Expresso
[This training was held for Geniekids team on 17th feb, 2009 by Aditi - Ratnesh]
The word Expresso normally bring Expresso coffee to our mind. Well, Expressio Sheets aren't really very different from the Expresso coffee :-)
Expresso coffee is a concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing steam or hot water using pressure through finely ground coffee. {source wikipedia}
Expresso sheet is a concentrated activity refresher brewed by forcing imagination using stimulation through finely ground mediums (of expression). {geniepedia}
Lets take each term individually.
- Its a sheet - so this one specifically uses 1 or 2 sheet of papers. If its a group you work continiousl with (khoj or Aarohi or SS) then a large size note book is recommended specially one with ruled lines one side and blank sheet on one side.
- Its an activity refresher - which means its not in itself a full activity (coffee is not a meal) - yet it gives a kind of refreshment to the mind. It could hence be used as a starter (though not recommended - just as coffee is not really recommended to be given before a main meal) or can be used as reflection (some love to have a cup of coffee after a meal) or - *its man use* - it can be given "just like that" - like how most of us like having coffee - to take a break.
- Imagination is the key process - thats the openness (brewing process) - everything is driven by this force - thats what refreshes. No right answers, no one way to do it, offering space to glow my thoughts.
- Stimulation - the sheet is normally based on an resource that offers a reason for me to think and express. Here are some categories of possible stmulators:
a) Visuals can be a scene, an illustration, a set of visual objects, story board, a map, visual puzzles (part pictures, upside down pictures, convoluted pictures, mixed and match pictures, etc
b) Story in the form of movie clip, a story told (karadi), a story book, etc.
c) Experience like a walk, a GV, using senses to experience something (say a lemon, a flower, a yoga aasana) etc
d) Exploration - of a book, a website, any object like camera, torch, a small experiment (water evaporating from my hand - where does it go) etc.
e) Games - specially indoor board games or small group games like dice games, playing card games, paper games, math games (click here for some ideas) etc. In games expresso apart from other things, can very beautifully be used as a score card. - The interest - here refers to my preferred medium of expression - since its a sheet - i can either write, draw, colour, cut -make and paste. I obviously talk a lot (many of love to chat while having a cup of coffe.
As Cafe Coffeeday's tag line goes -
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee.
Designing the expresso sheets
I came with a totally different frame of mind and expectations and it turned out to be a different session altogether. nevertheless, learning is learning and as it is with every interaction, i have a takeaways - a lot of them in fact. We had a systematic way of designing what, when and how of expressions.
Picking up emotions as the center theme (what all do we like to express), and the magazine as a medium: our team came up with:
1. Using the magazine itself to express different emotions - anger crumple it up, happiness scrunch it up in a ball and throw it etc.
2. Change that activity by adding variations - turn the anger into something constructive from a ball to say a paper plane.
3. Animal pictures - become animals and show how they express emotions. variations: ask what if situations - what if animals could go to school? what if they could take classes?
4. Close your eyes, pick up a picture - add music to it....based on the expression. sad music if the expression is sad etc.
5. Pick up a picture and change its expressions. Picture crazy!
6. Inanimate objects - Pick up inanimate objects from the pics - in our case it was a chair - write out how does a chair feel, what does it go through when left lying there, when someone sits on it and so on.
There were a lot more to it but this is top of mind. Exciting and fun!!
Designing Expresso Sheets
I found the whole concept to be fun since you are creating a riot kind of situation for the brain to connect the ideas with the given pictures before you.
Our topic was understanding
Music- We had 4 pictures; a gramaphone, farmer admiring sunflowers, and a hand picture, the husband holding the expecting wife- Who plays the recorder/How do the sunflowers grow here-Who plants them/ What is the recorder doing near the sunflower /Why does the mother switch on the music even though her baby is still in her stomach etc can stimulate the thoughts about music and hands role- the farmers sows the sunflower and music helps the plants as well as the baby in the family to grow well .
Picture of an umbrella with flags of Asian Countries,Class room which had lecturer and students and farmer admiring sunflower-Qns which the lecturer is asking the class - which all Asian countries do you find sunflower cultivation/Do you think farmer can grow this flower in all the asian countries?/You think a technology can protect sunflower fm dying?
These are a few of my thoughts which I dont' know if it really brewed the coffee!!
Ability- ( padma and girija)
The whole concept that same instructions can be understood and followed differently by all members in a group was interesting with the basic medium being paper and pencil.
We selected ability as our topic.
From a amgazine we cut a few pictures to make a convocation cap.
1. Design your own convocation cap using only 3 steps. In this 2 partners will work together one can give instructions ( verbal/non verbal)and the other one follows it.
2. A maze containing lot of visuals , each visual had written instruction which would help move further in the maze to reach the convocation.
3. Adding music - with the beats of the music you can draw / write a message on each others/your own convocation cap. If the music is fast your hands move fast .
4. Write a message for your friend and fly the paper in such a manner that it should reach the person for whom you have written the message without him knowing that the message is for him.
5. Treasure hunt- Keep diifferent instructions written on a paper in different places let them search, follow the instructions and get their caps.
Two dice game
Asa follwoup me and dhrupad played a game of dice - hone his dice and one mine. Both throw dice. ONa sheet - expresso - he records our scores -
in the first column he drew however many dots Dhrupad got.
in the second column he drew however many dots Ratnesh got.
The third, fourth and fifth colun were - More Dhrupad, More Ratnesh, and Same respectively.
He put a tick under whichever was relevant.
we had fun!