Final Project

Spread Sheet: Increasing Students Understanding of how to utilize the elements of art in their work by creating a painting inspired by the work of Wayne Thiebald

     The lesson I chose to reference for this project was one that I had used for the Inclusion module, CURR 310. The lesson is based on the work of the American painter Wayne Thiebaud. Objects of culture in particular sweet tasting foods heavily influenced the subject matter for his work. The painting techniques and use of color are what makes Thiebauds work stand out. For my lesson the students will create their own cake paintings using the elements and principles of design in a manner that also reflects Thiebauds work.

     To begin the lesson I will educate my students on the works and style of Wayne Thiebaud. To assist me in this I will lecture to my students on Wayne Thiebaud’s style of work as a painter as well as provide them with examples of his work. I will do this through use of the computer by creating a power point containing slides of his work.  While going through Thiebaud’s work I will point out different elements of design and ask the class to identify them as well. After pointing out the specific elements I will have the students come up to the board to write it along with a description that we come up with for what it means. We will then discuss how the effects of using these different elements help convey a message or a feeling from the viewer. (NJCCS 1.1.5.D.1/ NETS-S 2)

     In order to stimulate and excite my students to create an interesting looking cake I will have them create their own cakes by exploring how to design a cake on a photoshop type program. They will be able to use a tablet to outline images of cakes in order to understand how to create the basic shapes and proportions. They can also paint over the photos with the necessary tools. (For younger grades I would use this website instead of photoshop as a cake making activity Click here for the activity.) Next I will ask students to take out their sketchbooks and practice drawing their cakes with pencil. They will be able to use the computer to search for images of cakes so that they can see the kinds of colors and textures cakes have. (NJCCS 1.3.2.D.1/ NETS-S 1, 3) I will communicate to them what my expectations are for the project by listing them on the board so that they can always reference what the task at hand is.

     The next step in the sequence would be for them to begin creating their original painted work of art inspired by Wayne Thiebald. I will demonstrate to the students how to create a frothy consistency with their paint in order to achieve an icing like texture. I will also demonstrate to them how to create different values with their paint by adding white and black. While doing this I will have a video camera on my hands while the image is projected on to the screen. This will make sure that everyone has the ability to see what is happening closely so that they know what is being asked of them.  (NJCCS 1.3.2.D.5, NJCCS 1.3.2.D.1)

     When the students have completed their paintings we will hang them up to display for a critique. Students will point out where the elements of design were achieved, or where the student could have added an element of design.  They will also explain to one another how they achieved it and what the process was like for them. At the end I will ask students more open questions like what is the significance of cake in the art works? Why would Thiebald choose to paint cake and sweets as his subject matter? (NJCCS 1.1.5.D.1, 1.4.5.A.3) I will then play an interview from a youtube clip of the artist talking about his work. Click here for Video

     The last part of this lesson will include a recapping of the material covered followed by a short vocab quiz. The quiz will contain questions such as what are the 7 elements of art and their descriptions as well as questions like what inspired Wayne Thiebalds work? And What Techniques did Thiebald use in his works? I will also provide one of Thiebalds works on the projection screen and ask students to list which elements are apparent in the work and where they were used. (NJCCS 1.3.P.D.3, NET-S 4) I would hope with this continuing repetition of talk of the elements throughout the project the students are able to grasp the concepts and successfully utilize them in their future work. 

artsonia

http://www.artsonia.com/

This is a website that I came across when searching for art lessons that dealt with technology in the classroom. This site is dedicated to displaying students art work from all over the country online for all to see. After the students art works are posted by the teacher parents, friends, or relatives can not only view the students work but they can purchase the artwork in the form of a mug, a mousepad, print, t-shirt, and so much more. A portion of the money that is made off of the sale of the work goes to the school of that student. The other great thing about this site is that the students work remains on there forever! There is even an option to leave comments on the students work. This site is a great way to showcase students work so that they can take pride in the pieces they make. 

Weebly

www.weebly.com

I have started creating a website as a way to show my education/art portfolio. It will include all of my artwork , lesson plans and activities, as well as personal information such as my resume, artist statement and philosophy of education. I needed to use a site that would be free and I knew about google sites that you can use through your gmail. It was extremely confusing and I found myself getting extremely frustrated with it. One of my class mates told me that she created her website on weebly.com. I looked into it and found it to be much more user friendly than google sites. You can drag and drop things into your page as well as add multimedia. Not only is this an easy to use site, loaded with lots of great features, but it's FREE!

The Exquisite Forest

Click here to view "The Exquisite Forest"

I stumbled upon this site the other day when searching for different lessons that deal with collaborative work in the classroom.  The Exquisite Forest is an online animated collaborative art project that lets anyone add their work to build off of someone else's work that they have posted creating different branches. People can build off of other peoples themes or branches or create their known, which would be planting a new seed to start a new tree. Although it would be hard to teach Flash player in the class room, I know nothing about it myself, but this project of creating something like this is such a good idea. It gives you a chance to create something that people all over the world have contributed to. Watch the video I have posted for an introduction to the project or click the link to take you directly to the site.

Pinterest

Pinterest has been something I have stumbled upon quite recently and has been my new addiction. On the Pinterest site you can create different "boards"and "pin" things to them that you see on other peoples boards by clicking the "pin" button after you have selected a photo. That stores the image onto your board. A lot of people name their boards different categories as a way to organize their "pins" such as food, art, fashion, and so on. I have found a lot of inspiring art lessons on here by searching for key words in the search bar. Once I find something I like I click on the picture and it brings me to the site it came from. This is great when you want to find out more about how what is in the picture was created. It is a really neat way for the creative types to share different ideas as well as gather and collect the different things that inspire them on this virtual cork board. 

Click on this link to see what comes up on Pinterest when you search for "Art Lesson" in the search bar!

Interactivity #5

     

The teacher that I interviewed for this assignment teaches Middle School art/technology courses in Wycoff school district in New Jersey. Some of the projects he has done in his digital imaging classes include animation, reinventing masterpieces, digital post-impressionist painting, magazine covers, colorizing images and manipulating photos, and logo design. I love the idea of technology and art. Art is about expression and technology has endless amounts of creative ways to express oneself. I think that his district is fortunate to have this as a class for students because not many schools have that as an opportunity. When I brought up the ISTE and the NETS my interviewed teacher was very familiar with both ISTE as and the NETS and a lot of great things to say about the organization. He mentioned that he had attended 4 of their conferences, which he felt were very impressive as well as informative. His school is very up to date with the latest technologies and more and more technologies are being implemented in the different classrooms at his school. The science classes in his school all have iPads for their students to use and the 6^th grade social studies classes in his school all have a set of chrome laptops for the students. I was surprised when he said this, I imagine that the students in these classes must really enjoy as well as benefit from these tools. Having these up to date gadgets get students to actively participate as well as enhance their learning. Technology is a major part of their lives and a form of entertainment for them. I think that incorporating things like iPads and laptops’ when teaching lessons can make the subject matter more appealing for the students. Technology in the classroom can make learning more comfortable for them since they are so used to using it when they leave school. My interviewing teacher said that his school uses the NETS when writing and revising the curriculum and that he believes that the state technology standards are based on NETS. The transition of NETS in his school, he mentions, is an ongoing process. The standards are always revised, as is the tech curriculum, which is revised every three years according to him. I believe that revising the curriculum every three years is completely necessary due to the changes and advances in technology. The curriculum needs to change as the technology changes so that the lessons are relevant. It is important that we as teachers do not fall behind and educate ourselves on the advances of technology. This also means staying up to date with what the younger generations technological interests are in order to provide effective and engaging lessons. We must work together as educators when coming up with new lessons that utilize the technologies that we are surrounded with. This is extremely important for our student’s future of learning as well as our own learning of how to better our lessons and make use of these technologies. 

                                                        Link to My Spreadsheet 

Art Blogs

Click here for a List of the Top 20 Art Blogs

Before this class I knew very little about blogging. I didn't realize how much you can learn from other people that have blogs such as teachers for instance. Since I have been writing my own lesson plans I am constantly on the search for new and exciting things to do with the kids. I have gotten so many ideas from looking at different art teachers blogs and reading about their successes as well as their downfalls. I think it is very useful to take the time to explore the net for blogs created by teachers in your content area in order to generate new ideas for lessons. I will most definitely create a blog geared toward my lessons once I start teaching. Hopefully I can inspire other teachers like they have done for me!

YouTube Demo

This is a demonstration video I created to show different tools that students can use to blend oil pastels. The students in my fieldwork 8th grade class were practicing using oil pastels and drawing eyes in particular so I thought this would be a good way to demonstrate the techniques of blending so that they could reference this while making their own pieces.

Brain POP

This is the BrainPOP video that went with our lesson on Surrealism

Yesterday during my fieldwork hours my Coop teacher introduced me to this website called BrainPOP which is a site developed as an educational resource that students and teachers can use in the classroom. You can search from practically all subjects, Art, Music, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Health, even Engineering and Technology. The site teaches difficult concepts on a level that depending on the grade, will be able to understand. In my 8th Grade art classroom my teacher used this site to give more information on Surrealism. As the animated video played I could see every students eyes on the screen, most likely because it was a cartoon which is something that most kids that age are already watching. I think that this is such a great site because the kids are learning about things that might not be as understandable if we just told them about it. The video was played after me and my Coop discussed surrealism with the class, it was a good way to reiterate some of the things that we said to the class in order to make sure they understand the movement.

YouTube Bio

I created this youtube video on the iMovie program, it demonstrates the Ken Burns effect pretty nicely I would say. This is a great way for you to introduce artists to your students and you can say exactly what you would like them to know and not drag out an outdated art history video made in the 1980's that students will surely fall asleep to.

Interactivity #4

     

Link to my Spreadsheet

     I chose this particular lesson plan because I feel that it exemplifies how creative you can be while exploring different technologies and design concepts in the 21st century art classroom. Most students are fascinated with technology and working with computers being that some of the programs they have out now are so new and cutting edge. I think that this digital imaging lesson would be an excellent way for the students who are discouraged by their skills in studio art making (painting, or drawing) to make something they can be really proud of as well as show off their creative abilities. The lesson is also a great introduction into the world of graphic design along with the career options it is accompanied with. It educates students on how to achieve a visual impact through font, color, and thickness of the line. The lesson also promotes students to think abstractly and gives them the freedom to come up with a subject matter that speaks to them. This will encourage them to explore different kinds of media and their properties in order to see the visible effects they can achieve.
      I believe that I was able to align the goals, strategies and technologies completely in this assignment. The one thing that I added to my strategies that I thought would make for a more cohesive lesson is having the teacher provide more of a background on typography as well as examples of successfully used typography in media/design. This lesson would show the students that creative design is essential in all of the marketing that we are surrounded by on an everyday basis. Teaching elements of good design and how we can achieve this by using technologies such as Photoshop or Illustrator will help students see endless possibilities of creative design through technology.

Interactivity #3

I had a lot of difficulty getting on my computer and online this past week due to the hurricane so this assignment was challenging for me to get started on. I think as a whole my group and I found a lot of different technologies that would assist with our teaching as well as make it the class more interesting for our future students. As I was researching various technologies for the art classroom I stumbled upon a lot of sites (such as kid blog, glogster, and school tube), which I will definitely use in my future classes.  Many of us agreed on certain technologies like iMovie, digital cameras, video cameras, and tablets. Some of the technologies the other girls mentioned I did not even think of until they posted it. For instance, Nicole mentioned video conference calling which I thought would be very interesting for students to part take in. It would be a great way for students to take a look at other cultures besides their own and also get to know other students. Going along with that I was also impressed by the link that Julie posted, Art Education 2.0. I think that it is important to assign students multicultural activities in order for them to gain an understanding and respect of the world they live in. This site is wonderful because I can see what other teachers are doing with their art students around the world and together we can gain a greater understanding of one another as well as expand our boundaries when creating assignments for our students.

Interactivity #2

Showing effective and exciting films in the classroom will inspire students and teach them that
learning new things is an on going adventure!

Interactivity #2

 1.    When viewing the video about the history of technology in schools from 1900-1990 there weren’t really any specific technologies geared toward art. I would have to say out of the ones that were shown in the video, film has had the most impact on art. The act of making a film is something I consider to be an art. Films were used in the classroom when teachers needed to show their students things that they may not be able to view in a classroom setting or as a way to reiterate the lesson. It is a way for the students to travel or explore without leaving their desk. Film could assist students who are visual learners who need to see more demonstration. It could provide supplementary information to the class as well as visualize certain subjects for them that cannot be found in writing or with words. Films can be quite creative in the way they teach children too. 

     The video really illustrated for me that without making improvements and alterations in the way that we teach on a constant basis then there is no room for growth. This means that if we cannot embrace new forms of technology and teach them to our students how can we advance and invent new forms of it if there is no previous knowledge? The students we teach are our future. They will be the creators and the inventors, why wouldn’t we want to keep them up to date and expose them to a multitude of technologies? From these technologies will come new, better, and more innovative ideas and inventions that could better or lives one day. Isn’t that the purpose of technology anyway? If we as teachers don’t give them all of the tools available in order to learn we are stunting not only their learning but their technological growth.

2.     Although I think the Internet has a large impact on all subject areas the one technology that I believe has the greatest impact on my subject area, would have to be film. With the use of film I am able to provide my students with a supplemental source of information to the lesson I am teaching. Like I said previously I believe film to be an art form itself and a lot can go into making a film reach a desired group of viewers. Film can be quite a successful learning tool if it is created and used effectively. It is a great way to introduce a topic or subject as well as echo what you are discussing in class. Showing a short film in class can take the students on a visual journey depending on what you will show them. You may want to show something that will inspire, something that will inform, demonstrate, or even question the meaning of something. All of these things can help you get their brains geared toward a particular lesson. When discussing the Internet we know that it contains an endless supply of information as well as countless visuals, which may definitely assist in the classroom. My only issue with that, as well as what was discussed in the article about the history of technology in schools, is that it tends to take away the creative process due to the fact that everything is right there. Art to me is an exploration of what you know, what you don’t know or what you want to know. If the Internet was my primary source as a technological tool in the art classroom my students would be at a disadvantage. It is important to have more than one source when trying to teach. I want my students to see, feel, and experience. I want to teach my students that their art is something that they need to experience and feel emotion towards, not something they can google and try to recreate. The article stressed the fact that technology has been something that has been somewhat forced onto the school curriculum. As we advance in technology we must implement this in our schools, as it is important to move forward. We just need to have a better way of integrating it into our lessons. More training needs to take place so that teachers are very comfortable using these different technologies so that they may be able to show students how to use it to better their education. 

Interactivity #1 Technology as Autobiography

    

Olivia can be compared to a lot of the youth found in urban districts. She doesn’t have complete access to many of the technologies that some more fortunate children may take for granted. When it comes to teaching I know that I will be dealing with students who have little or no access to some of the technological programs and devices out there. In Olivia’s case she found outside sources to provide her with different technologies. Instead of being shown these technologies she learned about all of these devices and programs on her own and taught herself as well as others how to use them. Olivia describes technology as a major part of her life and she can’t imagine life with out it. It is important to know that technology can be a vital and important part of a student’s life. As a teacher I would like to provide as much access and knowledge I can about these different programs as well as promote further exploration in the technological world. Technology is constantly changing and it’s important for me as a teacher to keep up with what kids are using so that I can better relate my lessons to them.

The 3 technologies that have the most impact on my life right now would be my iPhone, Facebook, and Instagram. Since I got the iPhone I feel as though I barely use my laptop computer. Everything I need is at my fingertips and can fit right in my pocket. I can send emails, look up information on the web, call, text, and facetime. Mostly everything I can do on my computer I can do on my iPhone. I barely use my digital camera now that I think of it. The pictures and videos my iPhone takes are so good that I do not really have a use for my digital camera anymore. My facebook and instagram accounts are something I don’t think I could live without at the moment. Through facebook I am able to stay in touch with people who live far away such as my family, or my friends who live in different cities and countries. I am able to follow groups that hold my interests, I am able to find out about different events going on, and I can also find out more about people I know little about.  Through instagram I am able to take pictures and edit them with different filters and effects and post them. Its almost like a picture diary. People follow and are able to view your posts, and you can follow people and do the same. It has become a recent addiction of mine. I am constantly on the look out for interesting things around me that I can post on my instagram.

The kids in both videos use technology as a part of their everyday life. Like Olivia I use a social networking account on the regular. I think we both use it for similar reasons; to talk to and follow our friends and to express ourselves. Like the others in the second video I depend a lot of my computer, my ipod, and my phone. They are tools that I use multiple times a day, every day. I use my computer to research things that I know little about, and I am constantly experimenting with the endless amount of different programs that are so easily accessable to us. My instagram and facebook, although I enjoy using these programs, tend to distract me at times. While writing this post I probably looked at my instagram twice already. I think that facebook and instagram are excellent social networking programs, but at times I feel as though they may detour my attention from things that may be more informative and educational.