A Pecha Kucha and the Challenging Rubric

I think I am finally ready to start recording my presentation. I have storyboards and scripts everywhere, but think I have one ready to use. It is REALLY hard to talk about a slide for only 20 seconds. I am hoping I have managed to cut to "meat" of each slide without losing my audience. Let me know what you think. Is there just too much info jammed into it?

Also, how has everyone been creating theirs. I am going to use iMovie for mine but was curious if anyone went with movie maker? photostory? voicethread? I only ask because I would like to see which program is most convenient. My goal is to show my students this Pecha Kucha next year and have them create their own.

As for the rubrics. I figured this would be a no brainer because I create rubrics just about every week in my classroom and LOVE them. Instead I am finding that it is far more difficult to create a rubric out of my comfort zone. I make art project rubrics, not multimedia ones. It sounds silly but I am really at a loss for what I should be evaluating on. I am really happy that I am having this difficulty because it is forcing me to reflect on my own assessing process. Do I create generic rubrics and not know it? I don't think so but wow...I am having a severe case of "rubric block"!!!!

Week 4

I know I'm a day late! (sorry!!)

I really enjoyed creating the prezi. I have used these before but I haven't really changed too many of my older presentations into prezis. After creating this one I have decided it is time to revamp (zen) some of my older presentations using prezi. Its sooooo simple and fun to present with!

As for the pecha kucha...

Well that's another story. :)

I have my idea and am gathering the images but still feel weird scripting out what to say. I am trying to make it as natural as possible sounding and not write too much. This has been a big challenge for me that I will be ecstatic when it is complete. I decided to make it a bit more informative than fun/ social. I hope to use this in my classroom next year as an example of pecha kucha and give my students more insight on photography styles. Trying to kill two birds with one stone!

Week three

Umm...I feel like I'm talking an art class again! woohoo!!! :)

This class is really fun for me and I love all the art integration. It's awesome to see how the arts are finally being used to promote more whole brain learning in the real world.

Now that that's out of my system...

I am struggling a bit with the homework and forums about changing your presentation style to meet more of the zen principles. What if you feel like you already do this in your presentations? Please don't take this the wring way as I am in no way saying that I an a "zen master", but I do use my art background to enhance my presentations. Now what do I do? Perhaps, I should be thinking about I how I can make the presentations better by expanding on what I already have or simplifying what I already have. Since I don't do slide presentations often I hope to change the few I have to make them even more dynamic. I am also thinking about how I use images in my classroom for discussion or examples--what about doing a pecha kucha? voice thread? the possibilities are endless. Presentations do not have to be powerpoints or smartboards!!

As excited as I am about revamping my current presentations and styles of presenting, I am also a bit concerned. The task seems somewhat daunting. Although change is good and necessary, it can still be uncomfortable and an uphill battle. Don't get me wrong I can't wait to try this ideas out--I just need to focus on taking the time to do it and do it right!

Art and Digital storytelling

I have really thought about this since my last post and have decided to create a few digital stories and/or pecha kuchas for showing demonstrations to my art classes. It might be a great way to increase student working time as well as helpful in classroom management. If I have more freedom to "float" around the room as they are watching the video or presentation I won't have to stop the entire demonstration to address inappropriate behavior. I will also have a copy of "how-to" for any absent students or confused students.

I started my digital storytelling journey on Thursday by video tapping a pottery wheel demonstration. With my schools technology integrator I plan on splicing it or taking still frames and using voice thread or audicity to narrate the steps. Using the digital storytelling format it will shorten the length of the demonstration so it can be viewed during class or after school. I can also post it to our website and have students that were absent view it on their own time.

I when I have it finished I will share it and see what you guys think! :)

Digital Storytelling...WOOHOO!!

I am so excited for this class. I am a freelance photographer and love taking pictures. One of my favorite things to do is to have the pictures narrate or tell a story-without the need for text. Although, I have never put a formal digital story together I can't wait to try.

I really hope to learn how do do this as well as find ways to teach this. I have been itching to have my students create a photostory on their favorite artist or art piece. I have yet to decide what the project would entail but, think after this class I should have a much better idea on how to go about introducing the project. (Photostory is a free microsoft application that allows users to create a presentation from digital photographs and you can narrate the story instead of speaking in front of a group of people.)

I also really like the posterous project. I have been having fun taking pictures without purpose. It has also been fun to see the images my classmates are posting. We are going to get to share our personalities in a new way- visual images!!

Module 5

I am really happy that this course what a part of this program becuase I was able to use so many of these different technology tools and strategies to my lessons since I have already been formally using marzanos learning startegies. I have some many more options for my lessons now and I love having all these different ways of teaching the smae material. It is really important to be able to reach all my students and I have found that by incorportating more technology into my lessons, I have been able to do that more sucessfully.

My biggest struggle with using these new tools and applications is that I have limited access to the computers and cameras needed to complete an entire project. (I have really large classes).

Week 4 strategies

This week I really reflected on the homework and practice chapter because my district has been struggling with this concept for the past couple of years. We can decide on what type(s) of homework can be assigned, how much of it should be given, is it graded and what is the purpose of homework? This chapter did a nice job explaining how homework should be assigned and helpful ways to use technology to do it in a non-specialist classroom.

I personally struggle with what I (as the art teacher) should be assigning to middle schoolers. I do believe that homework should be assigned with a clear goal and should be helping the students understand a goal they have been learning in school. I do not think that teachers should be assigning homework to students that is considered "new" material or "fluffy" material. What is the purpose of the homework then if it is not enriching the student or helping them understand the information better?

So back to the art world. I see great value in having the students practice their art skills such as observational drawing, just like a basketball coach would have their players practice lay-ups. In order for you to become successful and master a skill one needs to practice it. But There are things in art that cannot be taught by a teacher but is practiced by the student. For example, students that are working on drawing based off of a mood or emotion can't have their teacher give them a concrete goal for their drawing. They need to use trail and error until they get it or take a creative risk.

I then start to ask... Can you practice creativity? How does one assign homework on creativity?

I'm at a crossroads with what how homework and practice should be used. Sometimes you can't give the students the goal of the homework because it needs to come from within (self-directed). Hmmm... have I confused you yet!?

Lastly, how do you have students practice a skill with technology when it is a hands on skill they need to learn? I know of applications that will help them with graphic art but what about the basics?

I am just full of questions tonight!! Any advice? ;)

Reinforcing Effort

I really like to let me students know that effort plays a major role in your overall success in any task whether it be social, sports or school related. In this last year I have developed a system in my classroom where students have to score their effort everyday in art and write down the daily objective. These objective or goal sheets are kept in their student folders and they are responsible for filling them out. My plan was to use them to help keep students focused on their work, more aware of their effort in art and to compare their grade/assessment score with their effort output. Last week was the first time I could really see if it was working and it was shocking to see the correlation between effort and excellence. Most of my students that gave themselves a high effort score did very well on their project (B or higher) whereas the students that didn't really care what they did in class ended up with a C or lower. The students that didn't do as well as they thought were encouraged to look at their self assessed effort scores in their folder. Most of the students saw the connection immediately and were rather embarrassed. There were a few students that didn't understand how their effort scores should have any impact on their final grade. I think that this concept might take more than a few minutes to explain. I will be excited to see if the few students that didn't put forth a great deal of effort in the last project will strive for more in the next one. I hope that they can begin to see the overall impact effort can have on a final outcome!

cooperative learning

After reading chapter 7 I found that I use cooperative learning groups within my classroom more frequently than I previously thought. I have base groups I use for critiquing peer artwork, informal groups for quick activities (I do the colors of the rainbow and each kids gets with the same color instead of numbering them off!) and more formal groups for large projects or when we do station work like the pottery wheel.

Not that I reflected on my own use of cooperative learning I am lacking cooperative learning with technology. I rarely have the students us the computers or online applications for their group. I use it for individual projects so why not use it with the group ones? I think that I will have to try and explore some of the techniques and tips in the book and eventually make it work for me. This will take some time and practice but if it works better for student achievement -Great!

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works-Week 2

The readings for this week covered three different strategies. The first was Cues, Questions and Advanced organizers. This chapter gave us plenty of examples of how to incorporate this strategy both with and without technology. I know that I give my students guiding questions and cues to help them move through their learning more efficiently and successfully. When students feel like they “figured” it out, they tend to become more empowered and self-motivated. I do struggle with how much guidance is too much. I also find it difficult to use advanced organizers in art with the limited about of time we have as well as the nature of the projects.

The second strategy was nonlinguistic representations. I feel really confident with using this strategy with my classroom and teaching. Given the subject area, art, it is easy to use pictures, images, video, and kinetic learning activities to promote learning. My students have to demonstrate what they know through physical evidence as well as written. I also teach them using real life demonstrations, you tube videos, and give them step by step instructions through pictures. I have been using visual prompts this year at the beginning of my classes to help access prior knowledge as well as make them better visual literacy learners. So far, so good! The students enjoy learning through pictures and have told me that it is easy to get exited about the lesson when they aren’t always reading or writing. I think it also promotes strong creativity.

The last strategy for this week was summarizing and note taking. I have begun to really embrace note taking the art room over the last year or two. I have a line I use in my room about note taking. We make notes we don’t take notes. In order for my students to fully understand an art process like perspective drawing, they have to remember the steps. These steps need to be done in order and with the correct tools and vocabulary. As we are learning how to draw in 1-point perspective, I have them follow along. (I am at the smartboard or document camera and they are at their desks.) Once we have completed a series of building, I have them take some time to “make notes”. They must have a complete step-by-step guide using pictures or words on how to create a building in 1-point perspective. These small note taking/making sessions go really quickly and are personalized by the student. They are allowed to make their notes however they want to as long as it makes sense to them. We use these notes during our final project then. It makes the students more responsible for their learning and helps free up time for me to have more 1:1 time with the kids. I spend less time re-teaching and more time interacting. It becomes a win- win.

As for this chapter, I found that it had some great ideas for using more tools in note taking. The inspiration concept maps would work well with my art history units and could become an on going concept map throughout the year. (Only problem is having the technology available). The section about Wiki’s I found interesting as well. I am planning on creating a moodle or wiki this year but never really thought of it as a summarizing or note-taking helper. Cool ideas!!

Rubistar!

Rubistar is a neat website for creating rubrics. Personally, I like to create my own from scratch but this resource is an excellent way for teachers that are not familiar or comfortable creating a rubric to make one. A great feature that rubistar has is the ability to edit the rubrics as they are created. It is extremely user friendly and many of the rubric categories are flexible enough to fix just about any subject area or project.

In the past I have used some of the rubistar categories and explanations in my own as I find the wording to be student friendly and easy to understand. Sometimes it can be difficult to design a rubric that is specific enough yet useable for my diverse group of learners.

Feedback that Fits

This article was really powerful for me as I am always looking for new ways (and more effective ways) to provide my students with feedback. One of my favorite lines from this article was “…feedback is only effective when it translates into a clear, positive message that students can hear.” This line really made me think that I need to become more aware of how I am delivering feedback. If they can’t understand or learn from the feedback, is it really feedback?

Another point I found interesting in the article was one on knowing when the students should receive the feedback. Since art projects take time, patience, practice and problem solving some feedback needs to be immediate and at other times I need to gauge my student’s progression as the project continues. This balance is difficult to keep but essential to the individual growth of each student. Learning how to judge when to give what type of feedback is key when providing students with positive, meaningful and valuable feedback.

Meta-Analysis

This article, A meta analysis of the effectiveness of teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes, was a interesting read. It was much more dense than the first two but, rather informative.

I like how we, as educators, are beginning to look at the science behind teaching. These studies will be ongoing and no diffinitive answer may be discovered but the statistics and findings these different studies discover are really neat. I hope we contiue to pursue how technology plays a role in our teaching and our students learning as the studies are beginning to show a relationship between classrooms with more technology integration and higher student performances.

Principles of Learning and Teaching Principles

I really liked these two articles. My district has been focusing on Marzano's 9 strategies over the last couple of years and more recently we are working with Jane E. Pollock and the GANAG structure for instruction. I found that many ofthe topics and ideas presented in these two articles are also key points in Marzano and Pollock as well.

Principle 1 in Theory and Research-based PRinciples of Learning really made a splash with me. I like to try and activate my students prior knowledge in my art room by making connections to art techniques, styles and vocabulary to concepts they are already familiar with. The only issue with this is that I can sometimes spend more time explaining the "connection" peice because of misconceptions. I find that it is getting easy to make connections to prior art lessons so that I know the students have accurate information to work with.

And that's a wrap!

It's hard to believe that yet another class has come and gone. I really enjoyed this course and learned so many valuable skills. I'm really excited to bring in all these new skills to my classroom this next year!

As I mentioned earlier, I was extremely excited to learn more about copyright and fair use. So far I have found some very interesting information and been able to create kid friendly definitions. YAY! Another gem I found in this course was google alerts! I really like getting the weekly (or daily) updates. It is so time saving and it's always fun to get mail. I have set up an account for my students and really hope they like it too.

Overall, I think that this class had so much to offer and wish it was longer. I learned so much and feel like I need more time. I know all the neat websites and tools are just the tip of the iceberg and really want to keep exploring.

Holy Crow!

Wow! This week was filled with new things to try and experiment with. I had no idea that a site like NoodleTools even existed. It is great. :) And as for the google alerts, I have added a few more and it has cut my "searching" done quite a bit. I also feel like I am in the know a bit more. I really am excited to add google alerts to my classroom email account. I think my students will be able to to come up with some pretty interesting art topics.

The evaluation guide was really not that difficult to create and in fact kind of fun. I enjoyed reading through some of the examples on the websites listed on our class wiki.

I can't believe we are already half way through the course. I hope we continue to unearth these really neat internet resources!!

Week 1 Reflection (CEDO520)

I can't believe we are already in our 4th course of the program. I think that I am really going to enjoy this class and can't wait to use all the tools and resources we are going to be learning. This course is only 2 credits so it is going to fly by before I know it! The topics outlined for each class sound really interesting and will be great learn right before the school year starts. I am very excited to use all these new skills and tools in my classroom.

The Internet Web Resource Site Evaluation Form is going to be a fun assignment. I tried to create one of these last year for my students but never really put it in place. I really want to start using this form right away. I have my students research artists, art movements, art history, and art pieces often and need them to know the difference bewteen a good internet source and a "not-so-good" source is.


Lastly, I am really excited for week 4!! The whole idea of copy right, fair use, etc. are really confusing and seem overwhelming, especially to students. I can't wait to learn about these concepts myself so that I can begin integrating it into my curriculum and instruction.

how will this impact me...

Well I am very excited to see how I can use graphics in my art class next year. I am thrilled to have a variety of new websites to try out. Although, I think I already have some ideas for the ToonDoo website next year.

As for the text, I think it is helping me understand more of what educational technology is and how it is used in a classroom. I can already see how it is helping me shape my views on the purpose of technology in schools. I am going to be more student centered and focus on how to use t he technology purposefully and not just because its there. I need to be more aware of making connections between my students and technology.

Toon Doo

I've never made a computer graphic like this before. Check it out! I had fun creating it...hopefully my students next year will too!

Information Overload

In the last 5 weeks or so I have uncovered a wealth of computer information that I am just beginning to comprehend. I had no idea (or maybe I did and thats why I shied away from it) how complicated and intricate the hardware of a computer really is. There might not be 1000 different peices but the functions these pieces preform...amazing!

This class has definitly opened my eyes and helped me understand how and why my computer works as it does. I have learned so much in such a short time that I am really excited. I feel like i am starting to "speak" computer or as my tech guy at school told me I can "speak geek". :)
The things I am learning in this course are going to be forever helpful in my both my career and my masters program. Knowing the basics of computers will help me when I have to buy new computers and software for my schools photography lab, diagnois or troubleshoot computer problems and update.

I also know how important it is to be proactive against viruses but also have to be aware of updating and renewing the license- as well as backing up.

Although the assignments were overwhelming, somewaht time consuming and confusing at times i am very pleased to have them under my belt and actually understand what it all means.

Managing my computer

I think this is easier said then done. After class I started to think about all the things I really should do or do more often to keep my computer and files safe.

First things first- I have to starting backing-up REGULARLY! Sure, I have some files stored on USB sticks or burned on some DVDs but nothing is really organized. I would be devastated if I lost all the info on my computer. Another things I need to do to make my computer safer is clean up all the junk. It would probably help me recognize any unwanted files and help my computer run more smoothly. I already have a Norton Anti virus and really try to keep it current and up-dated.

As for the second question- what should I know in order to ensure proper computer functioning and data safety is "I really don't know". I am hoping that through the next few assignments and classes I will have a more concrete understanding of how to "safe guard" my computer. I already know not to open attachments or emails you do not recognize and be careful of installing new software but, I have very little knowledge on viruses, bugs, worms and trojans.

Learning about hardware

So, after the second class I am feeling a little bit better about my limited knowledge in the computer hardware department. At least I now know what a hard drive, motherboard, and processor actually look like and where they go in the computer but, I am still pretty clueless on what they do and how they do it. This statement has made me a firm believer that the more you know about the insides of the computer the better you will be at learning how to manipulate and use the computer. I am really hoping to figure out how the different pieces of hardware function and in turn will become a better computer user. I want to understand my computers better as well as use them to their full (or to my fullest) capacity. I'm sure you have heard the silly phrase "humans only use about 10% of their brain" well, that's how I feel about the amount of my computers abilities I am using. If I learn more about the hardware components- hopefully I will be able to increase this percentage and really utilize the tools on my computer to its fullest!

I have come to realize that even though I know a lot about technology, the web, and some software programs I have a long way to go to be "tech savvy."

Whadda Know...

Well not too much! :)

I am really excited for this course because I really have no idea how or why a computer functions the way it does. I just know how to turn it on and make it do what I need it to. I am really hoping to find out about the “guts” of the computer. I have been using a Mac for years now and really don’t know what the biggest differences between Mac and PC’s are. How sad it that! L I familiar enough with both platforms that I can use either one but do have preferences in which I use for what I am trying to accomplish. (does that make sense?)

As for what I already know, I know basic commands and troubleshooting but, for the actual programming or systems of a computer- forget it! I hope this course enlightens me a bit more on the technical side of computers as I am pretty clueless in that department.

StumbleUpon

I just spent 3 hours on StumbleUpon and couldn't be more excited. I love the idea of channel surfing the Internet. This site made it so easy and fun. I found websites that I probably would have never seen before. The way they categorize the subjects is so simple and easy that it was just a breeze to play with. I only wish there was a way to add site you already use. I feel like I might have to add them to my delicious account at some point to keep all my new resources in one place. Right now...I'm on information overload! :)

I already know that some of my students are going to love it. With their need to have new things and rapid changes, this site will blow them away. (that is if they haven't already "stumbled upon" it) I can't wait to try it out sometime this week and pilot it with one of my art foundations classes. I'll let you know how this turns out. I really hope they are as excited about it as I am!

Social Bookmarking

I tried out social bookmarking in my classroom this past week and it was great. The students thought it was so cool to have everything in one place and not just on one computer. Unfortunately, our district has blocked this site to student access but, it was still great to show them the website and explain how beneficial these types of sites can be.

Personally, I really like the fact that the students have access to reliable and safe websites. Many websites appear to be good sources of information but turn out to be opinions or inaccurate information. My students and I encounter this problem frequently when we are researching new artists. I am more than willing to spend time finding good online resources for them if it will be less of a hassle to have them research new artists and art trends. Most of the time they get frustrated with searching before they have even learned anything new. I know how important it is to teach students how to search safely and accurately online but, if we can first show them the awesome websites out there in an easier and friendlier way, I say "let's do it". Once we have created a desire to find the good websites (not just the ones that are listed on a google search first) we can show them how to do this on their own. Just a thought! :)

And so it begins!

Tonight was the first class in my online Master's program and I am really excited. I would consider my technology skills very erratic. I would consider my technology skill strong and well developed in some areas and extremely uninformed and clueless in others. My school district just purchased SmartBoards for every classroom and have really revamped their expectations of technology integration in the classroom. Even though this seems like a daunting task and difficult for an art teacher to fulfill, I couldn't be more excited. I just wrote my PDP on integrating technology into my classroom to help promote visual and digital literacy. So when I found this program I was thrilled!

I really hope to learn a variety of new skills and strategies for teaching in my classroom that isn't focused only on the arts. I have a great background in Adobe's Creative Suite and other editing programs but, lack the education in internet applications. I can't wait to learn and use the information we learn in class in my own classroom. Maybe I will actually be able to "teach" some technology skills to my students! :)