Assignment+Rationale

= = This assignment was designed for a high school English class, but may be incorporated into an advanced middle school English classroom as well. Depending on the level of computer access by the students, the work can either be designed to take one class day and several nights at home - up to a week outside of class - OR it can be incorporated into three to five class days in the computer lab at school. The assignment focuses around the animusic clip "Pipe Dream". We chose this clip because it appeals to a variety of students who may not always enjoy or actively engage in English class. In addition to engaging kids through music, this clip has CGI animation that is similar to some of the video games students play in their free time, so it is visually appealing to those who love video games in addition to those who like exploring computer animation and art in general. There are also a lot of intricate moving parts that will appeal to future engineers who are more interested in how things work than in how they look or sound.
 * Musical Musings: Finding the Story in the Music--Assignment Rationale**

While we chose this clip based on its' appeal to a variety of learning styles, we want the students to take away from this exercise that everything around them is a type of text, regardless of whether or not there are words attached. Hypothetically, this assignment builds on previous assignments and discussions in class where we explored __music as a type of auditory text__ and __images as a powerful storytelling medium__. Our goal is to teach the students to think critically about things in the classroom that they would usually dismiss as simply amusing or trivial; then they will hopefully start to think critically about things they see outside of the classroom as well. Learning to deconstruct images, to assess unfamiliar circumstances and to ask pertinent questions will allow them to make more informed decisions as they face unfamiliar situations in life.

The in-class part of the assignment is designed to help learners strengthen their collaborative skills as they learn to work together in small groups; our goal is to use prompts to lead a discussion in which each group analyzes real life applications of the scenes depicted in "Pipe Dream". During the class discussion, we could show a variety of clips that illustrate real life marble machines to help students analyze whether a machine like that showcased in "Pipe Dream" could really be built. We can then enhance the discussion with an extra layer of thinking by asking the students why they think a machine such as that shown in "Pipe Dream" would need to be built, a question that could lead into the student's own interpretations of what kind of story the "Pipe Dream" machine is telling: a joyful celebration of engineering skill, a robotic mimicry of a human orchestra in a post-apocalyptic society where there are few humans left, a showcase of cutting edge musical technology?

We anticipate using discussion links like these below that demonstrate marble machines; we would ask that the students brainstorm to illustrate their understanding of the similarities and differences between "Pipe Dream" and other devices that could be considered as steps toward eventually building such a machine.

Marble Machine 1 Marble Machine 2 Marble machine 3 Marble Sculpture Marble Music

When planning a lesson it is a good idea to have a fall-back in case the original agenda goes faster than expected; if there is enough time, we plan to use a video clip that takes the music of "Pipe Dream" and sets it to a video that looks similar to the [|Guitar Hero] video game to discuss how the visual effects of the two videos enhance or distract from the music itself and the 'story' they created during the group assignment.

Frets on Fire: "Pipe Dream"

For the linear thinkers - the engineers in the class - this is also something that could be interesting in that it shows the actual construction of the set for "Pipe Dream" using a time lapse photography technique.

Construction video for the "Pipe Dream" set.

Discussion Questions
 * Can this machine be built?
 * How is the machine in "Pipe Dream" similar and different to the marble machines we saw in the other video clips?
 * One of the video clips showed a small child who used a basic marble machine to play musical instruments, could she construct the "Pipe Dream" machine?
 * What kind of society do you think could build this machine?
 * What kind of society could and would build this machine?
 * Are there any societies you have studied in your various Social Studies classes that you think would build this machine?
 * What resources would those societies need?
 * What story do you think "Pipe Dream" is telling?
 * Does your interpretation of the story it is telling change your opinion of which society would build this machine?
 * How do you think the story would change if the music was different? What if the images were different?
 * Now that you have seen "Frets on Fire" how has your interpretation of the story changed?
 * Of the two videos, which images tell a better story? Why?
 * If you were in charge of "Pipe Dream," what images would you match with the music?
 * Based on the construction video, do you think that the "Pipe Dream" machine could really be built?

Depending on computer access, this next portion of the assignment will be a take-home or a computer lab project. This segment encourages the students to explore the concept of mechanized musical instruments further through either a creative essay or mini research paper. Providing two contrasting options allows students to choose which style of writing they feel more comfortable and confident with, while encouraging them to continue thinking critically about the possibilities this machine offers to the "outside the box" thinker. The creative assignment requires students to brainstorm ideas for a back story for one of the workers associated with maintaining the machine, to write a story from the perspective of a part of the machine itself or to imagine that your architecture firm has won the bid to design and build this music machine. By developing a back story, students cannot view the machine in isolation; rather, they must construct a world in which the machine in "Pipe Dream" does exist and explore a segment of that world further. Placing themselves in the position of either one of the maintenance crew members, the various parts of the instrument or the architect tasked with its' design, the writer should be able to answer several basic questions: why am I important? what function do I serve? how would the outcome/music change under various circumstances?

While the creative option offers the chance to relate the machine in "Pipe Dream" to a larger fantasy world, the research option involves relating the machine to the real world by allowing the student who struggles with creative writing an option to research the cartoonist Rube Goldberg and the machines that bear his name. Comparing known Rube Goldbergs to "Pipe Dream" opens up a study of the irony of using complex methods to perform simple tasks. While the student who chooses the research option is mainly focusing on exploring a related field, he must then bring his research back to the video viewed in class and state an opinion of whether or not the machine in "Pipe Dream" is a true Rube Goldberg machine or not. The student's explanation of his opinion must show an understanding of Rube Goldberg machines and an ability to think critically about the video in order to satisfactorily defend his opinion. Both of these writing assignments require the student to think critically about the video and express his thoughts in a written format that conforms with established class guidelines for creative essays and research papers.

Rube Goldberg Website Rube Goldberg Wikipedia Entry Japanese Rube Goldberg Machine @More Rube Goldberg Machine Examples

In practical terms, assignments such as this involve cross-discipline inquiry. Jobs in the future will increasingly require employees who can interpret complicated computer graphics, who have the ability to de-construct concepts and tease out themes and to be able to communicate fine points effectively. Whether our students go to local technical schools or pursue their doctorates at major universities across the country, the ability to "see" more than the obvious will be critical.

We do realize that this sort of assignment can pose a challenge to the computer networks of many schools. Some administrations block Youtube, which makes showing some of these videos difficult. Many students will not have easy access to fast enough computers to make this project work at home. And, as always, funds may be tight to buy thumb drives and software to transport computer files from home research. However, "Pipe Dream" is available as part of a larger animated music DVD that the school library can purchase, drafts can be hand written at home and then brought to school to complete, and work done at school can be saved to a student's school account for continued work at school or saved via e-mail for students that wish to work on the computer at home.