Audioboo

My district permits the use of edublog, so I have spent the past several hours exploring on the edublog site. Unfortunately, I don't find it near as easy to use as I do Blogger.  I do want to begin blogging next semester with an after school group serving as my student guinea pigs. While exploring various class blogs which make use of edublog I happened across http://audioboo.fm/.  The site allows you to record from a smartphone, or on site and then upload that recording to post wherever you want.  It's a free sign-up and my mind boggles with fun applications...



Completed Tile Project!

Had a difficult time getting a good picture, was out of focus if I did not use flash,

too much reflection if I did.  Opted for reflection, obviously.

Final Studio Project Progress

Hard at Work, Mounting Tiles

Plan of Attack - Frame and Grout Tomorrow

Final Project - A Kindergarten Lesson Plan on Respect

Open publication - Free publishing - More respect

Chapter Twelve

Learning to Understand the Artist’s Worlds

Navigating Field and Domain

This Chapter of the Hetland text explores the steps taken by fine arts teacher as they help their students make a connection between their own art and domain, the art of professional artists. Students gain an understanding that the problems they encounter are similar to problems encountered by artists throughout history. They see how they can learn and gain inspiration from other artists. In the studio classes examined during this chapter the instructors infuse their lessons with opportunities for connecting to historical works of art. We also get a picture of the ways students make the important connection to the Art Community or field – museum curators, gallery owners, other artists and teachers. Working in communities affords students the opportunity to learn the value of collaboration and enables them to see the connection between the art they make and the outside world.

My Personal Studio Habits

I find that I am always ‘scratching’ for inspiration, examining whole works or bits and pieces of the work of others.  Although I did not realize it, I guess part of this process is an exploration of how the artists solved problems.  When I was struggling with the relief images on my clay piece I looked at my collection of Mexican angels mask and images of relief tiles….I needed to explore my options both as far as construction and expression.  The angel tile was inspired by a compilation of many images, the jawline borrowed from one and the hair fashioned, but not copied, after another.  As far as community goes, my world would be a cold and lonely place if not for the companionship of my art community friends! Who, but a like-minded individual, could understand us better than a fellow artist? Throughout the process of creating my clay piece I regularly consulted a fellow artist friend who has greater experience with the tile making process. Though it has been a long time since I have shown any work, perhaps I will put this piece in the MAEA Spring Conference member show.

The Art Making of My Students

In reading this book I continually compared what I do with my students to the instructors in the text and what they do. It has been an interesting process to see just how I measure up. In some cases, it has been challenging to draw a correlation between what is presented to older students in  a fine arts academy setting and my elementary ( non-fine arts academy!) setting.  In this case, I think I do a fairly good job with my students as far as domain.  My art textbook series is rich with images which we reference on a regular basis.  My students enjoy making those connections between historical works of art and the work that they are producing.  My third grade students put their own twist on ‘American Gothic’ earlier this year.  The results were delightful. 

When it comes to ‘Community’, I haven’t fared as well….though I can see where I can possibly begin to give my students some experience in that direction.  I am limited to a small number of art works I can display at our district art show. In the past I have always prepared the work for display. Now, I think I’ll get the students involved in the process.  The same goes for displays within my school, instead of work magically appearing in the halls or on the bulletin boards, pretty much the extent of 'public' for my students; I can see a value to having them assist, working collaboratively to decided placement and other display dimensions.

Chapter Ten

Learning to Reflect – Thinking Metacognitively

Wikipedia offers the following as a definition: Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact.—J. H. Flavell (1976, p. 232).

In this chapter of the Hetland text we examine the reflective process of a strong visual arts class.  I created this Popplet, (what a fantastic tool for visual learners!!!) because I needed to see the process described.

Reflection and My Personal Studio Habits

At our Creativity Forum I shared from Roger von Oech’s book, A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, the four roles one must assume to achieve high creative performance: Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior.  The Judge role is the one which evaluates the creative process.  As I shared in my review of this book, oftentimes I am critical of my own work to the point that I prevent myself from ever really starting anything! As I was creating my clay piece for class (I think I already blogged this) I found myself engaged in a running monologue for my own benefit.  Just as I needed to see Hetland’s description of the reflection process, it seems that I also needed to hear myself self-monitor.  Somehow, it just worked for me.  Beth Balliro, one of the teachers inter viewed shared that she requires her students to journal their art making process.  I believe this is something I want to put into practice, both for myself and for my students.

Reflection and the Art Making of My Students

Balliro says that to help her students develop the habit of ‘Question and Explain’; she circles from student to student asking open ended questions about their work.  I too, find this to be a helpful technique.  An added benefit of circling the room is that of making that personal connection to my students. It also provides an excellent opportunity to redirect someone who is causing problems, or who did not understand the directions.  I occasionally have my students do written reflections on their work, I do see the benefit in this, and, as I’ve mentioned, I think it’s time to implement classroom journaling.  If I can make it a regular part of art making starting when students are in kindergarten, the process should become second nature.  In trying to make more frequent use of technology, I have recently been experimenting with having students do a videotaped reflection.

As far as critique, my students share their work by coming to the front of the room.  They are allowed to call on two other students.  The students called on are encouraged to ask a question beginning with either “I notice….” or “I wonder…”. Balliro says that she has her students pick out lesson vocabulary words that they see evident in the art work, I think that’s an excellent suggestion.

Week 15

Expression – Finding Personal Visions

Chapter Eight of the Hetland text presents that in learning to express, one makes “works that exemplify properties that are not literally present, such as moods, sounds, and atmosphere… and also convey properties such as emotions, a sense of movement, or personal meaning.” (p 53) Jim Woodside, one of the teachers interviewed, challenges his students to make meaningful connections between their art and their life, their life to the world, and their place in the world. Another teacher interviewed, Beth Ballirio, shared her belief that part of being an artist is “figuring out how to get yourself heard.” (p 57) As a teacher she tries to get her students to go beyond technique, to a place where they can visualize the message they are conveying to a viewer.

My Studio Habits

As far as my own studio habits are concerned….sometimes I think I get so focused on the aspects of manipulating the media, of trying to achieve ‘perfection’ that I stifle my voice.  One of the things I have enjoyed the most about studying the studio thought process is that I have gained a deeper understanding of myself in regard to studio thought.  Oh, in the past I’ve had little glimmers here and there as to my personal preferences, but this book has made me focus deeply on the way I work and has dared me to expand my way of thought, and to hopefully become a better artist ( and teacher as a result). So, I think it’s fair for me to say that Jim and Beth have inspired me to delve a little deeper into that meaningful connection part of my art.

The Art Making of my Students

Working with grades K-6 I encounter a vast range of connectivity in relationship to art making.   I think, perhaps, that my youngest students, the kinders and first graders are probably more naturally expressive in their art than the older students.  These little ones become so deeply engrossed in the process of art making, freed from the fear of failure and unconcerned about what others think, they truly have the ability to put their all into their work. They delight in sharing their expression as well. One of my favorite kindergarteners, explaining her painting to me this week, “This is me on the slide, and this is you, when you were a little girl, and we are playing together on the playground.” To me her work is a profound expression of personal vision.

None of the Methods courses I took towards teacher certification, a hundred million years ago, really prepared me for teaching my students to express. I think I need to work on challenging my older students to consider ‘evocative’ meaning in their work.

Internet Safety

Was searching YouTube for a internet safety video for my younger students. I think my third through sixth graders can appreciate this one.

A Conversation With Digital Natives

A powerful message to us all!

Times they are a-changin'!

Today the Director of Instructional Media and Technology in my district announced the formation of a committee to explore possible changes to the electronic devices policy. My fingers were a blur on the keyboard as I volunteered to participate. The Artistic Thinking Course has armed me with the weapons needed to fight a good fight.

Feel free to send any additional tidbits of wisdom my way!

It's All Over but the Drying...

Okay, there's slightly more than that, but I'm getting close.

Press Mold Success!!!

These will be the corner tiles for my clay piece.  I love the way they have turned out! Now to mold a few more extras and pray that they dry, without warping, in time to get them fired and the piece assembled.

Week 13 Studio Thinking – Stretch and Explore

PLAY!!! Finally a topic I feel very comfortable addressing!  I can say with great confidence, I excel at play. My friends and colleagues could share many tales of the times I’ve coerced them into some delightful nonsense.  Sometimes they’ve participated only after much kicking, screaming, and gnashing of teeth, but, in the end, they almost always say, “Wow, thanks, that was fun.”  I’ve long recognized that this was a character trait that few people, outside of the creative realm share, but I’ve never before taken the opportunity to actually study why. (Let alone know the definition of “neoteny” Can you say BONUS point for the cool new word?!) 

Though my teaching certification is K-12, and though at one time I explored the possibility of moving up to high school from elementary (you can keep your middle schoolers, thank-you very much), and though you should probably never-say-never, I find it near impossible to think of my life without my little ones.  I love the way they share exactly what’s on their mind.  I love that they dive into a process never once considering the possibility of failure.  I love the way that they become so engrossed in an activity that occasionally, despite many warnings that art class is almost over, I have to actually pry a crayon or marker from a hot little kindergarten hand.  I enjoy my older elementary students as well, but by the time they reach fourth or fifth grade it is plain to see that their concerns over peer perceptions override their desire to explore the processes of creating art.

How then, can I foster play experiences in the art room?  At the start of the second semester I believe I will experiment beginning each class I teach with a quick ‘play’ experience.  Perhaps we’ll do some 30 second portrait drawings, perhaps explore, as suggested in Tim Brown’s video, the 30 Circles test, where students would have a minute to change 30 circles onto something. On other days maybe we could spend five minutes sculpting with playdough…there are a lot of possibilities.  I think a regular engagement in this type of activity would make students less concerned with failure, less concerned with what others think. Maybe we could learn to laugh at one another in a safe environment.

Hetland presents that we teach students the process of stretching and exploring beyond the familiar, versus telling them exactly what to do, that we encourage them to explore, and to take risk, and provide opportunities for them to make discoveries. I think I do a fairly good job at this process, but am sure there’s room for improvement. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, again, I must say, I NEED to SLOW DOWN.  I think I need to adjust my mind set and, Lord forbid the higher-ups stumble upon my blog, focus on providing lengthier, more meaningful art experiences for my students, instead of rushing to make it through the curriculum and the gle’s.

Several years ago the inner district delivery man pulled up to the back of my school in a brand-spanking new district owned delivery truck.  He proceeded to leave it idling at the back door while he went to make his daily delivery to the office.  The principal and I glanced out, admiring the shiny new vehicle. Overcome by a sudden desire to ‘play’ I somehow managed to convince my boss that we should take a little joyride around the block, with her at the wheel of course.  Sadly enough, the delivery man failed to see much humor in our little prank, but the laughter that the principal and I shared more than made up for it! Play, isn’t that what makes life worth living?

Week 13 Assignment to Self

Use Clay to Play with Surface Design

Explore possible surface decorations for angel wings through a series of rapidly executed experiments –

Roll five slabs, mark four with a grid

Preassemble tools: small ribbon tools, premade clay stamps, rubber stamps, miscellaneous found object tools (pencil, emery board, marker lids…),Timer

Slabs 1-4 Use five minutes and one set of tools per grid marked slab to create as many textures as possible.

Slab 5 Use five minutes and any / all combinations of tools on plain to create as many textures as possible.

 An added benefit to this assignment, while digging through my clay tools, I discovered a small cylinder seal I had made and forgotten about!

I couldn't wait to get started on this assignment. I felt like it would be the perfect opportunity to explore designs for my angel wings.  Traditionally, the wings are painted with two or three simple line patterns.  I was having difficulty translating that look onto clay, and hadn’t been satisfied with anything I’d came up with.  So, I gave myself the assignment posted above, assured myself that I would not be bound to actually use the designs, and began to play.  As I carved and pressed with reckless abandon I enjoyed the freedom to not worry about originality and craftsmanship.  While exploring I found myself thinking of what to try next….how I might repeat something, add something, and omit something.  I discovered new techniques for using my ribbon tools. (I never knew that the round loop tool could work like a melon baller, carving out a near perfect sphere when used on leather-hard clay!)
I particularly enjoy the texture achieved when pressing a screw head into the clay and in the end decided to use it for part of the wing design.

How could I see this experience translating into my classroom practice? As I have mentioned before, in my elementary classroom there is so much curriculum to cover that I feel like I am driven to move quickly from project to project.  I provide far too few opportunities for my students to ‘play’ with a medium prior to the start of a project.  I think that by building some play time into my lessons it would provide valuable chances for them to explore freely, to enjoy that random ‘what-if’ thought process, and then, determine if they wanted to implement those new ideas in their work.

Week 12: Creativity,-Tools, Theories, & Techniques

Week 12: Creativity,-Tools, Theories, & Techniques

Excerpt from Twyla Tharp - First of all, let me say that I loved reading Tharp’s theories on envisioning. I could identify with her notions so much that I kept thinking, “Who are you, crazy dancer lady, and how do you know my mind so well?!” 

 Tharp likens scratching to the act of scraping a lottery ticket. When I think of scratching, I am reminded instead, of chickens persistently clawing and pecking their way through life in search of the next tasty tidbit. Either way, I agree with Tharp, ideas come from the art of doing something physical in your craft.  You may not know what direction you are headed, but ideas will come simply through the act of engaging in the process.  Tharp says that scratching is a wildly unruly process, but offers rules to make it a bit more manageable. (p 105)  While I hesitate to say that I am a person who likes rules, without a doubt, I am a person who follows rules. Thank-you Ms. Tharp!

Tharp’s Rules for Scratching:

Be in Shape - When I began this course I was definitely out of shape in regard to the process of engagement.  I would generate wonderful ideas, but was extremely undisciplined when it came to actually doing anything with those ideas. Consequently, it did take me a good while to feel comfortable working on projects again. I’m challenging myself to maintain a new level of creative fitness!

Scratch in the Best Places – This one was a bit tricky for me, Tharp says to scratch among the Masters for your inspiration, surround yourself with the best…and I couldn’t help but think, “Isn’t it a matter of personal preference? Isn’t one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?”  When I thought of it in terms of craftsmanship and attention to detail though, this rule did make sense.  Now, if I could just impress the idea upon my students!

 Never Scratch in the Same Place Twice – What a great suggestion for keeping ideas fresh.  I tend to be a creature of habit, but how can I argue with the idea that scratching in the same place will give you the same old ideas?

Maintain the White Hot Pitch - This rule is my favorite! I love the exhilarating description of unleashing an idea and running with it, of allowing it to have the potential of being awful, of not seeing an end product, but just allowing the energy to rush forth and go.

Tharp’s book is on my shopping list, I can’t wait to read everything she has to say about the creative process.

Studio Thinking –

When I first started reading the assignments from this book I couldn’t help but think that it was geared more toward middle and high school teachers, however, the more I read this week, the more I realized that all art teachers face the same challenges when it comes to envisioning, engagement, and persistence.  If I can present deeply engaging projects, if I can encourage the habits of engagement and persistence at the elementary level then surely it would be habits which would carry over into every aspect of a student’s life.

Kosslyn 4

There are many days when, especially with my kindergarteners and first graders, I know they generate ideas, it’s just the matter of getting them to f-o-c-u-s and remain at their table long enough to demonstrate the retention of that idea!

I think that having students use mind mapping as a way of working through this process could be a highly effective method of teaching the envisioning process. I used Popplet to create an example…

Scratching

A Collection of Scratchings

I have a fairly clear vision of how I want most of my tiles to look, but I am not really sure about the center tile and the corners.  I think I want to go with a very simple flower (and maybe vine?) design, but am still exploring.  I began observing flower designs all around and decided to collect these “morsels” for inspiration. From the top left you see an illustration from a Tomie de Paola book that I snatched from a student’s hand as they prepared to return it to the library, a rubber stamp I bought but never used, cat treats….strange place to find a 'flower', fabric from a Pottery Barn table runner, and the background it a Tree of Life image I had been saving for a while. Yummy stuff !!!

I did a little sketching after studying my collected images.  This might be a little too busy for the space I have, but I think I’ll hang onto it for future work.

Studio Assignment

I rolled 25 pounds worth of slabs thinking it would be enough to cut the total amount of tiles needed, but unfortunately, it was not quite enough. So, I had to mist these with water and seal them up, hopefully they're still at a workable stage.

I was really anxious to get started on the design, so, while waiting for the new slabs to dry enough to cut, (persistence!) I drew the angel face and transferred it to Mylar for the purpose of transferring the outline to the largest tile.

As I engaged in the process of carving out the rays I decided that I would save the pressed tile design, maybe for the corners.  I envisioned the clay sticking in the rays or other small areas if I went with my original plan.   Instead, I have decided to go with additive relief sculpting for the main tiles. 

  I have been exploring various options for the eyes, these are some images I found on-line, thought I would experiment with this treatment using scrap clay, just to see what I think.  That's where I am right now.

Thus far, I haven't hit any big snags, there have been no difficult problems to work through. I'm happy with the way things are going.  I only wish there were more hours in the day.

Engage and Persist

Motivating and Instilling Passion – In order for me to be motivated and passionate about a piece of work I need an interest, a connection to what I am doing.  About a year and a half ago my husband, being the generous man that he is, offered my painting services to an acquaintance of his.  He presented me with a large circular saw blade and a photo of the man’s hunting cabin and excitedly told me that the poor man had been looking for forever to get someone to paint the hunting cabin scene onto the saw blade.  Augh, inwardly I cringed, never having been a big fan of the painted saw blade.  I tried to explain to my spouse that it just wasn’t my particular expertise, but eventually I gave in and agreed to do what I could.  That saw blade remains in my garage, untouched, I have NO passion, no desire to ever begin that piece.

So, what do I do to keep from presenting my own students with ‘saw blades’? Hetland suggests presenting assignments that are ‘deeply engaging’. I try to make topics relevant and meaningful. So far this year, we have explored identity, celebrations and place.  We engage in much conversation and brainstorming prior to the start of a project.

Cultivating Sustained Attention – As a rule, once I get started on a piece, I have no problem sustaining attention.  I experience greater difficulty disengaging from my work, I am driven to complete as much as I can in whatever time I have available. I don’t know that this is the best way to work, the results aren’t always wonderful, but it seems to be the way I am wired.

As far as my students go, I travel table to table, admonishing students to stay on task. I remind them of how much time remains on a project. Occasionally I will take away the privilege to talk and ask students to focus all of their attention on their work.

Combating Frustration – When I experience frustration I generally take a break from what I am doing.  I like to walk completely away. I review rough drafts and make new sketches.

With my students I don’t have the luxury of allowing them the opportunity to take much of a break as far as walking away. I encourage them to experiment with ideas in draft form.  I empathize with them, telling them I KNOW that the work is hard.  I let them know that some things we do are difficult for me too.

Working Hard to Meet a Deadline – Having selected clay tiles for my studio piece, I am very well aware of deadlines! I have constructed a rough timeline for my project.  Clay tiles need to dry slowly so they do not warp; carving works best on leather-hard clay.  I had to really think through the entire process of what needed to be done, by when.

In the classroom I try to give my students an idea of how long we will work on a project and offer suggestions on how they need to budget their time.  I tell them what point I expect them to be at the end of a class period.  I tell them not to rush their work, and remind them to do their best. I provide opportunities for them to come in before or after school, or during their recess time.

Developing the Ability to Delay Gratification – For me, and this sounds silly to put into writing, I give myself little pep-talks.  I have kind of a running monologue, sometimes out loud, sometimes to myself, describing what I see and how I think it looks and what I need to do in order to complete the piece. I tell myself to “Just keep going” or “Leave that the way it is for now and move on to the next part”. This is probably one of the reasons I like to work alone!

For my little ‘Instant Gratification is my middle name’ students I do pretty much the same.  If we are working on a piece that takes multiple time periods I tell them not to focus on the end piece, but to do the best that they can on it every time they work. 

Electric December

My favorite Electric December video so far.

I want the Nokia N8!

Nokia 'Dot' from Sumo Science on Vimeo.

There's no denying that the brain of the artist functions just a bit differently....(Thank God!)

My district just unblocked staffs use of youtube, think I ought to share this with my kiddos?

Insights Gleaned While Developing Craft

First of all, let me say that is has been ages, more years than the majority of my you, my classmates, have even been alive, since I have a had a project assigned as part of a class. I’ve just fired off a facebook message to one of my oldest and dearest friends, my painting partner from college asking if he could come work alongside me as I execute my proposed piece.  It’s been that long since I’ve had an “official assignment.”

Secondly, I must say that to begin planning for this piece is an exhilarating feeling!  Having complete control over what I want to do and how I want to do it is empowering. As I sketched away on my plans I had to bear in mind that I would need to tweak this and that to prevent the clay from sticking in the molds.  My brain was racing as I proposed and rejected different arrangements for the tiles.  I had to keep ignoring ‘el pequeño diabilito’, the little naysayer perched on my shoulder who kept whispering, “It will never work, you’ve bitten off too much! You don’t know enough about this process, you’ll be a failure!!!” (Fortunately, I’m pretty good at ignoring the pathetic voice of impending doom!)  I’m not certain that the final piece will adhere to these preliminary plans, but I’m excited to just be this far.

How would this insight relate to my classroom practice of helping students develop craft?  I feel that everything in the elementary art room is boom, boom, and boom, “We’ve got to get this done.” Seems like it is always time to move on to the next thing in order to cover the curriculum, and now, these past two years, to administer common assessments.  (In the best interest of staying on task, I won’t digress, but I could write volumes highlighting my belief of common assessments in fine arts!)  More than anything else, this exercise makes me think that I need to find a way to slow things down a bit, and allow more time for planning, especially with my older grades.  My third grade class is in the middle of a project for which I required the use of a fairly complete rough-draft. They did not complain much about doing two drawings, and the quality of their work has improved. 

Rough Planning Sketches

Here are a couple of rough sketches I've made planning for my pressed tile piece...

AT Class - woices.com

Take a look at Woices !!!
AT Class - woices.com

Project Proposal

What to do, what to do?  The question has been churning in my brain since the beginning of this class.  I have a multitude of ideas I’d like to try, and techniques I’d like to explore.    The problem, and yes, I DO over-think every little thing, ( Damn the curse of being the first born!)  is proposing a project which will challenge me, yet not so much that I stress-out like crazy.

SO-O-O-O, given my love of Mexican folk-art and a desire to get my hands really dirty, I have decided that I will create a Mexican folk-art inspired piece using press-molded clay tiles. I experimented with this technique once a couple of years ago,  but wasn’t really satisfied with the results.  I DO like look of a well-executed press-tile.  I haven’t considered size nor number of tiles yet…..lots of ‘ifs’ at this point. Guess a lot depends on how long it will take me to perfect the craft of mold making. Am leaning towards a red clay and maybe will experiment with an iron oxide wash.

Read and React – Week 10

Week 10s reading of Rewired, tells us that students today do not choose to multi-task, it is something that they must do. The technologically rich environment in which they have been raised has likely encouraged this behavior.  Research tells us that work completed while multitasking is slower and contains a greater degree of errors than unitask executed work.  Although psychological researchers are not in agreement over the reasons the brain fails to do flawless multitasking, there is a consensus that the brain has … ‘a limited mental resource that cannot be shared across all tasks.’ (p. 79)  Reading further, educators are challenged to provide learning activities which takes advantage of our students’ abilities to multitask, bearing in mind the brains ability to do so.  To engage students we are encouraged to investigate methods of providing appropriate opportunities for multitasking. In the book Studio Thinking, we embark on our study of ‘Studio Habits of Mind: What the Arts Teach’, examining first the development of craft, and then the development of observation.

Over time, it has been my experience that each successive school year seems to bring students who require more ‘bells and whistles’ to become engaged in the learning process.  Luckily, in the art room, we are capable of introducing new media and techniques all of the time, so I am not certain this affects us as much as it does the classroom teacher. As I consider the art room and opportunities for multitasking, am I correct to think that we expect our students to multi-task in simple ways every time they are in our rooms?  “Do ______ on your project, while you wait for your turn to ______.” Is it multitasking to create one part, while bearing in mind that there are additional parts, and all must, in the end go together?   I do know that most of my students are able to converse with their table-mates without it interfering with their work, a few require redirection to remain on-task, and some prefer to work quietly.  I always allow quiet conversation, only taking away the privilege to talk when the noise level interferes with the ability to work, or my own ability to think! As I have been attempting to incorporate greater use of technology into my lessons there have been many occasions, when encountering a technical problem, where I have asked my students to ‘pause’ working on a project and move to a new one.  It makes me wonder, is it their ability to multi-task that permits them to readily move to something new?

(A personal side note – Rosen’s information on the development of the frontal lobe was of particular interest to me.  Twenty-some years ago my husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  His disease has not followed a traditional course, unlike many others afflicted with MS, he leads a fairly full and active lifestyle. His main disability stems from demyelination in the frontal lobe.  So, while Rosen tells us that one of the processes of increased communication efficiency is myelination and the role this serves in the development of the frontal lobe, I have firsthand observation in the reverse of this process.  Without a doubt, my husband has lost a great deal of his ability to multitask, it is, in fact, his greatest source of frustration.)

When it comes to the development of craft, I think the elementary art teacher spends a great deal of time stressing the very basics in regard to the use and care of supplies and tools. It’s not very fun to paint with a set of dirty paints, nor end up with a big hole in your paper because you scrubbed your brush too much in one spot. I try to introduce opportunities which allow for experimentation. I am not so much focused on a project, as I am the process.

‘Students in the art studio are taught to look more closely than people ordinarily do.’ (Studio Thinking p. 58)  I could not agree more with this statement.  Before executing a landscape drawing my students examine examples of landscapes identifying foreground, mid-ground, and background.  We often head out to the parking lot or playground to observe that the horizon line is, indeed, off in the distance and should probably be drawn a little higher than a straight line across the bottom of the paper.  I know that this type of exercise sinks in when they demonstrate what they have learned in their drawings or when they share stories of personal observations made outside the art room.

Visual Exercise

I have long been fascinated with Mexican folk art and was delighted when a friend gifted me with the lovely calaca which I chose to sketch for this exercise. I particularly enjoy that she is seated in front of a computer and that she is smoking a cigarette....something I have always maintained I would do should insanity ever drive me to the point of being institutionalized. ~ Thanks Charlie, you know me well. ; )

Picture me, the neat 'everything must be just so' type, seated in my office, a purposefully large amount of papers and books covering every surface, a can of almonds precariously balanced on top, a soda clenched between my knees, a continuously meowing Siamese cat at my feet, and the home phone ringing every five minutes with  pre-election phone calls (Can you believe that Betty White, Sarah Palin, even Mr. Obama...all were vying for my attention!)  Clipboard and paper leaning against the desk front I began drawing...no, I tried to begin drawing, I had to stop to adjust the desk light due to the paper stacks, OK, draw..draw... wait...one of her boobs looks bigger...hey, that's because one of them really is bigger...oh, I like the light better this way...whoops, about spilled those almonds...draw...draw...what??? is that man on TV talking about sea slugs in lakes? gross! gross! gross! I hate slugs, ugly little shell-less snails, f-o-c-u-s, back to  drawing............Somehow, during the allotted 30 minutes I was able to capture a fairly decent likeness of  my little computing skeleton.  It was a stressful process though, one that made me think that lighters and ashtrays might well be a part of my future.

My Personal Working Preferences for Creating Art

I tend to be a neat and tidy person. In my home, for the most part, at least the things I have control over, everything has a place. At work I have a reputation amongst the custodians and maintenance staff for having the cleanest art room in the district. Students in my room quickly learn that I expect them to be responsible for cleaning their area and for taking proper care of the supplies. I like order not only in my work space but in the surrounding areas as well. I work better in a calm and well organized environment.

When it comes to the creative process, I like to have as many supplies as I anticipate I will need on hand and ready to go. (Fortunately, being the great collector of supplies, I am usually ready to conquer about any project I can dream up.) I like to tune the radio to a classic rock station so that I don’t have to change cds, and I enjoy working by myself or alongside a good friend. I like creating in my own space and I don’t feel near as comfortable working in the company of strangers. I hate interruptions, be it in the form of a phone, the doorbell, a barking dog, or even an inquisitive spouse.

So far my description sounds pretty much like the perfectionist that I am! When it comes to the actual concept for a project though, I tend to be a little more lax. Perhaps due to the isolation, I brainstorm possibilities, usually right before I fall asleep, in the shower, or while driving to work. No matter what media I intend to use, I make many random sketches, and once started, my ideas change and evolve. I generally work as long as I can at one time, stopping only due to frustration or time constraints.

If I were only able to turn cartwheels....

I am excited beyond belief! February 14-16 I will be attending the Midwest Education Technology Conference! My techie friends have been inviting me for the past few years, telling me how much I would enjoy it. This year when they dangled the brochure in front of my face I just had to grab it! One of the keynote speakers is none other than Lee Crockett, he co-wrote Digital Diet and authors the blog, The Committed Sardine. ( Which, btw, I've been following since I began blogging! )

The conference will be held at the St. Charles Convention Center, St. Charles, Missouri. The Convention center connects to Embassy Suites. It's an awesome place to stay....what's not to love about a complimentary happy hour?

Check it out, maybe I will see you there! http://metcconference.org/moodle2011/

Learning to Change/ Changing to Learn: Student Voices

The third PSA in a series created by Pearson Foundation and the Consortium for School Networking, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of integrating technology into teaching practice around the world. Students discuss the ways in which they use technology at school, at home, or in their everyday lives.

How can we continue NOT integrating technology into teaching practice?

Did you know...

Under the stats tab you can track your blogs audience???  Wow, interesting to note that I've had some global interest in my blog and I'm not even trying...

Week 9 – Using Games, Immersive Social Networking, and Virtual Worlds in the Classroom

My Second Life Persona



Before writing this reflection I decided to take Dr. Rosen’s advice and become a Second Lifer to experience a bit of real-life avatar adventure.  I had hoped to make it to the Sistine Chapel, having read many wonderful things about this particular ‘island’.  However, perhaps I did not give it enough of a chance, as I never experienced that feeling of “social presence” Rosen references.  Instead, I felt like I would if I were a stranger at a cocktail party where everyone else is attired in appropriate dress and I were the one in blue jeans.  As a rule, I consider myself to be a fairly outgoing person.  I have a reputation as being the life of the party, there’s no chance of me ever being mistaken for a shrinking violet!  This was not so much the case in Second Life. If anyone came close to approaching me I quickly pushed ‘page up,’ the command for flying and launched into the air lest they attempted to engage me in conversation.  I felt akward and out of place in this virtual world.

Rosen and Brooks-Young both present a strong argument for the use of games, immersive social networking, and social worlds in the classroom. There’s no denying that that immersive power afforded via technology can activate realistic sensory information in much the same way as if the learner were engaged in the real life activity.  Immersive social networks enable students to access information in a variety of ways and are available 24/7. Learning becomes a personalized experience as students have the ability to access the format best suited to his or her style of learning. (Rewired p. 112.) Students feel less inhibited in a virtual setting and are more likely to communicate.  When tied to the curriculum, game playing becomes meaningful and reinforces learning.  Again, we encounter the media-hyped risks associated with the use of web 2.0, and again, Brooks-Young advises teachers to use these as learning experiences so that our students will know how to safely conduct themselves online, and how to handle themselves in situations which make them feel uncomfortable.

A virtual field trip to the Louvre has probably been the closest experience to an online game that I have been able to provide for my elementary students.  http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp?bmLocale=en  I provided a little instruction on how to navigate the site and we journeyed across the hall to the computer lab where students explored to their hearts content.  The only problem I encountered was when Joey ‘Smith’ zoomed in on a naked breast, so much so that it filled up the entire screen. He then proceeded to share with the boys seated on either side of him.  I admonished him to, "please take a more mature attitude", while in the back of my mind, observed that his naked breast fascination was quite appropriate for the average fifth grade boy, and then wondered how many phone calls to the principal it would take before I was banished forever from taking students to the lab. Fortunately the experience resulted in no angry phone calls and I have since learned to educate my students a little more on the subject of nudes in art prior to encountering them.

Though the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act would interfere with my ability to use immersive social networking since none of my students are over the age of 12, I would very much like to use some sort of networking as a voluntary extension of classroom learning. I am able to use edublog, so far I have only experimented with its use, but I think I’m ready to take it to the next level and use it in an interactive way. Edublog does provide a format for uploading podcasts, images, videos, links and more.  I would like to see if I can offer it as a way to encourage the participation of some of my more shy students.

I explored a few virtual learning environments geared more towards use with elementary age students, and discovered Whyville, http://b.whyville.net/smmk/top/gatesInfo?topic=about Teachers can register to use this fun site with classes.  It appears that the creators of Whyville are serious about online safety, because once you sign up, they DO check to verify that you are actually a teacher.  The 554,727 registered citizens of Whyville earn “clams” by playing educational games and users create their own avatars. It was interesting to note that the University of Missouri sponsors the Hot Air Balloon Race game where users are challenged to navigate the altitudes and analyze vector fields to navigate a hot air balloon. ( Say What???)  Probably more appropriate for use in the art room was an activity sponsored by the Getty Museum.  Though I imagine that this site will be blocked at school, I believe it would certainly provide an immersive type of learning experience for my students and I believe that I am now equipped with the knowledge to make a powerful argument for its use.

Someday perhaps Pia Spearsong and I will journey back to Second Life for that trip to the Sistine Chapel Island.  For now though, my real life is occupying the majority of my waking hours.

Week 8 – Digital Imaging

Celina~age 10

self portrait painted using a digital black-and-white halftone image for reference

This week’s reading introduced the creation and sharing of visual images. The Digital Diet walks us through setting up a Flickr account and offers practical suggestions on the use of image sharing in the classroom.  Brooks-Youngs identifies common objections to the classroom use of photo sharing sites,   “…privacy, safety, bullying, copyright infringement, and, recently, child pornography concerns.” (TEACHING with the TOOLS KIDS REALLY USE p 79).  The book then goes on to work through each issue presented, providing instruction on the ways that these objections can be developed into lessons for educating our students on these issues.  Brooks-Young also brings up practical strategies for the use of photo and image sharing in the classroom.

TEACHING with the TOOLS KIDS REALLY USE, the title of Brooks-young’s book pretty much says it all.  To be effective twenty-first century educators, we must permit our students to both generate and share visual content online. Students DO love photography, it’s inexpensive and easy to use, it is engaging, and permits many opportunities for collaboration.  Digital images provide excellent reference for many uses in the art room.

My elementary building only has four digital cameras available for classroom use, however, that has not been a deterrent for using them on a fairly regular basis. Last year my Second graders traversed the hallways, working in small groups, using photographs to identify different geometric forms. Third grade photographed examples of texture and contrast.  Fifth graders took pictures of themselves and examples of their art which we compiled into an animoto video.  Fourth grade used photobooth software to take a portrait and convert it to a half-tone image. This image was used as reference for a monochromatic self-portrait painting.  This year my sixth grade students are hard at work on their choice of a digital photo based self portrait project and fourth grade has made it to the editing portion of their cereal commercials. There is no doubt that students LOVE these activities and I love the level of engagement they provide. 

For the most part, student collaboration has been a relatively smooth experience.  We have had to work through some ‘hurt feelings’ issues, it provided the perfect opportunity to implement some character-ed curriculum. These collaboration activities also set the stage for group analysis and evaluation. (Only ONE cereal box out of five could be selected for a commercial.  What constituted the best design? I loved one group’s creative solution.  When they were unable to narrow the selection to one, they decided to go with a commercial for a variety package. )    As the facilitator, my biggest complaint is the level of noise that is generated due to my extremely large class sizes.  I have also experienced some issues stemming from my lack of understanding how to best manage some of our projects.  One solution I have found is to have students brainstorm problems that they anticipate and then brainstorm solutions to those problems.  Their insight is impressive and students tend to adhere to their self-created guidelines.

I could foresee great benefit to image sharing, but additionally, my district bans all photo and video sharing sites. I have created group animoto videos, which I share with my other classes, and I plan to share our cereal commercials videos as well. My students love both seeing and viewing their work and that of their classmates presented this way.  It’s a meaningful and relevant connection to the way that they live.  

Currently the computer labs in my district’s elementary buildings are limited to the use of photobooth as far as image editing.  I think I would enjoy using photoshop with my older grades, though I would need to become a little more proficient myself.  After viewing the video http://www.thejohnnycashproject.com/  which invites participants to view the video and then provides images for them to edit, each of which is added to the video, I have begun planning with my tech specialist to see if we can determine a the way to do a similar project with students. To the best of my knowledge, all free image editing web-sites are blocked at my school.  I have requested that the block be lifted for one of the sites which does not require registration for online use.  Those wheels turn painfully and discouragingly slow…

Final Self-Portrait

Just when I was becoming deeply enamoured of Photoshop I have managed to do something so that I am unable to view the desired image size.  This image is a screen shot of a screen shot.  Hopefully there is no loss of resolution.  : )

Fu-fu-fu-fuN!

voki Sheryl speaks for herself

Get a Voki now!

She doesn't look much like the real me, but I like her anyway!

New and Improved Witch Image

The previous one just wasn't witchy enough!