>>> Kirby Urner <pdx4d@teleport.com> 09/01/98 01:57PM >>>
Touching on a number of threads here:
I noted when coaching my step-daughter with her high school and=20
college work (only did a little of the latter, via email) that=20
we could have used more teacher-guidance re how to footnote web=20
pages. I would encourage her to use search engines e.g. for a=20
paper on Hobbes and Locke, but wasn't sure how to advise on=20
citing i.e. is the URL sufficient or semi-irrelevant (as when=20
quoting from Locke's original, but transcribed to the net)?
On the math front, I encourage students to absorb some HTML and
start learning how to present their ideas as web pages --=20
projects need to be "turned in" via the school intranet or on
CD (e.g. Scott Childs is doing stellar work in this mode). =20
To this end, I encourage scouring used book stores for old=20
math texts (cheap) and cannibalizing them for pictures and=20
diagrams -- easier to scan pictures of crystal lattices (a hot=20
topic in my curriculum) than trying to draw them from scratch.
Basically, I want my students to realize they can achieve the=20
"look and feel" of a published text book using the resources at=20
hand. This removes some of the "mystique" associated with=20
seeing slick, graphical presentations and thinking "slickness"=20
somehow means "credible" or "right" -- really it's just as easy=20
to package bogus information and make it "look good" as it is
to offer the "real McCoy" and sometime the glitz is directly=20
proportional to phoniness, i.e. the authors are compensating=20
for lack of substance with style. Students with experience=20
creating their own media tend to be less gullible I think,=20
because they realize how easy it can be to "wag the dog"=20
(i.e. fool all of the people some of the time, and some of=20
the people all of the time).
This year, my hope is to move into television production and=20
share more mathematics by this means. Students will be=20
involved in the production, screening and editing of clips,=20
perhaps undertaken in collaboration with sister institutions=20
with likewise well-endowed math departments (the Portland AFSC=20
uses local cable access facilities, which are above average I'd=20
say). As many of you know, my focus is synergetic geometry. =20
The blurb attached below is what I put out in newsgroups some=20
weeks ago. Feel free to circulate it further, including=20
among your students.
Kirby
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
ANNOUNCEMENT RE THE VIDEOGRAMMATRON=20
(repost/forward OK, kill date Dec 31, 1998)
FR: Kirby Urner, 4D Solutions
TO: Animators/Artists, Potential sponsors, Talent
RE: Business opportunity (Silicon Forest)
Those of you with animation skills, e.g. have produced shorts
for Childrens Television Workshop (CTW), animation festivals,
videos on technical subjects etc. might be interested in=20
sending samples of your work and/or brochures/URLs re your=20
firm to 4D Solutions.[1]
Our test pilot TV series, for possible syndication (after=20
screening for test audiences here in the Silicon Forest), is=20
now in storyboard phase. Entitled "The Videogrammatron"=20
(inhouse project name -- perhaps changed for release), this=20
math-science show will feature short clips (claymations,=20
animations...) spliced together from archives, with each=20
show a mix of new and old, ala the 'Sesame Street' model,=20
along with interviews of talent in the field, other live=20
action ('Bill Nye the Science Guy' an inspiration, also=20
MTV).
If you're interested in sponsoring the show i.e. have a toy,
kit or gizmo of math-science relevance which you would like=20
featured in an educational context (with web address), this=20
may be worth checking into as well.
The curriculum behind this series is custom-tailored to serve=20
a specific market niche and has a fairly tight focus, in the=20
interests of having the heterogenous clips from a variety of
artists/sources all interrelate (much as 'Sesame Street'=20
interrelates its clips around topics A-Z and 1-20). So of
course some criteria apply (preponderance of clips will run
for under 2 minutes).
Submitted materials not returned unless return postage/mailer=20
included. Do not send confidential or eyes-only segments=20
(that might come later, if we agree to nondisclosure in=20
writing). Do not expect immediate replies. And please,=20
DO NOT SEND LARGE FILES as email attachments (by pre-
arrangement, I can point you to my FTP site for uploading).
To get some idea of themes and threads we're following, and for=20
a peek at current sources of raw materials, check my website=20
(winner of the coveted Dr. Matrix award for science excellence):
http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/synhome.html and also links at
http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/links.html (e.g. Richard Hawkins=20
QuickTime archives and STRUCK animations).
Bottom line: if you produce relevant clips, we'd like to=20
collaborate and offer fair compensation for your time/energy.
We will hope to negotiate (usually nonexclusive) rights to=20
allow unlimited recycling of your contributions in our TV=20
series, with full attribution and contact information=20
(provided you wish this) available via the companion website
(not always practical to squeeze all credits into the show
itself).
Sincerely,
Kirby Urner
Principal
4D Solutions
PS: If your firm is a sophisticated computer graphics shop,=20
you might want to try taking on the challenge of producing some=20
prototypical hypertoons. For more on the hypertoons concept,=20
see my write-up at: http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/hypertoon.html=20
PPS: feel free to forward this message in its entirety=20
(kill date: December 31, 1998).
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