Sources of Inspiration...

One day, during Art class, my students were working on Word Collages.  They were using a variety of media to color their designs.  One of the students stuck a piece of scrap paper under his collage so he wouldn't get marker on the table.  As students were cleaning up at the end of class, I saw his scratch paper and in idea for a work of art popped into my head.  I was inspired!  I asked the student if I could turn his marker marks into something and he said, "Sure!"

The next several days, while the students were working on their projects, I worked on my idea.  Students watched and when they arrived each day, they asked, "Are you finished with your drawing yet?"  When I was almost done, I asked, "Is there anything you think I should add?"  One of the students said, "We don't care what it looks like as long as there is a donut sign in the picture."  The sign had to include the words "Michael's Donuts".  Donuts have been a recurring topic of conversation with this group.

Over the weekend, I finished most of the work. When I brought the work to class, I had my students critique it.  After the critique, I told them what my thoughts were about the placement of the donut sign.  I said I was thinking of drawing the donut as a hockey puck by the stick.  I said I wasn't sure how to include the words in the design and they told me it was okay if I just drew the donut.  In the end, I wrote the word "Michael's" in the donut. 

We talked about who owns the work.  I shared that since the student started the work with his marks and I finished it, we were collaborating on the work of art.  I told him that we should BOTH sign it.  We also discussed what should be done with the work and the students decided it should hang in the room above the SMART Board.  I like that idea. 

This was a fun way to show students one way I get inspired to create works of art.  I wanted to show them the steps to creating the work and my thought process about the decisions I made.  Now, some students are handing me their scratch pieces of paper and asking me to turn it into something.  I can't wait to create my next masterpiece.  

"Mystery Scrap" - A Magical Way to Get Kids to Pick Scraps up from the Classroom Floor

Not tech related but I thought I'd use technology to share....

I'm always amazed at how quickly you can get kids to do something when you make a game out of the desired task.  For me, getting kids to pick scraps up from the art room floor has never been so easy when I play the game I call "Mystery Scrap".  The kids will beg you to play this game.  I've been doing this for years so I'm not sure if I learned this from someone else or I made it up on my own.  When students are doing a particularly messy project resulting in lots of scraps on the floor, I will scope out a unique looking scrap on the floor.  (If you cannot find something unique, I wouldn't judge you if you decided to contribute to the mess by adding a unique looking scrap of your own.) When it is time to clean up, announce to the class the clean up procedures and then, tell them, "There is a 'Mystery Scrap' somewhere on this floor.  Whoever finds it will win an award from the prize bin."  (If you don't have a prize bin, it would be worth it to invest in one.) Kids will practically dive out of their seats if they deem the prize to be worthy enough.  Be aware.  They might even tackle you if you are standing next to some of the scraps. It is good idea to stand next to a garbage can because the kids will approach you will hands full of garbage as they eagerly ask you, "Is this it? Is this it?" One thing I've learned is to not announce the "finder" of the scraps until the floor is clean.  If students ask me if anyone has found the scrap, I will respond, "I'm not sure," while looking all over the floor to see if it is still there. At the end, I will announce the winner and tell them which scrap it was. My floor is always spotless when playing this game except in the story below.  One child had her own ideas of the most efficient way to clean up.

During the past two weeks, I have been doing cross-curricular units with the first and second grade teachers as they teach their Life and Animal Units in their Science classes.  Through a tip from my husband, I learned of a Grant opportunity from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  I applied for a Grant and won money that allowed me to purchase incubators for use in the first and second grade classrooms, as well as in my Art room and the Middle School Science room.  My husband and I provided fertilized eggs from our farm to place in the incubators and by next week, our baby chicks should hatch.  During the units, the project themes in my Art classes are related to the Science units.  On Thursday, last week, students were finishing their chicken drawings.  They had to "invent" a new breed of chicken, place it on a "nest box", and create a nest with shredded construction paper "hay".  This has been, by far, one of my favorite lessons as the outcomes were so creative.  It looked like the floor of a hay loft in a barn.  I wasn't too concerned, though, because I knew the kids would perform a miracle during clean up. When it was time to clean up, I knew the kids would need a little extra assistance so I grabbed a broom and started cleaning the outskirts of the room.  As I was approaching the garbage, one child approached me with her hands full of scraps.  Instead of asking me about her scraps, or heading to the garbage can, she looked at me, looked at the broom and the scraps on the floor, and then, proceeded to drop her pile of scraps on the floor in front of the scraps being pushed by my broom.  I was stunned.  I hadn't expected that.  I did what any teacher would probably do when a small second grader does something like this.  I LAUGHED.  Then, I looked at her with a fun, confused look on my face and all she could ask as she raised her hands was, "What?"  I love these moments in teaching.  Kids will do things that will give you reasons to laugh.  What else can you do?  In that moment, the thing that probably made the most sense to that child was, "She's on her way to the garbage can anyway so why not?"  Why not?  I could've taken the moment to talk seriously to her, but judging by the look she saw me give her (in a fun way), I could tell she got it.  To that I say, "Why not?  Why not LAUGH?"....

4th Grade Google Earth Artists

Students are busy creating their Google Earth works of art.  They used a Google Earth image as the skeleton for their composition.  Students outlined the lines and shapes they thought stood out on the Google Earth image and them traced them on a blank piece of drawing paper.  Next, they added color to their lines and shapes.  Images have been photographed and will be used in a video.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100826388941559998420/4thGradeGoogleEarthArtists?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLqbzZzrqOrqNA&feat=directlink

Technology is Not a Separate Lesson...

During the course of the year, students in my classroom have learned how to integrate technology within their classwork.  At this point of the year, students know how to use several tools and can integrate the use of them, on their own, as they are in various stages of work on their projects. However, it took some time and training to get there.  In the beginning of the year, I taught them lessons in Digital Citizenship.  Then, throughout the year, I have been teaching them how to use new tools and Web Sites.  As I am teaching students about these tools and sites, I am constantly reminding them of the AUP and how to be a good Digital Citizen.  I feel it is important to review this each time the students access sites on the Web.  I also think it is the responsibility of every teacher, who uses technology in their classroom, to teach students how to use technology appropriately.

In my classroom, we use technology in many ways.  Technology isn't the lesson in itself.  Technology is embedded within the art lesson.  A sample lesson in my classroom might look something like this:

1.  The student is introduced to an artist, movement, or idea. Students learn the goals and objectives of the lesson.

2.  Students work on their lesson.  Technology devices may be used as a means for researching ideas or in aiding in the completion process.

3.  When students complete the lesson, and the work is assessed (rubric, critique, etc.), they have the ability to scan their artwork with a classroom scanner or photograph their artwork using an iPod Touch, iPad, or Digital Camera.  On some occasions, if time is limited, I will photograph the work and place it in my dropbox.  Students will either upload the photos of their artwork to their laptop or retrieve the photos of the artwork from my dropbox.

4.  Students will edit the photograph of the work in iPhoto, ipiccy.com, pixlr.com, picmonkey.com, image tricks lite, etc. if necessary.

5.  Students will place a photo of their edited artwork in their Art PowerPoint.  At this point, they will type a reflection about their work of art.

6.  Students will transfer the photo of their artwork to iMovie where they will record a video or audio reflection about their work of art.

7.  Student will place the photo of their artwork in a folder on their desktop.  This folder of work will be submitted to me via my dropbox near the end of the course.  I will upload all of the works of art to each student's Artsonia.com portfolio page.

***At any time, students may choose to redo a project.  When students learned that all their artwork was being used during student led conferences, I was so thrilled to hear a student ask if they could redo one of their assignments because they knew they could do a better job.  I was thrilled to hear they wanted to do it over and happily allowed them to redo it.

We have been on a learning curve this year.  The goal is to have my students become more independent in preparing their work for show, in school and online. Because we just received many of the technology devices this year, we are not quite where I want to be, yet,  I am proud of the way students are adapting to the changes. I am even more proud of their patience and willingness to help me learn how to use the new technology tools.

It has been exciting integrating technology in my lessons.  I want others to see that technology doesn't have to be something that is only taught and used in the computer lab.  When technology is interwoven into lessons in classes outside of the computer room, the results can be pretty powerful.

Photography "Zone" Where Students Can Photograph Their Artwork

Learning How to Use the Green Screen

After watching many video tutorials and through trial and error, I think I am ready to give my Middle School students their Green Screen assignments.  They are going to be working in pairs to create Green Screen videos about their favorite works of art, created this year, that will be included included in their iMovie and saved to their Digital Portfolios.  Each pair will receive an iPod Touch and will be set to work.

The trials and tribulations that led us on the path of preparedness have included a few practice photo shoots where some students stood in front of the Green Screen and shared their thoughts about one of their works of art.  After the first photo shoots, we purchased a steamer to get the wrinkles out of the Green Screen.  This helped.  Next, I uploaded some of the videos to my computer.  We were having some difficulty with the videos extending beyond the artwork that was substituted for the Green Screen.  I figured out that I need to make sure the photographed artwork is same size and oriented the same way (portrait or landscape) as the Green Screen video.  Also, we figured out that it is a good idea to be aware of the artwork composition.  The student will need to know this when standing in front of the Green Screen.  For example, if the details in the work of art the student wants to talk about are mostly to the left of the artwork, the student should stand to the right in the Green Screen video and leave lots of green screen space to the left.  This will prevent the student from "standing in front of" the subject they are talking about.  This is particularly important if there are words in the work of art.  It might be helpful to also have the students shoot the videos with lots of extra Green Screen above and to the side of the students.  This will allow the student to appear smaller than the work of art so more of the work can be seen.

So far, I have a list of ideas of ways we plan to use the Green Screen.  I also have some possible ideas.  If you have used a Green Screen in your classroom and would be willing to share ideas, I would love to hear them.  It has been exciting to see the excitement in the kids as we think of new ways to use it.

Ways we plan to use/have used the Green Screen during the remainder of this school year include:

1.  Each Middle School student will create a video about their favorite work of art that will be included in their Digital Portfolio.

2.  Our school principal utilized the Green Screen to shoot videos for a Gala Dinner dinner item some families purchased.  Students in the families stood in front of the Green Screen and introduced the courses of the Italian meal their parents purchased.  Their videos were dropped in front of Italian scenes.  As the meal was being served, the "kids" introduced each course through the video.

3.  I am planning to shoot a video about the different ways we have used technology in the classroom.  I have videos of students working as they are using the technology.  I plan to shoot videos of kids looking into the Green Screen like they are looking out a window and asking the kids to explain what they are doing in the prerecorded videos.  Those two videos will be combined.  (I will post the video when it is done.)

4.  Fourth graders created a Google Earth Artwork with Google Earth images.  I plan to have the students shoot a video (in front of the Green Screen) telling about their image and then replace the Green Screen with their Google Earth Artwork.

Next year I plan to:

1.  Continue creating videos about their works of art for the portfolios.  

2.  Have kids "stand in front of" a variety of Western and Non Western works of art and create a video analysis of each work.

Laker Educational Foundation Grant Recipient

This Fall, I was honored to apply for and receive a Grant for the Art Department from the Laker Educational Foundation.  We were able to purchase equipment that is going to be used for a variety of purposes.

Students have already used some of the equipment to photograph their artwork and upload it to their laptops.  They learned how to edit their work and then create Digital Portfolios and iMovies. In the iMovie, they had to include video and audio reflections about their work.  Students placed the iMovies in their Digital Portfolios and shared them during Student Led Conferences.

Student service workers have also used the equipment to photograph the work of the younger students.  The artwork of the K-5 students is slowly being uploaded their Artsonia.com portfolio pages. Middle School students will be submitting a portfolio of their photographed work that will also be uploaded to their Artsonia.com portfolio pages.

Our next step is to start using the Green Screen, which we are slowing mastering by trial and error, to create videos about artwork.  While in front of the Green Screen, students will film a video about one of their favorite works of art. Then, in iMovie, they will drop the video over the top of their favorite work of art.  The work of art will become the wall they are standing in front of.  Videos will be posted later.

Thank you, Laker Educational Foundation.  Your Grant is changing the way we are able to share the works we create in the Art room.  It has been a wonderful way to infuse technology in the Arts.

EarthWorks

My 8th grade students attended Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota during the week of November 12 - 16.  During that time, the environment was their classroom.

In one class, EarthWorks, the students used the environment as their canvas.  Items they found in their environment were their media.  The Earthworks objectives, listed on the Wolf Ridge Web site, gave students the following experience:

"Students will experience seeing and expressing themselves creatively through contact with the natural world. Drawing activities, site-specific sculpture, and group discussion generate awareness of one's own influence on the environment and appreciation for artistic expression."  http://bit.ly/S1veUf

During class, students looked at and talked about a variety of environmental artworks created by a variety of artists. Then, the students hiked to the site where they were going to create their works of art.  As they walked, they pointed out items in nature that were sources of inspiration, stuck out, etc.  When they arrived at their site, as an individual or in groups, students had an hour to create a work of art with the natural media they found around them.  Finally, they shared their works of art with their classmates.

The link below contains photos I took during the EarthWorks class.

http://bit.ly/RJZPVd