NEW MEDIA ARTS, THE DO-IT-YOURSELF MOVEMENT, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING

We are the makers, we are the DIYer's, we are the teachers.

In chapter 4 of Peppler's writing she investigates the different levels of the youth and making in different forms. "...the ways youths are already using computer programming in their interest-driven artwork, video game design, and in the ever-expanding Do-It-Yourself (DIY)movement. We conclude by considering broader questions, including what youths may gain from experiences in making, more generally." This pushes us to see our youth as valid creators and contributors to society. At the same time, the pressure to succeed might be a bit inflated. In some ways, this isn't talked about much. Perhaps, failure should be something that is brought up even more so because we have the "world" watching if we are putting ourselves out there (such as this blog). In other words, it's okay to make a mistake and learn from it. It gets a bit black and white when youth are learning and might have picked up some sort of ignorant perspective and states it online. How do you respond to teach that person, instead of shaming them?

I was interested to read about scratch as this is something my own kids have been learning (and insisting I try out as well). It's an incredible venue as it gets kids to really engage with creating coding of their own while making it just challenging enough with adding different elements to their videos as well as keeping things understandable with step by step instructions should the learner get lost. As a parent, I've viewed some of their work and had to comment on some of their satire as to what some people could misinterpret from it. They chose to change or not share it or leave it as is. It's important to be a sounding board for kids as they might not see how things look from a different perspective.

Scratch (Resnick et al, 2009; Peppler, 2010a/2010b) represents a particularly engaging medium for teens due to its media-rich capabilities and novice-friendly design. It is immensely popular in both school and informal settings. By the middle of 2012, it had been translated into more than 50 languages, and nearly three million Scratch projects had been uploaded to the www.scratch.mit.edu community. Scratch uses a building-block command structure,which eliminates the need to memorize bits of code to program.

It's really interesting to learn about the new sites that have sprung up from Scratch and will check them out as they can give new perspectives for creating art. I was interested in seeing how there is a progression from screen tech to more hands on with Maker Faire.

The strongest part of this chapter, for me, was the information from Catterall.

Catterall explored the impact of intensive involvement in the visual and performing arts during secondary school. Compared to their peers who were not involved in the arts, Catterall found that young adults who engaged extensively in arts were more successful in college and more involved in community service and pro-social activities.

It shows a direct relationship of the arts lifting up people to create arts that interest them, keeps them excited about learning as they age and gives them self efficacy.

This graph is excellent as it shows a disengaged learner growing with the arts (music in this case) and eventually, progresses to a level where they have embedded that art into a part of themselves. It shows how important it is to have the arts in schools. When I think of my in-laws, my mom in law had loved music from her elementary days. She sang in a choir as a child. Now, as a senior she has been involved with a community choir for years and it keeps her active in community life, enjoying the arts, performing and developing a deeper bond with her husband/community as they share memories.