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Selected Sessions for Peer Review

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Fast and Furious Workshops & Seminars

The Fast & Furious Series

Expanded Notes from OB1

(addition and personal thoughts in purple)

These are new series of workshops I am designing to tackle diverse topics. They are called fast and furious seminars as they are done quickly, from a day to a maximum of 2 weeks. I started two years ago as we went online; my aim is:  

  • To reflect the industry demand from standard brief (when they make a call out for funding or commercial work), which is at the same time very specific but very vague.   
  • To allow snippets of information to be received that we don’t have time to explore further, they can study in their own time, but they don’t necessarily need to go deeply into it if they are not interested.     
  • To explore different ways to work online and off-site, thus allowing students to manage their timing ( it is tough to find matching time on-site for other courses) 
  • To explore Social Justice and Climate Action, develop new resources with students representing the new generation.
  • For the student to experiment and enjoy 

The aim for the students is  

  • To train them to pitch and create fast but meaningful content by choosing short deadlines but brief, rarely approached by the industry, which can be personal.  
  • To avoid perfectionism and create fast personal content in a short amount of time.  
  • To collaborate with other students from other disciplines.  
  • To learn to manage their time across the week. 
  • To reflect on their own interest alongside contemporary social issues. 

These sessions are at the start of the collaboration unit to give students an idea of how collaboration can be enriching without achieving perfectionism. They are side workshops to the main submission as examples of starting collaborations and developing them in a short amount of time. They are closely linked to the process of the unit, albeit the student realises this only towards the end of the term.   The Brief is read like a map in which students can find coordinates to explore. 

So far, we are approaching similar session combining: 
– Animation and Documentaries exploring personal spaces as a metaphor for personal views.with documentary filmmakers  
– Animation and Sound Art exploring Identity through social media with sound artists.  ( see the second case study below)

For the overall collaboration unit, I created a sample workshop. They are free to choose or discard or adopt.
 
In this workshop, Animation and Sound Art we explore identity and Social Justice through social media: through animation, sound, music and augmented reality with a showcase on instagram using face filters ( We are collaborating with the composer students from sound Art departments)

The session is embedded in the Collaboration Unit. For the collaboration unit students have to prepare a production Pitch. During these workshops they take some of same steps of creating a production pitch through UAL Padlet , the press kit and the animation test ( which are in the Vimeo Result )

Students started in Oct 022, but another tutor oversaw them as I taught the previous year until December 2022. Students know me but not well, so they fear me a bit as I am the official voice behind serious emails. Ideally, students should understand the topic from a different view of the workshop layout and enough research material to explore ideas and feel confident to go off and do the work for next week, albeit they are approaching a very different medium.   My concerns are

  • Collaboration with other departments and colleges is tricky due to timetable clashes, different unit demands, and student schedules. 
  • Student confusion of what to where to go and their expectation they have to do something bigger than necessary, to not perform themselves, to stick to a brief which is vague on purpose, like the one by the industry
  • I struggle with clarity. I have ADHD and dyslexia, so I don’t know how I come across to my students, and my logic differs from the majority.  
  • I struggle to gauge the online interaction with students. 

On the other side of my concern, I instinctively believe in a different type of education, one that harnesses student knowledge rather than one which imparts rules. They are the future and the new world. Being 50 means, I consciously witness almost four changes. and each generation brought something I would have never thought of, but it was a welcomed novelty. Gender stereotypes, politics, and religion are being dismantled as status quo and are more fluid and personal. My aim is to make them happy, which would differ from student to student. there is not a single answer from all. I will try to teach them to be free, harness the boundaries, and work with their personalities and needs. Of course, I teach them contemporary practice, but I am also mindful that in less than 5 years, the future and industry landscape will be so different that the practical knowledge I teach now will be obsolete. Students are under so much pressure; they are told they must pay these exorbitant fees to fit into society and find a job. And this results in them having no space to be themselves in an age when they are just stepping into the world as young adults, an increased level of anxiety and lowered sense of self-esteem…and what the industry is seeking: new personal voices because they can sense the new generation being quashed.

Albeit naively, I try to teach them to learn without fear and to be themselves. I try.

I think of the reserved Paul Klee’s notebooks a lot (instead of the flamboyant Kandinsky’s point line and plane); I like my student to understand why I am teaching the things I am teaching and to develop a coherent body of work they can accept or reject. By showing my methodology, I hope to harness them with the skills to create their own and to challenge or enhance the current status quo if they feel it necessary, not to tell them what to do but to help them think that they want to do. Although they are reticent and fearful about this, I feel there will be many people that will try to tell them what to do, but not many that will ask them what they wish to do, and I hope these seminars and other tactics I try to implement will help them develop their voice and their own will. Like the two quotes that guide me and put over and over again as a mantra to remind me of what I want to achieve and I hope to be able to unpack effectively through my PgCert. Hence the “quote” becomes a reality.

“THE AIM OF EDUCATION – IN FACT THE AIM OF LIFE- IS TO WORK JOYFULLY AND TO FIND HAPPINESS.” SUMMERHILL (1960)

“WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THEM AS WE ARE” ANAIS NIN

Selected Workshops for Peer Review

Observee to complete the following in brief and discuss with the observer before the session by Kim Noce

Why have you chosen this session for observation?

These are new workshops I am designing as a series to tackle diverse topics. T
hey are called fast and furious seminars as they are done in a short time, from a day to a maximum of 2 weeks. I started two years ago as we went online; my aim is:

  • To reflect the industry demand from standard brief (when they make a call out for funding or commercial work), which is at the same time very specific but very vague.
  • To allow snippets of information to be received that we don’t have time to explore further, they can study in their own time, but they don’t necessarily need to go deeply into it if they are not interested. To explore different ways to work online and off-site, thus allowing students to manage their timing ( it is tough to find matching time on-site for other courses)
  • To explore Social Justice and Climate Action developing new resources
  • For the student to experiment and enjoy
  • The aim for the students is
  • To train them to pitch and create fast but meaningful content by choosing short deadlines but brief rarely approached by the industry that can be personal To avoid perfectionism and create fast personal content in a short amount of time.
  • To collaborate with other students from other disciplines.
  • To manage their time across the week.
  • To reflect on their own interest along side contemporary social issue

What is the context of this session within the curriculum?

This session is at the start of the collaboration unit to give students an idea of how collaboration can be enriching without achieving perfectionism. They are side workshops to the main submission as examples of starting collaborations and developing them in a short amount of time. They are closely linked to the process of the unit, albeit the student realizes this only towards the end of the term.
So far, we have done a similar session the previous two week, combining: Animation and documentaries exploring personal spaces as a metaphor for personal views. In this workshop, Animation and Sound Art we explore identity and social Justice through social media: through animation, sound, music and augmented reality with a showcase on instagram using face filters ( We are collaborating with the composer students from sound Art departments) The Brief are read like a map in which student can find coordinates to explore. The session is embedded in the Collaboration Unit. For

the collaboration unit students have to prepare a production Pitch. During these workshops they take some of same steps of creating a production pitch through UAL Padlet , the press kit and the animation test ( which will appear in the Vimeo Result one week after the workshop)

How long have you been working with this group, and in what capacity?

Students started in Oct 022, but another tutor oversaw them as I taught the previous year until December 2022. Students know me but not well, so they fear me a bit as I am the official voice behind serious emails.

Intended or expected learning outcomes for this session:

Students should understand the topic from a different view of the workshop layout and enough research material to explore ideas and feel confident to go off and do the work for next week; albeit they are approaching a very different medium.

Anticipated outputs from the session (anything students will make/do):

The students will be in a group and start the workshop with enthusiasm. The following week, they will have done the task in full, they will explore the nature of the collaboration and workshop; receive tips and feedback

Any potential difficulties or areas of concern:

Collaboration with other departments and other colleges is tricky due to timetable clashes, different unit demands, student schedules. Student confusion of what to where to go and their expectation they have to do something bigger than necessary, to not perform themselves, to stick to a brief which is vague on purpose

How will students will be informed of the observation:

I will send an email explaining my situation as a PGcert to the students before the session; and a reminder during the session. I will aslo give them access to the blog post should they find the information useful. They have this note written on the calendar for that session: “During this workshop, I am a student too, and i will be peer-reviewed by a classmate. I am currently doing my Master’s in Academic Practice. I am developing my independent evaluation of academic issues—drawing upon research from academics in my field of study—discussing and evaluating existing concepts and theories and demonstrating my understanding of the key literature. Developing my arguments. Someone will watch the session for my unit to give me feedback when I present. if you require further info, or are curious, you can read more about this session here i in my blog. It should not affect you but let me know if this is a problem and we can address it: you can be your usual self.

What you would particularly like feedback on:

Clarity. I have ADHD and dyslexia, so I don’t know how I come across to my students, and my logic differs from the majority. I struggle to gauge the online interaction with students

How will feedback be exchanged?

Ideally via email and perhaps a short video call if the other person is free to explain the email.

Reflection on the observer’s comments and ideas to follow up by Kim Noce:

As an instructor, I am grateful for Khaver Idree’s warm feedback on my workshop, I aimed to reflect industry demand, provide information for students to explore, and allow for online and off-site work while exploring social justice and climate action. While I achieved some goals, I need to emphasise others, prioritise mental health, and improve accessibility. Collaboration with other departments was tricky, but I hope to enhance preparing students for the industry’s demands and compassionate change.

My aims were:
1) To reflect the industry demand from standard brief (when they call out for funding or commercial work), which is simultaneously very specific but vague.
2) To allow snippets of information to be received that we don’t have time to explore further, they can study in their own time, but they can only go deeply into it if they are interested. 3) To explore different ways to work online and off-site, thus allowing students to manage their timing ( it is tough to find matching time on-site for other courses)
4) To explore Social Justice and Climate Action, developing new resources
5) For the student to experiment and enjoy

I see from your feedback that I have achieved point number 3,4,5, but I need to emphasise points 1 and 2. It is essential that students understand the larger purpose of the workshop and how this allows them both to be playful and employable.

The aim for the students is
1) To train them to pitch and create fast but meaningful content by choosing short deadlines but brief, rarely approached by the industry that can be personal. 2) To avoid perfectionism and create fast personal content in a short amount of time.
3) To collaborate with other students from other disciplines.
4) To manage their time across the week.
5) To reflect on their interest alongside contemporary social issues

I can see from Khaver Idree’s feedback that it would be hard for her to judge if I have succeeded in the student aims besides points 2 and 3. Interestingly, due to time constraints, the student requested that the last workshops (a series of 3 different workshops) be removed. The reality is that when they go into the industry, they will need not to “cancel” the workshop and learn how to do less but more efficiently; however, in the context of the learning, I did cancel the last workshop so they could feel less anxious about the course work.

In the future, I agreed with them to create a grid for the optional and compulsory sessions. It ultimately led me to write a late modification proposal to allow elective sessions in the timetable, which means changing the contact hours. Students were lovely about it; it did not create a clash but was an opportunity to discuss workload and priorities. I am 100 per cent for student voices and making changes. However, I would like to know if some of the changes they request will penalise them in the long run, as I do have experience in the industry, which they still need to do. And the demand for more technical sessions, fewer thinking sessions and more time to do the course work increased as more students came directly from BA instead without previous work experience.

Reflecting on compassionate assessment and overall compassionate teaching I prefer to foster the student’s mental health and well-being to be a priority rather than having a course overloaded with content. My approach will be reflected in their behaviour and expectations when they leave college so that they can work in an industry demanding compassionate change within the industry itself.

Ultimately, students should understand the topic from a different view of the workshop layout and enough research material to explore ideas and feel confident to go off and do the work. I hoped the students would be in a group and start the workshop enthusiastically, which they did for the topic but not for the delivery timing.

My concerns were related to the collaboration with other departments and other colleges being tricky due to timetable clashes, different unit demands, and student schedules, which could lead to student confusion of what about where to go and their expectation they must do something bigger than necessary, to stick to a brief which is vague on purpose. And indeed, my concerns were correct and led me to cancel the following sessions.

I wanted feedback on clarity as I have ADHD and dyslexia, as I don’t know how I come across to my students, and my logic differs from the majority. I needed help gauging the online interaction with students. I can see from Khaver Idrees’s feedback that my approach to accessibility still lacks the proper methodology. I have been working very hard in the last year to make my work accessible, following guidelines, but somehow the visual aspect of the proposed accessibility clashes with how I organise content and slides.

1 Recorded: ANI-AR Hidden Portraits

ANI-AR-2023Download

ANI-AR Hidden Portraits 

Scheduled: 26 Jan 2023 at 10:15 to 11:30, GMT 
Collaboration unit 
Location online 

Overall Unit Brief

Collaborative-Unit-Unit-AssignmentDownload