The School of Education is co-sponsoring presentations from two guest lecturers on Tuesday, November 27, 2012. All events are free and open to the public.
An Evening with James Holcomb
Jim Holcomb is currently the Director of the School of Performing Arts at Bellevue Baptist Church. He retired this year from Memphis City School System where he served as Music and Dance Supervisor for 21 years and a music educator for 24 years. During his tenure with Memphis City Schools administration, he co-founded the award winning “Memphis Kids ‘N Blues,” and “Music, Math, Science, and Technology” programs. He is a major contributor to the USDOE’s new assessment program for non-tested subjects. This instrument and process was designed and developed by the Memphis City Schools Music and Dance office. These two events are presented by the Setnor School of Music and the Department of Music Education.
Welcome reception in honor of James Holcomb
4:00pm – 5:00pm, Crouse College Room 206
Assessment That’s “On the Money”
5 p.m.-6 p.m., Crouse College 206
For the last several years, Mr. James Holcomb and his team have work with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s team to development the TN Fine Arts Assessment Program. This assessment tool was created for teachers by teachers to provide an evaluation system for non-tested subject areas (i.e. Music, Art, Dance, etc). It is built around the clusters of the National Arts Standards: Perform, Create, Respond, and Connect. This program will be piloted next year in New York State. Come and learn more about informed instructional practice,ways to increase student achievement and measure student learning.
Music Matters in Urban Schools
6:30 p.m.-7:45 p.m., Eggers Hall 010
The session will include a discussion of the experiences of a long-time urban music educator and the rationale for the belief that music should not only be at the center of the curriculum but that it can be a creative force at the center of reform in urban education. In addition, a “tool-box” full of nuts-and-bolts aspects of reaching kids in urban schools will be shared.
Making Culture: DIY Art, Technology, and Freedom with Dr. David Darts
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Presented by the Department of Art Education
Open source, crowdsourcing, user-generated content, and online DIY platforms have lowered the barriers to cultural production and participation. More people are engaging today in the production and sharing of culture and knowledge than in any time in human history. In recent years, this digital revolution has increasinglyspilled over from the web into the real world. Artists, designers, hardwarehackers, programmers, and other “makers” are utilizing and developing shared tools and open platforms that are transforming how real world objects and cultural products are designed and produced. In this presentation, I will examine this emerging digital DIY landscape and discuss the implications for artists, freedom, and democracy.
David Darts is an artist, designer, and creative coder. He is Associate Professor and Chair of the NYU Art Department and Director of the NYU Studio Art MA Program in Berlin, Germany. His work focuses on the convergences between contemporary art and design, technology, and democracy.
Darts’ PirateBox is a self-contained and mobile digital collaboration and file sharing system. Inspired by pirate radio and the free culture movement, PirateBox utilizes Free and Open Source software to create mobile wireless communication and file sharing networks where users can chat and anonymously exchange images, video, audio, documents, and other digital content. The project has been featured in over 175 international online and print publications, including New Scientist, Le Monde, and Wired Italia.
Darts is also Curatorial Director of Conflux, the annual art and technology festival for the creative exploration of urban public space. Since 2009, Conflux has featured lectures, performances, workshops, and exhibitions from over 250 public space scholars and artists. Conflux has received significant media attention including stories in the New York Times and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.