of the Internet Classroom images in my mind this summer, perhaps the most enduring will be that of Littlehunter being flung by Trev down the aisle, on his chair. i snapped this one last Friday, and frankly was stunned at the result, once i had DLed the pic from my digital camera to my G4. the image below hasn't been altered much... i just added the torn-edges and thin, fiery frame. the motion blur of people and comps in the background was from the camera's movement itself. Some of Littletrev, too, is in motion. ironically, the only un-blurred object is the one that was constantly in motion in real life: the volleyball!

beyond the 'frozen moment' aspect of the picture, this image contains elements that symbolize a lot of meaningful things for me, as far as this summer at TIC and AIC went.

first, there's Daniel Hunter himself: one of the youngest of the kids in the class, and perhaps the most engaging, endearing member of it. this 7th grader wasn't shy about expressing himself in class, in front of high school students and the teachers and TAs, even if his ideas were sometimes half-baked (unlike the cookies he helped bake and brought to class!). i loved his fearlessness and the sheer joy he brought to being in the lab. for me, Littlehunter's youth symbolizes the web itself, which hasn't been around all that long, and can be said to be in its early adolescence. and from the global to the local -- the kid, for me, symbolizes the very youthfulness of the Internet Classroom at ATDP.

then, there's the ball. obviously, it symbolizes the playful aspect of the IC courses... both the outside play we did during the 3 pm breaks, and the virtual ones that took place in the lab. as you know, i've always considered the element of play important in the learning process. but, while play has been an integral part of the ICs ever since they began, only this summer has it become fully integrated into the sessions, the outside version thanks in full measure to the leadership of the best-ever crew of TAs in ATDP. even Game Day, a traditional one-day affair in past ICs, morphed into the regular "free period" at the end of each day's session this summer.

...and there the TAs are in the image, in the blurry forms of Trev, Luis and Tom in the background. (meta-note: the color of the frame was picked up, using Photoshop's eyedropper tool, from Luis' flame-coloured shirt.) i couldn't have carried out this class' vision and structure without my TA team, who did a job above and beyond what was required of them. and for which i will always be grateful. Trev's very act of giving young 'Littletrev' a push down the aisle from time to time in itself signifies what TAs do: push the class forward, with zest, pleasure, and with keen care.

as i started writing this weblog, the Green Day song Time of Your Life started playing and, of course, it was so very fitting. here, for those unfamiliar with it, are the lyrics...

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.
I hope you had the time of your life.
I hope you had the time of your life.

my sentiments exactly.

the music in this short song is pretty cool too; love the 'strings' part. if you haven't heard it, you can doubtless find an MP3 of it floating in cyberspace, which i'm sure the Berkeley-born band won't mind you 'borrowing' for the purposes of this UC Berkeley course. ;-)

so, as this summer at TIC and AIC comes to a close, i do hope you had the time of your life, young students and friends. and please consider this, my home in cyberspace, your home as well... where you can come and visit any time, to stay awhile.

{ net.casting }
^