21st Century Art teacher_RS

BP16_20091115_Reflective Media Asset

2009-11-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dropbox

Video created by © Roxanne Santiago

BP15_20091115_Web 2.0 tool Mandala

2009-11-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Video created by © Roxanne Santiago

I love working with radial designs in my art room. I usually work with kaleidoscope designs with my second graders and radial/mandala designs with fourth graders. Most mandala designs are symmetrical. The meaning of “mandala” comes from Sanskrit, meaning center or circle. The design usually begins in the center and branches outward.

"Mandala Maker" is a web 2.0 tool that allows anyone to create a mandala design online. This can be a great addition to my introduction to my lessons on mandalas/radial designs. On this site, students can use geometric shapes to design 1/8 of their mandala. This is a great pictorial illustration of fractions. Students have options to change colors, rotate the scale and skew the shapes. Once the students feel that they have completed their design or just want to take a peek at their design as a whole, they can press view design. This is when the magic of symmetry begins! Students will begin to “Oooohhhhh!” and “Aaaahhhh!” at what they have created but they will not be satisfied just yet! Now the curiosity kicks in and students will continue to play around by clicking “Continue working”. Who would have thought!? Eventually students will finally become satisfied with a design and it can be e-mailed to themselves or to someone else. I can definitely use this as warm-up project prior to their detailed hands-on art project.

Not only is this a great art lesson, it reinforces many concepts that are taught in our Everyday Math series and allows for cross-curricular teaching, which is a huge push in my district. Grade level teachers really appreciate the additional practice with terminology being taught in math. A few mathematical topics that will be revisited as a result of this activity include geometric shapes, symmetry, fractions, patterns, and measurement (height/width). This web 2.0 tool is not only an engaging introduction for an art project, but it is educational and enjoyable.

BP14_20091115_Response to Lynne Koles

2009-11-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

BP15_2009103_The Incredible Art Department

With a name like this, one does not know what to expect. I thought of the Hulk, (lol) but have come to use this resource for many things. Princeton University continues to update and enlarge this site that I have used for years. My favorite aspect of the site is that is is kept updated and always has new things. It has become my go-to place for the latest art gadgets. Like the Getty, it is well-funded and thus reliable.
The screen shot makes it clear just how many different aspects of teaching art are facilitated by this site, since each word surrounding Mona Lisa is a link. From blogs to suppliers; from lessons to games and activities; from links to association resources for advocacy, this site has it all. When I am in need of some lesson resources, it is always my first stop, and often the only one. For inspiration or even for sub plans, this is site is the best one I know. Check it out for yourself.

roxy said...: I agree, this site has been a site that I have visited many times before in the past but I did not find as much information as there is posted now. The resources, games, blogs, and lessons for all grade levels are extremely helpful. Glad I went back and revisited the site! There is a ton of web 2.0 tools available on this site!; November 10, 2009 6:45 PM

BP13_20091115_Response to Jamie Sibley

2009-11-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

BP5_20091108_Week 2 Research & Blogging

Image created by Jamie Sibley. Copyrighted by www.bitstrips.com

1.The first site I researched was www.bitstrips.com. On this site a user can create his/her own comic strips. Users can choose from a variety of genres to create a comic strip, such as humor. A user can create them selves, just like an avatar in Second Life. On Bit strips a user can set up a profile, view their comic strips and characters, build a scene for a comic, find favorite comics and find or create friends.

I would use this site for when my students go to computer lab. This is a time when I can get them all onto a site together. My class just finished a chapter in Social Studies on California’s Indians. I would have them create a comic strip that includes one Indian tribe that they learned about. They would have to include the foods, houses, transportation, and natural resources the Indians used in their comic strip.

I could also use this site as a lesson for my Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) students. I would give them a topic and they could create their own comic. I am always looking for activities that would keep my GATE students interested in learning and I feel this would be interesting and fun.

Roxy said...

Good find Jaime!!! I like the idea of a comic strip and the use of avatars created by students. Bitstrips seems to give more options for building avatars, which for me as an art teacher, that's a plus. For example, the Wii game system gives options but in the tour for bitstip, there seems to be many more choices for the students to build their own unique avatar so that no two are identical. I can see using this with an art club. Thanks!!!

November 10, 2009 5:32 PM

BP12_20091115_Response to Erin Lodes

2009-11-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

This image was created by Erin Lodes using wordle.net. It is copyrighted to www.wordle.net under creative commons.

I can see already that the website we were directed to for this assignment is a dangerous one. 65 pages worth of Web 2.0 tools! I can think of several co-workers whom I will NOT recommend this to as they'll be lost exploring it for days:
http://www.go2web20.net/

I started by just browsing, but quickly realized I would have to make a more narrowed search if I was going to attempt to navigate the hundreds of tools available. I searched "music" and was initially hoping to find a good tool to help students share their favorite kinds of music with each other. I am going to have my students start blogging consistently about their favorite kinds of music, as suggested in a great tip I saw yesterday on Rena's blog.

Instead of choosing a sharing site though, I quickly settled on Jam Legend, http://www.jamlegend.com/. This site copies the format of popular music games for gaming consoles such as guitar hero and rock band. Users upload music to the site and create game files, many of which are available for free play.

My lesson plan for this site starts with a focus on playing the game. Students will have an initial day to explore and play freely, and then will start to communicate with each other using the built-in communication tools on Jam Legend as they play. These tools include the ability to friend other users and then chat with them, challenge them to guitar duels, and share favorite songs. We will use this game in our discussion of rhythm, beats, and tempo, which are central to what we do in class.

I am hoping to extend the assignment and have students upload their personally composed music and write their own game files. This will be a great application of the beat and rhythm conversation, as they will have to better realize the beats of their own composition.

I think that this will be a good assignment for several reasons. First, as noted, it will provide a base of knowledge that we can use to discuss beats and tempo. Hopefully, some students will develop a better sense of pulse while playing this game. It will also get the entire class participating in a social network together that is appropriate for our content area. For my students who do not have consistent access to a computer at home, this can give them experience with a socially interactive community. Part of my music technology class is specifically focused on technology skills, so this experience with an online social community is important. It will also give our class some community building experience and something to talk about in their blogs and on their discussion boards.

I am hoping to try this out for real this week. It is very likely that when I get to school tomorrow I will learn that our district web filter blocks this site automatically. I will have to do some justifying to get the site unblocked. Wish me luck in that process!

1 Comment

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Roxy said...: Wow! If I had taken a music class back when I was in school, I would have loved this class. Creating my own music to play in my current music game that I play! That is awesome! That would definitely get my friends and I excited about the class, the assignment and get us talking about it in our blogs! Great choice! I would love to see some examples!

BP11_20091108_Web 2.0 tool Animoto

2009-11-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

Animoto

Presentation created by © Roxanne Santiago

Animoto is a web 2.0 tool that automatically generates professionally produced videos with motion design. The videos that are created are unique each time. No two videos are alike. The user selects what photos, videos and soundtrack they want to use and Animoto does the rest.

This web application can be useful for back-to-school nights. I can have each computer in my art room display different works of art for each grade level so parents can see what their child will be creating in that grade level. I can also use this presentation for individual student portfolios. Students can take photos or scan in their artwork to create their own Animoto presentation to share with family and friends at the end of the year. Examples of art work can be shared with other art teachers in the district or posted on my blog to share with others around the world. I can even take video clips of students creating their works of art and import it along with the photos to make a more appealing video piece.

Once your video has been created, there are more options available. You can re-edit your video to get a totally different effect by a click of a button, download it, or send it as a greeting card or receive the embedded code to place the video on a blog, site, or social network.

When you sign-up for a free account, you have access to Animoto Shorts. These videos are 30-seconds in length. You have unlimited access to produce, remix, and share as many videos as you'd like. With full-length videos you can do the same but this allows the videos to be as long as a whole song and are downloadable.

Right now Animoto is offering all educators a classroom code for an All-Access pass for producing videos for assignments and presentations at your school. Here is the website to sign-up, http://animoto.com/education/getting_started

BP10_20091108_Web 2.0 tool Magic Pen

2009-11-07T20:45:00.001-08:00

Magic Pen

Video created by © Roxanne Santiago

Magic Pen is a web 2.0 flash game that works like a brainteaser. It is a physics-based puzzle playground created by Alejandro Guillen. Using the mouse, players draw shapes with a crayon to get a red ball across the screen toward a flag. In order for the players to accomplish this, players must draw bridges and other shapes to get the red ball to move toward its destination. Any shapes can be drawn anywhere to make this possible. Players can even use pins and hinges to connect shapes to get them to swing and move other shapes.

This game is addictive! The shapes are affected by gravity, friction and inactivity. You must understand how physics works in order to complete the task. Once you draw an object it is set in motion. It is extremely challenging. I tried testing out the game and the next thing I knew an hour had passed. I wasn’t even far in the game but was enjoying the challenge. This game can get the students to use their critical thinking skills to move on to the next level of the game. I can see teachers, like myself, using this game as a reward for students who have completed a project early. Play now! http://magic.pen.fizzlebot.com/

BP9_20091108_Web 2.0 tool_Dropbox

2009-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Dropbox

Video created by ©Roxanne Santiago

Dropbox is a web 2.0 tool that allows anyone to access files, photos and music from any Internet accessed computer. Think of it as a USB drive, but you don’t have to carry it around. I am one who is constantly carrying around a USB drive to access files from one computer to the next. Using Dropbox can be helpful in my art room, here’s how: Students who are absent or have missed art class are now a week behind. I can use Dropbox to access a PowerPoint file that is currently being used with a class on another computer. The student who is a week behind can sit at another computer to see last week's steps without interrupting the class time. The student can work independently while I instruct the class on the next step. While the class begins working on their project, I can revisit the student who is working independently.

When traveling from room-to-room, Dropbox can be useful, especially for those art teachers who are still art-on-a-cart (sad face). This allows the accessibility to the files needed to teach the class in a different classroom without the fear of “Oops! I forgot my flash drive at home or in my classroom. Or forgetting your flash drive in someone else’s classroom!"

The Dropbox program can be installed on your computer or computers to drop files in and out of the storage area. The changes that are made on one computer will be saved on all computers since it is the same Dropbox account. There is even a website that you can access your files from without having Dropbox installed!

You can also share files and folders in Dropbox. A file can be sent to a “Public” folder and that particular file will receive its own URL. This URL can then be posted into a Blog, Facebook, IMs, e-mails, etc. Dropbox even has the option to share folders with other users by e-mailing the Shared file to another Dropbox account. This gives the shared users the ability to share files in that folder, add more files, and make changes to those existing files. All changes will be shown on both desktops.

Signing up for a free account on www.dropbox.com allocates 2GB of storage for free! If you would like more storage, it is available for a monthly fee. This web 2.0 will be extremely useful in my district!

BP8_2009118_Response to Lori Pickering

2009-11-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

BP#4_2009/11/2_Web 2.0 Tools-MyOats

Image created by Lori Pickering 2009

on MyOats.com

I have chosen http://www.myoats.com/create.aspx as my Web 2.0 tool. This is a wonderful tool that you can use to create circular designs. I teach my art students how to create Mandalas every year. We have always created by hand. With this tool, my students will be able to design endless geometric designs and learn about symmetry, radial balance and detailing. They may save their designs and upload them as desktop designs or send them to an iPhone.

Lesson Plan using My Oats : Grade level-6th, 7th and 8th

Objective: To create a radial design using complementary colors that uses MyOats web 2.0 as a designing too

STEPS:

Go to www.myoats.com
Choose "Create" at the top tool bar
Go to the bottom tool bar . look at the far right side and choose "Stage Color". This will let you pick your background color. Remember the complementary colors=red/green, yellow/violet, and orange/blue. You may vary the intensity of the colors in any way that you choose. (For example in using Red/Green, you may pick forest green with baby pink.)
Now go to the far left side of the bottom tool bar and choose your "Shape Color".
Move along the tool bar and choose whatever you like. Test things and if you do not like it, use the EDIT button to clear the design. Start again.
Continue designing until you have created a pattern that you like and go to the top tool bar. Under File you will find a save button. Click this and name your design. Also check the box that makes the design "Public".
You have now completed the project!

Image created by Lori Pickering on

My Oats.com

1 comments:

Roxy said...: That was a lot of fun! I will definitely be using this during my lesson of Mandalas! It will be even more exciting when I hook it up to the smartboard!!! Thanks for the idea Lori!!; November 6, 2009 8:52 PM

BP7_20091108_Social Bookmarking

2009-11-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Screenshot of "My Delicious" Welcome page

Social bookmarking is a great web 2.0 tool that allows users to access and save bookmarks to the web and access saved bookmarks from any internet connected computer. With social bookmarking users can store, tag, share and search for links to online subject matter. You can make social connections with other individuals interested in just about any topic (Lomas, 2005).

Tagging bookmarks is what makes social bookmarking effective. By tagging bookmarks users can narrow down a search from a large list of bookmarks. When users need to look for something specific, a search can be performed using the tag terms or keywords. Users who create these labels or key terms to define resources are known as “Folksonomy”. Now when a user begins a search using a key label/tag to get the collected archive, it will be based on users who previously tagged those resources with that same label (Department of Education, 2009).

Social bookmarking is a great educational tool for students and educators. Educators can use social bookmarking to gather information abut a topic that will be taught and tag the resources with the necessary labels (The McGraw-Hill Companies, n.d.). Students can use social bookmarking to help create and share reference lists, bibliographies, papers, and other resources for a specific topic (Lomas, 2005). Teachers can set up an account for each class with a shared user name and password (Department of Education, 2009). In this account, resources can be tagged with labels for the current topic in class. Students can add to the list and share their findings with other classmates to learn more about that specific topic. Social bookmarking in the classroom can open the door to keeping up to date with current events and historical events. Students can subscribe, on some social bookmarking sites, to an RSS feed to get the most current news on a specific subject.

Social bookmarking is user-friendly therefore educators are more likely to take advantage of this web 2.0 tool and use it in the classroom or for personal use. It takes only a few minutes to sign up with an e-mail address and password. Once signed up, users can export current bookmarks from a personal computer and import them into the social bookmarking site. Now the social bookmarking journey begins (The McGraw-Hill Companies, n.d.).

References:

Department of Education. (2009). Social bookmarking. Retrieved November 07, 2009, from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/socialbookmarking/index.htm

Lomas, C. (2005). 7 things you should know about social bookmarking. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiatives. Retrieved  from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7049.pdf

The McGraw-Hill Companies. (n.d.). Teaching today | how-to articles | social bookmarking. Retrieved November 07, 2009, from http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/social-bookmarking

BP6_2009118_Reflective Media Asset

2009-11-06T19:35:00.001-08:00

Sketchfu

BP5_2009118_Art Critique Lesson using Flickr

2009-11-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

Screenshot of "group comment page" on Flickr

As I research how art teachers can incorporate the use of Flickr in their lessons, I found out some interesting ideas to use in my art room. However, I had to choose one that would probably be most successful for the grade levels I teach.

What I realized is that Flickr can allow my students to take the time to look at each others works of art and make comments about the work of art. At an elementary level, time is always an issue. If I set a lesson up where the students could set up a group account and allow the students to upload their work to Flickr, it would give the students an opportunity to really ?look? at the work of their peers. The students can make comments about what they like or dislike about the work and why. Students use words from our word wall to help make comments about the work of art. The artist of that particular work can review the comments and possibly take some of the advice to use in their next project. This would also allow students to praise and admire exemplary work.

The first step of the lesson would be to have the students convert their analog artwork into a digital format by scanning their artwork or taking photographs with a digital camera. The teacher would have to sign into Flickr to make a ?Group? account that is Public and viewed by invitation only. This setting allows anyone to view the group page, but the only way to join the group is by invitation. Now students can create their own Flickr account, post their images and add a description or caption to their photos. Once all photos are loaded from the class, students will have access to the Flickr group to make comments under their classmates? images. The teacher can request the students to comment on two works of art. When they comment on each other?s work, they must use art terms to help describe what they like or dislike about the work of art and why.

What is great about allowing this to take place is that the students will take pride and ownership in their work especially if they know that their peers will be critiquing their work of art. The students can print out the comments from their peers and save it to place inside their portfolios or to share with family and friends.

Flickr

2009-11-04T20:19:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

BP4_2009111_Web 2.0 Tools

2009-11-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Click here to see how to draw this Pumpkin Man.

Example of a Kindergarten drawing project.

As I began to research Web 2.0 tools that would be of interest to my students and I, I had to think about what would work in our environment. I searched on http://www.go2web20.net/ and used some key terms such as art, painting, drawing, and sketching. Sketchfu, http://sketchfu.com/home, was one of the selections that looked interesting so I explored it further.

Before I joined, I browsed through some of the examples. This Web 2.0 tool allows its users to draw in real time, add color and detail to their drawings at their own pace. Some of these examples are amazing! Once you have completed a drawing, you can save the image with a name. Then students can view their drawing, but it will be drawn at a faster pace. The site usually sets the pace at sixteen times the speed, but you can speed it up or slow it down. It is a great way for the students to show their friends and family how they created their artwork and what they have drawn. What is really interesting about this site is that the image can be shared via Facebook, Myspace, download it, e-mail it or add it to a Blogger account.

As an art teacher, I would use this Web 2.0 tool for my drawing lessons. It could be used as a preview to show students how to draw our current project and how to add color to it. Students would know what is expected of them before we begin the lesson. It can also be used for students who are absent and need to catch up. They can simply sit at a computer, follow the steps, and be caught up in no time. I could see myself using this tool with grades K-3.

Another use for this Web 2.0 tool would be for extra credit. I can post “How to draw…” and students can access the site from home, if they have Internet access, or during their recess time in school, they can ask to work on the computers. I often have students ask what they can do for extra credit and this would be a great way for students to learn and earn extra credit. My ultimate goal would be to inspire students to make up their own drawings to show me what they can do outside of art class.

Rubens, M., & Chen, A. (n.d.). Sketchfu.Retrieved November 01, 2009, from http://sketchfu.com/

BP2_2009111_RSS

2009-10-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

As an art teacher at an elementary level, I am always searching for innovative ideas from lessons to tips and techniques to use in my art room. Using RSS feeds I can read about what other art teachers are doing in their art rooms and use it to fit my needs. Here are my five RSS feeds for educational purposes, why I chose them, and how they are beneficial in my profession:

SchoolArts Magazine (SchoolArts) on Twitter:

This RSS feed lists links to art lessons, videos, articles, and examples of student work. This feed also lets me know what other art teachers are doing all over the United States.

Deep Space Sparkle Art Lessons for Kids:

This is a fantastic website to gain knowledge for new art lessons to use in my art room. As feeds come in, I can see if any of these seem interesting enough for me to use with my students. If so, I can take the ideas and alter them to my needs and the needs of my students.

Latest Activity on Art Education 2.0:

This feed will show me posts by other art educators and how they are using Web 2.0 tools and other digital technology to advance best teaching practices.

Arts & Activities articles | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library:

This elementary and high school art education magazine provides articles for experiences, opinions, and new ideas for art educators. It includes strategies for art educators to use during instruction, approaches to teaching art history, and techniques for student art evaluation.

1181 Artsonia Lesson Plans Reviewed by Teachers:

This RSS feed is connected to Lesson Planet, a great teacher resource site for lessons in any area. As new lessons are imported, I will be notified.

BP3_2009111_Screenshots of iGoogle

2009-10-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

My iGoogle Site:

WGO Tab

AR Tab

ETC Tab

Educational Uses Of Blogs and Tags

2009-10-29T03:50:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Educational Uses Of Blogs and Tags

View more presentations from sqoolmaster.

BP1_2009111_Getting Started

2009-10-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

Video taken by ©Roxanne Santiago, 2009

There are many reasons why people blog. Blogs are a great place for people to think, plan and reflect on what is happening in their personal lives or around them. It is a place where people can collaborate with each other and share their thoughts with others.

Blogs can be useful in an educational setting. Blogging helps students get involved with the technology of the 21st century. On a regular basis, blogging can help the development of reading and writing skills. Teachers can have the students use blogs to create a portfolio of sample student writing, a journal for students to express their opinions on the topics that are being discussed in class, or just to evaluate students' prior knowledge of a topic before a lesson.

Through my research online, I found that I, as an art teacher, can use a blog in many different ways. I can post an image of a work of art and have my students write about it using the elements of art to help describe what they see. This will allow students to become more familiar with the use of vocabulary terms and how to use these terms in their writing, discussions or when describing a work of art. Students can write reactions to questions that I post underneath the images or videos. Students can agree or disagree with the comments left by their classmates and explain their rationale. I can even see my students using a blog to reflect on their project or the process of creating their project for that particular day since I see my students once a week. Students can post their work and critique someone else’s. The possibilities seem endless.