRRESTING (again rolled R!)
and sometimes funny!"
Dr. Duly & Co. ;-)

Creative Expression: Capturing Intricate Detail

2009-05-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

Here are some interesting 'pattern' pictures:

Trial & Error

2009-05-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

We could take pictures at the Spurlock Museum, but the flashes on our digital cameras needed to be turned off. I wasn't sure how to do this, so I took some test pictures in the lobby. (Even if I had the print manual with me, would I have read it?)

My Three Days with Learning Team

2009-05-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

My past three days with learning team was a full of excitement. As the title "Seeing the Sights with A Digital Eye" implies, the program was not just an ordinary campus tour, but provided a good opportunity for me to rethink how digital imaging and video technology could change the way we teach, learn, and communicate. I would like to think about its technological potential in three ways. So here they are.

#1 Capturing: seize the moment

By human nature, we are better at forgetting than at memorizing. For that reason, communication technologies have evolved with the development of recording devices, which helped us expand our memory.

Nowadays, there are so many digital capturing devices to help us overcome our crucial weakness. No more notetaking and even typing on your netbook. One shutter click makes your instant moment forever. Here's my own example. Rather than taking notes, I just captured it in the gallery.

Can you see how easy it is? Or can you imagine what if I had to record the same info on a stone tablet like this?

#2 Discovery: see what can't be seen with bare eyes

It might be true that seeing is believing, but sometimes human eyes misguide our belief. What we want to see is often too far, too tiny, or too instant. For instance, how often do a NFL umpire rely on instant replay, such as slow motion video, to ensure the correct call?

Dr. Pitard's research on 360-degree images of Mesopotamian cylinder seals gives us a valuable lesson about the potential of digital imaging. Assisted by specially designed cameras and digital imaging technology, he uncovers hidden facts about the seals which is hard to be examined with bare eyes.

Here is another example from the NCSA tour on the first day. The research team constructs 3-D moving images of air streams.

Like these examples, the second potential of digital imaging and video technology is that it can help us explore hard-to-see objects and discover new facts beyond our naked eyes.

#3 Something ahead: new ways of storytelling

The last but most important aspect of digital technology is the fact that it can revolutionarily change the way we view and express our world. Rather than simply duplicating the reality, many photographers and videographers have already used photo and video to create new meanings by incorporating their creative and artistic skills into their works.

As seen from the Krannert Art Museum, artists and technicians are already experimenting the potential of digital technology for being new cultural storytellers.

With the popularity and availability of hardware and software, we don't have to be professional experts or highly-skilled artists. Now we are running around with digital cameras or camcorders, and taking photos/videos, and circulate them to the public via phone messaging, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, etc. Several software packages allow us to have professional quality works whenever editing and manipulation of the images is required. In this way, these new technologies can make a shift in the way we communicate.

In sum, I had a good time with the learning team to think about these three aspects of technology while visiting a number of cool places on campus. So here I did capture the moment, explore the campus, and tell my story.

Thanks to Robert and Rick!

JP's Pics from FSI 2009

2009-05-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a ton of pics from

From FSI2009

JP Dunn Working on His Learning Team Stuff

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

A03- at NCSA - to be edited

2009-05-20T11:14:00.001-07:00

Video from the 3D Visualization Room

2009-05-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Scenes from NCSA 3D Visualization Room

Chicago Mass Transit/Exodus

A02- On the way to NCSA

2009-05-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Continuing the trip after the Fountain Event:)

Art At the ceramic Buidling.

The Door!!! Notice the mulch.

Leads you to shelter too.

A01- Inaugurating the campus tour team!!

2009-05-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

To start with. Gadgets on the table!!

The sight that started the team.

At work, Robert behind the scenes.
First Steps.

Nose to Nose

2009-05-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

She enjoyed exploring and viewing fascinating relics from the past at the Spurlock Museum in Urbana IL during our 2nd day of FSI 09. Dr Duly :-)

Links to Picasa Web Galleries

2009-05-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Additional images available from in my Picasa Catalogs on the web. You can actually download them if you wish to do so. These were made using my Sony Cybershot and the Kodak Zi6 cameras. These are tigerless pictures so you need not be afraid.

However, I was prevented from uploading both of Dr. Pitard's long talks. Both filesare over 100 mgb which is the current limit for one file. Word of advice for the future is try to keep the files shorter by stopping the recording at commercial breaks or when he has to stop and catch his breath. :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/rhazlewood6/MondayAtNCSA#

http://picasaweb.google.com/rhazlewood6/TuesdayAtSpurlock#

Scenes from Spurlock

2009-05-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

I loved the replicas of sailing ships.

And was also fascinated by the dramatic lighting in some sections of the museum.

Was surprised to find 'Tryzub," the Ukrainian Coat of Arms in the European collection of the museum.

5 minutes of fame

2009-05-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about our presentation. We could do something about the great equipment we used, then discuss the bottom line, which is that a picture is still a picture. We could show some "here is what you Do use and here is what you don't use (or some variation of that theme. Just an idea. I know that most of our pictures are perfect, but...

Pictures from the Spurlock Museum

2009-05-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Prof. Pitard for his excellent guide

that's it ........... finally

2009-05-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

intriguing images

2009-05-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

too many fun pics

2009-05-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

some more

2009-05-19T20:24:00.001-07:00

more from today

2009-05-19T20:21:00.001-07:00

pics from today

2009-05-19T20:16:00.001-07:00

museum pic favorites

Shot a Museum Sign--it's faster than taking notes

2009-05-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting things about digital cameras is that they make taking another picture cheap to free. And, one can get in the habit of shooting a shot of signage in order to capture information quickly. I liked this sign/quote we saw today at Spurlock, since I'm an old Rhet instructor who didn't learn to write until I went to college.

2 Panoramas Shot by Ahmad

2009-05-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

2 in-camera panorama shots from Spurlock that Ahmad shot today.

Dramatic Museum Lighting

2009-05-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

Spurlock had some nice, dramatic lighting and black ceiling that accentuated the casts we saw today. Some wonderful lines on this sculpture. The camera angle I choose helped highlight the head of the full body statue, transforming the 3 dimensional statue back into a classic silhouette. I took 3 pictures, and this one was the best.

Robert

3 Failures, 1 Success

2009-05-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued by this little two-headed croc from Spurlock. Took me 4 tries on macro to the get the focus right.

Photos from our first and second days of FSI 09 - Dr. Duly

2009-05-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

FSI 09

Click here for the slideshow

CHECK OUT OUR SHORT VIDEO CLIPS TOO (scroll up a bit) - SCENES from NCSA 3D Visualization Room & MORE!

A Few Picks from the NCSA Tour

2009-05-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

2009-05-18T21:21:00.001-07:00

Looks can be deceiving...

2009-05-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Humble brick shanty or official University of Illinois Institute of Aviation? You be the judge!
(posted in response to favorite interesting/quirky building on campus we saw on our tour).

A message in the art

2009-05-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

These were etched in the architecture by the back door of the Wesleyan Church on Green St. Can anyone read what they say?

Kaleidoscope computing

2009-05-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Who knew supercomputers could be so colorful?

in the Blue Waters Wind Tunnel

2009-05-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

They are testing the new IBM machines that will power the Blue Waters setup. If you stand behind these computers they are like wind tunnels. Listen for the wind shear recorded on the end of this video.

Robert

Tiger, Tiger, Everywhere

2009-05-18T15:54:00.001-07:00

The Tiger is ubiquitous.
photo by JP Dunn

JP's Art Shot from NCSA

2009-05-18T15:52:00.001-07:00

JP Dunn shot this "artsy" shot at NCSA. This is a fuzzy, "mistake"--an attempt to shoot a 3D graphic that turned out really interesting, if not beautiful.

Day 1: Shoes

2009-05-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Photo by J.P. Dunn

Here is a photo of shoes strewn on the pavement while graduates took pictures. Andrea and Robert

2009-05-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

This from the behind the scenes view of 3D visualization room on our tour today. This was filmed by Nina Dulabaum. It is one of many shots she took using the Kodak Zi6 camera.

Page Wolf introduction

2009-05-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I am Page Wolf, Coordinator of Faculty Development at the College of Lake County. I am a full-time faculty member working in our Professional Development Center. This means I have the wonderful combination of being a faculty member, teaching other faculty members, learning about various technologies, and helping faculty integrate technology into their instruction.

I think I have ties to just about every Illinois public 4 year university. I am a U of I alum (go Illini!) with a BS in what was called "Media Studies" (way back when), got a Masters degree in Instructional Technology from NIU (Go Huskies!), and then a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Illinois State (go Redbirds!) In between all that, I worked with faculty development and instructional technology at WIU for about 4 years (go Leathernecks!) I've been at College of Lake County for 10 years now, and truly enjoy the community college environment as well.

I picked this group since I am very curious to see what is new at U of I since I last visited (as well as to reminisce), and also to get practical hands-on use of some new technologies. I'm familiar with blogs and with Picasa, but haven't done too much yet with Twitter, podcasting, and GPS enabled handhelds.

I will bring with my Netbook, and my Nikon D40x digital SLR (and perhaps a small handheld videocamera). Looks like we'll have great weather this week too!

Ahmad Audi, saying "Hello"!! :)

2009-05-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. My name is Ahmad Audi. I teach chemistry at college of lake County, Illinois. I do not know why is not listed in the participants list. Anyhow, it is an ION institution.

During graduate studies, I was given hard time by the chemistry faculty when I enrolled for an education class. Nonetheless, my steadfastness in loving to convey the scientific message to people who have never experienced it – no need to worry here I will not fill your ears - coupled with my interest in technology led me to use the web as a teaching tool. That was in 1997 before the emergence of blackboard and webCt as popular tools.

While I spent most of my time in teaching and its tasks in the last few years these days I feel that I need to keep up with the latest tools to transmit the knowledge. I taught chemistry online for few years and I am planning to be ready for yet a better online chemistry delivery. Besides, as chemistry is very exciting, in many instants I feel like I should be blogging about my class and the cool chemistry shows.

For those reasons, for the love of outdoors and hoping to visit high tech educational facilities at UIUC I signed for this team. I am familiar with numerous online applications but still looking for more.

I will be bringing my convertible laptop, Gateway C2930, digital camera JVC GR-DX300U, and another HG-10 canon. The first camera is dying. The second one I plan to experiment on, but it is bulky. I would love to see what you have and I am sure I will use one of them if possible.

I just signed up for twitter., slidesahre.net, delicious, and flickr. In the mean time you can see me here or there

Looking forward to see you tomorrow. Until then Cheers

Ahmad

Greetings!

2009-05-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am Olga Urban. I work as the Online Technologies Coordinator for Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center at Northern Illinois University. I train faculty in Blackboard, our course management system, as well as in other online technologies that could be utilized to enhance teaching and learning. One of the most exciting parts of my job (as well as a challenge sometimes) is to stay current in all the emergining technologies that could be used in education.

I am interested in digital photography and multimedia, and I have never been at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, so I am really looking forward to the tour of the university, taking photos, recording videos, blogging, twittering (http://twitter.com/olgaurban) and sharing our experiences with other teams.

I will be using my Sony Cybershot DSC-W170 10.1 mega pixel camera:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dscw170.asp

Greetings!

2009-05-16T15:10:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I am Seung-Hwan, Assist. Prof. of Communication, Media & Theatre, Northeastern Illinois University. As I teach several classes covering new media technologies, I am eager to explore how new Web 2.0 applications can facilitate students learning.

I like the idea that participants use various gadgets and tools to record the learning team experience. Personally, I am very interested in how new digital photography with online capabilities, like Photosynth and Seadragon, revolutionarily change the way we capture and view photos. I am planning to bring my own digital camera (Sony DSC F717). I know it is bulky and outdated, but I still like it!

I'm excited to join this group and look forward to meeting you all soon.

Hello!

2009-05-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I am Andrea Falcone and am the Virtual Services Librarian at Western Illinois University (if only the job title meant that I could attend all meetings virtually!). Along with a variety of responsibilities, I am charged with exploring and evaluating new technologies and looking for library-related uses. As you can imagine, it is difficult to stay up to speed on everything that is going on in the digital world!

Recently, I have been leading a video team at the University Libraries. You can see our first video here. I was very impressed by the work that the students did on the project, but it was very time-consuming. As a result of this experience, I would like to learn about additional ways to use digital images, etc.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all!

GREETINGS!

2009-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I like this idea - thanks for the invitation to blog!

I am joining your group because I am especially interested in the journalism aspect -e.g., capturing short interview footage and opinions and people and places - since I rarely find time to visit museums, except the children's museums and action-packed experiential ones! HA! (Then I never take my camera for fear of water and sand damage.)

I really look forward to learning how to use different equipment and I might even find out more about my own camera as well! (Canon Powershot S5 IS with a 16 gig card for many video snippets.) Plus I am sure I will enjoy all the sites we will visit.

As far as introductions, feel free to visit my google-site-in-progress /DrDuly/

Have a great weekend all and bis Monday!

Nina (9' ah)
Dr Duly

Jonathan F. Pacheco's "Only Human" Fine Arts Graduate Work

2009-05-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

Rick and I went by Krannert Art to test our cameras and happily explored the College of Fine and Applied Arts BFA graduate works. I was really impressed with Pacheco's "Only Human" group of ceramic piggies with mama sow.

I shot these with my Kodak EasyShare V1253. Used low angles and had to shoot some HD video to get the full sweep of this herd of little piggies.

Robert
Interview with Jonathan:

Robert: How long have you been doing ceramics?

Jonathan: I have been working in ceramics for the past 4 years. so i guess that has not been that long for me to be working with the material. i didn't really take any art classes before college to expose myself to clay.

Robert: Do you want to continue in that medium?

Jonathan: I definitely want to continue in clay. i am aslo a metal/jewelry major. that the reason why i picked both majors, i love the material and i learn so much from it. experiment with it and combine it with other materials.

Robert: Where are you headed after graduation?

Jonathan: I honestly don't know. well i guess i do. i honestly need a break from stress, not art or making art. just stress. ill be moving to the south for a year, then i plan on applying to craftschools like Penland School of Craft. After that i plan on applying to grad schools that has a good Ceramic Sculpture program or Sculpture program, not sure on what schools yet.

Robert: How long did it take for such a large work? So many little piggies?

Jonathan: All the pigs including the big mama pig took about three months all together. building them, firing and refiring in the kilns. i actually had to rebuild the big mama pig. i didnt like how the first one was turning out.

Robert: How many piggies didn't make it into the the work?

Jonathan: almost all of them went in. i should explain. there were a few that i did not like but i didnt throw them out. i reused the ones that didn't work out. if you remember that some pigs other body had other pig body part attached to it. i made good use of the bad ones

Robert: Why didn't "Only Human" make it into the BFA Exhibition catalog with your other work? Was it just a timing issue?

Jonathan: well i felt that the catalog would not do it any justice, since it is a big piece.

Robert: Your work is both playful and a bit scary at the same time, especially when we note the mother sow. Do you think this is more the result of the scale and the variety of this work, or actually a theme that runs through your art?

Jonathan: hmm, i believe that scale has do with it as i originally planned to have more pigs. but to call it a theme, i am not sure. i guess for me its hard to sum up all of my work. i have always had a hard time trying to describe my work with someone. i just have so many ideas and so many ways to express them.

Robert: Are you going to continue to make variations of the piggies, or, are you sick of them by now?

Jonathan: actually i did get sick of them so i started working on something else, but i started working on more pigs. i plan on making more this summer. i dont know if the collection will ever be complete. i guess i have to keep on making until it feels done.

Robert: Lastly, are you going to break up this collection, or keep it together?

Jonathan: i like to show the pigs in different venues but the final plan is to break them. and if anything i would like to keep in contact with the people that i sell them to and in the future ask them the are willing to volunteer there pig in a show and returned after ward.

Robert Baird

2009-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'll be facilitating our learning team with Rick Hazlewood. I'm also "eligible" to attend my 30th high school reunion this summer. That would be for Putnam City West High School of Oklahoma City. The Patriots. I vaguely remember trying to slow dance at prom to Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." Of course that song speeds up in the end and becomes a fast song, and no one on the planet can dance to it anyway.

Oh, the formal stuff, Assistant Prof. in Cinema, support teaching and researching with technology on our campus, helped with Ebertfest from the beginning, am a soccer coach and player, have a great wife, daughter, and son. Big bike commuter and blogger. Play guitars. Take pictures. Like to eat and cook. Believe in trees. Read great fiction in grad school and now only read non-fiction like Collapse, Ominvore's Dilemma, and The World Without Us.

From this learning team I hope to learn more about digitally recording in the "field" (while traveling, in the world, museums, study abroad) in ways that can be shared easily with others. And to have more fun than the other learning teams and to win the learning team tug of war ;)

best

Robert

Rick Hazlewood

2009-05-14T09:37:00.001-07:00

As one of your team leaders, I guess it might help to introduce myself. As I am approaching my 30th college reunion, I realize I have spent my entire professional life in education. Yikes to both facts in that last sentence.

I currently support the campus' use of a learning management system and the faculty members' use of technology in their research. I am also learning what resources the various colleges, schools, and departments have that other professors on this campus can also use in their work. I recommend trying out Artstor for access to an incredible collection of digital images for your presentations and research.

I taught in an elementary school for twelve years. I also taught adult education and college reading/study skills for several years. I moved to supporting faculty, staff, and students using a computer-based education system and developed individual educational software titles and curricula for schools across the nation to use with their students.

In my spare time, I go to sporting events to watch my sons and read whatever grabs my attention when I stop by the library.

Learning Team Agenda

2009-05-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

OUR TOUR OF CAMPUS
Our tour will start Monday at the National Supercomputer Center (NCSA) starting with the "visualization demo space." On Tuesday, we will go to the Spurlock Museum where we hope to go behind the scenes to see where Prof. Wayne Pitard is digitally recording Babylonian seals with highly specialized digital cameras. On Wednesday we will go to the Krannert Art Museum to explore their broad collection of classical, decorative, modern, and new media art.

Scene from Spurlock

2009-05-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Getting Started

2009-05-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

Chinese statue from Spurlock Museum.