Viva la hennin!

[chargirlgenius]

I was working on my KWCS class this morning, when I noticed something about hennins (the pointy princess hat thing popular in the 15th c., for those non medieval geeks on my flist).

I've been inserting picture after picture in my presentation, and cropping it down around the person I'm trying to highlight. Normally when I do this, I leave a little space over the persons head - it just looks better.

As I was cropping images with hennins, it occured to me that the hennin automatically accounts for that. In some crops, it puts the face of the wearer about 1/3rd of the way down the frame. Cropping pictures so that the focus is at a 1/3rd is an easy way to create more visual interest automatically.

A real life wearer of the hennin would get about the same advantage. The face, the focal point, is no longer perched on the very top of the whole, but is framed nicely by the body below, and the hennin above. Nifty. They sure knew what they were doing!

As a secondary thought, I'm thinking ahead to what parts of my class will be online, how I'm distributing it, etc. I'm going to have a LOT of slides. I'm not going to print a copy of the presentation for everybody. I will put it all online. I'd really like the online version to be a bit more beefy, with more of the explanation that I'd be verbalizing in the class.

If you go to a class with no handout, do you feel cheated? Do you feel like you need something to take notes on? Would a one page synopsis be helpful or necessary? Is it enough to get a link to go to later?

I'm also hoping to have time to make a power point version of the sleeve class. I think it'll be easier to talk to than the full handout.

Comments

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

I do like having, at least, an outline of the class on a sheet of paper, to which I can add notes. I've noticed my non-SCA students-- even up into college level courses-- seem to feel they've learned something if they leave a class with a piece of paper.

[alienor.livejournal.com]

When I was teaching the Art of Being a Noblewoman class I handed out outlines with lots of space to write notes on, and hardly anyone ever did. It's a much 'softer' class than you're planning, though.

[tudorpot.livejournal.com]

A brief overview with some references and web sites is very helpful. OTOH- I loath with a passion Power Point handouts- they are usually in such small type that they are impossible to read, and contain only point form info- that I have already absorbed.

[stringmonkey.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on that. A handout that is easy to read and gives me space to write additional notes is great. The PP ones are usually worthless, unless you print the version with the instructors notes.

[lisette-1528.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I agree with tattycat - I at least like having a piece of paper of some sort, even if it just has the Class name, your info, the web address (since you're planning to put the majority of it online), and a basic synopsis of the class on it, whether I write in the margins or not.

But then again, I am not an auditory learner at all. I'd remember the pictures from your slides or samples that you may/may not have present, but the verbal stuff tends to go in one ear and out the other.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I think if you're putting it online, it'd be good to have some kind of handout with the URL on it.

[reabhecc.livejournal.com]

I usually have some sort of notebook on me - as long as there's something somewhere to download later, I'm okay. But a handout is also good for in-class notes if it has the url at the top.

[jamieblackrose.livejournal.com]

A hand out with an outline, websites listed, and space for my notes on your lecture is fine.

[jubilima.livejournal.com]

Hee! What a great genius moment! :)