Museum Manners

November 18, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Art museum visits and art history discussions can be great learning opportunities for students.  However, it just takes a few negative student attitudes to change the experience for the entire class. The following Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) video addresses many art conversations and museum etiquette issues in an entertaining format directed at tweens and teens.

Can’t view YouTube video above? See it at the AIC website.

Possible Discussion Questions:
1. What did you learn about visiting a museum that you didn’t know before?
2. Why might each artwork have different meanings to different people?
3. What type of art do you like best? Why?

Filed under: Classroom Management, Neat Video, Organization and Preparation
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Posts You May Have Missed During the Summer

August 30, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

summer vacationBy now, you are probably back in your classroom planning for the upcoming school year. Over the summer, we were busy adding to our Teaching Palette resources; here are a few you may have missed while recharging your batteries.

Never miss a post again.  Receive a email when new content is posted (we promise, no spam)!

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An Alternative to Adobe: Aviary’s Free Design Tools

July 18, 2009 by Hillary Andrlik · 2 Comments 

aviary-tools-2

If you’re looking for the image editing power of Photoshop or Illustrator without the hefty price tag you may want to consider trying the Aviary Suite.  It’s a free web 2.0 technology with a pro version available for $24.99 a year. Aviary is not only an image editing tool but it’s also a visual social network.

Users maintain a profile, contacts, favorites, access to chat boards, tutorials and more. Images created in the Aviary Suite can be shared with the community or kept private in a user account, and then saved in a variety of formats or downloaded to your computer.

Plus, users can import images from a URL, Aviary Library, Flickr, Picasa or Facebook directly into any of Aviary’s five programs – Phoenix, Falcon, Peacock, Toucan and Raven.

Phoenix does image editing and has tools like layers, masks, effects, undo history, and more. Peacock is what Aviary calls their “visual laboratory”. It features toolaviary-toolss like generators, effects and controllers. Toucan is their color swatches and palettes. It features many of the usual color palette tools but what really was interesting to me was their color deficiency preview tool. It allows you to choose from a list of color vision deficiencies and see how someone who is color blind would distinguish your color palette. It would be a great way to teach students how other people see the world. Toucan is a simple tool, but in conjunction with the other programs in the Aviary Suite you can create some amazing images. Raven is their vector editor program and the first of its kind on the web.  It allows you not only to create complex vector art but to carefully scale and create logos, clip-art, large print ready graphics, and t-shirt and clothing designs.

The newest program is an image markup tool called Falcon. It allows you to capture images from your desktop or a web page and edit them in your browser. It is similar to Skitch or Jing but with additional capabilities since it can be used in conjunction with Aviary’s other programs. Just install Talon, a Firefox extension for Aviary, and you can quickly annotate, mark, crop and resize your captured images. Or you can transfer the images to any of the other Aviary programs for more in-depth editing. Falcon would be a great tool to have students critique an image of their own, a classmates or from a pool of stock photos.

If you teach a computer graphics program at a middle or high school and are looking for an exceptional resource or additional tools to extend beyond the classroom lab, Aviary might be a solution for your program.  Students don’t have to stop creating once they leave the lab since they can log on and design anywhere there is an Internet connection.

Below are two videos featuring Aviary’s Raven and Falcon programs.

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

Filed under: Cool + Creative, In The News, Multimedia, Neat Video, Organization and Preparation, Positive Reinforcement, Reviews, Tech Stuff, Techniques, Technology and Gadgets, Tools and Miscellaneous
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The Importance of Art in Education

June 17, 2009 by Theresa McGee · 1 Comment 

2008 Arts Report CardYesterday the National Assessment of Educational Progress released the 2008 Arts Report Card. This survey and assessment compared 8th grade students in 2008 with those in 1997. Click here to view a sample question in the study then test yourself.

Here are a few of the findings in Visual Arts:

  • “Students eligible for National School Lunch Program have lower average responding score in visual arts than those who were not eligible. There is a 29-point score gap between the groups.”
  • “Eighth-graders in private schools have higher average creating task score in visual arts than students in public schools.”

Additional insight into the study can be found in a New York Times article.

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, perhaps summed it up best:

“This Arts Report Card should challenge all of us to make K-12 arts programs more available to America’s children and youth. Such programs not only engage students’ creativity and academic commitment today, but they uniquely equip them for future success and fulfillment. We can and should do better for America’s students.”

This study reminded me of my unofficial job as an advocate for the arts. The TeacherTube video below makes a great case for supporting the arts in every community.
Arts advocacy articles you may find useful:
Age of the Right Brain
Visual Interaction with Art Boosts Academic Achievement
Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Who’s Doing It Best
Arts Appear to Play a Role in Brain Development
Three Rs Are Essential, but Don’t Forget the A – the Arts
Technology Makes Art Education a Bigger Draw

Update 6/17/09: NAEA, Maximizing The Nation’s Arts Report Card - Great review of 2008 Arts Report Card with key findings and links to news press articles.

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The Skitch Sketch

January 20, 2009 by Theresa McGee · 3 Comments 

Skitch is a great visual teaching tool. It’s a free download for Mac users that allows you to upload a photo or take a screen shot of an image on your computer and draw or type on it.  Skitch is really no different than a simple draw program, but the difference is that it is EASIER and FASTER!  

Here’s the proof: I created the Skitch image on the left in exactly 1 minute 58 seconds.
Start by choosing a photo from Flickr, iPhoto or take a screenshot from the Internet. Next, use the tools on the either side of the Skitch screen to draw directly on the image.  It is that easy!  

I also use Skitch while discussing historical artworks by drawing arrows and labeling different areas of the image I want students to focus their attention on. It’s also a useful tool to quickly ”break down” an object in to simple shapes.  Check out the example below of how you can use the drawing tools to simplify an image of a bird for younger students to draw.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got 3 minutes? Watch the Skitch demo below.

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

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Education Made Easy by Jing

January 1, 2009 by Hillary Andrlik · 1 Comment 

Ever wondered if there’s an easier way to teach a colleague how you manipulated an image in PhotoShop. Want to share what you do with those nifty Google applications? If you’re like me then you’re the only art teacher in your building. There’s never enough time to help with daily tech questions, prepare lessons or collaborate. Now there’s a tool that allows you to answer technology  “how to” questions with out leaving your desk.

Jing Project is a free screen capture solution that will allow you to share what your doing on your computer with others. A fantastic tool for teaching short five-minute-or-less “how to” videos. The easiest way to show you what Jing is about and how it works is to use Jing. Just click on the videos below to see a great Jing “how to” from MacApperVideo and Jings official video.

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this Link.)

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Speed Painting with Ketchup and French Fries

November 10, 2008 by Hillary Andrlik · Leave a Comment 

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

I love this video! It just goes to show art can be anything and is everywhere. I could see this inspiring some unique high school video projects. Does it give you any creative ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Art and Science Collides with Paper

November 5, 2008 by Hillary Andrlik · 1 Comment 

Check out how the art of paper folding intertwines with math and science in Green Fuse Films’ new award winning documentary “Between the Folds.” Just from watching the trailer, I’m totally intrigued and can’t wait to see the whole film. I can already think of several ways this documentary can inspire or teach my art students. Share the trailer with your students and they will see the passion these artists have for the discovery of science and math through the art or origami. Below is a short description of the documentary from the films official site.

Film Overview

GREEN FUSE FILMS’ new documentary “Between The Folds” uncovers the stories of ten fine artists and intrepid theoretical scientists who abandoned careers and scoffed at hard-earned graduate degrees – all to forge unconventional lives as modern-day paperfolders.

As these offbeat and provocative minds converge on the unlikely medium of origami, they reinterpret the world in paper, and bring forth a fascinating mix of sensibilities towards art, expressiveness, creativity and meaning. And, together they demonstrate the innumerable ways that art and science come to bear as we struggle to understand and honor the world around us – as artists, scientists, creators, collaborators, preservers, and simply curious beings.

With breathtaking cinematography, animation and a beautiful original score, the film paints an arresting portrait of the mysterious creative threads that bind us all – fusing science and sculpture, form and function, ancient and new.

ABSTRACT "CRUMPLED" ORIGAMI BY FRENCH ARTIST VINCENT FLODERER

HUMAN FIGURES BY GIANG DINH

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Interview with Tricia Fuglestad: Movie-making to Teach Art

October 21, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments 

Tricia Fuglestad, an art teacher at Dryden Elementary School in Arlington Heights, IL, uses technology to enhance learning in her art room. We love the movies she uses to teach art concepts, and wondered how she created them! Read the Q and A below to gain some tips and insight into the process of movie-making in art.

Our interview with Tricia Fuglestad:

Q: How long have you been creating movies to teach your students? My earliest movie dates back to 2002 with the Godzilla Educational Movie. I took some video clips from the movie Godzilla and used voice over and text to point out the art concepts I wanted students to use in their “Dinosaur in the City” project.

Q: What motivates you to create these movies? These movies become an entertaining learning tool that quickly illustrates/teaches/defines art concepts. Students seem to pay attention to the videos (and even request them). Funny, they don’t beg for me to lecture, but they do beg for me to show them these movies.

Q: How do you begin? What is your plan? I write a storyboard. This helps me put images and text together for each scene and shot of the movie. I always try to think short and to the point. I throw in as much “meat” as I can get away with and sugar it with as much humor as I can invent.

Q.) What software do you use to achieve your outcome? I make movies in a variety of different ways. I have drawn and animated movies in flash (ie. Repeat) I have shot and edited movies in iMovie (see Interview with a Pencil at end of page) sometimes using Stupendous Software for split screen and picture-in-picture special effects. I’ve also tried using chroma key effects in Final Cut Express to replace the green screen with anything we wanted (see Swept Away.) Finally, my latest movies have been in Keynote where I animate images set to music (see Digital Portfolio)

Q.) What advice would you give a teacher who is considering using digital media to create similar leaning experiences? I’m still learning the answers to these questions. I find that AFI’s ScreenNation resources online have been really helpful for me in learning how to organize my movies and organize my students who want to make movies with me. Also, Jason Ohler’s website and Digital Storytelling in the Classroom book is a great resource. I also enrolled in an online graduate class through Wilkes University called Digital Storytelling where I was introduced to these resources and expected to apply their concepts in my classroom.

Q: What kind of permission process do you go through with the students before releasing a movie on the internet? I use permission slips to gather my movie-maker volunteers. Whoever turns in their signed permission slip by a certain date is included in the movie experience. This permission is redundant in my district since parents sign a media release form that gives blanket permission for internet, cable, and other media. However, I find that the permission slip is a great little advertisement for the art program and keeps the parents informed on the unique experiences available to their student. I have learned to ask for parent email addresses on the slips. This gives me a way to send the movie link to them directly when it is uploaded to my site.

Q: Do you use any specific hardware to help with filming or to capture sound? We just have a mini DV camcorder, tripod, USB external microphone, green screen, wireless mic, and lights. I’m always writing grants for more things when I see how it can improve our movie-making. Our newest addition is a 25 foot AV cord that plugs into the video camera and to the classroom TV monitor so all the students can help frame the shots. We used this technique when making What a Cheap Trick. Students on camera could see for themselves how they looked in the camera.

Q: I’m sure all of your students want to be in your movies. So how do you choose who participates in each film? That’s a good question. I intend to give each group of 5th graders one movie-making opportunity. But, time is a limiting factor. Movie-making is very exciting, energizing, and an extraordinarily creative process and I would encourage all art teachers to give it a try…your students will love it!

One of Tricia’s latest movie adventures conducts an “interview with a pencil”. Tricia asks, “Do your students press too hard with their pencils when they draw making erasing mistakes impossible?” According to Tricia, instead of lecturing on this topic let Mr. Pencil give some advice to your young artists.


(Trouble viewing video? Try this link.)

Interview with Mr. Pencil from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo

Images courtesy of Craig Roland: Flickr.com

Filed under: Cool + Creative, Educators in Art, Neat Video, Tech Stuff, Techniques
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Art History in Just a Minute

October 16, 2008 by Hillary Andrlik · Leave a Comment 

I’m always looking for a meaningful and exciting way to convey art history to my students. With limited student attention spans it can be a challenge to convey the excitment of art history. One tool I discovered is a series of podcasts by EwArt Productions called Art History in Just a Minute. Each podcast is narrated by Dr. Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe about a specific work of art such as Leonardo’s Last Supper. These highly entertaining video podcasts are full of information that will give any middle or high school student a deeper understanding of specific artworks. Just check out their video about the Mona Lisa and you will be hooked on the whole series. These not so typical art history lessons are the perfect addition to any art class. Plus with a price tag of free, they are sure to fit any art budget. The Art History in Just a Minute series is also available for free through iTunes.

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