Happiness is Possible! Interruptions at GJU

:: Interruptions

Thanks Ikibs!

Thanks Ikbis team for your feedback and for appreciating our work....

Thanks!

Communication Theory Assignment

This semester I'm teaching a course titled [Communication Theory] for Design and Visual Communication students. This course addresses several issues dealing with Media, Society, Mass Communication, Message Production and so on.
So for their Mid term I decided to put the theories to test by proposing an online assignment.
I asked my students to answer certain questions through creating a video response to a video I posted on our GJU.Design Channel on Ikbis....
The questions were:
Do New Media give people their Freedom or do it control them?
Do New Media create equality or division between people?
And this is my Assignment Video... 
 



My students did very well... and they have responded in many different ways to the video. Some did Animation, stop motion, video montage and video logs...

Ikbis and other online sharing sites are usually and sadly banned in educational institutions in Jordan... but I wanted to defy even this reality and make others understand the power that is given [for free] to people... normal people... who have valuable things to share...
I'm really glad about my students interactions... they did engage themselves and used the new media beautifully.  Here are some samples of their work...

The rest can be seen here...


By Faris Baidon


By Rania Ghariabeh


By Natalie Beiruti


By Saja Muzaini


By Yasmin Juma'a


By Jude Kawwa


By Lian Saifi

Please complete the power of the new media by going there and commenting on their works...

Spread the love and share the power... =)

Video Tutorials

I just finished my first tutorial series for How to create a website using Adobe Dreamweaver CS4...
In this series I explain how you can start from scratch and build a contained website using HTML and CSS.

I hope that these tutorials will prove helpful...



How to Create a Website using Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Pt 3/8

Pt 1/8
Pt 2/8

Pt 4/8
Pt 5/8
Pt 6/8
Pt 7/8
Pt 8/8


They are also available on our own Design ikbis Channel...

The Dawn of the Fusionists...

So a new semester has just started at GJU... and I'll be teaching only Design and Visual Communication students... something which I consider as a bless...

And for This semester I decided to start up a social network for all my students. The name of the network is [Fusionists]!
I wanted to come up with a theme that will reflect on the experience, the spirit and the outcome of this network... So fusion as an act and with all of its derivatives seemed as a good starting point.



In this network students will upload their assignments, photos, videos and share stuff from the web as well... in this way the learning experience extends from being a one way channel between the instructor and students into something more flexible and definitely multichannel.

Again the learning experience goes beyond the class time... and in a less formal context...

This is just a prototype that I'm suggesting and will be monitoring to see how this idea can evolve into a real interactive learning experience...

I'm really excited about this idea and hope that it will prove a success...

I have to thank Ning for making it so easy to create a social network... and I'm grateful for the power of the Internet... for freeing some minds and trying to eliminate stupidity...

I wish all the best of luck in the new semester... and I wish you [Fusion]... =)

My Interior Architecture Pedagogy at PSU-KSA

I recall my students at GJU asking me to teach them Interior Design Studio. I never had doubts that I wanted to do it, but I never had the time to think about it, to plan it, and to execute it eithr until I came to PSU-KSA in September 2009.

Until then my whole Design Process for teaching Architecture Design Studios was ultimately based on transforming linguistic scenarios and verbal expressions into spatial diagram and then to spatial explorations that extrude to architecture from in-out.

When my students at GJU asked me to teach them Interior Design Studios they made me wonder why they thought so - Their answer was sharp and to the point: "you invest so much of your time teaching us how to design and express space - meaning interior space."

Here we go, at PSU I took a chance. I began my Interior Architecture Pedagogy, even though the experience was with second year students - First Design Studio, ID204. They must have had a tough experience with me, I think!!!

The outcome to me was amazing, these girls were able express, to experience, and to deliver. Sophomores at that.

Next semester, I want to develop the course and I want to make the experience even more unique. More students are wanting to sign up for this class and they were already exposed to my pedagogical techniques, so together we will be able to experiment and develop the pedagoy a step further. I can not wait to see the results.

Student - Razan Al-Sheikh -ID204

Student - Hind Al-Shamari- ID204
Student - Saloonas Hoseen - ID204
The house concept is a mix of Traditional Andalusian Design, Local Saudi need for privacy and expression of family/guests domain, and modern stylestic expressions.

Student - Noura Al-Sanei- ID204
The house concept is a mix of classical design for the whole house and tech-modern material at the work and support area (kitchens and baths).

All Photos in this post are taken by Dr. Majd Al-Homoud. 2010.

Adobe Villages Spread Over Badia Extensions North of Riyadh – AlGhat Mud Village

There,,, located the wonders of meeting power of earth and sky, where earth extends to the sky in three dimensional layouts genuinely and intelligently extend as hearths for the soul. At a first sight, while approaching the yards of the rennovated houses the soul races with the eye to discover and reveal the radiant warmth of adobe and what it ensouls.

All Photos in this post are taken by Dr. Majd Al-Homoud. 2010.