Edublog Nominations

Posted on 02. Dec, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative

We love pointing out some of the more unique blogs to honor for the Edublog awards. Our one regret is that only a few blogs can be nominated when there are so many great educational blogs out there sharing ideas, resources and inspiration. So, without further ado here are our 2011 nominations:

DOODLE- Engage Multiple Learning Modalities

Posted on 22. Nov, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative, Neat Video

Great video from TEDTalks featuring Sunni Brown discussing the power of the Doodle to engage multiple learning modes. How can we promote learning in our classroom through the power of the Doodle?

Sunni is well known for her book GameStorming: A Playbook for Rule-breakers, Innovators and Changemakers she also spearheads The Doodle Revolution. To learn more about her visit sunnibrown.com.

Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.

The 10 Best Web Tools for Art Teachers

Posted on 21. Nov, 2011 by in All Posts, Clssrm Mgmt, Organization and Preparation, Tech Stuff

The web is full of amazing resources to enhance student learning, get organized, and connect with other educators. Instead of trying to figure out the best online tools yourself, I’ve boiled it down to my top ten favorites for art education.

1. QR Codes.  These black and white pixelated squares can be found on TV, in magazines, and now in classrooms.  Using a mobile device with a camera such as a smart phone, iTouch, iPad or free software downloaded on a computer, a QR code can be quickly created to link directly to text, images, or web addresses.  Try it yourself by scanning QR code below:

Don’t have a QR reader? Type getscanlife.com into your Internet browser on your mobile device to download a free QR reader.  Now imagine using this in your classroom by linking to online resources, creating a scavenger hunt, providing the answers to quiz questions, or extending art room learning by sending students home with QR code resources. Read my article on QR codes for additional resources and ideas on how to use them in your classroom.

2. Create a Photo Peach Quiz.  Photo Peach is a super easy way to create an interactive quiz game using images.  Learn how to create your own quiz here.

3. Animoto.  Want to look like a master movie-maker? Simply upload images or video clips, select music, and click to create an amazing movie.  Just by registering for an educator account you get access to full-length movies without paying a dime.  (If you’re looking for a good alternative, Flixtime has some very similar features with a good selection of music).

4. Blabberize. What isn’t funny about an artificial talking mouth?  Start with any portrait, define the mouth area, and talk.  The mouth will follow your voice. Use Blabberize to present information about an artist, convey classroom rules, or give studio instruction.  While this may not change your teaching world, incorporating Blabberize into your lessons can certainly enhance instruction and get the students to take notice.  Check out this brief example: (Can’t see this video? Click here).

Tip: Use a screen-cast tool such as Jing or Screencast-o-matic to record your Blabberize and save on your computer.

5. Twitter. If you want to take charge of your own learning, Twitter is the way to do it.  Every resource I reference in this post I have learned because of Twitter.  It is all about following the right people.  See my list of art educators on twitter to get you started and develop your own PLN (Personal Learning Network).

6. Wallwisher.  Want to have a class critique and involve all your students?  Wallwisher lets you quickly set up a virtual “wall” so that anyone with the URL address can add a comment and interact.  One of my favorite features is the ability to moderate comments, ensuring all posts are appropriate.  Learn more about Wallwisher in this article and see how to embed a image in a wallwisher wall here.

7. Delicious is an online bookmarking tool I have been using for several years and blogged about it here.  Since your bookmarks are accessible online, you can access them from any computer.  Using multiple “tags” makes finding your bookmarks easy.  Thankfully you can import your existing bookmarks into Delicious, so you won’t lose your previously bookmarked sites.  (A similar, just as awesome, bookmarking alternative to try is Diigo)

8. Pinterest might just be the ultimate bookmarking tool for art teachers.  Instead of bookmarking using text, images are used instead.  The best way to describe Pinterest is with this video walkthrough:


Read more about Pinterest in my Tech4Arted column and join the collaboration starting with the iPhone/iPad Apps for Art teachers board.

9. Livebinder  I first wrote about Livebinder as a way to organize digitally here. Livebinder is an electronic binder used to collect web resources or your own files in one organized spot.  Here are a few examples of binders I have created for students and for my own professional reference.

10. Google Maps. I am a huge fan of Google Maps to help students connect art to our world. My favorite trick is to embed images into the placemarks on the map.  Watch video on how to embed an image into Google Maps.  Here is my example on using Google Maps to teach about Georgia O’Keeffe:


View Georgia O’Keeffe Life Tour in a larger map

Do you have a web 2.0 tool you can’t live without? Share it be leaving a comment below.  Also, check out additional resources in my Web 2.0 Tools Livebinder:

Wikipaintings: A Fantastic New Artist Resource

Posted on 20. Nov, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative

Google Image search is a quick and easy way to find an art image you need for a class discussion or powerpoint presentation.  However, a fantastic new painting encyclopedia, Wikipaintings may change the way you search for images.

Still in its early stages of development, the non-profit Wikipaintings already contains over 60,000 painting images.  Browse paintings by art movement, technique, genre, artist nationality, or keyword.  My favorite feature is the timeline scrollbar that places each painting created by the artist in chronological order.

I still love Google Art Project for the amazing depth and detail, but Wikipaintings is much better for understanding and visualizing the growth of an artist through his or her lifetime.  I look forward to seeing how Wikipaintings grows once it is open to contributors; maybe it will even expand beyond 2-D work into sculpture and installation art.

Lesson Plan Show Case 2011

Posted on 23. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative

Need a fresh lesson idea?  Check out the lessons submitted by some fantastic teachers for our “Show Us Your Favorite Lesson” collaborative.  Click here to view lessons. The winners of our drawing are …..(chosen by Raffle King)

$10.00 Dick Blick Gift Cards

  • Ellen Reynolds
  • Angie Golden
  • Tricia Fuglestad
  • Lisa Ricciardelli

$100.00 DonnorsChoose.org Gift Card from Intel

  • Janine Campbell

It is not too late to send in your lesson.  If you got a new idea from one of the lessons listed below, please consider sharing one of yours by emailing TPlessonplan@gmail.com and we will add it to our Lesson Plan page.

 

Technology Tips

Posted on 09. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Clean-up and Transition, Cool+Creative, Organization and Preparation, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets

For the last three weeks, I’ve been addicted to Pinterest, the virtual pinboard and ultimate idea generator for art teachers. I use it to gather inspiration and cool ideas from other art educators around the world wide web, such as how to more effectively utilize technology in the classroom.  Below, I’ve “pinned” all my favorite tech tidbits for you to browse. Many of the tech tips are things I’m already implementing in my art room, including the Mac keyboard shortcuts poster that I created for my elementary students (inspired by the PC version I found on Pinterest).  Below you will find several versions of keyboard shortcuts and wire organizing ideas.


 
Share your tech tips for making technology in the classroom a little easier
to organize in the comments section below.


DIY Clay Tools

Posted on 08. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative, Techniques, Tools and Miscellaneous

Tight budgets and larger class sizes don’t mean clay has to be eliminated from the curriculum. Help ease your budget by repurposing items already in your classroom. Old tools will get a second lease on life and precious budget dollars can be spent on other needed supplies. Create a few of the DIY clay tools located below to expand your ceramic curriculum and give every student in your class the tools for success.

Click on any of the images to enlarge.

 

Below are clay project ideas collected in Pinterest. Just click on the image to take a closer look.

Help Raise 25K for Schools Across America

Posted on 07. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Cool+Creative, Educators in Art

Intel wants to help teachers get the supplies they need this fall and has generously donated to The Teaching Palette a $100 DonorsChoose.org gift card.  We will give away this gift card to one of our lucky readers to win by participating in the “Show Us Your Favorite Art Lesson” campaign!

More Ways You Can Help

Additionally, Intel will make a $25,000 donation to DonorsChoose.org when 200,000 people view Wheezy Waiter’s humorous new video at Amazon by September 14. It’s that easy!

So remember to…

So go…click and win a donation to help students across America! For the inside scoop on Intel’s campaign with Amazon click here.

 

 

Expectations – Art Room Style!

Posted on 06. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Challenging Students, Clean-up and Transition, Clssrm Mgmt, Conflict Resolution, Off-task Behavior, Organization and Preparation, Positive Reinforcement

The following is a guest post written by Scott Russell about his classroom management system using visuals.  Scott teaches at Ball’s Bluff Elementary in Leesburg, Virginia.


My classroom expectation system has evolved in connection with our school-wide PBIS framework.  As the Ball’s Bluff Tiger we ROAR = Respect, On task, and Always Responsible.  So what does that look like in my art room?  Here are my expectations communicated visually:

Respect – A hand in the Air will keep art fair.  – We all have important ideas and questions, the only way to let everyone share in the knowledge is to be fair and respectful to everyone in the class. Download PDF


Respect – Success comes to those who try, failure comes to those who “can’t” – I despise the “I can’t” phrase!  I discuss with my students how they are all learning (even me) and  what  happens when we say “I can’t”. What if one day I said “I can’t” teach you”?  What would they learn?  So I set the expectation – no “I can’t”; we always try our best. Download PDF

On Task – Busy pencils mean Artists at work.  I don’t mind if students are talking. I encourage the sharing that comes in an art class.  I do discuss that while they are in class the artwork needs to be worked on—so they can talk as long as their pencils are moving. This way the discussions tend to stay on the art and they develop the correct work habits. Download PDF


On Task – Show creativity.  What would the world be like if all art were the same?  What would the class be like if all the student art looked exactly like mine?  The goal is to develop their ideas through the lessons and skills we experience together. Download PDF


Always Responsible – Van Gogh knows.  Use your ears.  Listen and learn.  Then you hear the directions and the questions of others and have the most time for YOUR art! Download PDF


Always Responsible – Safety First.  No running with scissors!  And this connects to so many things – ultimately – making good choices. Download PDF

My class learns like the Mona Lisa.  It is great to talk about Mona and use her memorable pose as a model for daVinci.  The mystery behind her intrigues the kids so much and we can learn a lot from her for art class too!  We discuss how her eyes follow you (just like their eyes should follow the speaker), her mouth is a quiet mysterious smile (because what teacher wants to look out at frowns?), and how her hands are still (hold them still just until you can dive into your artwork)!  When I need the student’s attention I say “MONA” and they reply with “LISA” and the students immediately stop what they are doing to make their best Mona-pose.  I “look for my Mona Lisa’s” as they come in to class, etc.  And it hits home – I’ve had students count the Mona’s in my class (I apparently have over 35). One student said, “Thanks, a lot of eyes watching me!”  I think he got it! Download PDF

There are so many others, I welcome you to take a look at my other management visuals and share your own.  These work for me!

Smartphones: Turning Off-Task Behavior into Free Learning

Posted on 06. Sep, 2011 by in All Posts, Clssrm Mgmt, Off-task Behavior

The following is a guest post written by Lindsey Wright from OnlineSchools.org.

Art teachers are always on the lookout for creative ways to reach their students. From museum field trips to outdoor hikes to search for still life subjects, art teachers have learned over the years that the more interactive the lesson, the better student engagement. However, with the invasion of smartphones, it’s become increasingly difficult to engage students. While this is generally not an issue those who teach at an online school, teachers at brick-and-mortar campuses are trying to figure out how to engage students who would rather spend their time texting and updating Facebook. The answer, if you have access to smartphones for your classroom, is surprisingly simple: there’s an app for that. Teachers can take advantage of a wide range of applications that can be used in the classroom, integrate them into lesson plans, and lasso reluctant students into engaging in rich learning experiences.

How to Introduce Smartphones to Your Lessons

The problems with smartphones in school are generally thought to outweigh the benefits, leaving many teachers leery of allowing them in class. However, it’s important to remember that while cell phones might be the bane of a teacher’s existence when student phone use in class is a distraction, the devices are only tools can just as easily be used to help rather than hinder classroom activities.

One option for incorporating smartphones into the classroom, is introducing school-purchased smartphones that can be properly monitored rather than regulating students’ use of their own smartphones. For instance, in 2007 Qualcomm issued smartphones to 3,000 students in four North Carolina school districts as part of Project K-Nect. The study, detailed in Education Week, shed light on how smartphones can be used in school. In addition to continuing training to develop smartphone-based science and math lessons, the teachers were given considerable power over students’ devices. Teachers could see what students were doing on the phone at any time, monitor instant messages, report misuse, and even shut the phone down if necessary.

However, school-issued devices aren’t the only way to use smartphones in class. With good direction and supervision, students can usually be trusted to use their own devices productively if given the opportunity.

Teaching Strategies for the Smartphone Classroom

For art teachers, there are tons of ideas worth considering, from straightforward museum tours and art history lessons to modified lesson plans developed by teachers in other fields.

Liz Kolb is the author of the book “Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education” and an associate researcher at the University of Michigan. She provides a database of ideas for teachers looking to meaningfully incorporate smartphones into lessons. While the suggestions aren’t specific to art classes, a quick perusal of her ideas and the ideas of other teachers who post to the site will yield plenty of lessons that can be adjusted for the art classroom. Among them:

• Use wiffiti.com, which will display text messages sent to the teacher’s account, to have students write short opinions of a famous work of art. The teacher can display these for students to discuss.

• Use phones to take photos of art in the community and send them to flickr.com. Students can use the compiled photos to create a classroom definition of art.

• Have students utilize a teacher-established account on a site like polleverywhere.com to gather real-time feedback when asking multiple choice or true/false questions. Instead of just one student’s response, teachers get feedback from every student.

• Have students create podcasts in which they describe a painting in detail. Each student will then listen to another student’s podcast and attempt to draw the painting based upon the description.

Of course, Kolb doesn’t have the market cornered when it comes to smartphone integration in the classroom, and a number of websites discuss how art teachers can integrate different apps into  lessons. Teachers can find such a list in one of this blog’s previous posts, which is a great resource for those with access to iPhones in the classroom and also provides plenty of search ideas for those without.

The study in North Carolina cited above found students taking an active role in creating new course content and assisting one another improved their test scores and understanding of course material. Granted, Project K-Nect studied how students engaged in math classes using smartphones, but you can bet that art classes will show equal enthusiasm given the opportunity to use familiar technology meaningfully. Educators need to revise their thinking about the presence of phones in the classroom and develop ways students can engage in lessons that go beyond classroom walls. Why not let art teachers, with their enthusiasm for creativity and willingness to think outside the box, lead the smartphone charge?

 

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