Subscribing to Feeds

     For those of you who, like me, are new to Web 2.0 tools, you will be pleased to find that there are usually tutorials and easy step-by-step directions for getting started. This is true with RSS ("Rich Site Summary") feeds, which help to gather favorite news sources, blogs, wikis and websites to one central location. If you have a Google Reader account you can go there and learn how. You can type in a search term, look at a list of available feeds, and easily subscribe. I used Wisconsin Art Education as a search term, and I chose to follow a fun RSS by the Wisconsin Arts Board named ArtBeet, Inc. I like it because it gives an art-related quotation every day. I like to post a new quotation on my (low-tech) chalkboard each week in the art room. These can provoke great class discussions on aesthetics and other art content. (By the way, I have found that the high schoolers at my school often cannot read cursive writing! It seems that keyboarding has replaced handwriting...this makes me sad, but if I want to be understood I see that I stand a better chance with printed lettering. Let me now what you think of this phenomenon, okay?) Another feed that I feel may be valuable to my students is ArtBistro.com, which posts information about art and design careers in our state. 

     Another interesting feed that I am checking out was listed when I used "creativity" as a search term. It is titled Creativity Tools, Creative Solutions. This feed is geared more for business professionals, but it has information that has helped me in my ongoing investigation into creativity. There are tabs for topics including Leadership Skills, Time Management, Problem Solving, Stress Management, and Practical Creativity. All of the topics are meaningful for teaching 21st century skills to teenagers. I did notice that many of the articles give brief overviews from materials that you must purchase in order to read them completely. In the Practical Creativity tab I found an article that describes several creativity techniques that are briefly described, though. One that I liked is called "Reverse Brainstorming." It involves brainstorming for the opposite concept, essentially defining solutions for a concept by coming up with things that it is not. I am planning to use this idea in a student interest inventory that I like to give at the beginning of the school year. Among my questions to students I will ask them what they don't want their art teacher to do. I will also ask them the big question of: "What would the world look like without art?"

     I plan to follow these feeds for a while, to see what comes across. The RSS "waters of information" are flowing into my Google Reader account now, and all I have to do is dip into them now and then to refresh the curriculum that I already have in place! 

     

Two Blogs to Follow

I feel a "tag cloud" in my head, and it kind of hurts! You probably know already that there is just a plethora of material and tools available for art teachers to use in the modern art room. Although I am overwhelmed, it is a kid-in-the-candy-store kind of hurt. Each blog I look at seems to be loaded with interesting goodies for an art teacher. It is worth noting that this greater use of the Internet does indeed require discipline!  

One blog that I want to follow is by Craig Roland, an art educator, author, and EduTech consultant. His blog is called The Art Teacher's Guide to the Internet, with a URL of <http://artjunction.org/blog/>. This blog was started in 2005 as an extension of Roland's book by the same name (Davis Publications, 2005). His goal is to enhance art eduction via practical strategies for using Web 2.0 tools. He provides lots of ideas, tools and resources for teaching art and design in these post digital times. There is a huge blog roll of art and art related sites. Roland lists "108 Web Tools & Resources" and has PDF copies of ArtEd articles that any art teacher can use, such as his Feb 2009 offering of "Online Art History Timelines." I looked at imbedded videos from Youtube that I will definitely show my students. A great one for inspiring student reflections is a "vimeo" called "What Does Art Mean to You?"

A second blog, which was named Best New Art Teachers' Blog in 2008  by Craig Roland,  is called The Teaching Palette, found at <http://theteachingpalette.com/>. This blog was started two years ago by two art teachers named Hillary Andrlik and Theresa McGee, who desired to create a "collaborative and resourceful forum for art specialists of all levels." They provide valuable teacher resources for classroom management, for music & art integration, and for teacher-authored product news. I learned about lots of uses for Flickr in managing images for classroom use and organization. Under their "Cool & Creative" tab I found an example of an ipod directed museum scavenger hunt. I found the "Shh" noise control app for ipod here too. When I looked at some of the Twitters, I found some awesome videos of drawing tutorials and some discounts for art supplies.

“Shhh” Noise Control

This is an interesting ipod application for noise control in the art room. 
&#8220;Shhh&#8221; Noise Control

Here's an Idea for An Artclass Blog

     Looking ahead to the new school year, I am thinking of ways that I can use the new things I'm learning about Web 2.0. Even if they are just the musings of a "kinderwebber," maybe you can use these as a springboard for your own classroom or studio. My first idea has to do with opening up the dialogue about media literacy in my high school classes. I am teaching at an at-risk school, where,  at 51; I am older than many of my students' grandparents (partly due to the early age of motherhood generation after generation...come on now!). The kids are shocked to see me use a cell phone. My point is that I want to meet them half way in this modern world they are plugged into. I want to guide them in their choices as they navigate the horror/fun palace that it can be. And I want to bring us all on a gentle peek into the amazing potential of a collective intelligence! 

     Now, that was just a little about where I am coming from...here is the idea for today:

I am thinking about having the discussion about social networking, explaining the concept of a blog, showing students how to make a blog, and then requiring that each student add to a classroom-published blog. The students could write about an event in the classroom, comment on art news either local or global, or even  -gulp- communicate with other students about their own artwork! We could invite classrooms from the traditional high schools to respond to our blogs. There is the potential to include images and podcasts...I am really psyched about the possibilities!

Consider Using Blogs in the Classroom

Good News! I am taking a very helpful class entitled "Emerging Technology," which has provided me with excellent guidance in setting up a blog, and it is EASY to do! There are many free sites available for bloggers to get started, and the directions are easy to follow. View the tutorial "Blogs in Plain English"  found at <http://www.commoncraft.com/> if you are a novice like me. I have admittedly tried to ignore social technology beyond email, but we all know that it is here to stay, and for good reason. People are finding more and more ways to connect, to express themselves, to communicate, to share information and to expand their knowledge base via technology. As a teacher, I recognize the value of Web 2.0 tools to reach my students on many new levels. An article that we read for class, written by Professor Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, talks about "Why Academics Should Blog." He describes a pilot project that came out of a response to the bombing of the World Trade Center, where blogs were used to provoke public reflection. He goes on to describe many aspects of blogging that are compatible with the goals of academics. Blogs allow scholars to build their reputations, to share information with researchers around the world, and to hone their "skills as public intellectuals." These are not quite the same goals that I have for my at-risk high school students, but Jenkins highlights several other benefits to blogging that I do find quite appealing.  First off, as you probably know, teenagers are intrigued by technology. They are immediately engaged when they are invited to express themselves on a keyboard! Blogging is a 21st century skill, and we want to provide our students with direction in new-media literacy. We also want them to develop those old-fashioned skills like writing, interviewing, giving feedback, and collaborating--all of which are facilitated in this new, exciting way. We can even use blogs to promote our schools themselves!