The Good !
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As children of the age of technology we jump right into the newest forms of social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are a must. And as an avid Instagramer I loved the idea of using Instagram for education. Although it turned out a lot different than I thought. In my writing class I created an Instagram account to do some research and see what I could find on a topic of my choice. (@baldgirljulwrt) I decided I wanted to learn about my roots so I picked the topic of Greek culture. Along the way I met people and learned a few new things. Instagram is a good way to make a connection with people who you may normally would not get the chance to connect with. I was able to follower and interact with users in Greece, the United States, Australia and many other places. I talked to these people, got to view what their lives are like, and we even started to talk on a personal level. I have a few users that now follow me on my personal Instagram account. When the new 300 movie came out we talked about it said if it was worth seeing and shared our thoughts on the movie as a whole. This is a main reason why I liked using Instagram for educationally research. But it was not all good. Yes I was able to get insight and "meet" new people but there were a few problems along the way. Here is a small list of what I found while using my Instagram account for research. As you can see I ran into some problems along the way. I did like this concept of using social media to do research because as I found out, you can learn a lot while doing something that may be considered by others as "a waste of time". I love taking pictures and see all the different ways people could post about my culture was great. I was able to see sunsets in Greece, different types of food, historical buildings, families, and a group of people coming together as one as they shared a glimpse of their lives online. As I was going through all the different types of hashtags and my followers pages I found myself just "liking" a photo because it was pretty or commenting just because I was bored. For me, using this as educational was hard at times and I had to force myself to really stay focused and actually look at what I was looking at before "liking and scrolling".
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Recently I have been learning about photography, specifically what different points are created and combined within the photograph that come together as a whole for the viewer. As the well developed researchers that we are, my fellow classmates and I went out on a mission to use what we have learned from John Berger, in his book Ways of Seeing, and apply it to the real world. I felt one of my classmates did an great job of this when I reviewed her blog in which she explained what she found when you visited the Philadelphia Art Museum. As of the rest of us Brittany first read Berger and then visited the museum. She opens up her blog with this statement, "Museums can inspire, change, guide, or teach you. They allow a person to understand concepts more deeply because of the informal learning environment they create, while teaching valuable concepts. I recently visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I was not only very much inspired by what I saw, but felt like I had finally began to understand some of the concepts I read in John Berger's Ways of Seeing." (Kummer). Visiting the museum we were able to pull everything we had learned together and physically see the points Berger had made. One thing I think Brittany did especially well at was going step by step with what Berger had said and how it applied in specific pieces of art. Like many other students in our class Brittany focused on Berger's "Naked" vs "Nude". But what she did differently that stood out was the way she went through and made it visible for an audience to see that without prior knowledge of Berger's concept they would be able to fully understand after reading her blog. "When I first read this idea of nude vs. naked, I understood what Burger meant. But to be honest with you I wasn't convinced as to what he was saying. When I visited the art museum, it really all came together. The connections in Burgers ideas compared to the paintings I spend hours trying to understand were jumping out at me in a way I didn't imagine upon my arrival to the museum." (Krummer). The photo above is one that Brittany viewed in the Philadelphia Art Museum in which she was able to see Berger's idea of "Naked" vs "Nude". She explained it very well stating that "The reason I point this photo out specifically is because it suggests that this woman is the object of the viewer rather than being there for her own existence. The way the woman peaks out from her hair, with a slightly tilted head. She is opened to the viewer, giving him full view of her breasts and seemingly angel soft-skin. Her legs are crossed, suggesting something about her character, since she is after all nude. Berger explains the reasoning for her objectified existence in this picture in other terms saying, "She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life (46)." (Krummer). I really like how she explained it so well that I was able to see exactly what she saw but not only that, I was able to see Berger's point also. She explained and used examples so well that I was better able to understand Berger. I fell Brittany really grasphed the concept of what we were learning in class and was able to put it to use when she was in the museum on her own. She was able to recall what she had learned and further explain it with examples. After reading Brittany's blog about her experience in the Philadelphia Art Museum I not only was able to see that she fully understood Berger but she also helped me better understand him as well. To visit Brittany's page please use the button below. Work Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1973. Krummer, Brittany. "Art as We Know It - ." Brittany's Blogs. N.p., Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Philadelphia Museum of Art | Our Story." Philadelphia Museum of Art | Our Story. 2013 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Web. 13 April. 2014. |