BP9_20091108_Web 2.0 tool_Dropbox

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

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:

1. Go to www.myoats.com
2. Choose "Create" at the top tool bar
3. 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.)
4. Now go to the far left side of the bottom tool bar and choose your "Shape Color".
5. 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.
6. 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".
7. You have now completed the project!

Image created by Lori Pickering on

My Oats.com

BP7_20091108_Social Bookmarking

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

Sketchfu

BP5_2009118_Art Critique Lesson using Flickr

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

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

BP4_2009111_Web 2.0 Tools

Click here to see how to draw this Pumpkin Man.

©Roxanne Santiago, 2009

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/