Creativtiy 101

This the Unit 1 action project for my Arguments course. Unit 1 we learned about the fundemental compents that form an argument. We examined the anotoamy of an argument and reviwed two common types of reasoning, deductive and inductive. The United State's Declaration Of Independence was examined by the class and in specific the premises upon which our nation was founded. For the unit 1 action project students were asked to demonstatre their understanding of an arugment by contrcuting an Declaration Of Independent Study. This unit was wonderful and I learned a vast amount about argument and logic. In addition, I learned a tremednous amount about political uprisingings and the births and rebirths of nations through history. I am really proud of my ability to take the action project as an opertunity for me to talk about and argue on a topic I feel extremely pasionate about. Overall this was an amazing first unit with a phenominal culminatiing project that resonated with me several levels.

I declare that there be a course focused on creative literacy, titled creativity 101, in which students explore their creative capabilities and work towards answering the guiding question: how do you prepare for an unknown future? Creative literacy is an understanding of the mental, emotional, and sociological tools used for creative thought. We live in a pragmatic society and the arts are a polar opposite to pragmatism. Being able to approach situations and issues in an untraditional and more conceptual way allows for a wide variety of possible outcomes. The one who is creatively literate can locate purpose as well as apply meaning to both their life and the world rather than the contrary of having meaning forced upon you. It's necessary for me to write this Declaration of Independent Study because students deserve to have their uninhibited minds stimulated and have their creativity be cherished rather than diminished and looked down upon. Every individual has a unique capacity to think and create and I believe it is time to call upon the educational system as a whole to recognize the vast possibilities that can come from the nurturing and promotion of creativity in school. In my opinion the purpose of school is for students to undergo personal growth and improvement. I believe school is a developmental process in which students evolve as individuals as well as citizens. School should be an opportunity in one’s life where they’re able to discover who they are by exploring their interests. The unalienable rights ones has as an American teenaged student are the rights to freely express ourselves and create without restriction or imposition. This Declaration of Independent Study is an expression of these rights because it outlines a course whose intention is to utilize and maximize every student's unique creative capacity to learn, develop, and create. Students should have the right to use their imagination and creativity in an uninhibited way that promotes self development. My formal argument for this course is expressed below:
P1: Everyone has the ability to create.
P2: Creativity and imagination are powerful tools that can make new ideas, develop products, create art, etc.
P3: Creative freedom puts you on experimental path that allows you to think and grow, two concepts central to school and the education process.
C: All GCE students should have the opportunity to enroll in the creative literacy course
The guiding question that will be pursued with this Independent Study is, how do you prepare for an unknown future? My desired outcome and hope for this independent study is for students to recognize the immense power of creativity. The objective of the Independent Study is to show the versatility of creativity. The course will be offered during the elective term because it's a course that students across all four grades can and should participate in. The course will be broken down into three units, each of which will include with a culminating project. Unit 1 will focus on creativity in the context of self-expression. This unit will focus on creativity as a means of expression. A wide variety of medial and techniques will be experimented with throughout the unit. Unit 1 will conclude with students creating a piece of art and artist statement. Unit 2 will incorporate STEAM concepts and focus on creativity as a form of development. The unit will examine issues faced in the world in order to attempt to find creative solutions to them. In the units final project, students will choose either health, water, or energy and design a device or system that attempts to alter one of these resources in a way that is positive and beneficial. The final unit is one that combines concepts from both unit one and two in a comprehensive manner in order to show the possibilities of combining several creative minds. In the unit, students will collaboratively create art pieces as well as participate in STEAM-based activities. The STEAM based activities students will participate in during the third unit of the course will include designing and building a clock lamp and creating an led light art piece. An FE for the course could be one to the Art Institute to observe the great variety of creative work. The course will be held in Skylight because of the natural light present in the room. The light is perfect for working and creates a calm vibe in the environment. This course needs to exist because students have the right to explore their creative capacities. Student’s imaginations and creativity need to be given the same level of time and attention that traditional school courses do and this proposed course does exactly that. A variety of resources are necessary for the carrying out of this course. Hiu will be the teacher of the course because of her extensive knowledge of art, which I feel is an integral portion of the course. In addition to Hiu, other partners would include The SAIC and Beyond Design Chicago. Beyond Design Chicago is a strategic product development firm. They develop design solutions that work towards driving innovation for their customers. They would be an optimal partner of the course because of the direct connection between design and technology. I demand that students have their minds and creativity used in school for the progression of self and society. I hope this course on creative literacy will instil students with the understanding that their mind and creativity is their most valuable and powerful asset and they should be utilized to their fullest ability.











MS(2016)Syllogism

Pinhole Camera

MS (2015) Final Photo

This course is titled Light, Sound, and Time and examines the ways in which we perceive the world. We learn how certain concepts function regardless of human interaction or influence. The course dives deep into how we perceive the natural universe and why things are the way that they are. Unit 1 of the course was titled Light and broke down the many complexities of the subject and explained it in the languages of math and science. We learned about the properties of light and how it acts both as a wave and a particle. We spent time examining the electromagnetic spectrum and experimented with the visible light spectrum. The functions of the human eye and cameras were observed and the vast similarities between the two were noted. In this unit I learned a tremendous amount about such an integral part of our lives. I learned about light in a way I’ve never previously experienced. Topics such as light existing both as a wave and a particle were touched on that resonated with me and sparked the initiative to dive deeper and continue asking questions. This unit illuminated a light within me that inspired me and provided me with a new understanding of light in the context of math and science. For the unit 1 action project we were asked to design and build our own pinhole cameras. In addition to the construction of the cameras, each student took a photo and then processed it in a dark room. I am most proud of my genuine interest throughout the entirety of the unit. It has allowed me to really progress and dive deep into the content. I’m so happy and thankful for all the connections made to photography and cameras. My passion for photography caused me to feel additionally attached and invested with the project.

MS (2015) Pinhole Camera

The device captures light when a very small pinhole is exposed to light. A black tape cover is removed and the only source of entry for light is exposed. Light waves flood the small hole and hit the film on the inside. After a fairly long exposure, ranging from one to two minutes, the black tape cover is once again put over the pinhole to stop the entry of light. The pinhole camera doesn’t illustrate the idea of refraction. Refraction is the bending of light waves as the result of going from one medium to another. There isn’t any point where the light waves involved with my camera traveled between mediums. The inside of the camera is black rather than white because black absorbs while white reflects. The inside is black because it is essential for light to be absorbed into the camera and hit the film when the pinhole becomes exposed. If it were to be white the light waves would enter and then reflect rather than absorb leading to light waves bouncing all around inside. The pinhole camera I created demonstrates a variety of the key science principles covered in the internal investigation of unit 1. The electromagnetic spectrum, in specific the visible light spectrum, is a concept demonstrated by the device. The concept is demonstrated because light waves of varying frequencies and wavelengths enter the pinhole and expose the film to light which in turn creates the image. The idea of light absorption rather than reflection is an additional concept demonstrated by the pinhole camera. Similar triangles and the pythagorean theorem were also covered. Measurements related to my camera are the distance from the lens to the photo paper which is 3.5 inches and the height of the pinhole 2 7/8 inches. The M I took a photo of is 4 inches tall. The minimum distance between my subject and camera should be is 1.37 inches apart. My shutter speed for my final photo was 1.5 minutes. The pinhole was exposed to the light for just over a minute and a half and then the black tape was immediately reapplied to deny the entry of any more light. If I had the ability to do this project over I would change a variety of things. I had a few issues with my pinhole camera such as it allowing an almost undetectable amount of light in which ultimately caused the first images to be over exposed. I wish I would have spent more time when building the camera to focus the design on being a durable product that could last long and be utilized multiple times. While attempting to capture the photo I encountered several challenges. My first few shots were overexposed and showed nothing on the developed film. After figuring out the correct exposure I still needed to figure out the correct distance between my subject and camera in order to fully capture it. The unpredictability of my camera pinhole made the focal length difficult to gauge. Overall I think I completed this project in a positive manner. A few times along the way I faced difficulties but I continued on with the project and worked towards overcoming the adversities. I’m delighted with my final photograph!

MS (2015) Calculated Image

MS (2015) Similar Triangles