Commitment To Design, Visual Thinking, And Now The Virtual Classroom

Source: ASIDE 2020

The reminder popped up today for our ninth anniversary since starting this blog. We had good intentions of entering the fall of last year, ready to contribute more to our passion and commit to haring our ideas, but life changes. We've had changes in job responsibilities, personal additions and losses to family, and of course, COVID19.

So today, on our anniversary, we begin anew. We never wavered from our initial mission; instead, we pivoted toward a range of other opportunities. While a good portion of what our students did was in the brick and mortar phase, it was the virtual classroom that advanced the realm of possibilities for learning. The last three months reminded us more of the 18th century nursery rhyme, "Jack be nimble / Jack be quick," with students jumping over "lickety split" to synchronous online sessions of remote learning. Metaphorically, it was a stressful breeze.

Source: Imagine Museum

We were fortunate. Our students, already provided with devices and trained in using them, made the transition far easier than in many other cases. They worked on a number of different projects this year that pushed the boundaries of their design skills, their creative thinking, and their independence. As learners, they developed a knack for tackling new applications across a range of platforms to bring the world of transliteracy front and center, especially as it applies to digital humanities.

In the coming posts, we hope to share the latest work by our learners.