the Creative Sight

First it was AI generated text that seemed to have all the answers (or at least did a great job of making things up if it didn't), then there were AI generated images that were winning local and international art and photo contests. But even these tools, as magical as they were, had their weaknesses, their Achilles' heel. For images it's been things like drawing hands, which to be honest I still have one heck if a time drawing...so I may indeed be AI...who knows, or rendering text that isn't gibberish at best or a mess of cryptic letter looking random shapes at worst. Over that past year and half AI text to image generators have made great progress in fixing those weaknesses, but one still remained...consistency, character consistency to be specific. But with the release of the lastest update of Midjourney 6, everything may have changed with two new simple tags --cref and --sref which stand for "character reference" and "style reference" respectably....

It's Me I'm often described with words like "odd," "weird," "strange," and "not normal." I guess they're not wrong. You might catch me bursting into laughter at times and places that seem wholly inappropriate, triggered by things I simply can't help but notice. Or you might find me staring into space at a conference, not daydreaming, but deeply engrossed in trying to determine how the row of light fixtures across the room are constructed, because the diameter of one light is just slightly larger than the others, and if there were two dozen or so pivot points on the light that would allow it to expand and contract to different sizes which would in turn adjust the lighting it provides. There are moments when my expression shifts so suddenly, it's as if I've been poked physically with a stick, all because some random idea hit me like a truck. At times, my mind races so swiftly that it feels like the world around me, in...

Ever thought about how we chat with AI, like asking ChatGPT for help? It's kind of like tossing a ball over a fence and waiting to see what gets thrown back. But here's a twist: many times, the magic isn't in what comes back over the fence. It's in the way we throw the ball in the first place. And sometimes, every once in a while, the solutions are discovered before the ball even gets returned. Talking to AI: Like Solving a Puzzle Without the Picture Chatting with AI, such as asking ChatGPT for assistance, is like tackling a puzzle without knowing exactly what the final image should look like. You have to make your point clear, provide enough detail, and create a coherent picture from scattered pieces. Let’s explore some everyday scenarios: Writing an Email: Imagine you need help drafting an email. It's not enough to just say, "Write me an email." You need to provide the AI with the puzzle pieces – the email's length, recipient, and key bullet points i...

If you needed to repair a car, where would you choose to do it? In the living room? The kitchen? The bathroom? Probably not. You'd most likely head to the garage. After all, it's where your tools are located. It's where your nuts, bolts, and, if you're like my dad, all those "extra car pieces" are. If you're lucky, you may even find a repair manual or two. Wouldn't it make sense, that the best place to be creative, would be in a place specifically designed for the task? To be clear, I'm not proposing that any single location will guarantee creativity, as much as I wish people could be creative on demand, in my experience -- sometimes it's just not there. What I am recommending is that you design a space that inspires and enhances creativity as much as possible, while at the same time removing any anti-creative elements. In this post we'll take a look at designing your own 21st century "creative space", whether it's in you...

Educators, if you're looking for a quick, fun game for your class that also serves to help everyone see things differently, more creatively , then try this "FUNctionality" activity. This is a game I developed with the help of my students the latter part of the year. It's been through a few iterations already and I present it in its most recent, and balanced, version. Before we begin, let me ask you this, how could you use the object in the image shown below? For most people, a single purpose comes to mind and I'll go out on a limb and assume that I don't have to describe it. However, for students playing our game, this object spawned a wide range of uses that included, cleaning up spills, writing messages, drawing circles, dressing up as a mummy, measuring the length of something and stuffing a pillow or stuffed animal. The Setup This little game doesn't take much, just literally the things you have around your classroom, and a stopwatch (you can...

This is it, week 9 -- "Presentation Week" for Genius Hour! Students have spent the past 8 weeks learning and creating things they are passionate about. They've watched YouTube videos, followed countless tutorials and experimented on their own. They've witnessed amazing successes and spectacular failures, learning invaluable lessons from both. So, without further delay, let's get to the good stuff: the students. In the end, there were so many amazing presentations about such a diverse range of topics that there's no way I could cover them all. Instead, let's review some of the more unique projects, the surprises, and the "big wins". Three, Two, One...ACTION! To kick things off, I'll once again defer to the students and let them tell you about Genius Hour in their own words. Zack wanted to learn about cinematography so he decided to create a video about...well...Genius Hour. He learned how to operate his personal camera better when ...

The weeks are counting down and we're nearly at the end of our first Genius Hour period. Students are putting last minute touches on songs and poems. They're polishing book layouts in Adobe inDesign, furnishing virtual houses in SketchUp, and they're practicing their dance moves. As we wrap up week 8 of Genius Hour there a few special things to note. Juniors are BACK! First, is that our juniors have just returned from their nearly 2 week long professional internships with companies and organizations around the area. I was dying to circle up and hear about those experiences, but they already lost time last week and I wanted to give them as much time as they had available. I was also aware they spent a couple of hours debriefing earlier that morning. Spring Is Here Next week is Spring Break! Most students will use that time to take trips, visit theme parks, and relax, but I have heard mention from several students or groups that they still have a little work and practic...

Unfortunately I missed week six of Genius Hour because I was speaking at the LLI Southwest conference. I'd like to give a big shout out to Lausanne Learning and The Oakridge School in Arlington for being such great hosts. I had a blast giving the talk, meeting with other educators and showing some examples of student work, even if I may or may not have had a 102 degree temperature at the time. I was even lucky enough to recruit the assistance of one of my 11th graders that was also presenting at the conference. That being said, back in my lab at Village Tech, the students carried on without me just fine, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that they really don't need me anymore. In a strange way, I'm actually pretty happy about that. Missing Juniors While I missed last week, it was the juniors that weren't around for Genius Hour this week. They were all busy working at their professional internships. They will spend nearly two weeks working in offices, classrooms a...

For week 5, I wanted to give everyone a glimpse at the state of a few random projects. Who better to give an update on projects that have been created and run by students, than the students themselves. So, without further delay, take a look at the following videos and let the students tell you how things are going. In Their Own Words The Music Group Take a look at this first group of students, who are writing and recording their own original music. They're learning about Garage Band, rhythm, everything it takes to produce a music album, and even a little bit about each other.  A&A Design This dynamic duo of design students are creating an interior design company, complete with their own logo. I think the website and company identity they've created are better than a lot of "professional" companies I've seen. Cheese Keep and eye on this guy. I predict he'll be the chef of his own restaurant before he's 30. From his viewpoint, he st...