Something close to my heart, Stencil Graffiti

For this weeks post I've decided to share with you all something I do extensively in my free time which is Stencil Art (aka Stencil Graffiti). Now keep in mind I do all my work on plywood, or things that are mine, I do not encourage anyone to do it on anything that they don't own.

I grew very attached to stenciling during my senior year of undergrad when I noticed the very distinct relationship between printmaking and stenciling. I spent most of my last semester working on four very large stencil pieces, all of which are four colors and the smallest being two foot by 2 foot. I will only post a cropped section of one my pieces here because they could be considered improper to post wholly.

The main reason I decided to post this is because there are lots of great tutorials out there that teach this simple method for make awesome images. Here is just one example. And one last time I will say that I don't condone doing Stenciling illegally, because it's mean (I don't stencil on you're stuff, don't do it on mine.)

Rethinking HOW we Think

Greetings from the top of the World. This is the largest building in the world (over 188 stories high) located in Dubai. You can almost see the curvature of the earth!


Carol Lattimore, PH.D. published a great article back some time ago in a magazine called "the meeting professional". She interviewed Dr. Howard Gardner who, according to Carol has influenced cognitive development across the globe. He holds the esteemed position of Hobbs professor of cognitive education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as well as professor of psychology at Harvard. In this candid interview a few great ideas around How we think were impactful for me this year.

• Dr. Gardner has a multidimensional approach to human intelligence and identified at least eight varieties of intellect that operate differently in each learner


• His theory of MI (Multiple Intelligence) has, according to the author, "Redefined how educators think about the measure of intelligence and how they approach the task of engaging and motivating students".


• In his new book "Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People's Minds" he points to a few important pieces, however what I'm looking forward to reading is what he refers to as "the seven levers of change".

Some good points to consider as we build Adobe Presenter, Centra, and other projects that was pointed out in this article and that is "What do we want our learners to remember and use in six months or a year from now?". I think the better we get at answering that question, the more impactful learning we will create.

Lynda.com

I have been using Lynda.com trainings for the past 3 years. I work in an environment where the technology is in a constant state of evolution. I utilize Lynda.com Video training to catch up with the industries I support. My day runs the gamut of the simplest computing issues to high end digital media concepts, pipelines, and applications.

Working in a fast paced environment, I learn many cutting edge applications and program languages from the comfort of my desk. The information is presented in streaming video by knowledgeable instructors using concrete examples. This allows me to present solutions to technical issues I encounter on a daily basis.

www.lynda.com

Teaching Old Dogs, New Tricks

A few weeks ago Olympic fervor was taking hold of the world's attention. As I grew more interested in different events, I tried to find out more about the participants of different countries. As I was searching, I stumbled on this article describing how the 2008 Olympics would see a vast rise in web-based coverage. Fans seeking out more information would most likely encounter language barriers, as the vast majority of information about a specific athlete would be in a publication from their home country.


The article described how Boost eLearning developed a training module that focused on using tools already present in Google's search engine. The training provided users with tips on using Google to find better search results and enable fans to overcome language barriers.


The implications of Boost eLearning's training is to provide users with better, faster, and more accurate search results. The training can be applied to other areas, including education, to empower individuals with the skills necessary to seek out more information. Companies like, Boost eLearning, are helping less internet-savvy users to become search gurus.


MarketWatch and Boost eLearning