AestheTECH

When questioned about assessment in the art room I often answer "we never stop learning.   This much learning can only be assessed through continuous observation.  Why don't you come by for a visit?"  Like most art teachers, I display student work in the school hallways yet, the final art product is ONLY one component to art education.  So many concepts are integrated into each and every learning activity, it may be hard to know where to begin with formative assessment - and honestly, I am looking for fun and creative forms of assessment!  Aren't we all?  

VoiceThread
VoiceThread is an online application in which users upload visual media and collaborate with others using audio, text and video commentary.  YES - Fun and interactive assessment!!!  VoiceThreads are just plain cool.

VoiceThread  provides a tool to facilitate student conversations using interactive Web 2.0 technology.  Students can engage in dialogue about images and publish the collective work of a classroom. Students can also upload their work and leave an audio or written reflection of their processes and learning. Additionally, classrooms have the capability to create stories by adding narrative to images. Students may work alone, with the class or across the country, leaving and receiving comments for other K-12 students and teachers.  VoiceThreads are also available for parental viewing. Furthermore, VoiceThread  offers a secure network for K-12 educators to create, store and share collective works.

Assessment in the ART ROOM
Recently, my kindergarten and first grade students spent time learning about Faith Ringgold - her art, her life, her books.  Inspired by Ringgold's story quilts and the book, Tar Beach, we created our own story quilts from paper, paint, crayons, markers & glue.  We took imaginary flying trips over our own community of Atoka, TN.  We wrote journal entries about what it would look and feel like to fly.  We explored pattern and shape.  We worked individually to create self portraits (using shape) and quilt squares incorporating pattern; we worked with partners to draw our local landscape and buildings; and we worked as a class to assemble the project into one large paper quilt.  As you will see, the end product is not only beautiful; it is inspiring to hear the children talk about their learning.

I have just begun recording student responses but you will get the idea... have fun viewing and listening to the VoiceThread.  Don't forget to check back once we return from spring break to hear from more of my students!

Click here for more information about VoiceThread and Engaging with Content and Building Visual Literacy.

The students in my PreK-5 art classes take pride in their work!  Here is a sample of some of their projects in the art room.

What is resilience?

word cloud created at wordle.net

Comments from online discussion among art educators!

"Resiliency is the ability to spring back from and successfully adapt to adversity. An increasing body of research from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology is showing that most people–including young people–can bounce back from risks, stress, crises, and trauma and experience life success (www.resiliency.com)."

Nan Henderson, M.S.W., President for Resiliency In Action explains how resiliency happens.

Resiliency Wheel described in the above video, see the image in its original context at Resiliency.com

Take the Resiliency Quiz!

Portraits of youth... Do you see resilience?

Children are the focus of Gregory Smith's work in Brazil; street children and other children at risk.  Check out more of his amazing photography as well as heart warming (and heart breaking) stories on flikr.  You might also be interested to learn more about the Children At Risk Foundation – CARF (www.carfweb.net).

Questions for consideration:

1.  When/how have you observed resilience in your students?
2.  What are the characteristics of resilience?
3.  In the book; No Disposable Children, the the authors suggest     
     alternatives to punishment, or "get tough" strategies.  What strategies are
     already working (or do you envision) working in your classroom? 
4.  How does our understanding of resilience relate to the Art for Life 
     teaching model?

How can we (as art teachers) encourage and support our students to be resilient individuals in school and in life?

Please share your thoughts and leave your comment below.

Need more information and resources?
 Check out programs building resiliency through the arts.

Art advocacy for at risk youth (articles): don't forget to click on the article links in the side bar!

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia provides a safe environment where youth can creatively participate in various art experiences.

ArtWorks is an arts program uniquely able to reach out to at-risk youth while enriching communities.

YouthARTs - model programs, data to support the development of programs and toolkit for potential program developers.

What is Art?

This animation from Creature Comforts has been around for a few years but it is worth a revisit.  Teachers; has anyone used this in their classroom?  If so, what was the response?

Want to join in on the "What is Art" conversation?  Check it out on Seesmic!

A layer of white covers my surroundings like a thin blanket; it transforms.

As I walked the property this morning, I had an amazing aesthetic experience.  You must know what I am writing of, having had a similar experience when viewing a sunset, walking along the beach or seeing a baby's smile. 

While walking, awe struck at the beauty around me, a memory came back to me of my first aesthetic experience.  I remember that I was about 7 years old and I was just sitting on a fallen tree in the woods... my friends could not pull me away.  They left and I stayed, just looking around.  I must have stayed that way for nearly half an hour.

I wonder, in this fast paced, high tech world that we live in, how do we ensure that our youth stop and take the time to enjoy the aesthetics that life and nature have to offer?

Here are a few of my photos from today...

Good news!  I am published.  My article: Web 2.0: The Read Write Web appears in the December 2008 issue of School Arts Magazine.  A huge thank you to Craig Roland for turning School Arts onto my blog.  

The article: Web 2.0 is not available online unless you purchase the magazine but the original post is still available here: Web 2.0

As I write this, my five year old daughter, budding young artist that she is, creates yet another inventive drawing and story.  This one is about a mermaid.  I continue to be amazed by her growth this school year.  She is observant and relentlessly practices her drawing and creative writing skills in imaginative and fantastical ways… ah, to be a child again!

In the classroom: I’m currently working on the ultra fun tasks of PR and fundraising for our brand new art program… all while hoping to teach content/art history/production, make cross curriculum connections and keep things fun and interesting.  Keep your fingers crossed for my kiddos & their art teacher ☺   

P.S.  If anyone has figured out a way to add 20 more hours to the day, please let me know!

Life is good in the art room.  My elementary artists have not only spent September and early October teasing me about my 90 year old posture (thanks to back trouble) but they have also been learning about Pop Art, commercialism, mass production and famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstien and Claes Oldenburg.  

Previously, I’ve written about my struggle to include technology in teaching and learning because of the lack of access from my classroom.  I am fortunate to write that I now have one computer with Internet access.  I do not however, have a student computer station so I continue to struggle with the best way to use the only computer.

So far I have been able to accomplish the following:

- Locate an awesome Andy Warhol game online (thanks to a fellow art teacher in the district!)

- Show artwork from our selected famous Pop Artists online

- Play digital videos of artwork via one of our school's LCD projectors

Instead of using transparencies of artwork on an overhead, I’ve put together a few short slide shows and set them to music from Garage Band.  Simple and basic right?  The kids dig it...  They love the addition of music and the only sounds heard during the playing of a video/slide show are similar to those heard at fireworks – “ooh,” “ahh,” “wow”… “a cherry on a spooooon!”  

Because I have only one computer, see my students once every seven days and have a glorious 40 minutes in which to ensure not only teaching but also learning and productivity take place, I have used technology mostly for whole group instruction.  I have found that some students respond even better to web based versions of art as opposed to demos of transparencies on the overhead projector.  My upper elementary students want to know where they can access the same information and they like to see that the artwork is accessible to them from home or in our school computer lab.

A few weeks ago, my class located Claes Oldenburg’s Clothespin on www.all-art.org and then in Philadelphia using Google Maps and Street View.   I was able to record the “trip” using Jing and I talked the students through finding the address, locating the area on the map and then zooming in for a closer look.  The entire field trip took about 5 minutes and we never left the artroom.  We were able to see the size of the Clothespin in comparison to its surroundings.  We also looked at  regular clothespin and had an excellent higher level conversation about why one item might be called art while the other is not.  My students loved the experience and left class begging to visit another of Oldenburg’s sculptures.

Here is the record of our trip – it was even more exciting than what it seems here (you will miss out on the audio... with my narration and the chorus of questions & comments from my students ☺

"Droplet" 
by Angela Christopher
All Rights Reserved 2008

My journey with Web 2.0 began in May, 2008.  I began this blog, started experimenting with some really cool tools and found pockets of people - no not pockets - corners of the world filled with people who have similar professional interests. 

The seminar I've been taking at the University of Memphis is titled "Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0." I must admit however, that I am still very much a novice.  The great thing about 2.0 is that everyone else is on the same journey, just in different places along the path to learning -  We are a community of learners.  I have discovered that it is okay to admit when I am unsure.  I have also learned that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for guidance and help from the digital community.  In fact, the community embraces newbies!  The concept of of collective knowledge and the benefits associated with the collective, collaborative aspects of Web 2.0 is the glue that binds this community of learners.  My professor, Dr. Clif Mims, is known for saying Web 2.0 "It is what you make it," and I couldn't agree more.  If I chose to to use the 2.0 tools for purely socialization, it would be more than possible to meet a WHOLE new group of folks.  I could make it superficial, I could make it solely about my hobbies, motherhood, religion, or practically anything else that interests me.  After listening to Dr. Mims describe his own Personal Learning Community (PLC), I realized that building connections with others like me would not be random or by chance.  First, I needed to have some idea about what I wanted from the digital community.  What types of individuals would I want to hear from?  What kinds of blogs did I want to read?  What type of Twitter feed did I want to see running on my computer everyday?  After thinking about these questions, I realized that I could embrace many types of communities and I did not need the digital community for personal socialization... So I began to reflect on my professionals interests.  Although, I grew up in the Memphis area, I now live and teach in a small rural town, and the art and technology communities within the town are also pretty small.  In fact, I am only just now beginning to meet the few other art teachers in my district. 

So this where I began to network and build my own PLC: I looked for other teachers and artists, and I was especially interested in meeting educators who were teaching with technology.  Even as I began to follow such individuals on Twitter and began reading their blogs, it took a while for me realize that teaching with technology is not just about teaching students to use software.  Teaching with technology is about collaboration.  It is about choice.  It is about learning.  It is not about the tools.

In education, we have always used textbooks and text resources to guide our curriculum and enhance teaching and student learning.  Every quality teacher or administrator will tell you that true learning doesn't happen from textbooks alone.  Teachers must facilitate the learning.  They must actively engage their students in the learning process.  So it is with technology.  Technology is not going away - it is here to stay and our students are using it for socialization.  Last night, a classmate mentioned that text messaging today, is the equivalent of passing notes when we were kids.  Yet, as I have discovered with my own PLC, technology can be so much more.   Online, students can learn about tolerance, respect, and collaboration.  They can also learn that everyone makes mistakes, and it is okay to ask for help... all while using tools they will need in college and in future professions.  In addition, our children can learn that there are other students across the state, country and globe who have similar and very different experiences.  Today, the world is one huge classroom and we are doing our children a disservice if we don't jump on board.  Many students are already on the ship... without a captain.  

A friend of mine ends every email with the following quote: "My hands are full, my days are full, but most of all, my heart is full."

She’s referencing motherhood; of which I can most certainly agree.  These days, I too am feeling very full –my life is absolutely insane, and I love every moment.

After nearly a seven-year hiatus with higher education I have returned to the classroom to teach art again.  I’ve been busy preparing a room for over 800 little ones, sorting supplies, and writing and researching lessons.  It has been a lot of work but I’ve been thrilled through all of it… just thinking about sharing creativity and a passion for the arts brings out the giddiness.

Last week, all of my new children arrived on the doorstep of a brand new school.  While I still don’t have everything I need for the year, we had a great time. The kids are so excited about art… & so am I!

I received high fives and hugs, danced the Cha-cha and dried at least two sets of tears.  Make that three sets of tears… my youngest began kindergarten (my tears, not hers).

In the midst of getting my family ready for school each morning, car pool duty, setting up art supplies and planning projects, I continue to think about ways to integrate technology in my classroom.  Right now, my classroom does not have a computer and my own Mac Book will not even connect to the school’s Internet.  While frustrating, I am a firm believer that “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

So until I figure out the WAY… I will do what I can to incorporate the concepts that I find most important in the newest Internet technologies: collaboration, experimentation and choice.  In addition, each time I use a technology at home to prepare for a lesson, I will also take a screen cast as I work. It may be a lot of fun to show DVDs to my classes of how I create digital stories, movies, and graphics.  Who knows, maybe my students will become my biggest technology advocates…

I have always loved technology, and I have specifically favored image manipulation software such as Photoshop.  Lately however, I have discovered some of the technological wonders that exist outside artistic and visual design software.  Holy Cow – it is a whole new world out there!  

Working with new technologies has helped me stretch professionally, mentally and socially.  These opportunities for growth (aka hard work and mistakes) have encouraged me to think about what is important as a learner and as a teacher.  As I busy myself getting ready for the start of a new school year, I also find that I am reflecting on recent experiences with web 2.0 technologies.  Rewards and challenges alike, I have learned more than I can shake a stick at (and there is whole lot-a shaking left to do).

I have spent the month of July participating in another fantastic Instructional Design and Technology class.  The course, Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0, has opened multiple doors to the world of virtual collaboration for me.  I have always leaned toward the ‘two heads are better than one’ mentality and at the encouragement of my professor, Dr. Clif Mims, I have been working to build my Professional Learning Community or PLC.  When seeking out other artists, art teachers and technology geeks, I have found Twitter, Diigo and Ning to be especially great social and professional networking tools.  My current PLC also includes my classmates… we are after all, hoping to accomplish the same goal… to soak up as much as we can while exploring Web 2.0 (and you thought I was going to say, “to earn an A”).  

In July, I blogged about my general experiences with Web 2.0.  Today, I will focus more specifically on the benefits and challenges of a wonderful Web 2.0 tool called a ‘wiki’.

Earlier this summer I designed a wiki for elementary art students.  Although, I realize that I am not finished with the project plan, I previously believed that I had thought through and understood the concept of a wiki.  I also assumed that I had considered most of what would be necessary to involve students in such a project. Now that I have had the opportunity to work on a wiki with other graduate students I have a much clearer understanding of the types of interactions and involvement required of students who will be working on a collaborative project of this nature.  True to honest self reflection, I will let you know that it is a REALLY good thing that I have had the opportunity to participate and contribute to this type of collective knowledge prior to requesting similar participation from my own students.  

The wiki is designed to allow individuals to pool knowledge and resources, build and expand on each other’s thoughts and work.   Engaging in this collaborative effort with my classmates has been a terrific learning experience.  While collaboration is nothing new to me, collaboration via technology has been a new experience.   The following statements summarize my learning:

1)    Collective knowledge is more powerful than that of the individual,
2)    Individuals bring a variety of experiences and talents to the work,
3)    Sharing the work can have benefits and challenges.

To summarize the first two statements, I will point out what may be obvious to most: we all think differently and have different talents and skills to offer to the whole.  When these unique differences and skill sets are harnessed, collected, and used to create something new, awesome work begins to take shape.

Most likely my peers would agree that we are also quite pleased not to be individually responsible for developing the entire Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Wiki.  Sharing the work enables each of us to fully investigate our own areas of responsibility and maintain some sense of sanity.  

Additionally, engaging in virtual collaboration has provided me with learning opportunities that I will want to keep in mind as I facilitate student learning with technology.  In the third statement, I mention that sharing the work can be a challenge.  In other words, unless we happen to have an unusually close relationship, there is some level of unease when collaborating with others.

The challenges for me have been small… almost, but not quite, insignificant:

1)    Deciding what to work on: I’m hesitant to take on a job that someone else might want, but don’t want to sit on it too long for fear of being left with a job I’d rather not have – What’s a girl to do?
2)    Not wanting to offend:  I also want to be considerate of my classmates, their work and writing styles.  It is a challenge to review and edit someone else’s work when they have not specifically requested that you do so… will I come across as a know it all? Will he/she think I am a writing or design snob?
3)    How will we credit the work? Apparently, we are not to follow the safe method of organizing authorship in alphabetical order… we are to decide which of us has done the most work and list authors in order of most contributed.  Hmm, anyone else worried here???

I am a firm believer in collaboration and web based technologies make it easier than ever to engage in collaborative opportunities.  While, I have complete faith in the intellect and talents of my classmates, it is important to think about the challenges involved in collaborative efforts.  As a teacher, I will use this experience to discuss such challenges with my students and seek their input to develop strategies and protocols for these and similar issues.