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Jose talks about Rob Brisco's learning log thumb

Jose talks about Rob Brisco's learning log


Rob Brisco whose street scene is featured above, has just completed People and Place. In our latest tutor interview, Jose Navarro talks about learning logs. The key message is, think of it as a tool. It should work for you. If it works for you – it will work when it comes to assessment.

And if you want to see the log page by page take a look at this silent slideshow (best seen full screen).


Posted by author: Mark Lomas

31 thoughts on “Jose talks about Rob Brisco's learning log

  • It exhibits energy, commitment and engagement through a very sophisticated design sensibility; in its form, functionality, layout and tactile appeal.
    The whole package speaks eloquently of the photographer’s visual awareness; a fundamental quality required in the practice of photography.
    This is the quality of log I dream of my students producing, but it’s difficult to convey the concept to them in words, although I try.
    This is an excellent concrete example of what can be achieved with real materials; exceeding the possibilities of a virtual equivalent.

  • Very nice log.
    A quick question for any tutor who would like to respond.
    Doing an online log, I have scanned a few rough sketches I have done myself for inclusion on line, but what about the work of others? I put links to other people’s images rather than copying them and pasting them on my log, but what can I do with postcards/images ripped from magazines and other ephemera? Is it OK to scan it and post on my log or not? It would certainly look a lot more lively if I could, but with the tricky issues of reproducing other peoples’ work I have held off posting them. Thoughts please.

    • As long as the work that you reproduce is for educational and reviewing/critique purposes, as it is the case of the learning log, then there is no copyright infringment – in general terms, obviously, each individual case is different.
      As for what to do with ‘ephemera’, I would personally keep physical learning materials in a separate physical folder. So you would have a blog-style learning log plus a physical folder with all the additional research materials. But be aware that there should be good cross-referencing between the two. The blog provides flexibility and the folder a bit of ‘texture’, which is good.

  • That’s another advantage to a real log; you’re not publishing anything.
    I advise my students to just use links to be on the safe side, but someone might come along with a definitive answer.

  • Wow. Thanks.
    Tanya – I have on online blog as well for posting most of my stuff, the notebook is just for stuff that might be copyrighted, etc. I grab stuff from magazines, from galleries and shows or print images from the internet as and when I see them. So get scrap-booking!
    PS – for Landscape, I’ve started adding some hyperlinks into my blog at the request of my tutor, but I’m keeping the same sort of physical logbook as well.
    Rob

  • I use an online blog myself but this video has opened my eyes to the power of a physical scrapbook approach. Great logbook and an excellent video to help demystify the issue of learning logs. Think I will revisit my own approach when I move onto my next course in the spring.

  • Nice one Rob – and I thought your surname was TM, lol!! I was impressed with your online blog and now we find you have an equally impressive offline blog *sighing heavily* – well done, hadn’t considered doing anything like this – piece of art in its own right!!

  • Well done, Rob; now you know why you havn’t had your assessment material back! Really good, and an example to us all – thanks, Jose, for sharing.

  • I’m so pleased to have seen this right at the start of my course. Thanks to Jose for his comments. I shall make the effort to emulate Rob’s example.

  • Thanks Rob – a real example. Your on-line log spurred me into action with my own Drawing blog and now I’m inspired to do a scrapbook of my own. Thanks.

  • Rob, fantastic piece of art!
    I’m also encouraged by this video to add a phisical logbook for my next courses, it makes sense. Thank you for sharing.

  • This is great, I’m on my first course and really not sure about the learning log. It was particularly useful to see a brief reaction praised – I’ve been worried that I need to write lengthy explanations for anything I include. I don’t think my log will be as neat and tactile as this but its very inspiring – thanks Rob & Jose.

  • Me again, [hi Jose, sadly Paul is right… we have hundreds of local sites with (lots of copied copyrighted) video content, but stuff from abroad is blocked.]
    Just got the OCA Weekender, and it carries a screenshot of Rob’s book, which looks very much like (much neater though) what I keep, and this gave me an idea, would probably have to clear with OCA HQ / my tutor first, but I might film my physical scrapbook page by page, and add it digitally to my material going for assessment. (I’m planning to submit for assessment in a disposable format due to postage costs).

  • An excellent piece of work, many congratulations and very timely. I am building a scrapbook learning log to accompany my more formal log for TAOP and putting extracts on my Blog. I am going along similar lines, but doubt my efforts will quite mirror yours.
    Richard

  • Such an intuitive and tactile log, it makes you want to look and read, not just endless words but graphics, pull outs and you bounce from one page to another it seems. Fabulous, thinking differently and great accessibility. Inspirational stuff. Just started my 2nd year so perfect timing to see a different approach.
    Paul

  • Fabulous Video and log. Well done. For someone like me who is a “visual learner” this is great. Been struggling with the log/blog issue for a few months and to finally see one is ideal.
    Please can we have more videos showing a variety of students assignments and how they have been presented – good points and bad – that would help too.
    Thanks

  • It is a wonderful expression of the full learning process experienced by the student. I think it is inspirational and is so useful for both other students and lecturers as a source of how work should be presented. I hope to join OCA as a textile student when family commitments ease off and the standard of this source book has really inspired me.

  • Fabulous Video and log. Well done. For someone like me who is a “visual learner” this is great. Been struggling with the log/blog issue for a few months and to finally see one is ideal. Please can we have more videos showing a variety of students assignments and how they have been presented – good points and bad – that would help too. Thanks

  • Its a great logbook and I would add my plea to Sheena´s to show more of the good examples. My two specific questions with regard to Robs logs are:
    1. Where can we see his blog????? Can we please have an example of a good blog. I am sure many of us are a bit lost here.
    2. How did he attach the postcards/ photos so that they slip easily back and forwards. Are they permanently fixed? They look pretty durable. Advice would be most welcome

  • http://www.robtm.co.uk – the blog’s that are not “current” are in the archive section as PDF’s, Landscape and Visual Culture are ongoing at the moment.
    I’m not so sure it’s a good blog though, just the ramblings of a madman…
    I used either glue or magic tape, depended what I had to hand (some pictures were printed three to a sheet and folded….)
    Thanks for all the positive comments – it really has lifted me up after a bad year.
    Rob

  • This is so nice to hear. I’m a big fan of real as opposed to virtual Learning Journals and I was beginning to think that virtual had taken over. I had resigned myself to getting old and setting up a blog instead ! Now I plan to do both it’s almost an experiment, which will prove the more versatile ?
    Hard Copy Journals….You can take with you absolutely anywhere, put anything in them and they are so immediate, you can include quick sketches and quick curses ! Blogs…..easier in some ways as linking and cut and paste, dragging, dropping and rattling out thoughts can be communicated almost immediately and feedback can be instant. This must be one of the blogs big positives, I shall find out when I get mine set up. I like Richard Walkers idea (Dec 16th) putting extracts from one to the other. I like the idea of using a blog primarily as a communications tool and a physical ‘learning Journal’ as a workable reference and record. Anna

  • Having watched this video I’m a bit confused now about the difference between a “Learning Log” (or Learning Journal as it’s also sometimes called) and a sketchbook. I have been working on the premise that a sketchbook should be a resource for ideas and inspiration, containing images and other materials about which you should record your immediate thoughts, etc, while a Learning Log is more of an evaluative tool, “a record of your thoughts, reflections, plans, progress and setbacks”. While I would agree that Rob’s book is an exellent example of a learning resource, I would describe it more as a sketchbook – I am now concerned that I am on the wrong track with my own Journal, which is mainly a record of my reflections and conclusions about my assignments, my tutor reports, gallery visits, lectures from other artists, etc

  • Is there ANYTHING we can do to help Dewald since he can’t view so many sites? it makes me realise how lucky I am – I may live on a mountain top in France but my internet connection is reliable & I have access to the whole world. Thanks anyway for such an inspirational scrapbook, hope to see more of it.

    • Hi Linda, thanks… I’ve now got a VPN (virtual private network) service, so can view things 🙂 It’s a bit of a luxury, as it’s not cheap, but crucial for research and studies.
      Dewald

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