The Teaching Palette

Teaching Art in “The Cloud”

Posted on 26. Feb, 2012 by Theresa McGee in All Posts, Clssrm Mgmt, Organization and Preparation, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets

I’ve been using “The Cloud” for a few years to host my web bookmarks on Delicious and gather digital resources in Livebinder making them accessible from any location and any computer or mobile device.  More recently, I have adopted two other cloud computing tools to manage class schedules, supply orders, and lesson plans: Evernote and iCal.

Evernote

My “must have” cloud application is Evernote.  I keep a running list of supplies needed, track students who need to complete artwork, and use images to organize and plan for future lessons.  The video below shows how I have used the Evernote desktop application to sort out and sync all the details of my teaching life.

iCal and Google Calendar

Since I have hundreds of students and lots of classes to track, keeping a planning calendar is essential to my sanity.   Instead of using one calendar, I create a separate calendar for each grade level as well as one for school events that can be viewed individually or all together.  Like Evernote, a “cloud” calendar travels wherever you are, viewable from any computer or mobile device.

Here is an example of my iCal calendar.

Another great option is Google Calendar.  Here is an example:

While I don’t exactly teach painting or ceramics in “The Cloud”, my schedules, lesson plans, and “to do” lists certainly do live online.  As a result, I am a more organized and thorough teacher ready to get my hands dirty with art supplies.

How do you use the cloud? What works best for you?

There’s an App for That: iPads in the Art Room

Posted on 24. Feb, 2012 by Guest Author in All Posts, Cool+Creative, Educators in Art, Multimedia, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets

The following is a guest post from Suzanne Tiedemann who teaches art at Brunswick Acres School in South Brunswick, New Jersey and Tricia Fuglestad who teaches at Dryden Elementary in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Tricia:  In late 2010, I wrote a grant to receive an iPad for the art room. I hadn’t any experience with one at the time, but thought that they may have a use in the art room some how and I was curious to explore the possibilities. I imagined that students would publish a collaborative book, record their voice for video, or access the Internet. The iPad 2 hadn’t been announced yet with camera/video so my thoughts were mostly on apps for exploring art and making art.
I asked my building tech assistant to allow me to play with an iPad over winter break.

That’s when it happened. That winter I was completely smitten with the touch- swipe-pinch-zoom-undo-ease of the iPad. I loved the “tweet this”, “email that” simplicity of use.

Portrait created using Brushes app, 6th grade

I started to play with the Brushes app with layers, transparencies, textures, and playback mode and thought…this is transformational!

For years I’ve been trying to do technology based lessons with my elementary art students and found that they needed a great deal of instruction in how to use the tools, where to click, and how to troubleshoot issues. This meant that I was more of a tech teacher than an art teacher during class time.

Since those days my school purchased 100 iPads that travel throughout the school one grade level at a time each month. This means that I have the opportunity to create a digital art lesson with every grade level on the iPads in my K-5 elementary school. I jumped right in with uncertain expectations. I didn’t know how much my students could accomplish, how many issues we might have with network connectivity, and how I would deal with image management.

Some of the things I’ve learned:

• Find a way to project the ipad as you teach (I use Apple TV to wirelessly mirror the iPad through my projector. View my blog post to learn more)
• Learn the vocabulary for the ipads (home button, settings, wifi, share button, swipe, pinch, zoom, undo, double click, tap, shut down, mute, etc.) Manual
• Teach students to respect the iPads as learning devices (not for playing Angry Birds and filling the camera roll with silly pictures)
• Teach what you would have normally, but digitally if you can. Don’t let the ipads disrupt learning, but rather transform. Here are some examples.

Suzanne: Over the past four years, I have been taking steps to acquire touch screen devices for my students to use as art making tools. In 2009, I took photos of my family and friends with my iPhone and created silly portraits of them with bulging eyes and very lopsided features using the app, “FaceMelter”. Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” popped into my mind, and I thought that if I was having this much fun creating images in this style, my students might like it too. I found myself lending my iPhone and iPod Touch to my students. It was both hysterical and inspiring for them to learn about surrealism by creating “Melting Self Portraits” . Their excitement about using the touch screen to create made me look past the possibility that my devices could suffer any casualties. Fortunately, students took great care of my technology. The administration in my district believes in demonstrated practice; therefore, I was determined to prove that my students needed touch screen devices in the art room. At that time, I began uploading student work to their online Artsonia galleries and printed others to display in my school.

Love Bird, Created Using Phantasy App, 2nd Grade

In 2010, I invited my supervisor to observe a lesson where my students were using my iPod Touch to create digital collages using the app Faces iMake. To this day she recalls how amazed she was that first graders were all completely engaged and in awe when trying to watch a demonstration on one tiny iPod Touch. She was equally impressed with how intuitive they were when it was their turn to create digital collages on such a small screen.

Polar Bear, Created Using Percolator app, 3rd Grade

At the end of the 2011 school year, my district acquired iPads through a grant. Select classroom teachers and a couple of specialists, including myself, were invited to be a member of the iPad Pilot Program. I was given one first generation iPad to use with my students. We explored digital storytelling, augmented reality, graphic design, photo and drawing apps and more. Each week, I was required to submit a form to my technology leaders that described how I was infusing the iPad in the art room. It was a super exciting time, but only for a select few. Students wanted to use the iPad, but only having one iPad for 550 students meant that the odds of using the iPad were pretty slim for most.

Some of the things I have learned along the way:

• Publish your students’ digital work online if possible and share the work they are creating with your administrators and technology leaders. Demonstrated practice could possibly go a long way. Read about how the iPad has been infused in the art room B.A. Art/iPads and see my students in action by viewing our B.A. Vimeo iPad Library.
• Download and install Dropbox on your computer, iPads and iPhone. I cannot imagine managing and uploading my students’ digital files without it.
• Talk to your students about your efforts to acquire technology for them. My students seem to appreciate that I include them in on the process. This could possibly be part of the reason why they take proper care of the technology when it arrives for them to use.
• If you do not have a class set, create an iPad station where students can cycle through and take turns using the iPads while others are using traditional tools at their tables.
• If you do not have a class set, provide time for students to work in groups. They enjoy solving problems together and are less frustrated when navigating tools for the first time in apps like “Brushes”.
• Apply for grants when possible and look for opportunities that may help you acquire more iPads and perhaps a class set. Having an iPad station makes it possible to offer basic digital lesson extensions. A class set will allow you to teach digital lessons to an entire class on some days while using traditional tools on other days.

Suzanne Tiedemann and Tricia Fuglestad spent the last year exploring uses for the iPads in the Art room. They presented on their findings at the National Art Education Association on Saturday, March 3, 2012 in NYC.  Fnd their resources on their iPads in Art resource site.

Escape from Thorne Mansion Interactive

Posted on 07. Dec, 2011 by Theresa McGee in All Posts, Multimedia, Music+Art, Tech Stuff

As a child I was lucky to live close enough to the Art Institute of Chicago to visit the Thorne Miniature Rooms.  I imagined how different my life would be living during the historical time periods depicted in the extraordinarily detailed 3-dimensional interior designs.  A new interactive game from The Art Institute of Chicago, Escape from Thorne Mansion, allows me to take a virtual leap back into those rooms.

The interactive adventure begins in a 16th century French parlor with a cryptic note explaining details to escape the mansion. Clicking on different areas of the image reveal verbal clues at the bottom of the screen and open doorways to gain entry into the next room.  Your students will enjoy the challenge escaping the labyrinth of rooms using the clues found along the way.

Escape from Thorne Mansion could be easily integrated with a study of linear perspective, composition, or design.  Alternatively, create a literature connection at school or at home incorporating the book, The Sixty-eight Rooms reviewed in an earlier post.

Connecting with Music
Other than the light strum of a harp in the French Anteroom, the Escape from Thorne Mansion interactive missed an opportunity to couple era music with the room design. So, I’ve decided to pick up where the Art Institute of Chicago has left off and pair a few Thorne Room images with sounds from the time (click the widget to the right of the image to listen).

California Hallway, c. 1940

French Boudoir of the Louis XV Period, 1740-60

Japanese Traditional Interior, 1937

The Thorne Miniature Rooms create an amazing opportunity to connect history, literature, and music with art and design.  How else do the Thorne Miniature Rooms connect to your curriculum?

Technology Tips

Posted on 09. Sep, 2011 by Hillary Andrlik 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.

Click here to download Mac keyboard short cuts poster.

 

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 Hillary Andrlik 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.

Review: DVD Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion

Posted on 15. Feb, 2011 by Theresa McGee in All Posts, Multimedia, Reviews

DVD Name: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion

Grade levels: 4th grade through adult

Category: Art History, Teaching Resource

If you teach linear perspective, then Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion DVD hosted by Al Roker is a must-have. This video is an updated version of Masters of Illusion from the National Gallery of art containing many of the same images, descriptions and musical accompaniments.   Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion kept the best of the old and introduced new ideas to help explain perspective concepts. My favorite part of the video is the discussion of anamorphic art including The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.  Use as an introduction, play as students finish perspective drawings, or leave as a sub plan.

Bucket Rating out of 5:

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

Click here to learn more about the bucket rating system or to submit your own review.

The 10 Best iPhone and iPad Apps for Art Teachers 2010

Posted on 13. Dec, 2010 by Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee in All Posts, Reviews, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets, Tools and Miscellaneous

“I’m through. What do I do?”

Posted on 05. Nov, 2010 by Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee in All Posts, Art Games, Books, Clean-up and Transition, Clssrm Mgmt, Cool+Creative, Music+Art, Neat Video, Off-task Behavior, Organization and Preparation, Reviews, Tech Stuff, Techniques, Tools and Miscellaneous

It’s those 5, 10, or 15 minutes when students finish assigned work early that can send a teacher into an internal panic.  Instead of panic, be prepared.  We have pulled some of our ready-to-use ideas together to help you fill those last few minutes with meaningful content.

Independent Activities for Early Finishers:

Sixty-Eight Rooms: Art in Miniature

Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by Guest Author in All Posts, Books

The following is a guest post written by Samantha Melvin.  She teaches elementary art and music integrating across the curriculum in Burnet, Texas.

Good Things Come in Small Packages. It is such fun to come across a book that our elementary-aged students can read that have ideas for visual arts lessons built right into the story. The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone does just that. It is a fantasy tale, perfect for 2nd-6th graders, about the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In our story, Jack and Ruthie go on a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and see the Thorne Rooms for the first time.  Jack discovers a key while on a separate special tour with one of the museum guards. The key leads Jack and Ruthie to discovering much more about the sixty-eight rooms! These exquisite rooms, whose design represents the style of a different era and place, were commissioned by Narcissa Niblack Thorne.  The artists and master craftsmen created each using only the finest materials. They were built using 1 inch to 1 foot scale. Even the doorknobs turn, and the desk drawers open, truly representing design in miniature. Our characters discover that the key is really a magic key, which transforms the person holding it into a miniature version of him or herself. We live vicariously as they walk into these rooms and step back in time to pre-revolutionary France, or to late seventeenth century America. By connecting with artworks mentioned in the story including Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, we can demonstrate the link between history and art. In this case, Jack and Ruthie realize that they landed in France prior to its revolution, that had been partially inspired by the American’s fight for freedom from British rule.

Kupjack Georgian Dining Room

18th Century Violin Makers Shop

Not all of us can travel to the Art Institute of Chicago to visit this wonderful collection. However there are other museums around the country that also have a connection to Thorne’s incredible legacy. The Knoxville Museum of Art, in Knoxville, TN, holds a collection of Thorne Rooms. These represent some of the earliest of her works. The Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, AZ is a museum dedicated to miniatures. In its fantastic collection, one can find the Kupjack Georgian Dining Room, an example of work by one of Thorne’s primary artists, Eugene Kupjack. The Phoenix Art Museum also holds 20 examples of the Thorne Rooms.

Make curricular connections:

Drawing & Math
Connect this wonderful fantasy to the creativity of our students by asking them to design their own “Contemporary Interior” where they design a room, using 1 inch to 1 foot scale, representing their place and time. Either using one-point perspective in drawing, or photomontage from magazines, the design of their own space would be a fascinating view of our 21st Century world from a child’s point of view.

Sculptural Paper Folding & Math
Jack and Ruthie, our adventurous 6th grade characters, go to school together in a Chicago neighborhood. In the opening chapter, Jack shows a bento box that he brought for lunch to school. Ruthie had never seen anything like it, and your students may not have either! Integrate a wonderful paper folding lesson, that implements measurement and folding for creating the bento box, and using paper folding and sculpture for the food.  There is a wonderful example in the Thorne Rooms collection of Japanese architecture and design known as the Japanese Traditional Interior that would connect wonderfully with this lesson.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms is a wonderful addition to any book or art club looking to connect literature with art. The magical tale would be a great read-aloud in the art classroom, leading to specific art projects that make children think about their enviroments and design.

Special Thanks to the Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, AZ for permission to publish the photographs of works in their collection, both taken by Balfour Walker. The museum can be found on Twitter at @tucsonmuseum Thanks to Nancy Walker for sharing her Bento Box lesson as well. Photos of teacher samples are from the Center for Educator Development in Fine Arts Summit XI Elementary Sessions hosted by Samantha Melvin and Nancy Walkup.

Introducing The Teaching Palette Podcast

Posted on 21. May, 2010 by Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee in All Posts, Multimedia, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets

All of our video tutorials have been gathered together to create The Teaching Palette Podcast Channel! Now you can subscribe to our educational videos through iTunes and automatically be updated on the latest Palette Podcasts.  Keep up-to-date on the latest art-related videos while on the go and share what you’ve learned with other art educators. Subscribe though iTunes or watch them on the web.