My love for Helvetica first stemmed from my lack and misunderstanding of design. It was the “hip” thing so, of course, like any 20something I wanted to be hip. After I began to immerse myself into the inner being of design I really began to understand some things, not only  about typography and my love for it but communication design.

We think, we speak, we write. Each of those acts are composed of language, each language is composed of words and word of letters. Each letter, in a different combination creates a variety of thoughts, moments, phrases, emotions and actions.

When we communicate with one another it is often jumbled and filled with extra, unnecessary  non-sense. We speak in fragments and often leave out the main idea we wish to portray, assuming the receiver will understand. We are saying, not communicating.

The difference here is being succinct. Being clear, concise, to the point and relevant. For me, that is the beauty of communication design. It’s the beauty of words and how we use them. You can write the same word in multiple type faces and portray a different meaning. You can use the same font in different weights to portray a different meaning.

The point isn’t necessarily Helvetica or any type face in general but rather, the power we hold when designing communication.

Last night I was reading this article. It discusses the ban of laptops in college classrooms across the nation and how computers are distracting students, and ultimately, ruining the teaching process. I politely disagree. We currently are flooded with information from various social sites. Why aren’t educators taking advantage of this?

Meet Them In The Middle

Instead of saying no to electronics, information and technology, educators should learn from them and embed them into their teachings. Everyone uses Facebook, Twitter and a new and upcoming service, FormSpring, so why not implement them in the way we interact and educate students. Here are some ideas.

Facebook

These articles, one and two, mention the usage of Facebook. From 2008 to 2009, Facebook usage increased 700% from 1.7 billion minutes to 13.9 billion minutes. Again folks, that is BILLIONS. Why aren’t teachers using this medium?

Example

Mr.Doe teaches English II, for 10^th graders. His class is comprised of a lot of reading and writing. Mr. Doe creates a Facebook group for his 1^st period English II class. In that group updates the page with reading and writing assignments.

Since students already use this medium why not utilize the platform for education? I mean, they are already on it for 13.9 billion minutes. Why not?

Twitter

Since the Chirp conference, Twitter released their company stats. The biggest one, there are 105 million registered users. Why don’t teachers use this medium to talk with their students, or engage in conversation with them

Example

Mrs. Smith teaches Intro to Public Policy at a University in Awesome. She has a class of 100 students and it’s hard to curate conversation in class. As an assignment, she puts together a twitter chat and assigns a hashtag. She narrates this chat with questions, ones would be too difficult to cover in class, to engage with students, to provide information and to see what they know.

FormSpring.me

This one is a stretch, I’ll admit, but the possibilities are great. On Formspring.me Any one can ask a question, if you a registered user, then your name appears in your question, if not it’s private. The user has the right to answer or delete any question.

Example

Mr. Kersh has assigned a paper due in three weeks to his class. The only problem is the class meets once a week. Instead of students flooding his inbox he creates a FormSpring. He gives out his public URL and tells students to direct any question to the given assignment to this medium. He can then answer the questions, post it to all, and decide which questions to answer and not answer (since 30 students ask the same question).

We are educating our future, so why not keep their attention though current mediums instead of boring them to death with PowerPoint and lectures.

Flikr Creds: Here

Posts on writing tend to start with “The Top 10 Best Writing Resources” or “50 Writing Tools.” I’m here to offer two tips for writing. I use them to practice my writing and to strive for creativity. Both can be seen as abstract exercises but that is where the meat and potatoes are found.

One Word

Oneword.com is a web site that offers just that, one word. You have 60 seconds to write on a word. Write whatever you’d like then voluntarily submit. After that submission you can also see what others wrote about for the same word. The word changes ever 24-hours.

This could help hone creativity and the methodology of your own writing. Think about abstract writing as pulling content from nothing. Creating your own piece of work from a single thought, idea, or in this case, word.

Speak Through Your Ears and Fingers.

This isn’t a web site but rather, your own musical library. A lot of folks have said that listening to music helps them write, it releases creative flows that any other activity cant’. What is being offered here is a new view on musical assistance.

When you want to write but have no topic, turn on your music. Find your favorite song or one that speaks to you. Close your eyes and write what you feel. It isn’t about finding ideas through the songs but take what you feel inside of you and write about it.

Is it worth publishing? Maybe. Is it bringing out the real you? Hopefully. Regardless of the result one can hone their writing skills through other mediums.

There you have it. Two tips, or resources, to hopefully help your writing. If you have any other cool, nifty, or interesting ways to dig into your inner Stephen King share them here.

Picture Creds: Here