Today, they’re alive and in color.

Central IL is pretty flat, so you can drive fast.

This was the hardest GIF I’ve done to date. First, I imported everything into GIMP as layers. Then, I had to figure out how to create a GIF where only a pice of it was animated. After searching, going to Twitter, and searching some more, I came across this tutorial from our very own Jim Groom did on how to animate just a portion of the frame. I had the right idea when I was working on it, but I didn’t know you had to apply the layer mask.

Then, I went through each frame and lined it up with the rear-view mirror on the base image. There is still some wiggle in the top right corner and around the mirror, but I’m happy with how it came out, considering I may or may not have been driving while trying to snap the picture.

If you want to spruce it up or riff on it, here’s the .xcf

I’ve wanted to do that one following those rules in my back yard, but it seemed like a good place to start. So, I decided to take a photo every mile for 20 miles. What I got is shown below (click the thumbnail for the full-size image to see details, all 4000px worth).

scenery flashing by my lens

The hardest part for me was convincing myself to only take one picture. I wanted to maintain the heart of grabbing a raw image and then sharing the flow of time, space, and imagery. And that included the blurry photo. I had to almost tell myself out loud not to take a “better” picture.

I have another plan for this image series, but that will have to come another time.

As always, the GIMP .xcf file is available for remixes.

First, I thought (my own fault, btw) we were doing Mac training. Turns out, we’re doing PC. So, I partitioned my hard drive and managed to get Windows installed before I left.

Second, I’m tearing out my kitchen this weekend to begin a big remodel. So, while I was packing to leave, I was also trying to straighten out my junk so my pregnant wife didn’t have to do it all on her own. Oh, I forgot to mention that my entire family is coming to help. I love them all dearly, but its going to be a packed house for a couple days.

All of which brings me to my third point: in my haste to leave, I left my computer’s power cord at home. Ugh. Rookie mistake.

I got down to the very cozy bed and breakfast that was arranged for me, and I began thinking about how I could keep up with my #ds106 work for this week using only mobile apps. Thankfully, Ben Rimes, Jim Groom, and Scott Lo came to my rescue. This network really is amazing. Everyone is extremely encouraging and eager to help. I’m loving my experience so far.

Anyways, I opened up SketchBook Express, which is the mobile version of the SketchBook platform for OSX. It’s a pretty powerful drawing program which gives you all kinds of different brushes and tools as well as layer editing. Exactly what I needed. I decided to take a stab at the “Looking at Yourself” assignment because it would give me a chance to play with the app a little more.

Dang, I love it.

As always, the photo is free to use.

I was able to create the image using a previous shot from the camera roll and layering a quick screenshot on top. All of the editing, including the trimming, positioning, layering, and transparency were done in the app. It’s free, and definitely worth downloading.

I’m wondering if I should try and do as many assignments as I can using mobile only. As a former teacher, I’m a big believer that mobile is going to be the new normal in schools, and having a broad range of experience creating on mobile might be useful in the future.

Anyways, just some things to chew on. Now, I’m finally going to get some sleep.

Today, to kick things off, we have a Design Assignment from the bank. This assignment asked us to create an image for a fictional character with the title of “How to _________.” (Meaning, how to emulate said character.)

I’ve been on a ST:TNG (follow the link if you don’t know what that is) kick recently, so I decided to model my guide on the ever-present Commander Riker. Always there, letting his beard shine out (at least after season 1), playing sweet brass tunes on his trombone, and in general, being a 24th-century-bad-ass-womanizer when Worf wasn’t around.

Shared by CC by Brian.

I did this by grabbing a picture of Riker online and then using the free select tool in GIMP to grab his beard, hair, and to chop out his mouth. Then, badabing-border, badaboom-text, and there it is.

In the spirit of remixing, I’m also going to post my GIMP files on my server that you can download, remix, and play with. It should save some work for everyone in the end. You can grab the Riker .xcf here.

CC by NC-SA by Brian Bennett

This also makes me think about how much junk I have on my desk. Maybe it’s time to make some strategic decisions and cut down on stuff I haven’t looked at it too long.

I did this pretty quickly in GIMP. I took the photo, duplicated the original and made the copied layer monochrome. Then, I applied a white layer mask and used the free select tool to get nice, crisp lines. I then filled those spaces with black to erase the mask and let the colors show through.

The thumbnail will take you to the full-res photo.

• Kaskaskia Community College, Centralia, IL: 5/22 – 23
• Clintondale HS, Detroit, MI: 6/7
• FlipCon13, Stillwater, MN: 6/17 – 20
• ISTE 2013, San Antonio, TX: 6/23 – 26
• Lincoln, NE:6/27 – 28
• Another Flippin’ Conference, Yorktown IN: 7/15 – 17
• BLC, Boston, MA: 7/21 – 23
• Warsaw eLearning Conference, Warsaw, IN: 7/20
• eQuip eLearning Conference, Plymouth, IN: 7/21
• Screencast Camp, Okemos, MI: 8/2 – 3
• GAfE Summit – Rocky Mountains: 8/13 – 14

If you’re going to be in/around any of these areas this summer, let me know in the comments, or send me a note on Twitter, @bennettscience

]]> http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/summer-2013-is-huge/feed/ 1 http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/a-clockwork-orange-minimalist-cover-design/ http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/a-clockwork-orange-minimalist-cover-design/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 15:57:06 +0000 Brian Bennett http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/?p=2042 more]]> I’m a big fan of minimalism. So, when I saw a minimalist book cover assignment in the DS106 Assignment Bank, I knew it had to happen.

I recently finished reading A Clockwork Orange, and it was more powerful than I anticipated. The book is also very dense with Burgess’ made up dialect for Alex and his gang, so I thought a minimalist cover might be a good juxtaposition with the way the book reads.



CC by Brian Bennett

My initial thought was to use a knife or a record for the cover because of Alex’s dispositions. At times, he is murderously violent, while at others, he is thoughtful and poetic, especially when he’s listening to Beethoven. However, I didn’t feel like those really carried the main theme of the novel. After some searching and some rough trial and error, I ended up using a dentist’s chair as the main image.

If you’re not familiar with the story, a chair plays a major role in Alex’s development. At first, it shows relaxation, or comfort. But, in the context of the story, it is a tool in a method of curing social disease. It is a tool where the occupant loses freedom, choice, and ultimately, self. It is a symbol of terror and carries the weight of the story along with it.

Process

This should have been simpler than it turned out to be…it really showed me that I have to work on my understanding of layers, paths, selections, and how they all tie into one another. I began with an orange background as a base. Then, I added a layer with the original chair image. I used the eraser tool to remove a lot of the extra detail in the drawing, until I was left with the outline of the chair, with the armrest included.

Next, I converted the chair layer to a 1-bit pallet, and I used the “Select by Color” tool in GIMP to grab the outline in one click. Then, I turned the selection into a path and removed it from the layer. Finally, I changed the layer opacity to zero and put it on the background. This maintained the white fill of the chair, giving some contrast to the image.

Finally, I added the title and author using Helvetica Neue Thin font.

I’m happy with the result, and the only thing I wish I had done better was smoothing the lines of the chair. I tried using a stroke command, but I wasn’t happy with any of the results. In the long run, I decided this was good enough for now. But, I’m definitely going to go do some more research so I can improve for next time.

You can grab the image on Flickr.

]]> http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/a-clockwork-orange-minimalist-cover-design/feed/ 4 http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/life-at-42/ http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/life-at-42/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 14:29:08 +0000 Brian Bennett http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/?p=2037 more]]> People say life gets more complicated as you get bigger. Well, I’m at 42, and I couldn’t disagree more.

I might not be as quick or nimble as the 19′s, but I sure am a heck of a lot more agile than the 52′s or even the 48′s. Admittedly, I don’t get out more than once a week or so, but when I do, I can get the job done. I mean, why go out if you’re not going to make a big difference? Seems like a waste of time and energy to me.

Anyways, why is life less complicated? Well, for starters, I have an established routine. When I go out, I know exactly where I need to go, and what I need to do, and pretty much how long it’ll take me to do it. There isn’t much variation, really…I just try and make sure I don’t hit any rough patches along the way. I haven’t changed my habits for years. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Sure, I can’t always see too well, being 42 and all, but, I usually manage well enough. I’ve been doing this work for a long time, so I can adjust on the fly without too much trouble. Sometimes, it can also get a little bumpy out there, but, that’s just the way it goes. I roll with it. I may be at 42, but I’m still solid as a rock when I need to be.

I enjoy the patterns. I enjoy the predictability. I enjoy seeing the line ahead of me, and the change that is left behind after I pass. There’s no guesswork, so I can let my mind wander and just do what needs to be done. I guess if I really think about it, 19′s could do the same work, but it would be nearly as efficient. I’m proud of that.

When I’m not working, I can rest assured that I’ll be needed again. I’m always needed, which is comforting. I don’t have to worry about becoming irrelevant any time soon. I’m patient and I’ll be here, ready to go.

Life as a “42-er” is great.



42 an’t bad.

]]> http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/life-at-42/feed/ 2 http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/wiggle-stereogram/ http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/wiggle-stereogram/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 21:30:23 +0000 Brian Bennett http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/?p=2028 more]]> I mentioned last night that I’m going to work along with UMW’s summer DS106 section beginning next Monday. In order to get ready, I’m cracking my GIF knuckles and getting my workflow down so I can spend more brain power on problem solving rather than just doing the work.

I went through the DS106 Assignment Bank, looking for something that would catch my eye. I came across the Wiggle Setereoscopy assignment. Mostly because it had a hilarious name, I took a look at it and tried it out.

I didn’t want to use an app to make the stereogram, because I felt like that would be cheating somehow. I wanted to take my own pictures and then use GIMP to make it dance. My first two attempts were terrible because my photos were too far apart. I learned after trying twice that the camera difference needs to be very small. Much smaller than you would assume…and that was the hardest part of the assignment.

I took a two photos of my AT2020 USB mic sitting on my bookshelf and then opened them as layers in GIMP.



The first thing I did was crop the photo down to a manageable size. With the original at over 3000px wide, it was a little overwhelming. The final version is 700px wide.

I really wanted to do something like Alan’s, where the object was nearly stationary in the middle. I dropped the opacity on the top layer and tried to line it up as best I could, but because of the way I moved the camera when I took the photo, there’s still a little wiggle.

Then, it was just a matter of bringing the opacity back up, tweaking the frame rate (I ended up with 75ms per frame), optimizing for a GIF, and exporting the file. All in all, it took me about 20 minutes to do (minus all the photography trial and error from throughout the day) and I’m pretty happy with the result.



Dance away, AT.

]]> http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/wiggle-stereogram/feed/ 3 http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/bunching-vs-wrapping/ http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/bunching-vs-wrapping/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 16:45:28 +0000 Brian Bennett http://www.brianbennett.org/blog/?p=2020 more]]> I’m thinking a lot about teaching lately. Maybe because it’s because I’ve been out of the classroom for over three months, or because I’m planning on taking a class at MSU this fall on technology in education (more on that in another post). Anyways, I got thinking about where I began as a teacher, where I was back in February when I stopped, and where I want to be some day.

I began as a buncher. I would group ideas together in the curriculum, we’d look at those ideas for a short time, and then we’d move on…usually leaving the old ideas behind. I was a first year teacher, and while trying to keep my head above water, it wasn’t the best way to help kids internalize chemistry. Hell, it isn’t a good way to even teach chemistry. I learned from my mistakes.

Around the time I flipped the learning process, I learned about “spiraling,” which is just one of a number of terms for looping content back around. Immediately, I recognized the value in bringing old content back to the front of the discussion as kids tried to learn new concepts. Forming ideas based on prior knowledge just made more sense. We do it all the time. But, for me at least, it wasn’t a natural part of my teaching. So, I made it natural. Now that I’m a wrapper, I can’t ever go back to true bunching.



Original video from the Internet Archive, CC by Public Domain

Moving forward, it’s still a struggle for me to think about how content is woven into a complete image, rather than blips on the radar. As I look forward to the fall semester, I’m thinking about ways technology can help us mitigate the effort it takes to spiral content. Is it good enough to remind kids via links on digital content to go back and look at old material? Or can we (should we?) do more to spiral for them?

I’d love some thoughts in the comments.

 
 

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