Digital Artefact Reflection

Digital Artefact Reflections

Reflection One: Initial Thoughts

14/03/2013

When considering the potential directions a digital artefact could be approached from, I came up with an idea that I am both really excited about, but also interested in. Last week my partner and I bought a 1968 Chevy Impala that we are going to restore.

When thinking about this ‘home’ project I immediately thought of how I could chronicle the journey of the Impala’s restoration. While this is in no means creativity with a ‘big C’ as Craft (2005) considers, it is a new concept of exploration for my own creativity. I have not chronicled anything to this scale before so I look forward to the challenge of presenting this journey in a digital format.

Some technologies that I could potentially use to develop a portfolio of restoration are WORDPRESS or a Wiki-space. Both allow you to add photos of the progress and add additional audio or written entries to explain the changes to the Impala as well as photos documenting the before and after process. Possibly videos could also be used to show either how to do things or what we have actually changed and repaired. I would like to research and use these technologies and others before I decide on which technology will best suit my digital artefact as I am not familiar with many technologies that are currently available.

Reflection Two: Using Blogger and my the early ideas on the digital artefact

18/03/2013

After going back and re-reading Fautley and Savages’ (2007) four stages to creativity, I began to think particularly about the stages of preparation and incubation. In reflecting on how the preparation stage can be connected to my own creative thinking the restoration of the Impala ties into the idea of solving a problem as many things need to be first researched and then worked upon for the project to be completed as well as how I am going to digitally convey this progress. In considering the incubation stage of Fautley and Savages stages I have begun to consider both the depth and possible issues with chronically a restoration as this is a process that will span months if not a few years.

After deliberating on the span in which the digital artefact will be chronicling, I have concluded that it will span the initial stages of the restoration from acquiring the car and discovering the areas and components that will need to be replaced and repaired along with the first simple or small tasks completed on the vehicle. This allows the digital artefact to have a beginning and a potential end while still allowing it to grow creatively and in different ways during the overall restoration if time permits.  

After exploring how to use WORDPRESS and a Wiki-space I have decided to create my digital artefact within and as a blog. Blogger is a simple site to use that allows the user to customise or simply use templates to form their blog. As a first time user of blog’s in general I found this site easy to navigate and will allow me to format my information, images and possibly videos in any way I like, whether chronologically or staggered into content areas such as mechanical or interior restorations. Using a blog also allows me to give my personal reflections on the restoration and to get in contact through the comments function with-liked minded people that could possibly help me on my car restoration journey.

Reflection Three: Beginning My Blog

25/03/2013

After settings up an account with Blogger I began testing out the different templates they offered for creating a blog and found one that suited the content of my blog perfectly. The blog template I eventually choose uses dark colours for the background and white for the writing and important features of the blog giving it a striking look when you first enter it. The template allowed you to manually change the layout of the blog which allowed me to have my own creative approach to the pages.

The first decision that had to be made was how I would like to set out the information so that was fun and pleasing to view. I developed first on paper what I thought I wanted my blog to look like and then I used the site to see if I could create something similar. I decided that to make it more accessible I would use the home page for postings on the restoration only and then create one or two pages that would function as a gallery of images of the Impala and other information that was relevant.

An aspect of creating a blog that could work really well with my issue of having to research and figure out how to restore certain parts of the vehicle is the idea that you can set up separate pages and I thought one could be dedicated solely as a comments and questions section to the restoration in which other people either friends or strangers could tell me their thoughts, ideas and tips on how to go about the restoration and how their own experiences have been. I could even create the page so that it becomes a link to a Google Doc.

Reflection Four: Using Image and Changing Dates

01/03/2013

Richards (2007) speaks of everyday creativity in consideration to opening new and transformative understandings of what can be created and understood. Throughout the process so far I have developed and then changed how I could construct my blog and view the progression of what needs to be done for the first stages of the restoration journey. Using images has not been any different, as when first taking photos of the Impala I was focusing on wide angled shots that show the vehicle as I would like it to look, but not showing many of the imperfections. As I considered what I actually wanted the blog to be used for I thought that more close shots of the imperfections such as, paint damage and missing or broken parts would be more beneficial in showing how the car will be transformed. Using images also gives the viewer another layer of understanding of the reality of what needs to be done to the car as written descriptions do not always read as is.

As I added photos when reviewing my posts I noticed that every time I updated the posts the date would change to the last time I changed those posts and in consequence altered the order of the posts. This was an issue that I could not work out in the settings of Blogger so I instead added in the dates that I first began writing the posts. While the order of the posts has changed it does not take away from the understanding of the content as each post was catered to a specific area of the restoration process.

Reflection Five: Using YouTube and Videos

07/05/2013

While I have created videos before I found it difficult in constructing a video as there were so many possibilities to both the content and what I could use to make the video. I decided that because the vehicle was outside that it would be easier to use a hand held camera and prepare a few videos to choose from with and without audio so that if the audio was not loud enough I could use a microphone and overlay the audio onto the footage using other programs. After reviewing the videos I decided on too that best encapsulated what I was trying to achieve and that was the atmosphere of the car itself and another outlet of describing what the restoration was going to require. The video ‘Exterior and interior of a 1968 Chevy Impala’ that I created was interesting for my own creative benefit as it was quite bright when I took the footage so it gave an aged sense to the video. I felt that creatively it tied in perfectly with the idea that it is a 45 year old car and as Ken Robinson (2006) considers that being creative is about not being frightened of being wrong and seeing things from different perspectives and that is exactly what I was trying to achieve.

Before uploading the videos directly onto the blog I uploaded them to YouTube and then from that linked them to the blog. I did this so that I did not have to upload every video I created to the blog, but only the most valuable to my posts. These way viewers can see that I have a YouTube account and can access other restoration videos if they want and even send me videos of their own restorations.

Reflection Six: Final Thoughts

07/04/2013

In concluding my work on the digital artefact I feel that my own process of working through the issues and problems that occurred not only within the concept of the digital artefact but also in using technology I have never used before, allowed me to very much work within Craft’s  (2005) ‘liitle c’ creativity. While these programs are by no means ‘new’ technologies the idea that I was able to use them as a spring board for my own creativity is within the realm of everyday creativity. I also feel that in completing my digital artefact and by using Fautley and Savage’s (2007)last stage of creativity, ‘verification’ which allows me to test that all components of the digital artefact work was self gratifying in itself. The process overall was time consuming though, as it is a continual process of change and the only part that I felt hindered even more expansive creativity was the time constraint. I feel that this had a very real practical impact in solving my issue of how to chronicle the restoration of the Impala and in so I feel that I will keep using the blog as a tool for my chronicling until the Impala is complete.   

Reference List

Craft, A. (2005). A language for creativity (pp. 17-25). In Creativity in schools: tensions and dilemmas. Routledge: London.

Fautley, M., & Savage, J. (2007). Creativity in Secondary Education (pp. 1-18). Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.

Richards, R. (2007). Everyday Creativity: Our Hidden Potential. In R. Richards (Ed.), Everyday Creativity and New Views of Human Nature: Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Perspectives (pp. 25-54).

TED Conference. (2006). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html