First Webinar Experience

So I finally was able to watch a webinar.  I didn't do the one on Discovery Streaming because I got called to sub (I wanted the money....), so I found one on Google's Picasa program.  I was really interested to learn something about this because I have used PhotoShop before and I've wondered how similar these programs are.  The webinar I watched was taped from March 19th. It went through a lot of different features that you can use, like editing photos, making collages, and creating movies.  It all seemed relatively easy (I can't wait to try it) and the best part is that it is free!  All you have to do is download the program and you're set.  You don't even need the internet to edit and make collages with your photos.  Some of the features are actually very similar to PhotoShop, which is nice because PhotoShop and Adobe Creative Suite are extremely expensive and this would be a nice option for a digital photography class.  It would have been nice to see this live, so I could have asked questions, but a lot of things that I wanted to ask were asked in the chat box.  

P.S. - This blog that I found the webinar on has a lot of other webinars and technology tools for educators.  There's a lot of helpful and interesting information on it.

NETS-T4

This weeks topic is the NETS-T4 standard. It states that teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. The indicator I am going to look at is a: advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

This is something, that I feel is sometimes looked over in the art world because there are so many art images online free for the taking. This is a great thing and it can be a bit of an issue. If you wanted to find a picture of The Mona Lisa on Google, you would probably come up with hundreds of images. Yet Da Vinci isn't around to say "hey, you can't take my image without my permission!" It's great that these images are out there for students to use and see artwork that they never would otherwise be able to see, but there should be one reputable site that has a majority of these images and that would be a good resource for students.

There are also some websites that artists can go to to post their own artwork for the world to see and if they don't copyright it and have that watermark on the image, anyone can take it without that artist making a dime. So there are some ethical issues when it comes to art and the internet, teachers need to stress that images are also resources and that they need to be documented just like any other source.

NETS-T3

The NETS Standard this week states that teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. I'm choosing to discuss indicator A: Teachers demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

I think a great way to transfer current knowledge through technologies is with a Wiki. This is what I am doing for my project. I am creating a kind of traveling through art and time Wikispace. This allows me to post information that I already know in place that is open for students (or anyone) to use as a resource. I plan on using different and credible art history books and websites to help me present my information in a correct manner. The MET's website is great and I've found that PBS has a great contemporary art website. This Wikispace is a work in progress, so I will keep you posted.

NETS-T2 continued!

So I'm continuing on with my post from last week about NETS-T2, but I'm going to look at indicator "c" this week. It states that teachers should customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

Last week I talked about creating movies and podcasts, which could also fit under this indicator, but Jim suggested I look at the MOMA's educational website. They have three resources right there on their main page; one for elementary students, one for teens and high school students, and one for art educators. The page for elementary students has an interactive feature where kids can follow an alien around the MOMA to learn about certain artists and their works. There are also activities for them to do. The page for teens also has interactive activities and questions what is and isn't art? It also gives high school art students a chance to enter into different contests or workshops offered there at the MOMA. Both of these activity pages would be a great resource in the classroom for those students who are quick at finishing their artwork. If you don't want them to start on something new, these websites would be great for them to go and play around with, while still learning and being creative with art and art history.

NETS-T2

The NETS-T2 standard states that teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.

The indicator I'm going to use is a: design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

I'm currently in another technology course at Miami and we are having to make a podcast with audio and video. The videos have to be instructional and informative. I chose to do my video on How to Paint Like Jackson Pollock. I included some background information about him and showed a short clip from a film. Then I taped some kids (and myself) creating their own Pollock paintings. When I use this in the classroom, I plan on showing the podcast and then have students do their own paintings. So this podcast can be used as a motivation and it just is a different way of introducing an artist rather than just showing some images and reading from a book. Another idea I had would be to have students pick their own artist and then create a film about their particular artist and the type of art they did.

There are a couple of different movie makers. I've used both iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. I used iMovie a few years ago on a Mac and I loved it because you could edit music also. I'm currently using Windows Movie Maker and I'm having issues with getting music mixed and edited to fit into the video because most PC's don't come with a music editor (or atleast mine doesn't). There's really not that much of a difference in the video editing, but I'm just having issues with putting everything together.

NETS-T1 Continued

So, I am going to continue with the post from last week. In our EDT610 class last week, we discusses wiki spaces and now I realize that those would be a perfect way for students to discuss and bounce ideas off of one another on one site.

As I was looking through other blogs from people in class, I found on Jessica's the PowerPoint games website. This is amazing! They have so many different topics and it was nice to see that they included art in there. There are games on the site so that groups of people could play and collaborate together. This is a great way for students to learn about the elements and principals of art. It also can make art history more exciting! I will definitely have to let some of my art education friends know about this site.

NETS-T1

The NETS standard we covering this week is "Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity" which states that teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. The indicator I am choosing to discuss is C: promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

In the a high school art classroom, it is important for students to plan, think, and collaborative creatively.  When students are planning for a project it really helps to be able to bounce ideas off of other people and discuss what you are planning to do.  This is also a good skill to use in the future.  There is a website called deviantart.com where artists from all over can post their own artwork to the web so people can view and comment on it.  This is a great place for students to go for ideas.  I'm currently at a school and the website is blocked, however, the site has it's own safety settings so that a teacher could have it set up.  So students can go here to get ideas, while they could also post their own artwork to see what other artists and viewers have to say about.  

I think it would also be a great idea for students to be able to have a discussion board somewhere online.  I'm not sure if you can set one up on ProgressBook, but they have them on BlackBoard at Miami.  This way, groups could get together online to discuss a certain topic on a certain subject.  Again, I'm not sure of a specific site to use, but I'm pretty sure this is possible.