April 13 - August 5, 2012, Edafio Technology Partners will be sponsoring The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft at the Arkansas Arts Center. This exhibition explores the growing use of digital technologies as a means of expression in craft in the United States.

 Thanks to all who attended the private viewing April 17th. It was great to see and visit with everyone. We appreciate each one of you.

April 13 - August 5, 2012, Edafio Technology Partners will be sponsoring The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft at the Arkansas Arts Center. This exhibition explores the growing use of digital technologies as a means of expression in craft in the United States. Curator Fo Wilson has brought together about 30 innovative works by craft artists who use digital technologies, not to replace traditional workmanship of the hand, but to "materialize" and incorporate digital media in their work to be "exploited, manipulated and appropriated in creative ways." The internet, Smart phones and laptops are part of our daily lives, and digital media is an important part of today's material culture. New and interesting questions about what craft is and what it can be arise from considering those questions and through the examination of the work in "The New Materiality."

Michael Stevenson

Since the earliest days of education television, teachers have recognized the potential power of video. As successive studies have shown, video has the power both to reinforce the educational message and to engage the student – not only the motivated student but the student who would rather be somewhere else!

But teaching methods have evolved, and there’s a new emphasis on the importance of nurturing higher order capabilities, such as collaborative problem solving. This means that video’s role, at a stroke, is significantly enhanced. More than a classroom aid, it is at the core of the learning process itself.

Just look at what will be assessed, for the first time, in upcoming international tests. In 2014, TIMMS will focus on digital literacy. In 2015, PISA will focus on collaborative problem-solving. It’s a perfect moment for educators everywhere to re-assess their use of video and to make the key decisions about how best to incorporate it into their students’ learning experience.

This is why Cisco wanted to produce a foundational document, reflecting practice-based research. We wanted to know who is using video and for what purpose, lay out the technologies they are using, and offer a realistic and informed view of the learning impact being achieved.

How will you begin to transform your classrooms with video technologies?