Hello All,
I went to the movies today to see the Steve Jobs movie. I though it was quite inspiring. Seems that he is a very authoritarian figure with a strong vision for his company and I respect what he accomplished, even though he had many failings in his relationships with his peers and family. All of that aside, my inspiration came from the 20 minutes of ads and previews I saw before the movie began. I will never show up early to a movie again.
I have a strong feeling that modern society is overly stimulating. Television geared for children and adults is a bit like that Simpsons episode mocking the Japanese cartoon that reported gave children seizures. This constant sensory overload creates students accustomed to a level of stimulation that is very difficult to create in the classroom.
See:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
Here is an my scratch project.
I decided with this weeks project to use technology, which is something that usually creates stimulation, to allow students time to hear a pleasant ambient composition and watch an animated gif of something pleasant and beautiful. In class, I teach comparative religion. I use guided meditation often to allow students time to be peaceful and center themselves. Students ask for it and some have said they have started meditating at home too.
Julian A. Elorduy, MET, MA 