Now I'm a director

We've been working in class on creating visual stories... basically, we're making movies. It seems pretty simple using iMovie; the most important part about it is planning. Once I planned out what images I wanted to go first, second, third, etc. and the captions for each, the actual process was simple. I had to play around a little bit in iMovie to manipulate the images the way I wanted them, but all in all... pretty easy.

I wasn't really sure how I would incorporate visual storytelling into my classroom. Once I got started though, I realized that these would be great for studying particular artists! As an introduction to an art history lesson, these short movies will be a great way to get the students interested in the art. Seeing a glimpse of an artist's work and life in a short video may be just the way to get students motivated! I may not be able to make a movie about every artist we ever study, but I can certainly make a few about some of the more important and influential artists!

Interactive Spreadsheets

These interactive spreadsheets were an interesting experience. While sometimes writing the logic statements was a bit complicated, the final outcome provided a great tool for writing and taking quizzes. The students get immediate feedback on their answers. The only problem I found is that students will get the wrong answer if they misspell or enter the word incorrectly. The Word Bank was a way to combat this problem.

Revised Diagram

So, I had a look at my diagram and after talking to Dr. O'Bannon, decided I need to revise. For one thing, I needed to change the font to make it more readable. I also looked at the way it was mapped out. I definitely need to change the set up. I decided that since I was diagramming the Color Wheel, it really should be in a circle. I think the symmetry makes it much more readable. What do you think?

Here is a screenshot of my interactive spreadsheet for compound words! You can see that I got 100 points!

This is my diagram about the Color Wheel. As you can see, I've added the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and labeled how they are mixed. I've also added some hints about mixing colors together and definitions of value, shade, and tint. The state and national standards are listed on the side.

I hope to be able to use this one day in an elementary level art class to help explain the basics of color theory.

Scavenger Hunt Slideshow

Today in class we worked on our scavenger hunt and digital collections. Here is a screen shot of my organization of the scavenger hunt photos. Each one of these images was named with lowercase letters and no spaces. Also, every image was re-sized to 4.5" by 6" and 72 resolution.







Here is the final slide show of our Social Studies Scavenger Hunt! Enjoy!

Here's a slide show of my digital collection! Enjoy!

Digital Digital Digital

It's just all so digital! Believe it or not I learned photography on an old-school, manual, film camera! You even had to advance the film with a toggle on the top of the camera! It made such a satisfying click when the shudder went off. I even had to develop my film by hand! We had to put the film inside light-safe bags, take the film out, wind it on special spools, and place it inside light-safe canisters all without looking! Then we used a darkroom to develop the film, one print at a time! It was only after I learned this that I got a digital camera. It was so instantaneous! I could just snap the shot without worrying about wasting the film. I could even immediately view the photograph to make sure I did it right!

I sound so old, don't I?

Well, I'm not old. I sound like this because I learned from a traditionalist in photography. Her philosophy was that if you could successfully and artfully photograph with a traditional, manual camera, and develop the film yourself, only then would you be ready for the digital camera. Her method was a way of teaching us to think about our photographs and to plan our photographs before taking the shot. By doing this, we eliminated our digital compatriot's snap-happy tendencies. Now, even with a digital camera, I plan my compositions and consider the lighting before clicking the shutter.

Don't get me wrong; I love digital photography. After taking the picture I can immediately check to make sure they are right. I also love how organized my digital photos are on my computer. With iPhoto, I can manage albums and events just like traditional photo albums, but without the hassle of acid free paper and covers. And the storage takes up much less space than a photo book!

I hope that if I get to teach photography in my classroom (whether it's middle school or high school) that I can give my students the same experience I had. I want my students to understand the photographic process as part of learning about the history of photography. I want them to learn how to compose and develop their photos, without resorting to photoshop. With these tools I hope to mould better, more experienced photographers than the snap-happy masses.

Google has everything...

Google, it turns out, has just about everything you need. When I was first introduced to what Google has to offer, I was honestly a little hesitant to switch over. I was perfectly happy with my email and my iCalendar! With a little shove from my fiance, I started to explore what Google had to offer. I didn't want to admit it, but the Google Calendar was so organized and easy to use! So, when we were required by our class to use Google Documents, I was a little more open about this new technology.

Over the last few years, whenever I wanted to send a paper to my fiance for him to read over, I always just attached it in an email. I hadn't really noticed how annoying that was until I used Google Documents. No more attachments! I'm free! I can see that in a classroom this would be some much simpler. To send documents or assignments home to my students, I can simply post it to my Google Documents page and then share with my class. This program also allows me to send a document from my home to my classroom without having to email myself or use a thumb drive.

The more I become introduced to Google, the more I just love it. In the words of my fiance "A lot of people are afraid of google taking over the world. I, personally, welcome our new overlords."

Staying Organized

One of my biggest goals as a teacher is to be organized. I've seen too many "crazy art teachers" who lose papers, misplace supplies, and are all-around disorganized. I know how frustrating it can be when a teacher loses your homework.

With this in mind, I have organized my files so that I can easily access all of my work. While I prefer a slightly different format usually, I like the way that I can see what each folder contains without having to open the folder. This layout also gives me information about the file size and the date it was last modified.

I hope that by using consistent organization skills I can eliminate some of the daily stress and frustration of the classroom!

Questing for WebQuests

In class on Thursday, we evaluated different WebQuests. Before that day, I had never seen or heard of a WebQuest. But like its name implies, students have to solve a series of problems, or a quest, using any means available to them, most importantly, the web. Now, I'm not particularly experienced in finding things on the web; I usually just google and click. For me, this assignment might seem daunting at first. As I navigated through the sites, I realized that it really wasn't hard at all! Most of the sites were clearly set up, with each assignment and task set up in order. As the technofile of the group (where's the irony in that, huh?) I found that the sites were easy to use while also utilizing the internet to its fullest. Many of the WebQuests had site links for students to use, making it easier for someone like me to search for information.

While at first, this type of project would have had me running for the nearest book, I learned that it was easy to use as well as a great tool for the classroom. The WebQuest, I found, is a great way to teach students self-reliance and time management.

I hope that I can find some great WebQuests for Art that I can use in my classes!

Wiki Adventures - the beginning

Until Tuesday, I had never heard of a "wiki" before. Of course I knew about Wikipedia. I'd gotten lost there on occasion by just following the links. I also knew that almost any reader could edit or delete a post. I just never thought I'd be doing it!
I wasn't entirely sure why it would be practical to learn about using a wiki for my future classrooms. However, after hearing about the plan for using them in this class, I'm really excited about the opportunities this offers. I hope that in learning about this web. 2.0 program, I'll be able to implement something like this in my own classroom. This wiki would be especially useful in discussions and research in Art History lessons.
When making my own wiki, I hope to focus my contributions to Art Historical websites for all ages. This would include websites where young children can learn about and even quiz themselves over famous paintings and artists as well as database websites for the high school level student to learn about advanced terminology and movements throughout art.
I'm so excited to learn about this new tool! It's already given me so many ideas to use in my future classroom!

Website Evaluation

When I read down the list of websites to evaluate, I was intrigued by the virtual field trips. In an art class, it is not only important to make art but also to view and study other works. However, for some schools, taking a class to a museum is not really feasible. So what better way to give the students the experience of going to the museum without the hassle, expense, or risk of a field trip.
The Teacher's Guide website had multiple links to various museums and exhibitions around the world.
I was honestly a little disappointed with the website. I had hoped that the links would provide an interactive interface where students could tour the museum with the click of their mouse. However, the "virtual tours" were merely links to the museum and exhibition websites. I felt this was misleading of the website.
Other than being slightly less exciting than I had originally hoped, the website did provide a large variety and give helpful information.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi there! welcome to my class site! This is my first time blogging and I'm very excited to learn about this! I hope that learning this skill will help me in my future as an art teacher! Hope you enjoy my blog too!!

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