Flinging Rotten Organic Tomatoes

On 12.7.10 Geometree & Base of the Gee.Artistree

 
Labeling of the Diagrams in the Geometree series:  (For ease of identification for both viewing and for making comments.) 

Portrait of Trees will be labeled with Upper Case Letters. (A,B,C, etc.)

Student Ornaments will be numbered starting with the number 4. (Lights were identified as A 1,2,3 and B 1,2,3.)

If multiple views of a similar or same ornament is in the same box a lower case letter with the number will be used to clarify identification. (4 a,b,c,d,e)

Next post: Individual student ornaments as of 12.7.10

First Student Ornaments on Geometree

 
 
 
 
 
Many more student ornaments to follow.

Message to students please add your comments and description of your ornaments. Thanks.

Next Post: GEE.ARTISTREE "SHOPPED".

 

Lights on the Gee.Artistree?

The “Gee.Artistree” (B. above) is a photograph of the “Geometree” from the same angle. However, my digital camera locked the auto focus on the lights, a mechanical accident that I may not be able to reproduce with the camera again. In the digital world the image is saved on a disk, and I am fortunate to have the tools to manipulate that image on the computer with a program called, “Photoshop.”

As an artist, I believe that there are no real accidents, and all negative events can be turned around and made into a positive experience. The lights, in this case, were visually expanded multiple times. You can see the same lights recorded in the above image for the circle A. 1,2,3 and B. 1,2,3. If I was a mathematician I might be able to figure out the size of the expansion of the light in the “Gee.Artistree” but I prefer to accept it as a “happy accident”.

However, if I wanted to create a material object or model of the “Gee.Artistree,” I think that I could use the photograph to determine the ratio between the actual light size in the “Geometree” and the expanded light glow in the “Gee.Artistree,” to make an accurate rendering of the object.

For example, back in the day, film makers would have to make actual models and puppets to use in their films, now they can use the computer to create special effects. Today, the Visual Artist must intuitively know when to make a decision in a work of art, no matter what tool is used. It is the decision that makes the work unique to that artist. In the “Gee.Artistree” I could have deleted that out of focus image, but I saw beauty in the expanded size and glow of the colored lights, and decided to keep it, to work with it, and to make it my own.

 Next post: First Student-Made Ornaments for the “Geometree”. 

Lights on the Geometree?

The day after the great "American Feast", known as Thanksgiving, Mr. Rivard and his 3 dedicated students, went to work on the actual artificial tree that is now known as the “Geometree”. It fit nicely in the corner of the classroom for all to see. But the problem to be determined was, ‘How Many Strings of Lights’ will be needed for the tree to appear festive right from the start? (See Figure A above)

A.   The number of lights on the Geometree was found by using a formula for Cone and Similar Triangles. “In Euclidean geometry the loci studied after lines and planes are usually the conic sections in plane geometry and the quadric surfaces in solid geometry. This is true even in secondary school geometry where we usually confine ourselves to the particular conics or quadrics known as circles and spheres, respectively. From the analytic point of view the conics follow naturally after the study of lines since they are the loci having second-degree equation.” W.T. Fishback, Projective and Euclidean Geometry.

Practically: solving the problem of ‘How Many Strings of Lights’ could save you and your family money in the long run.You may be able to stay in your Holiday Budget.

I invite the students or Mr. Rivard to share the formula that they used in the comment section below, so we can all plan a budget for the proper number of lights on our tree next year.

Next post will be about the lights on B. GEE.ARTISTREE.

Artist: R Henry Nigl-3 pts in motion

This is a graphic I used to visualize how three points and angular motion might create a reality cloud based on a three point geometric primitive, a triangle, through rotational variations and exponential expansion. The spiral diagram is called a Lissajous curve, sometimes a Bowditch curve. The representation here is positive, in negative form I think it might represent entropy. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lissajous_curve?wasRedirected=true

Typepad Ain't that easy

It is 9:10 PM and I started to update my Blog Design about 3:00 PM.  It is counterintuitive, or I'm just DUMB.

Technology impacts human achievement - 3 student scenario's

Interaction with technology impacts life. Advancing achievement may be the result for one student, while distraction may occur with another student. Below are three examples from a local high school, where the use of technology is advantageous.

I had the pleasure of substituting as an Ed Tech III for a few days. As a mother whose son was identified with Learning Disabilities, I thought the experience would be valuable.

One morning, I was asked to read the book, The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, to just one student. (This is one time that I thought that a good language lab, with books on tape, would be a better use of time and that the technology would ultimately be more cost effective, than me reading out loud to one high school student. I checked with the local Public Library for a list of Audio Books, and sure enough The Tale of Two Cities is available for free listening. If a student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) requires that s/he be read to, s/he should take the responsibility to go to a lab and read the book along with the tape. At the high school level, no teacher should spend 70 to 80 minutes just reading aloud to any student.) As a former teacher, I quickly noticed, however, that this particular student needed to focus his attention. He was about to go to sleep sitting up on the bench outside the classroom. So, I started asking him questions about what I just read to him. It was definitely important to check for his comprehension. At the end of our session together, he had a better understanding, of American and French Revolutionary times. He even said, “I like this book a lot better now.”

Later that day, two other students had a history test scheduled. I was lucky enough to attend the previous class and take complete notes, for the test review. The two students were able to copy my notes and had an opportunity to study. The test was given during Lunch Block. Both students requested to use IPODS to help them block out ambient sound and unwanted distractions. That was an excellent diversion for one student who stayed focused and did well taking the test. However, it was different for the other student. The use of the IPOD was an additional distraction. She had a difficult time completing the test and complained of hearing too many noises. So I took her to an empty room and had her work on the test there. She was behind, and did not finish the test during that one block period. The students regular Case Manager was present, so I did not questions her use of the IPOD. But, by my observation, the IPOD was a benefit to the first student and a distraction to the second student.

The third scenario of technological student achievement is noted by a local high school teacher. In the early 1990's, one newspaper student, knew more about Computer Technology than almost every teacher at the local high school. The newspaper advisor said, that a technologically gifted student would take the newspaper copy home for the weekend, and by Monday morning the layout was complete. This student moved to California after graduation. He intended to acquire residency status for in-state college tuition. When he finally went to school, it was only for one semester. He decided that school was a waste of his time. After various technology jobs, he was hired by the Apple Computer Company, and worked there for several years. Recently he saw the writing on his desk top. “No Advancement without Degree.” This gifted geek became the Web Master for a county in California.

Wise use of technology in schools can assist in student achievement.