This short post demonstrates the use of low cost high speed video recording as a method for improving the recording and analysis of animation reference.  Results using two CASIO EXILIM cameras are discussed and links provided to recordings made at 210 frames per second.

Nothing is more important to the success of the learning process than motivation.

Talent is important, but talent without motivation simply doesn’t cut it.  Curiosity, persistence and a spirit of creative accomplishment are indispensable.  It’s the responsibility of the instructor and the institution to ensure that the learning environment is one that encourages openness, individuality, teamwork, sound problem solving and creativity.

This post, together with the last one, is intended to elicit feedback and comments from institutions and companies interested in exploring standards as a framework for further development and to promote discussion on standards development. It describes a simple standards system for discussion. 

Every day we are exposed to a rapidly changing, moment-by-moment digital media environment that demands strategic filtering and immediate response to a multitude of visual and auditory stimuli and their underlying messages. Constant digital distractions, multitasking and task switching plague our ability to concentrate, our aptitude for sustained intellectual focus and they interfere with our capacity for deep, persistent engagement.   No wonder students find it difficult to focus!

Standardized core competencies provide an explicit benchmark defining the content and level of expertise that should be evident throughout an educational or training regimen. They not only provide a framework for developing curriculum and courseware but also guide the instructor when he or she is planning, organizing and presenting the content of individual lessons and tasks.

Autodesk Inc. has made considerable progress in improve this situation through the development of instructional standards for their flagship animation applications, Maya, 3dsmax and Softimage. Intended for those applying for Instructor certification, they are extremely useful for everyone teaching and training these software products and for others in the educational sector.

This blog lists examples of core competencies as a starting point for discussion about addressing the gap between graduate skills and employment standards.

Creativity is at the core of our personal and collective evolution – whether as individuals or as teams.  Yet creativity behavior is poorly understood and commonly misinterpreted – often for historical reasons.  It’s frequently seen as something difficult to define, a mysterious phenomenon and an ability that some people have and others do not.   The facts are different. Creative ability is well understood, can be clearly explained and everyone is capable of creative effort given well-designed training, experiential exercises and reflective practice.

Our task as educators is to restore the sense of inquisitiveness, curiosity, playfulness and creative invention that we had as children.

This post introduces the skills we need and describes why education programs that develop creative skills must be contextual and culturally relevant. 

As promised in this blog entry, it looks back at almost five decades of careers and of alternative approaches to learning.

Every personal journey is a preparation for the next and here I try to share with the reader those learning strategies and experiences that have helped me in the past and which I expect will support me in the future. I've written this in the hope that it might provide some context and perhaps guidance or ideas for those new to the field who face uncertain career paths.  If there is anything to be learned, it's that we can't always predict what skills we might need but that creativity and planning for continual personal transformation seems a sound approach for the 21st Century.

Too many institutions are using Industrial Age methods to instruct digitally immersed Information Age students for the evolving Conceptual Age. It’s time to rethink and reinvent how we learn, share, mentor, and collaborate  in our consumer-driven, multitasking ecosystem where new technologies rapidly terraform the media landscape. 

Many of our instructional methods are poorly implemented and frequently obsolete.  Now is the time to reevaluate how we teach, how we learn and how to best prepare ourselves for the coming transformation.