FINAL: Jonathan - Geometric Designs, Exhibit, and Portfolio

Jonathan did not relent in the final months of school.  By systematizing those conditions that allowed him to develop his artistic eye and organizational system, he assured himself a strong end to an already productive year.  

After attending One Spark and co-writing a blog post with the IP faculty, he began to conclude two of his pursuits:  his geometric drawings and his photography.  Regarding the former, he produced such designs by secluding himself within "The Makers' Space" for hours on end.  As his art teacher and IP advisor Ms. Charlap remarks:

It was fascinating to watch him engage in his process of activating a picture plane with thoughtfully chosen geometric forms created along a horizontal grid.  His approach was organized and systematic, yet he managed to produce images that felt intuitive and organic. Each drawing became the catalyst for the one that followed. He sought out and was open to critiques of his work, taking in outside opinions while ultimately trusting his judgment.

Jonathan produced this series deliberately and precisely, and we hope that he will continue to expore his geometric sensibilities - as well as his need for precision - as he enters college.

On his own initiative, Jonathan also spent significant portions of time cataloguing and organizing his photographs.  He demonstrated his interest in that process throughout the year, tirelessly combing through - and editing, where appropriate - shots that he had taken the previous day or week.  Now, however, he found additional reasons to conduct such work.  First, he organized photographs for a one-man exhibit in "The Makers' Space" during Founders' Day.  Although he was unable to attend the event, students, family, friends, and faculty responded to his work positively.  In addition, he selected and sequenced photos to create an online portfolio via Blogger.com (@Blogger).  This portal will allow future peers, employers, and any interested individuals to appreciate some of his most representative work without the restrictions of location or time.  To check out these pieces for yourself, please click here.  Be sure to check back, as Jonathan will doubtless expand the page in the months ahead!

The Edge /​ IP faculty are proud of Jonathan for his gains in organization and maturity, and we are inspired by the effort he exerted - and continues to exert - in preparation for his freshman year at Columbia College Chicago (@ColumbiaChi).  We invite you to celebrate his work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of image:  Top left, a photo of one of Jonathan's geometric drawings.  Middle right, a screenshot of Jonathan's online portfolio (jonathanevansphotography.blogspot.com).  Kildonan and its Edge /​ IP program claim no ownership over the graphics above.

Rachel Smith: "Drawing in class" @ TEDxUFM (2012)

Senior Consultant and the Director of Digital Facilitation Services for The Grove Consultants Internationa in San Francisco," Rachel Smith is a visual facilitator, has led her own graphic design company, and continues to explore the intersection of education and technology (passages taken from the description of Smith's TEDx Talk).  As such, she proposes that visual note-taking - a record system consisting of pictures in addition to words - is an important learning tool...not for dyslexic students but for all children.  Smith elaborates upon her thoughts in a talk given at TEDxUFM (@TEDxUFM) called "Drawing in class":

Visual note-taking opens the door for more playful connections between information, for students to use their imaginations in an activity that can often be very passive (note-taking).  It also helps students to create a personal visual memory aid that they can study from later, that they can look at and [use to] tell themselves the story again.  When a teacher is teaching, what they're doing, really, is telling a story about something they're passionate about.  And when a student takes visual notes, what they're doing is making that story visible.

We're going to go over three simple steps that will get you set on this road, get you started.  And the first one is to choose a tool that works for you.  The second one is to start building up that mental library of images (that I talked about).  And the third one is to really practice listening and capturing the key points.

When you've done visual notes, the way that you tell if you did it right is if you can look at your notes and tell back the story that you heard from that speaker.  Then you did it right.  There's all there is to it.  There's no more than that.  Can you look at it and recall the story?

What do you think? Do you employ visual note-taking? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  A sample of Rachel Smith's visual note-taking strategies.  Photo located at nsanc.org.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over this picture.