Uncovering the mystery of the reluctant sketcher

I have always been somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to getting my students to work on their initial ideas, regardless of the nature of the project. Nothing can beat the sense of having your ideas sketched out on a piece of paper, with a pencil/pen, and seeing them getting all rough and raw, like chicken scrawls on a flat piece of sanded space.

Over the years that I've been teaching a design-centric lesson, I can't help to notice the various stages of sketching competencies that my students are at. I have always feel that you have to start somewhere when it comes to being a good sketcher or doodler, but I guess, the problem for most of my colleagues is in getting the students to even start. Perhaps there's that sense of expectation, and worry, that our students are often being ascribed too...this sense of fearing to fail. A significant number have this unfounded fear that their first sketch, or first few sketches, must be of a quality that can wow their friends, and even their own teachers. Maybe because of the thinking of students that sketching is something akin to other subjects...that showing them an example, or a few examples, with worked solutions thrown in, will enable them to level up to that level of expertise.

But nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that not all of them can draw or sketch to save their lives, and worst still, some even have a deep sense of aversion to anything that is related to producing a sketch on a piece of paper.

I'd just like to highlight, based on my own observation, the few levels of sketching abilities that I always think my students are 'banded' into:

Level 0: 

At this level, students are merely tracing the shapes and outlines of the intended image. This is usually done either via tracing papers, or enlarging contraptions. 

Level 1: 

At this level, students are making copies of images either via a side-to-side comparison, or through viewing via a third party element, such as via a computer screen, photo from a book, etc.

Level 2: 

At this level, students start to portray some degree of creativity, and artistic flair, albeit at a very initial level. Final sketches are based on and inspired from some forms and shapes from Level 0 or 1, but are modified to include some additional details and elements from the artist.

Level 3: 

At this level, students are still inspired by works and forms from the previous levels, but the final sketches would probably have undergone a significant level of modification to warrant it as something that would probably be creative or/and innovative

Level 4: 

At this level, students are not only producing original pieces of sketches, but are sketching ideas and details based on their own interpretation of how and what their sketches are supposed to communicate. One would probably classify this as demonstrating the highest form of creativity, but I think I should reserve that judgement for a moment, as I also believe that attaining this level of ability, is not necessarily an affirmation that someone is creative.

So there you go, my interpretation of the different levels of sketching competencies, based on my own classroom observations.

Sketches done by students for a make-believe chair

Using swirls of blue in the Paper app by 53.

Video: Fast Sketch - Landscape Design

Love the landcape and architectural sketches done in this clip. Would love to try out some of his techniques, on a digital platform if possible:

Hingeless bendable speaker: #MadeWithPaper

A visual of the proposed hingeless, bendable speaker.

Inspired by the need to be simple, the hingeless, bendable speaker idea sketched above works on the idea of simplifying the practise of customising the users' experiences with their current portable speakers. Allowing the speakers to bend at almost all angles for customisability, whilst at the same time, leveraging on a flexible material type that one would use to clip excess wires of extension cords, I thought these ideas could converge to form the above design quite simple. The speaker itself is envisioned to be curved for added acoustics, and aesthetics.

ForkSpoon+Knife: #MadeWithPaper

Version 1: ForkSpoon combination

Version 2: ForkSpoon+Knife combination

Inspired from my own personal experiences with my children, I think that there is a lot of potential for a combined Fork+Spoon+Knife utility product. With the advent of magnets in a lot more product uses, I thought the use of such adhesive-able element in the above combi would play nicely with making the combination more useful and utilitarian, but at the same time, without sacrificing the simplicity of its function!

A-Sketch-a-Day 2013: The Paper app project #MadeWithPaper

Screen grab of my Design(ology) page on Facebook,
for my A-Sketch-a-Day (aSkaD2013) project

The screen grab above is taken from my design(ology) Facebook Page as part of my personal+Professional project for 2013, to sketch something...anything, at least once a day. I might have failed on certain days to sketch anything at all, but definitely I've made up for these 'dry' days by sketching things out on my more inspired days.

It has been quite a journey to be disciplined enough to allocate some time to work on these, but I realise that a certain degree of change of mindset would need to happen before I even work on these. It helps that I don't find sketching a chore, in fact I do find sketching these ideas, some random, and some intentional, therapeutic. Strange...yes, but that's how I feel for these sketches.

It would be good to get some comments from people out there regarding what more could I sketch..perhaps a theme, an object....or something that comes to your mind. Would love to hear something from you dear readers.

Google Glass in the classroom...some ideas

I thought it's really cool that Google is working on an experimental project with lots of potential like the  Google Glass, and I am sure it would just be a matter of time, perhaps really soon, before its initial potential could be seen in the classrooms. And perhaps to get the ball rolling, here are my 5 initial thoughts on how it can be used in the classrooms.

1. Have the Glass networked with one another and the teacher's, and students would then be able to  see a virtual board on their screens, or see the Google Docs that the teacher has opened from his/her shared Google Drive. Very useful when used out of the classrooms, say during field-trips or school outings to locations out of the school premises
2. Conference calls, hangouts, Skyping using the Glass would be an even better experience with the Glass. Students and teachers could work from different locations, even different countries, and lessons could be done via the video tool. In fact, recording the lessons would be a natural thing to do, followed up by perhaps a review of the lesson/s.
3. Alternatively, the concept of a Flipped Classroom could be greatly enhanced here. Students would be able to learn content before their lessons, from other sources, and then present them to their classmates during lessons. In fact, why not enable multiple screens to appear on the Glass, so that there could be one-to-many interactions.
4. Allow the teacher to form groups within the class through linking the Glasses together, and get students to then collaborate on working on a project whilst leveraging on it. It could be a small group of students working on a media coverage of a school event, but being in different locations and reporting in ala a news network, at different times of the event.
5. Link up the Glass with sketching elements like a stylus, or why not enable the finger/s of the Glass wearer to be the stylus. Students would then work on sketching their ideas, on say, a subject area on coming out with designs to solve a physical problem. If networked, small groups of students would be able to work on these set of sketches concurrently! In fact, if computing power permits, why just work on 2D....let's have 3-dimensionality in these Glasses as well. SketchUp on Glass anyone?

These are just my initial thoughts of the potentials of Glass in classrooms, that I can think of at the moment. There's definitely more ideas out there, on top and above what I've read about in some of the comments and articles. Perhaps the above might work in the first versions...or not. But whatever it is, the Glass would definitely open up newer unimaginable possibilities to the teachers in the classrooms.

Teaching concepts: Eliciting the 4 concepts in 1-point perspective

As part of the professional development (PD) exercise in my current institution, I recently volunteered to be a participant in a PD sharing session on Conceptual Teaching. It definitely is an elucidating session for me, and what I took away from that session is a clearer idea of what concepts are, and how a teacher can deepen the students' learning through the idea of teaching concepts.

Well, certainly teaching concepts in the classrooms is not an easy exercise on its own, as it does require a certain significant degree of preparation and set of examples, and counter-examples, of what concepts are. But what I do appreciate most is the idea that for learning to be really deep and significant, the ability to deepen the students' conceptual understanding, and then perhaps being able to get students to apply and transfer these concepts into other contexts, is THAT thing that would be the epitome of what effective LEARNING is all about. If students do not just merely regurgitate nor memorise, but more importantly, being able to have a deep understanding of the materials being taught, and then, being able to apply them into other contexts, that is perhaps the ideal model of what learning is all about.

I was initially a bit skeptical about how to apply Conceptual Teaching into a topic or into content areas that is primarily skills-centric, but nonetheless, being the adventurous me, I decided to give it a shot! Loo and behold, I did manage to work on developing concepts on what 1-point perspective is all about, or not. Here are the 4 concepts that I've managed to elicit from my interactions from my 2 classes of Year 1's (12-13 year olds). Here are the 4-concepts, taken from the white board.

4 key concepts to define a 1-point perspective drawing, plus an optional
working concept, for my students

What do you think of these 4 concepts? Are these enough to define that a perspective sketch is 1-point, versus one that is not? Let me hear your thoughts.

5 things I like about the Paper app

Screen-grab of the Paper app

I have been using the Paper app by FiftyThree for almost a year now, and I must say it is still one of my favourite sketching tool, no...make it my MOST favourite sketching tool in my iPad. And with my recent upgrade to the Retina display version of the iPad, it has been a godsend too.

Let me just state why it has been my app of choice for most of my sketches:

1. The look-and-feel: The look-and-feel of the app is just...how shall I say it...just right aesthetically. The team at fiftythree has spent a lot of effort, and indeed being voted as a winner in 2012's Apple Design Award is, I think, one of the more deserving accolade that they should win, perhaps of many more to come. The clean and simple interface just smacks of simplicity and zen-ness, whilst still maintaining a certain level of functionality in giving the users options and choices, to pursue and peruse the app in their own desired way.
2. Undo: I find the undo concept, akin to the rewinding of a turntable, a very innovative one. Viewing the interview video done with the design team, I can now understand the background behind this unique design. It is indeed an efficient tool for me as a user.
3. Colour palette: The updated versions launched recently includes a colour palette that enables users to have better and more control over the colour. I thought this is a neat idea, given the fact that I usually use several tones of some hues for some of my sketches.
4. Sketchbooks: The idea of incorporating 'sketchbooking' elements rather than loose sheets, like some other sketching apps, is also a step in the right direction for me. It helps me to organise my sketches, and allows me to clarify my ideas and thoughts better too. With the added functionality of copying from one page of a book, to another, it makes the experience even better!
5. Pay for what you use/need: Yes, although the basic edition is free, you can still upgrade, but just pay only for those that you use or need. But if you are like me, just get everything!

I guess there are several more reasons that I can quote, but the above are perhaps the major reasons, not in any particular order, that have made me really love this app.

But I do admit it is not perfect! There are some nice-to-have functions that I wish they could have added on, but alas, that in itself could be one post that I might be doing at another time then. In the meantime, I am just enjoying what they have to offer, and perhaps doing a little more sketching too!

For a look at some of my works, you can Like my id.design(ology) page on Facebook, or view my 'A Sketch A Day Project 2013' (Twitter hashtag: #aSkaD2013) HERE, plus my other sketches and contributions. You can also see my works specifically on the Paper app on my Behance page HERE.

In search of that perfect stylus

I am currently into sketching, digital sketching to be precise, and am furiously looking out for that perfect stylus for my sketching style and medium. I sketch mostly on my iPad tablet, for digital media, and on any piece of paper, for the more traditional alternative. I am hoping that my recent purchase of a moleskine would help to discipline myself to start to compile all my sketches into one book, but that would be for a post on another day.

Now back to my hunt for that perfect stylus. It hasn't been easy, and like others who also sketch on a digital medium, I have seen my fair share of ones that perform well in certain areas, but still fails miserably in general. My last one was an AlumPen, a Red-Dot Design award winner, and I must say it has not dissapoint, well almost, in enabling me to sketch out my ideas and thoughts.

Until that is...the Bamboo stylus came along. I've just gotten myself the Bamboo stylus solo version, (the duo version comes with a pen, but I don't quite like the dual-functionality of such styluses, but that's just my personal opinion) and I must say it is one of the best so far. Not that it would help me to impove my sketching skills by leaps and bounds, but it definitely has a slightly better feel in my hands. It just feels more balanced in my hands, and lengthwise, it is of the right one for my hand size. The front tip is also of the right degree of softness and sensitivity to the tablet surface, a perennial problem that seems to affect the first generation of styluses in other brands. I hope to be able to sketch more with this Bamboo stylus, and hopefully, get to work on levelling up on my sketches too.

To those still in search of that perfect stylus, if you can, do try a few, and do try the Bamboo too. You never know...you might end up liking it too.




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