Curriculum is the totality of a students’ experience of school.

In response to the above definition of curriculum, your final assignment of

the semester is to create a performance ethnography that

communicates in audio format your own experience of learning about

curriculum this semester.

Create an audio performance piece that expresses your processes of learning about curriculum this

semester.• so..you explore your processes of learning

about curriculum• so..the focus is not what you learned; the

focus is you learning• yet..you distance yourself from yourself• so..it’s as if you become an object, a thing,

to study

Create an audio performance piece that expresses your processes of learning about curriculum this

semester.• so.. it’s not a Report, it’s a Performance

• so..you can’t merely answer the questions

• so..the questions should prompt explorations rather than an answers

• so..the scope should be the whole semester (not just the recent past)

Suggestions

• You might need a script.• You will need audio technology. (Creating

the recording of the performance aids the distancing process.)

• You may work in pairs (you decide). Then your performance might be a little longer.

• Aim for 10 minits long (minimum 8 minits if alone; more like 12 minits if in a pair).

For audio software use Audacity or Garage Band or Myna. There are other softwares out there, but often they’ll let you play around for free, but when you want to

save or export, they’ll force you to buy their software or lose what

you’ve created.

Garageband is already on your mac. Simply click on the guitar

icon, and then check out the tutorials. Garageband is handy for the ease with which you can

import sound effects.

AudacitySimply Google audacity and the link will pop

up. From their page you can click on the Download tab. Once you’ve downloaded the

software you can use the Help tab to navigate to the Tutorials that are on the Audacity Wiki. Or you can simply follow this link to the tutorials:

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Category:Tutorial

MynaThe other software that one of your classmates

mentioned is Myna. I’ve looked at their site and browsed their Demo, and this looks like a fine

audio editing software. They’ve got a super library of music that you can work with. Here’s

the link to Myna:

http://www.aviary.com/tools/audio-editor

When creating your performance ethnography, think about what

format or context could communicate process. You’ve already heard samples of radio show and interview; those are

formats, contexts, that work well with process.

A few weeks ago someone scribbled “paths” on one of the crumpled airplanes that you were passing around as notes in school. Paths.

Paths make me think of processes. For example, I think of the Buddhist

saying, “We lay down a path by walking.”

Two Cautions• Always check your sound levels before you

save your final mixdown for submission. Do you remember how some portions of some of the samples were difficult to hear? You don’t want to make it hard for your old instructors to hear the splendid performance that you’ve created. So check the volume regularly as you go along. This becomes especially important when you’re trying to overlap voice with prerecorded music.

Two Cautions• Be sure to save your performance ethnography as

a .mP3 or a .wav or some other form of audio file. For all of the various softwares this means not saving the “project” but instead saving the final mixdown. One way to know whether you’ve saved it properly is to look at the size of the file. If you’ve ended up with a little file, say 100kb, you’ve not saved it properly. These files should be 10 meg or larger. Another way to know whether you’ve saved properly is to try to play the saved file on someone else’s computer. If it won’t play, that’s because you’ve saved incorrectly (saving the project rather than the final mixdown, which means that the “stuff” that makes it play is all stored in your computer).

Sending Your File to Your Instructor• click on the link below, and you'll see how easy

it is to get your big file to your instructor. No need to burn a CD or deliver a thumb/flash drive. The link takes you to a page where you login using your UofR account.

• http://education.uregina.ca/index.php?q=UofRFileUploadService.html

• Just follow the uploading instructions, and then copy the new link that will pop up on the new screen when you’re done uploading (it’s best to highlight/select and copy).

Sending Your File to Your Instructor

• Before you close that page, paste the link in an email and mail it to yourself, and then test it to see whether you copied it properly. Then send it to your instructor.

Assessment Criteria

• communicates the processes of their learning about curriculum

• students become the object of their own study (don’t be yourself; look at yourself)

• demonstrates a variety of understandings of curriculum

• invents an entertaining performance• demonstrates skill in audio editing