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Artists Who Stare

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  Artists who Stare into their Creative Self Vignette There is a reckoning in the soul of every artist. It begins as a tremor, a flicker of light, almost imperceptible, yet relentless in hunger. That precise moment when the artist is alone, silhouetted against the radiance of an internal inferno and stares unflinchingly into their creative self. They dwell in the space between inspiration and doubt, bathed in the glow of possibilities and tormented by the fear of mediocrity. To exceed the ordinary, the artist knows, is both a blessing and a curse. Each touch, each word, each act of creation becomes a paradox: an offering to eternity but rooted in the fleeting frailty of the present. What if they fail? What if the light within, so achingly bright, burns them to ash rather than illuminating their path? The act of creation is no longer a choice; it has become a necessity. There is no turning back. Like a lone figure before the furnace of their own making, the artist surrenders to the ...

Fertility series

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Fertility series , a set on Flickr. Oil paintings by John Bennett - jjfbbennett. Painted in the late 1980's. Influenced by Balinese, Javanese and Thai art and stories of external strategy and personal needs. jjfbbennett.com

Multimodal SLIM challenge

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School Leaders in the Making Program Challenge Title : 21st Century Multimodal Learning Purpose : Today’s students are the 21st century students whose lifetime experiences are enriched with using digital technologies. They need to develop 21st century skills to become the valued skilled workers, entrepreneurs, innovators and global citizens of tomorrow The Department is working to meet the needs of the 21st century student through the provision of a rigorous curriculum, technologies of today and expert teachers inspiring learning with passion and purpose This project is purposed to; introduce innovative technologies into schools, change teaching practices, align with the Australian Curriculum, and inspire learning. Benefits : The benefits to teachers and students should; ensure that the selected technologies will meet the demands of the curriculum, employ technologies which are accessible in daily life, and gain digital fluency skills. One-off sponsorship ...

The Poowong series

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Poowong series , a set on Flickr. I painted the Poowong series in the 1980's. The paintings have been destroyed but the photo's survive. The theme was based on organic and mental structures, complex problems and simple solutions. Poowong is a small town in SE Gippsland Victoria. Land of dairy cattle and potatoes.

2014 National Visual Art Education Conference - Digital literacy and participatory multimodal media

I shall be presenting 'Digital literacy and participatory multimodal media' 2014 National Visual Art Education Conference in Canberra. The session details are; Session ‘21st Century Learning – Changing classroom paradigms for students, teachers and institutions’ Date Tuesday 21 January at 1.30 Presentation Duration 15 min Title and précis 'Digital literacy and participatory multimodal media' Schools are the engine house of the future however there is disconnect between workplace expectations, and students’ in-school and out-of-school learning experiences. This discussion is about ‘cultures of learning’ and engaging 21 st Century students through innovative programs. Abstract “ 10 Work Skills for the Future : Sense Making, Social Intelligence, Novel and Adaptive Thinking, Cross Cultural Competency, Computational Thinking, New Media Literacy, Transdiciplinarity, Design Mindset, Cognitive Load Management, Virtual Collaboration” (Wilen-D...

Educators connecting with students - courage

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Back to the future There seems to be an effort in many levels of education to simplify and return to the golden age of education when administering teaching and learning was easier.    Standardization: 2nd way of service delivery I cannot describe this golden age but it has something to do with not being able to deal with; complexity,  feeling confused by multiple options, moving from knowing systems,  moving from knowing procedures,  moving from knowing processes,  moving from knowing methodology, moving from knowing content, and moving to knowing the student.  Question The simple question I have   Do we as educators want to connect with our students; do we want to connect on our terms, or  do we want to connect in courage and compassion to embrace the vulnerability of our learning relationships? One-off sponsorship You Tube

System Leadership for Innovation in Education

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Notes and reflections  - Caldwell, Brian J., Professor. "System Leadership for Innovation in Education."Centre for Strategic Education Seminar Paper No 209 (2011): 3-14. Web. 28 Aug. 2013. My interest is in corporate education and its contextual influence on schools. This interest is in the change based mechanisms within schools. Most of the research information I have read does not study the relationships between corporate and schools (until I read Caldwell's seminar paper). Much of the reading concerning corporate change is based on business principles and not so much on public service (non for profit). A school is not a silo and impacting change should remove rather than build silos. Many of the contexts presented in blogs, conferences, and academic papers do not consider policy and guidelines despite the significant influence they have on the operations of schools. In general, many of the impacting change-based decisions and financial project money is distri...