art4edu

MDE ART 2009-2010

2010-09-21T17:01:00.002-05:00

Check out a video portfolio of some our work from last year:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

11.5 Things - Thing #11.5

2010-08-09T23:20:00.002-05:00

I enjoyed going through the activities and exercises as part of the 11.5 Things journey. While I looked some better than others, and can see myself using some more than others, all the "things" seem appropriate and necessary as a part of life long learning and technology in the classroom.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I loved the chance to explore interactive learning like Voice Thread. Whether I end up using it in my classroom or not, being exposed to the potential and the availability of such programs opens up new thoughts and ways of working.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
As technology continues to change, I feel it is important to at least be aware of new opportunities. To that end, I see technology training as an ongoing life long goal - in both personal and professional life. By playing with these activities, I get a chance to dabble in things I may not even know about or never make myself try otherwise.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I am much more interested in the potential of Second life in education. It was the activity I was dreading, but it turned out to be very interesting and sparked my curiosity about its place in education.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I like the freedom to spend more time on activities that interest me. I feel like I got more out of the 11.5 Things than the 23 Things I did last summer. I think this is because there were less "things" to explore, so I did not feel rushed to get through them. There are parts of the 23 Things that, looking back, I think I did not get everything out of.

11.5 Things - Thing #11

2010-08-09T23:03:00.004-05:00

Digital Citizenship:

Just as we teach students how to be a good citizen in the real world, we know are faced with teaching them how to be good citizens in a digital world. And while many of the websites and links focused on digital literacy, it seems just as important to encourage safe and responsible digital citizenship in social and communication technology. Basically, we need to make sure that students can be good digital citizens even when they leave the classroom and educational world.

I would focus on the following:

1. Digital Literacy:
- The importance of searching for and evaluating information.
- Finding information (written or visual) that communicates what you are trying to say
- Acknowledging sources

2. Digital Etiquette
- Appropriate communication and behavior in a digital world
- Recognizing the impact of posting information and who can see it

3. Digital Right / Responsibilities
- Everyone has a right to use and communicate information in a digital world
- With that right comes the responsibility to participate fairly and equally
- Laws protect information - personal information, someone's work, creations, etc.
- Stealing work online breaks the laws and responsibilities of being a part of a digital world

4. Safety / Security
- Saving work (in multiple locations)
- Care about personal information online (what is posted and where)
- Attention to what kinds of websites and other online locations you are accessing

11.5 Things - Thing #10

2010-08-07T18:51:00.002-05:00

Virtual Worlds and Second Life:

Though I had never explored in Second Life, I had heard about it and had even done some preliminary research on digital worlds and digital storytelling (being able to create your own story). I think there are educational benefits to virtual worlds - whether as a method of imparting information through a virtual classroom or just by being able to explore and experience things that are not practical or possible in the real world.

That said, I cannot see using it in my classroom for two reasons: (1) I am at the elementary level and there is too much potential for inappropriate material and many of the awesome benefits would be above the level of my students; (2) as an art teacher, I do not have time to incorporate every possible technology into the art room, and this is one that I would have to leave out. However, as I explore more, I may find appropriate things and experiences that add to my lessons that I could share with my students through a guided tour.

For older art students, there is great opportunity to experience designing and presenting their artwork; trying out a variety of art related careers; etc.

11.5 Things - Thing #9

2010-08-07T18:32:00.002-05:00

Slide Share:

I can see how this tool would be useful in a classroom by both teacher and students. Teachers can share information, presentations and lessons with each other, and students get a chance to publish their work and be part of the information source. However, as an art teacher, I do not have the students make power point presentations. I do publish their artwork on Artsonia where parents and family have access to comment. No one has mentioned the need for permission to post student work on the web. I know that I have some families who do not wan their students' works published publicly, even if there is no identifying information. I make sure to have a permission slip for any student whose work I post.

11.5 Things - Thing #8

2010-08-07T18:10:00.005-05:00

Screencasting:

In the spring, I work with my students on a digital photography project, and it would be great to have screen casts for each of the main steps of the process. The following is just a sample of navigating to the editing software and chosing a photo to upload. I will have to create it on the computer at school so I am on the same platform that the students will be using and with access to the district servers. I used Screencast-o-matic and found it very easy to work with.

11.5 Things - Thing #7

2010-07-29T13:39:00.014-05:00

TV Sources:

PBS has a wonderful series called Art:21 which looks exclusively at the art of 21st century artists. The best part about it is that the artists themselves are talking about what they thing art is, where their inspirations and influence comes from, and how they execute different works of art. Each episode of the series focuses on a different concept (i.e. humor, structure, play, etc.) and covers three or four artists. While the videos are better for middle and high school age students, chapters and parts of them could be utilized in an elementary art room to connect students with artists they have never heard of and in connection with specific projects. They should definitely be reviewed before showing to students due to the controversial nature of some works of art.

I found this chapter with Arturo Herrera from the "Play" episode very interesting, and thought it would help my students understand collage, color and abstraction.

Watch the full episode. See more ART:21.

I had never used blinkx to search videos, but after spending some time checking things out, there are all kinds of videos. I found a very cool one that shows the creation of a piece of street art. It is the same kind of sidewalk painting that appears in forwarded email messages, but we usually only see the snap shots of the end product, not the process.

By searching through blinkx, I also found a couple of kids' television shows in which Mona Lisa comes to life. Though I ultimately watched the videos through YouTube.

Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place: Art Museum Piece (in 3 parts)
Part 1

BBC's The Adventures of Sarah Jane: Mona Lisa's Revenge (in 3 parts)
Part 1

11.5 Things - Thing #6

2010-07-26T17:18:00.004-05:00

ipod touch:

Luckily I just bought a new MacBook Pro, and with the educator's discount, i also got an ipod touch. This was a fun "thing" to play with because I had not had time to really play with any of the apps already on my ipod or to look into new ones. I had done some research to determine if i-touches would be useful in the art room. I did find resource apps that provide students info about art history and artist, drawing and photography apps, and games that reinforce art knowledge.

The problem I found with many of the drawing and photography programs is that they would require the ipod to be used by one students at a time for the duration of the activity. Also, many of the programs would allow students "play" with creating art, but do not end up in a quality final project, so they could be used for free time, but not the actual art project.

I like the idea of using them as quick reference and resource tools. I do a project with 4th graders that requires them to create a museum / gallery space which focuses on one artist or art style. Students are able to draw on any resources I can find, including books form the school library, books form my personal library, any prints /posters / postcards and internet searches. It would be handy to have ipods on hand so students could use apps like the Louvre and Art to do quick searches for their information.

It would also be an option in my classroom to use ipods when students are working in rotations. I have not searched podcasts yet, but I am sure there are interviews with artists and other similar information that might provide my students more insight into the thought behind a piece of art.

11.5 Things - Thing #5

2010-07-26T12:00:00.003-05:00

Facebook and Twitter:

I originally joined facebook to connect with former high school friends and keep in touch with my family does not live in the area. Now I have a small network of friends that can check in on me, and I on them at any time, day or night. At different times, I have considered closing my facebook account, because I tend not to post very much or keep my own profile current with things that are happening. I use other sites for posting photos and sending emails. Yet, I don't want to lose access to the information that my friends and family makes available on facebook. There have been many instances in which my mother knows something about my brother or aunt or someone, that I don't have. When I ask her how she knows, it is because she saw a post on facebook.

I think social networking and microblogging allows students to keep in touch with each other in a new format. As a grad student, some of my study groups included facebook groups so that we could trade information and questions as they came up. I think there is potential in the classroom for students to get up-to-the-minute information - potentially from professors, authors, or other personalities that have facebook pages or twitter streams. These are people that students might not traditionally have access to, or that access might have been vetted through other channels that took longer.

11.5 Things - Thing #4

2010-07-26T11:28:00.009-05:00

YouTube and TeacherTube:
I had never created an animoto before, so I decided to make one for posting to YouTube. I took a trip to Ireland last year and one of the places I went was Belfast Castle and Gardens. There is a tradition that a white cat was always on the grounds, and when they redid the gardens, they made cats a permanent feature by hiding nine of them around the garden.

Once I made the video, it was very easy to upload it to YouTube. I have viewed many videos from YouTube, and have used some in my classroom, but I had never posted one myself. This could be a great tool for sharing lessons and concepts between teachers. But it could also be a way that students get the opportunity to publish their own view points and share their work with others.

11.5 Things - Thing #3

2010-07-23T20:47:00.004-05:00

Skype and Skype-like

A former boss used Skype frequently to communicate with her children who were living in Eastern Europe. I have used Skype when stuck overseas without a cell phone to contact the bank. Until recently, I did not have a camera connected to the computer, so I have not used Skype with the video capabilities.

As an art teacher, I think it would be a great way to share lessons with another teacher - by having her "guest" teach a lesson. Also, the students might be able to speak with a "real" artist or art historian in another part of the country or the world. I like the ideas on the article "50 ways to use Skype in the classroom" and will be working on ways to adapt them for the art room.

11.5 Things - Thing #2

2010-07-23T19:51:00.008-05:00

WordSift:

Since I have created Wordles before, I decided to try WordSift. Just as a sample text, I used Don Mclean's "Starry Starry Night". I like how it pulls up images that go with the words, and my students would get immediate reference to the painting. I also love the visual thesaurus that appears, making it very easy for students to understand words that they might not know.

VoiceThread:

The technology teacher at my school mentioned VoiceThread to me last year as something I might want to use in my classroom, but I had not had the time to look at it. I think this would be a great tool for my students to evaluate and comment on artwork - either by famous artists or by each other. We already publish art to share with parents and family through Artsonia, but this could be a tool for the students to use in voicing their opinions about art.

Voki:

I found the Voki very fun to play with. I had just been thinking that I could use an animated version of myself on the Activboard to engage students at the beginning of class. I also think students would have a fun time using a Voki to create a persona who could share information or a brief report on an artist. I love that my Voki can have my own voice, too.

Bookr:
I had a good time creating my book on Bookr. In the past I have had students create trading cards and other mash-ups, but I like Bookr because each student would be able to create a document illustrating major terms and ideas. Although, i did find it a bit hard to use because I could not easily navigate between the pages or between the full-page / center page layout when creating the book.

11.5 Things - Thing #1

2010-07-23T11:27:00.004-05:00

The Networked Student:

I found this video very inspiring. Both in the fact that students could create a video like this one and that students can utilize technology to assess, evaluate and share information. In the 21st century world, the role of the teacher becomes more a facilitator of processing knowledge than the old-school lecturer and information controller. The same can be said about the librarian. Rather than the image of a dusty bookwork stuck in the stacks, the librarian assumes the role of information and technology guide, steering students to resources that go around the world. With so much information available, students need to know how to evaluate it and share their own interpretation and ideas. And the best part for me, as an art teacher, is that technology also opens up the opportunity for students to share their information in ways that go beyond pencil and paper.

THING #23

2009-08-10T15:12:00.003-05:00

What I learned this summer:

I was excited to start the 23 Things journey at the beginning of the summer. Many of the "things" were web 2.0 activities I had heard of but never tried my hand at. I found some that I loved, some that I dreaded, but all seem very useful both in the classroom in in my personal life. Being an art specialist, I tended to enjoy the creative project more than others, but I also found some useful "things" to assist with researching art and connecting with other art educators. My favorite creative project was definitely Photostory. As I "directed" my own video, I thought about the combinations of transitions, music, text, and image--utilizing multiple learning styles and both sides of my brain. Tools for organization are always important, and as an avid reader, am excited to use the LibraryThing for personal and classroom books. The potential for narrowing searches (Rollyo) and bookmarking websites (Delicious) will make researching easier and more efficient. I look forward to starting out the new school year with a new wealth of tech knowledge.

THING #22

2009-08-10T15:03:00.004-05:00

Nings:

I can see the benefits of nings in bringing together people with similar interests from a broad geographical region. Much like facebook, people can find each other, keep in touch and share ideas. For educational purposes I can see participating in a ning for art educators to share curriculum, lesson plans, and ideas. I can see how older students might use a ning to keep up with a class, share information, and keep track of assignments and topics.

THING #21

2009-08-10T14:51:00.005-05:00

Podcasts & Videocasts:

I enjoyed making my Photostory of my summer in Ireland. Previously I would have just used a slideshow format, but using Photostory adds more control and dynamics to the final product. I plan to show it to my students on the first day of school as a introduction of me.

THING #20

2009-08-10T13:16:00.003-05:00

YouTube and TeacherTube:

I found this great video on TeacherTube demonstrating weaving techniques. Weaving can be one of the most difficult arts to teach in the classroom because the movements and details are so finite that you often end up teaching it one-on-one to students. Also, since a completed weaving takes time, students do not get a full picture of what the weaving will look like. The video speeds up the process. Not only does the video show how-to weave, buy it also demonstrates mistakes to avoid.

THING #19

2009-08-10T12:44:00.004-05:00

Web 2.0:

Well, I did not realize how many web 2.0 tools I do use almost everyday--google maps, citysearch, pandora . . . the list goes on. I decided to take a look at The One Million Masterpiece. While I have not created a square yet, I plan to do so. I love the idea of a wolrd wide collaborative art projects presenting an image of society, especially with the idea that it will re-connect people to creating art. I big part of teaching art, especially in elementary school, is really teaching creativity, not perfect skills. Everyone has creativity.

THING #18

2009-08-10T12:27:00.002-05:00

Online Productivity (Google Docs):

While I have shared Google docs before, I still tend to create most documents in MS office on my computer. I do like the sharing capabilities in Google docs, and the ease of editing with multiple contributors all at once if needed. And of course there is always the problem of creating something on one computer and forgetting to send it through email or bring the flashdrive along. So why do I still use Office? I think some of it is just habit. I am used to opening Word to create a text document or Powerpoint to create a presentation. I will have to play with Google docs more to see if I am fully committed to them, but for documents that need to be sent to multiple people, I really like the online documents.

THING #17

2009-08-10T12:14:00.002-05:00

Rollyo:

I did not know that you could create your own search engine based on your own sources. This is a wonderful tool, but you have to already know sources for the information you want. If it is a new topic, I think a broad search is still the first place. That said, I can see great implementation in the classroom when you do want to limit a student's search--making sure they have reliable information. I think it can be a fine line between limiting the search to ensure reliable information, and allowign a broad search to provide the opportunity for discovery, and how to determine reliable sources.

I created a search for american artists, which I plan to use for research in my classroom next year.

THING #16

2009-08-10T11:43:00.003-05:00

Wikis:

I think wikis are a great tool, especially for collaborative projects. However, they can also be disorganized, and since they are easily changed by anyone, they can quickly get out of control--in content or format. I will have to think about ways I could use a wiki in my classroom. While I can think of applications, being in an elementary art classroom, my students are more often doing hands on activities than working on computers.

THING #15

2009-08-09T12:41:00.004-05:00

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0:

I love books. I love reading. I love the library . . . well at least the "idea" of the library--a quiet, knowledge and book filled space, with archives, shelves, old and new, little lamps for reading late. But this library image does not correspond with my life today. I hate to admit it, but I rarely step into a library. I search library catalogs online and run in to get the print books I need. I browse Amazon and other online bookstores. I gather journal articles as PDFs and sift through them on screen. And I do all of it at anytime - 1 am or 3 pm - from my couch and laptop. At the same time, I would hate to lose the library--the actuality and the idea. I do still love flipping through actual printed pages of books, seeing the notes others have added in the margins. Conversing with a reference librarian in person, sharing my research interest. I found the articles on the future of libraries very interesting, and I especially liked the perspective of Dr. Wendy Shultz: a library moving through stages--only to come back around to a time when the luxury of the library in real space

(while incorporating all the technology and upgrades of previous times) would once again be desired and treasured.

I found this video and explanation of current students in the classroom today very revealing and interesting. As for the future of education, I have a friend teaching in Florida who has done reading and research on the education "system," and its effectiveness today and in the future. It is true that the current system was established during the industrial revolution--an education industry churning out products for the national workforce. So what does future education look like? I do not believe that technology is the savior. Technology is a tool that has to be used effectively and purposefully by people (teachers, students, librarians, administrators). As the video points out, technology has made it easier to multi-task, but it has also provided us with more tasks (and distractions).

THING #14

2009-08-09T12:19:00.003-05:00

Technorati:

I found the site crowded with information in different places and somewhat difficult to use. In performing the search for "School Library Learning 2.0", it was unclear at first what kind of search the search box was going to conduct. An exact keyword search did not pull up any results, but a tag search pulled up a variety of Library Learning tagged posts. It seems that the tag search provides the information I would be looking for more efficiently and effectively. At the same time, I wonder if you lose some of the serendipitous finds that other searching can provide. Sometimes I find new and interesting things when I don't find exactly what I thought I was looking for. Other times I get frustrated by searches that cannot seem to find what I need.

I was not surprised at the popular blogs and tags--technology, news, gossip.

THING #13

2009-08-09T11:48:00.003-05:00

Delicious Tagging:

I had recently been introduced to the benefits of tagging in using flickr, so I am so excited to see a way to use my own tags for websites. It seems to be a similar method as a regular search, except with the added benefit that you can use your own terms to label websites, not just those provided. I found that on Delicious, I could quickly find art education related info including museums, websites, lessons, and technology. I know when I start adding and choosing my own sites, the results will be even better. As it is, I have things book marked on my home computer and on the school computer and they do not always match. It will also be useful in quickly pulling up information for use in the classroom. I can pre-search for relevant sites, tag them, and then let students search through examples of sculptures, paintings, or whatever else we are using for inspiration.

THING #12

2009-08-09T10:48:00.002-05:00

Commenting Community:

I admit that I am a "lurker". Even in the "real" world, I tend to sit back and listen to others comments, piecing things together, taking it all in, before verbalizing my comment. But I do love sharing information, passions, opinions, ideas--it is what drives me as both a teacher and a life long learner.

I agree with Cool Cat's point about meaningful comments. Your comment does not have to be earth shattering, but it should add to the discussion. And as for using real name vs. alias when commenting, I think for now I will stick with the alias. As a commenter points out on Blogging 101, an alias can become just as recognized and personal as a real name while protecting privacy in the real world (even if it is only an illusion of privacy as some might argue).

THING #11

2009-08-09T10:06:00.002-05:00

LibraryThing:

Since I already have a shelf on Shelfari, I started this "Thing" thinking it would be mostly a duplicate. While I like the display on Shelfari (being a visual person I like the virtual bookshelf), LibraryThing seems to have many extras that will be wonderful. The easy access to information about authors, bookstores, libraries, festivals, readings, etc. go beyond just the book sharing.

I added five books to LibraryThing, but I have many more on Shelfari. The FAQs indicated you could take the info from Shelfari and put it into LibraryThing, but I could not figure out how to do it. When I get some more time, I will go back and try to move things over to LibraryThing. I have spent a lot of time entering and searching books on Shelfari, so it would be wonderful if I could move the information over. If the point of all these virtual and online gadgets is to make out lives easier, simpler, then I definitely do not need my books spread across two different sites.

THING #10

2009-07-30T00:22:00.005-05:00

ONLINE IMAGE GENERATOR:

I enjoyed playing with the different image generators. I can see how they would be a tech savvy creative addition to the classroom. They pull on both sides of the brain--verbal and visual. I can see using them as bonus tasks to teach a bit of art history. I can have students create a poster or comic about an artist. They could research an artist, key works, and style and create a Wordle or Word Mosaic. They could create an interesting collage with the Sketchpad. Here are some of my samples:

Sketchpad

Word Mosaic

THING #9

2009-07-29T23:22:00.002-05:00

USEFUL BLOGS & NEWS FEEDS:

In my search for art education related blogs, I visited each search site listed. I found the Edublog award winners list the easiest to work with because I knew they were all education related. The problem I found with the other blog search sites was that the search picked out specific words in specific posts, and the topic of the whole blog may or may not have been about art or art education. I did find a couple that seem interesting, including Design4Learning.

THING #8

2009-07-29T22:30:00.004-05:00

RSS READER:

Wow! There is so much information out there. And with new information being created and published all the time, it is so easy to get overloaded. I like that the RSS feeds send the information to me, but at the same time, if I open my reader and have 50-100 unread feeds, I am going to feel overwhelmed--I feel that way half the time I open my email box.

I can see the benefits for keeping up with new trends and conversations regarding education and other personal interests. The RSS reader does make it easier to keep track of things. But many of the websites I visit are static sites that do not have feeds. Does anyone know of some art education related feeds?

THING #7

2009-07-29T21:04:00.003-05:00

GOOGLE TOOL:

Google has some great gadgets to play with. My sisters and I have created Christmas lists in Google docs so they could be shared and added to as we thought of things and/or purchased things for each other. I have a Google calendar, and I like that it can be accessed online everywhere. Since I had not created an iGoogle home page, I did so for this activity. I think I will enjoy have access to my new emails as well as quotes, art, and news, all in one place.

As for educational uses, searching for quick info is of course the top use for Google. I can see how Google calendar could be used on a teacher's website to remind students and parents about homework, projects, or special events. Students creating their own home page would be able to keep up with research topics and current events.

Interestingly, today is the day that Microsoft and Yahoo signed their deal for search engines, trying to take a piece of the Google search market. While I use many Google tools, I feel many of them can be found in different forms and formats in other places as well. Yahoo has flickr and Google has Picasa. While the two applications have differences, would you use both or choose the one you like the best, and stick with it? It seems we will all end up with "identities" on multiple hosting sites--Yahoo, Google, facebook, etc.--most of which overlap and link with each other.

THING #6

2009-07-29T19:58:00.008-05:00

MASHUPS:

I used the trading card creator in my classroom last year, so I decided to check out some of the other options. As an art teacher, I hesitate to use some of these mashups and apps in the classroom because they do the design work for the students rather than making the students learn how to do it. That said, I do like the Hockneyizer and the Warholizer because they would let the students become the artists. Also, I can see having the students make galleries and slide shows, but all of this is secondary to creating the actual artwork. Does anyone know of free accessible apps that will assist students in creating artwork?

THING #5

2009-07-29T18:22:00.005-05:00

FLICKR:

I used flickr creative commons in my classroom last year so kids could search for photos representing the art elements. And soon I will uploading a ton (literally about 2,000) of photos from a recent trip to my own flickr photostream. I love that you can tag photos, making it much easier to search and flip through a collection of images.

I decided that an image of Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre might be a valuable image in my classroom. I try to explain to students the size of paintings and where they can be found. This photo does a great job of illustrating both.

THING #3

2009-07-29T17:41:00.005-05:00

BLOGGING:

Though I have looked at many blogs, I have never commented on one or set up my own. I have worked on web sites and layouts before, so I had fun designing my own blog. I found the process user-friendly and quite easy to follow. The hardest part has been choosing a template, colors, and fonts. Creating the avatar and exporting it to the blog seems like a good way to give the blog personality without posting an actual photo. (I know some people are concerned about security in online media.)

THING #2

2009-07-29T16:32:00.002-05:00

LIFE LONG LEARNING:

I know I am a life long learner. Ask any one of my friends or family, and they will tell you I always have some new "thing" I want to learn, study, read, etc. I definitely take responsibility for my own learning (habit #2). I love taking classes, finding new experiences, and checking out new authors or paintings. I would say the hardest habit for me is often the "play" part (habit 7.5). I can fall in the trap of taking things too seriously or getting too engrossed in something that I don't take the time to play as much as I should. However, learning is "play" for me.