M6- Making a Wiki

M6: Making a Wiki (is so incredibly hard to me!)

Wiki: I hope one day to have a Wiki as fabulous as Mrs. Peterson’s from AST Elementary School. I love how you can click on the pictures on the Homepage or on the side tabs to get to the different grade levels.

http://ast-elementary-art.wikispaces.com/

 

Podcasts: I thought these podcasts from the Smithsonian Institute’s Student Podcast Series were very useful because it’s elementary aged kids discussing famous artists’ work. This would be a great tool for my students to use to learn how to talk about art. They could actually see how they (elementary schoolers) use art terms to talk about artwork!

Herbie H. on Roy Lichtenstein’s “Sweet Dreams Baby!”

http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/denton_ave/denton_ave_2011/herbie_h_denton_2011.m4v

Angela W. on Edward Hopper’s "Cape Cod Morning"

http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/denton_ave/denton_ave_2011/angela_w_denton_2011.m4v

Social Bookmarking Site: It was difficult for me to find a someone’s social bookmarking site relating to art education. This is Roy Hawkin's site. He was getting his Masters in Art Education major at The University of Tennessee a few years ago.

https://www.diigo.com/profile/roychawk

 

Widgets: This part was the hardest for me simply because none of my Widgets will work. This one listed below (likely still with HTML code visible, but not the widget) is very neat and one of my favorites I found for Elementary Art Students. You pick out different staple objects of well-known Keith Herring’s graffiti-style art work and create your own graffiti art! Very do-able & fun for K-5. I’ve also included the website address on the next line so you can see the widget if HTML doesn’t work.

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/GraffitiArtist

“Graffiti Artist” HTML…..

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('dc93b801-ba39-4a90-a286-e6639afc65f2');</script>

<noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/GraffitiArtist">Graffiti Artist by Abrakadoodle.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>! Not seeing a widget? (<a href="http://support.widgetbox.com/">More info</a>)</noscript>

My other widget is a Google Calendar. Now that parents are becoming more and more in sync with their children’s school lives via technology, a calendar seemed like a great idea! I can post topics & brief descriptions of what we’ll be doing in art every week so they hopefully will engage with their children and ask them, “What was your favorite thing about drawing a still life in art today?”

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1

 

The Classroom Management Documents were not only one of my favorite projects we’ve made but I learned a lot about utilizing templates in unexpected places. I honestly never would have thought to browse PowerPoint’s templates for to make a flyer. I would have used Microsoft Word. The newer versions of these programs have very nice looking templates.

I loved learning about  Zoho Show & Prezi this semester. I liked Zoho because of it’s ability to share presentations over the internet for parents, students, administrators etc. to see. What I liked about Prezi was the layout. When you look at that first image, it’s essentially a “virtual map” for the information about to be presented. I like that it zooms in on what you need it to when it’s time and it is also easily sharable.

 

Module 4: Utilizing Technology in the Art Classroom

Advantages

There are many advantageous ways to utilize and incorporate technology into art classrooms:

·         Accessing Art Examples- Being able to show art students images at the click of a mouse is priceless! Google Images is my go-to since it’s fast, simple and can be accessed from any device connected to the internet. Other sites allow students to interact with, see and learn about art (& works of art) it in a fun kid-friendly way. e.g.:  MoMA Learning , NGAkids: ARTZONE, smARTkids, and ARTSEDGE: The Kennedy Center  “Faculty who are web savvy can create interactive websites to help students learn color theory, design theory and photography techniques.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.367) Teachers can also utilize Microsoft Powerpoint or Zoho Docs to create presentations for classes.

 

MoMa Learning Video:

 

·         Digital Projects Created by Students- By letting your students use digital cameras, video cameras, scanners, online tools, apps or computer software, they can create video, digital photography or graphic arts projects. Some schools even let their students come up with school advertisements, calendars, notes, banners, tshirt designs etc.- it is a great idea, it empowers students in a positive way and it cuts down on costs! Some resources the book mentions: Photoshop Elements, iMovie, Movie Maker, GarageBand & Gimp. One downside is that the materials are very expensive!

 

·         Virtual Field Trips- “Through virtual tours available at many sites, students can “visit” museums and see great works of art that serve as illustrations of artists’ work and models for their own work.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.358) Most children in American will probably never get to visit the Louvre in Paris and see Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa; the N.G.A. in Washington or MoMA in NYC. If we can’t do it in person, do it online! Many major museums are making strides to improve Virtual Visits! “Some museum sites even make their server available for students to post their own creations…” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.369). NGA Virtual Tour

Disadvantages

“Many arts educators have resisted pressure to use computers and other instructional technologies, complaining about the contradiction inherent in blending impersonal machines with traditionally humanistic endeavors.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.354)

 

·         No matter how many fantastic art websites you direct your students to, this does not replace making art with their own hands. While I believe integrating technology into art classrooms is important, I also believe in turning off the technology & creating something!

·         Materials for digital projects are EXPENSIVE! Digital cameras, video cameras, printers, ink, paper, scanners, software and the computers needed to make all this work- cost a lot! Sadly, art funding isn’t a huge priority. L

·         Even though Virtual Field Trips are a great solution in some situations, there is  no substitute for getting students out there to let them see first-hand just how thick Van Gogh applied paint and how small the Mona Lisa really is!

Virtual Museums- Good or Bad?

M3:

Molly Brooke Threadgill

 

·         URLs: What do URLs tell you/students about web sites?  

“If someone gives you a URL, very often you can tell what and where it is by reading its parts.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 216) Every URL has a “domain designator” and you can differentiate certain kinds of sites from others just by looking at the last 3 letters (e.g. .gov, .org, .edu, .com, .net etc.).

·         Search Engines: How can learning to use search engines help you/students find better information?

In my M2 blog post I wrote extensively about how valuable and helpful Google has been to me as a teacher. Major advantages of using a search engine are that often times, like with Google, you can type in the word Sunflower in the search box and instantly everything relating to Sunflowers magically appears on your screen. You can toggle through the different parts of Google- Google Images, Google News, Google Shopping, Google Scholar, Google Videos etc.- without typing the word in again and see every possible option for searching for Sunflowers. Teaching your students how to to research within a search engine is so important!

·         Internet Tool: Choose one Internet Tool (in the section beginning on p. 223) and discuss how you might use it in a classroom.

As an art teacher I see the benefit and am eager to begin using an e-Portfolio site such as Artsonia to have an up-to-date way for parents to see what we’ve been doing in art each day! I usually have to keep all my students’ art work until the end of the year so I can pick each student’s best piece(s) for our year-end art shows. Having something like this would be a wonderful way to parent’s to engage and ask their children specific questions about what’s been going on in art! Any way to strike up conversation between parents & children is a HUGE plus in my book! Also, the student’s could learn how to digitally photograph and upload their work to the site- very very cool too!

 

·         Web-Based Lesson: Discuss and link to a web site where students could access or you could create a web-based lesson. (discussed in Chapter 8)

Collaborative projects are beneficial & popular in education today. Google Docs or also even Wikispaces would be sites teachers could use to help with web-based lessons. They could do the initial lesson & give the assignment on Wikispaces and then the students could use Google Docs to help them complete the project together!

·         Favorite Web Sites: Finally, pick two web sites that you feel are your favorite. Post the web sites and talk about why they will be beneficial to teachers and/or students. Use at least two references to chapter 7 and 8 content (for each) that makes these web sites effective resources.

 

M2: Hypermedia-Charged Learning

Module 2: Hypermedia-Charged Learning

Molly Brooke Threadgill

“Hypermedia refers to “linked media” or “interactive media”…” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.173)

In thinking about a hypermedia product I could use/ do use in my art classrooms, Google, particularly  Google Images, were the first things that came to mind. I’ve used Google Images countless times while teaching and it has been the most helpful online reference resource for me as an art teacher. Any computer connected to internet can access it and it’s FREE, “… there is increased availability of reference materials on the Internet for little or no cost.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.175) Who can beat that? “Some materials have simulations, animations, videos and/or Internet links to still more material.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.176). In addition to having access to millions of images at the click of a mouse, once you have typed and chosen the material you are searching for, to the right of the image you clicked on are thumbnails of similar images that say, “Try these too:” above them. Another exceptional function of Google as a whole is the ability to switch between different sections of Google (Search, Images, Map, Play, YouTube, News etc.) by scrolling to the top and clicking; you don’t have to reenter a search term- Love that! In addition to the wonders of Google Images, I also can’t help but mention other ways Google as a whole has helped me turn my students on to curiosity, exploration, trying new things and dreaming big. Google Doodles have helped them to always wonder and usually click to find out, “what’s up with the cool Google Doodle picture today?” After realizing the spark that Google Doodles ignited, we started 2 years ago having my 4^th and 5^th graders enter Doodle 4 Google. I highly encourage all teachers to check it out...

 

 

Current Hypermedia Production Software is divided into two types of resources users can utilize for desgining hypermedia environments. “The first results in programs that run on computers but have links to web resources; the other is for designing environments that are completely web-based.” (Doering &Roblyer, 2013, p.192). Sketchup is a 3D modeling program designed by Google and used widely by architects, artists, students and designers. I used this program to build virtual maquettes for sculptures I was planning to make. This would not be a program elementary kids (to my knowledge) could easily manage, but on the secondary and collegiate levels, it is a phenomenal tool- and it’s FREE! You can design anything from a small 2 foot tall sculpture or your city’s next recreational park. “Placing students in the role of designer/developer is a path to achieving several 21^st century skills, such as problem solving and creative thinking.” Students could plan their next 3D art project or generate ideas about an empty space at school or in their community they want to revitalize. The possibilities are endless!

 

Module 1: Technology Tools in Teaching

Module 1: Technology Tools in Teaching

By: Molly Brooke Threadgill

 

I wouldn’t trade my seemingly traditional chalkboard,  Zaner-Bloser paper education for anything. However, I’m sure my teachers would have jumped at the opportunity to make learning multiplication tables, spelling or science seem like a video game. Fortunately, teachers today have endless creative and innovative technological tools at the click of a mouse or swipe of an iPad that help engage students of the 21^st century and make learning much more fun and exciting than techniques used just 10 years ago.

1.       Drill and Practice

·         What: “Drill and practice software functions provide exercises in which students work example items, usually one at a time, and receive feedback on their correctness.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 81).

·         Pros: It gives the students immediate feedback after each question, computer-based practice is more appealing to some students and it is a constructive way for students to spend free time.

http://www.ixl.com/

2.       Tutorial

·         What: “Tutorial software is an entire instructional sequence on a topic, similar to a teacher’s classroom instruction. This instruction usually is expected to be a self-contained  instructional unit rather than a supplement to other instruction.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.86).  Not something that tests or helps students practice skills or concepts they have already been taught, but the actual thing that does the teaching.

§  Linear Tutorial- No matter how the user is picking up the material being taught, the software does not change. It teaches the same thing to everyone, no matter if you understand it or not.

§  Branching Tutorial- A tutorial that essentially adapts to how well the users are picking up material presented.

  http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_delegates.htm

 

3.       Simulation

·         What: “A simulation is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.90)

§  Procedural Simulations

§  Situational Simulations

http://www.citycreator.com/     (My personal favorite, Oregon Trail, I think would work too!)

4.       Instructional Games

·         What: “Instructional games add game-like rules and/or competition to learning activities.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.94).

http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/    (*This reminds me of “Math Bingo” we played    in elementary school. )

5.       Problem-Solving

·         What: “Problem-solving software functions may focus on fostering component skills in or approaches to general problem-solving ability, or provide opportunities to practice solving various kinds of content-area problems.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.99).

http://www.keycurriculum.com/products/sketchpad

 

6.       Integrated Learning Systems

·         What: “Integrated Learning Systems are networked or online systems that provide both computer-based instruction and track and report on student progress.” (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p.102).

                http://www.compasslearning.com/

7.       Word Processing Software

·         Picture It A word processing program that accommodates students with special needs. Picture-assisted reading materials are created for students who struggle with reading or writing.  

http://www.suncastletech.com/pit.html

8.       Materials Generators

·        These can be extremely beneficial for both teacher and student. Materials generators like Puzzle Maker , Certificate Maker and Parent Teacher Conference Scheduler are fantastic free tools for educators that also benefit students and parents alike.