body smart - a challenge!

What in the world..!?! you may ask yourself. Why a picture like this? What does it have to do with body smart? Well, I naturally thought about adding a picture with movement, but I came across this picture and realized that it shows movement, and someone needed to place them there and get the camera to take a picture. A very kinesthetic person who enjoys manipulating objects and can imagine the movements in his head.

The kinesthetic aspect of online teaching is a challenge. Is it enough to supply drag and drop options for the kinesthetic learner? In my opinion it is not. How then can one cater for the body smart? First, Body smart is not just the act of moving. There is the aspect of agility and it also encompasses an awareness of space.
Another question is whether online teaching must happen on the computer? Even in its purist form, the main functionis to supply information and activites online.
My first suggestions are quite low-tech, supplying an impulse.

Stop what you are doing! Now get up and balance a book on your head. See if you can walk to the kitchen and pour yourself a glass of water without letting the book fall? Come back and write a comment.

Easter is at the door, and it has motivated me for the following task. Read this text and try to feel what you are reading.

Imagine you are holding an egg in your hand. Hold it very gently so as not to break it. Feel the weight of this egg.
It is warm - feel the warmth radiating from the egg.
Now cover it with your other hand. Turn your hands so that the egg is lying in the other hand. Move your hand up and down and feel the egg move with your hands. Roll the egg gently in your hand. Feel the way it moves.
Now gently place the egg next to the computer and see how long you can remain aware of this egg next in front of you.
Write a comment about the effect this task had on you and to what extent and how long you were able to 'feel' the egg.

Finally, here is a blog which will appeal to not only the kinesthetic, but also the gustatory senses.
Happy Easter!

(The next post will focus on more high-tech options.)

visual and spatial

Picture smart isn't just about being able to draw or produce images in your head. As the word spatial signifies, it's also about perception of space. Read the following text and then take a minute to lean back and clese your eyes. See what happens.

Imagine a large building that you know. Stand next to it. Feel the space in front of you and the space behind you. Enter the building. Become aware of the space you are in, of the lines and colors. What are your feelings of being in this room?

Your response to this activity will tell you a lot about what intelligences are strong. If you are able to get a feeling for it. Analyse the words you would use to describe what you experienced. Your vocabulary will probably reflect one of the 'smarts' described further down, although this would be considered a picture smart activity.

A very clever and creative person I know is helping me develop and expand my own picture smartness. He advised me to draw only what I see. The result is that I tried drawing what I thought I could draw what I see. This turned out to be a shadow. Now I intend to go further with this idea. You can find an interesting link to another blog that is a good example of how to encourage and develop visual and spatial intelligence on the internet for anyone interested.

An important point here - the intelligences can be developed and strengthened with exercise, but if it is a week intelligence for you, you may need to access it through stronger ones.

Picture smart - visual/spatial intelligence

Our world is highly visual- oriented. However, when considering the multiple intelligences, it takes more to promote spatial intelligence than simply by adding pictures like this one to your lessons - although this is certainly a step in the right direction! Spatial intelligence is shown in a person's ability to think in pictures, to express themselves through grafic, drawings, colors, forms, etc, and to show an appreciation for the visual world.

By adding pictures to lesson materials you are certianly encouraging this ability, but the pictures must have some connection to the lesson in order to work. Look back at the illustrations and pictures I've chosen. Perhaps you will find yourself attracted to one or the other. Maybe you will even consider the connection they have with the related posts. They may also activate emotions, which are a strong factor in learning. I have added these pictures because of the connections I saw.

• a sunrise as a metaphor for the beginning of this, my particular journey through the MIs
• the sky clearing as thoughts start to form - daylight being cast upon the topic and scaring away the clouds
• a sheltered path to a place full o fsecrets to be discovered
• a boy making a letter (any letter), on the side also encorperating body smartness! to introduce a playful element
• and of course the Jabberwocky himself! to illustrate a poem
• a face of books - a visual game for the picture smart
  

There are different ways to exploit spatial intelligence on the computer and online. I will look at exploiting it in language teaching in the next post, but here are a couple of ideas in general.

Two relate to the picture above from Arcimboldo.
There are also quite a few ways to use technology for the picture smart. One program -Photoshop- is used above to make your own Arcimboldo picture. Here are other tools listed for you.
Can you think of other ways, especially in relation to other subjects besides art that can be used in online teaching?