Here is my final reflection and process paper

Laurie Heintz-ECOMP 6016

June 2011

Final Reflection

On reflection of all the processes we’ve been required to use during this class, I realize there are so many tools available to us now to enhance our students learning. It has also given me the confidence to try things I may never have done with out learning about them during this class.

Some of the basic processes, like posters, edited images and screen capture have become a common part of the vocabulary when we create most teaching aides. Teaching visual art demands the use of visual aides with every lesson, but in all grades and subjects the use of visual aides will only enhance students learning.

Technology, specifically the programs we’ve been using, like JING, imovie, Audio programs, animoto and even skype takes the term “visual aides” to a whole different level. Now it’s not just “visual” it’s audio, video, voice over and the combination of everything. I’ve only begun to use these programs in my teaching but I already see the response of the students when I share a video I made about them and their work. Or when I use JING to capture images to share during an art history lesson.

I will admit that it has not been easy to figure so much out by myself. I’ve tried to see what others in the class have done and asked for help a few times along with using tutorials, but this was one class that it would have been great at times to sit with my classmates and have time to work together.

So far I’ve not had a lot of experience with all of these to teach my students how to use them for their assignments, but I plan on beginning the year with lesson plans that incorporate the use of video stories, digital portfolios and requiring the students to work with image editing to a much greater extent. Unfortunately my school year ended only 2 weeks after I began this class so I have not had much time to work with students on these projects.

In all the lessons I teach, I try to introduce students to the diversity of cultures and at the same time guide them to see the connections between all human beings. Teaching art offers a wonderful venue to show our human connection through the creation of art. Throughout history, through all cultures, people have been creating art for the same reasons and using similar processes.  Much of the pottery of ancient Africa is very much like the pottery created by indigenous people of North America. Sacred art, all over the world, show similar repeated patterns or mandala designs, whether it is in a stained glass window in a cathedral in Europe or a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.

The lessons I am now creating and plan to continue to create, through technology, will not only bring the image to my students, but the opportunity to make a real human and current connection with other artists.  Lessons that incorporate these kinds of connections, I want to believe, can only lead to greater acceptance and peace.

In closing this reflection, What appealed to me the most and I am sure will benefit my students, is the opportunity to take technology to a much more creative and interactive level. Animoto,  JING,  imovie, voice over, to name only a few have added a whole new dimension how I will be teaching.

This is my curriculum project-the lesson plan

This is included with my video-key assignment is part of my presentation.

Laurie Heintz-Curriculum Project

ECOMP 6016-6/11

Lesson Plan- What is 3D Art?

Grades-9-12 Art students

Timeline: 9 weeks        

Objectives: Students will understand the difference between 2D and 3D in relation to art. They will understand that by using many of the same materials used to create 2D art they can create 3D art by simply adding depth. Students will demonstrate understanding of 5 processes. Each process will be documented with digital photography culminating in a final photo story presentation to the rest of the class.

Rationale: I will be teaching this class because I believe it is important to offer students the opportunity to participate in an art class that is not primarily 2D art. Many students do not have confidence in their drawing abilities so do not take an art class. This is not a drawing class.

Process: Students will begin each process researching a professional artist that has produced work in the style they will be creating. They will research through online sites such as artcyclopedia.com

 Students will study and create a; (1) collage, (2) cube (3) 5 pieces of origami (4) a mobile and (5) a sculpture.

 Students will learn about all 5 forms and techniques through teacher lecture, demonstration, examples and independent research. The majority of the work will be produced with paper, and/or readily available materials. Through each process students will keep a digital portfolio documenting their work with photographs and written comments. The class will culminate in a show of all the work students completed, presentation of their digital portfolio/photo story and critique.

Evaluation:  Students will be evaluated on participation in each process, effort shown in creation of the project, finished piece, documentation and the final presentation.

Resources: http://www.mmwindowtoart.com

Having taught art for 14 years I have experience in all the techniques I will be teaching. Students will research resources that I am unaware of at this point.

All of the N.M Standards and Benchmarks for 9-12 visual arts will be met.

Assisted Technologies-Response to articles and videos

Reading the articles and watching the videos on AT certainly expanded my viewpoint on AT. From a simple tool to open jars to a wheelchair to a crayon grip on to what I was thinking about from the beginning....the computer!
I am so thankful that for individuals with disabilities ,more and more, they are being helped in so many ways to lead more productive and normal lives. And in my opinion ,with technology, the doors have opened for a broader range of communication and involvement in everyday activities,that until many individuals had access to technology they were unable to participate in.
In my classroom I believe the ability for a student to use a keyboard to communicate with other students and participate in discussions is incredibly valuable.Also the ability to be exposed to images and information that may have been impossible for some students to access  if they suffer from limited mobility and the inability to handle other resources.
This is a subject I have not researched much nor have I had much experience,but after downloading the incredibly extensive list of resources available for people with disabilities, I realize we can do so much to help everyone live a productive and involved life.
It seems from watching the videos the use of technology to assist our students to learn at their full potential is another great tool available that as educators we have no excuses for not using in our classroom. 

Gotta share the Musical and MacArthur Reports

I LOVE all the " Improv" videos, something that brings smiles and connects people where ever they are and who ever they are. It's perfect, I wish it would happen sometime where I am.

On the link Digital Media and learning on the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur site I watched a few of the videos pertaining to 21st century Learning.
This philosophy of teaching is so close to my heart.
The fact that I started teaching when "Whole language " was popular, the fact that I'm an art teacher and the knowledge that I learn so much more when I follow my curiosity and interests with help, support and guidance have all combined to reinforce my believe that we are not helping our students to love to learn, but instead fight to try to hold onto ways to "educate" them in an antiquated system. And for so many it isn't working.
Connie Yowell says it so well. (in fact I posted her video here, I liked it so much:)

We need to shift from:
Education to learning
Consumption to Participation in production
Institutions to Networks

Why, at this point in time with so much information and experiences available to us would we remotely believe that one teacher, or even one school and respective students are all we need in our "learning environments" ? Why not the world....linked via technology.
Thank you Melda . An opportunity to be reminded why I'm getting this degree. I can only hope to help create an environment that our students are self directed to work with their peers and adults. Follow their passions and interests and become lifelong learners.
I would love to visit the school Quest to Learn.

Re-Imagining Learning in the 21st Century - MacArthur Foundation

Re-Imagining Learning in the 21st Century - MacArthur Foundation

Curriculum Project Proposal

3-D Art

I will be teaching a new class next year as a high school Art elective. Most of the classes offered so far, other than clay class, focus mostly on 2 dimensional art. The 3-D art class will focus on form and function, art objects for daily use, art vs. craft and materials used in 3-D functional and non functional and/or whimsical art. The class will be divided into 4 units. 

The units are as follows; (1) What is 3-D art? Creating the third dimension, (2) Art vs. Craft-Does form follow function or function follow form? (3) Functional Art (4) Found objects, re-use and whimsy.

Intended Audience: High school students in grades 9-12. There are no prerequisites for this class, although some students will have completed Art l and possibly Art ll.

Standards: All of the standards and benchmarks for N.M. 9-12 grade art students will be addressed. The standards include developing basic skills, expressing ideas, making connections with other content areas, demonstrating the dynamics of the creative process, making critical judgements about artistic works, showing increased awareness of diverse people/ cultures and students will show ways in which technology has offered new possibilities for expression.

Educational Goals and Objectives: Students will understand what is meant by "3-D" art. They will understand how/if form relates to function. Students will demonstrate understanding through the creation of a variety of 3-D art pieces using a wide range of medium. Students will understand the historical and everyday use of "functional" art. Students will integrate technology through the use of webquests,videos and other forms of technology to complete  assignments in addition to the required studio work.

Expected Outcome: Students will gain a broader range of understanding about art; including the creation, the role of artistic form in everyday life and the range of materials used to make art. Students will be educated in some of the ongoing debates relating to art in modern society.

Timeline: This class will go for 2 semesters,divided into 4 units of study. The project submitted for Lesley be the first unit. "What is 3-D Art?" Creating the third dimension

I researched a few sites for some information, facts and ideas from other art teachers.

Included are a few, there will be more as I go through the process of putting this all together .

http://www.mmwindowtoart.com/3d/cube/html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/form_follows_function

This class will be taught through lecture, examples, demonstration, independent student research, student demonstration of understanding through creation,production and response to teacher created assignments.

Email-poem about drinking

The target audience for this would be just about anyone. With even a small amount of compassion,this would appeal to anyone's emotions.
I remember when I first started using email and I would receive something like this. I believed it, and I would usually try to sign it or send it on. Little did I know! Now I very rarely even look at a forwarded email or anything from someone I don't know. I think it is very unfortunate that so many people these days are spending their time trying to scam or introduce viruses to innocent people,obviously the people doing it are capable of doing something much more constructive and beneficial to humanity.

My video

If you watch this video, you need to go to big screen to view it. It only plays the music otherwise. Enjoy! they are a wonderful bunch of kids

Here is my video story, goodbye to my seniors...we've had a great year!

Games in Education

What comes to mind as I read James Paul Gee's article and watch the videos is the importance of "making it real "for students. Or using what students are interested in as a tool for learning. We, as educators are always looking for ways to teach that offer an "emotional attachment"for students and at the same time, as Gee says "will offer skills,values, and conceptual understanding" that we believe are important. In order to be effective educators we need to be current in what the interests and as a result the skills  students develop in the present moment we teach. Education needs to constantly change along with the changes in social skills and cultural competencies. Online games have often been viewed as entertainment, something parents and teachers have prohibited young people to play. Unfortunately, most things that we are not competent in or do not understand;we fear and ban. In one of the videos the point is made about My Space, why are we not using social networking as a way to be globally connected and teach social skills as opposed to blocking it and being 100 % convinced that no good will come from students having access to it at school. Computer games are viewed this way too, unfortunately, there has been a lot of violent games on the market, but as time goes on we are seeing  worthwhile games that can be used in the classroom or as an entertaining way for students to learn a variety of social skills,academic skills and often will "implement new forms of learning, bringing students to a higher level of learning"
In considering using games in the classroom, Gee offers some basic guidelines to follow when making a choice. Much of it is common sense from an educators perspective but he analyses common game formats and styles and helps us make greater distinctions as to what kind of game will most benefit our students.

Does Multimedia Informtion Help People learn

The article Does Multimedia Information Help People Learn reinforces what I know to be true. I learned long ago that if I was trying to learn a technique or process, if I had visuals with the text I would understand it. Or if someone demonstrated the process as I read the text I would understand it. If I merely had the text and was required to learn and demonstrate a technique from the text, it would be very difficult and I'm positive that details would be missing.

Of course, If I had experienced the process or practiced the technique prior to learning(again) from the text it would be so much easier.

It's always been interesting to me because if I am instructed with "redundant media" it is so easy, I learn fast, and I feel equally intelligent to my peers. I found it interesting as a learner and a teacher when I was learning alongside people that could easily decipher text into a process or technique without illustrations. For those that don't require 'redundant media'  an additional form of instruction, video, illustrations etc. in my opinion, will only enhance understanding.


In the introduction Lawrence J. Najjar states that previous beliefs supporting the findings in this paper were "based more on personal opinion than on scientifically based fact". Considering this statement and my description of my personal experience, it seems obvious that educators have been aware of the need to use "redundant media" when teaching a lesson, even without scientific evidence.

Technology has introduced a new media, another tool. When a student's learning is not enhanced with technology I question whether the student has been instructed in accessing all that technology has to offer. I also question the level of confidence, availability and experience a student has with the tools necessary. Although many students have grown up with technology in the home and school environment many students have not.

The beauty of technology in terms of multimedia, is the variety of media that can be offered simultaneously and interactively. Najjar also comments on this fact in that "The media clearly support one another".
I have to agree with Najjar when he states,"multimedia information helps people learn-sometimes" but I add that the "sometimes" is most of the time.

Assignment #1-Relections on youtubes 5/5/11

1. I Am Canadian- Was this a Superbowl commercial? If it wasn't it should have been. The target audience was definitely men. The message, in my opinion, is;manly Canadian men drink Molson beer.
2.Truth of Argentina- This was a political ad. The target audience is people that will vote. The message is: Vote for Lopez Murphey.
3.Good Morning-This is a viagra commercial. The target is older adults. The message is; everyone feels good and happy when they have a satisfying sex life.
4.Filter Bubbles- This was the most interesting of the 4. TED with Eli Pariser. The target is anyone using the internet. The message is; the internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see, not what we should see. This is a form of internet profiling, in my opinion.