Podcasts--or I don't get it...

but maybe that's because I am a VISUAL ARTS teacher---so while I love to inspire students with music from an era, country or artist, or love to read scholastic art winners richly worded short stories, poems...to inspire the development of visual imagery, I can't get too worked up about listening to podcasts. Maybe I haven't discovered the right site. I mean while I love "This I believe" on NPR and while I did listen to the podcasts of students reading their own "This I believe" (https://digitalvoices.wikispaces.com/spg tace/filelist), and while I know that some students will tune in to learn, study, review....do students of there own volition really choose to tune into podcasts verses listen to music, watch videos or YouTube? And, while I listen to "Books on Tape" on long car rides, I would much rather read or hold a real book to study from than tune in to a pod cast. I promise to keep searching and keep an open mind. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day I discover my "Eureka!"-this is the podcast of my dreams!

Thing 11-Wiki's

Now I am really lost. Note my Wiki: http://www.wikispaces.com/user/my/grahde01 I can thing of pages I want to introduce, I get excited at the prospect of art teachers editing the pages, and I can't for the life of me imagine who has the time to do all of this!? School is out finally, and I am only moving onto Thing #12. I may finish my next September. I still get confused about how to move from one format to another, how to get back to sites I have created, and how to keep it all managed. Perhaps, now that I am not managing 150 adolescents a day, I may have some dawning revelations and it may all start to fall into place.

Wiki's!

Wow-another great new internet (intergalactic) world to get lost in! I really enjoyed the Wiki that explored Flickr, and one of the educational Wikis that shared Web2.0 collaborative techniques ( Classroom20wiki). While I delved into these-like I delve into non-fiction, I really enjoyed the look and unbelievable "breadth" of the Welker's... How does one get a Wiki that organized, complex and fascinating and still have time to teach? For those of you unfamiliar with the life of an art teacher-just image teaching 3-6 preps a day, with curriculum you have to design and write, collect reproductions, jpegs, images to scan, create Power-point presentations to show visual motivation, teach technique, context, motive, create creative-problem solving objectives, manage 35 students armed with a wealth of media/weaponry and then set and break down labs every hour of every day....have I adequately shared my mania with you? Anyway, you see how I marvel at the time commitment that all this seems to involve. The time thing seems to be what gets in the way here for me. I would love to see teacher's meetings held on Wiki sites! Certainly, sharing and give and take would be accomplished, new and old business would take place, real open discussion of ideas-collaboration...instead of memo meetings, no place for new business, held at end of day-I can't function now time...perhaps I am getting into muddy water here-so I will stop! :)

#9 of 23 Things!

EEK! I am failing behind! I did so enjoy playing and exploring with the Image generators -especially BigHugeLabs! The site was easier for me to move through. ImageGenerator.org seemed to have so many pop-ups, and was so cross-indexed that I found myself easily getting lost or far afield. After much play, I created a great list of creative problem solving projects for my Advanced Printmaking class. This list will be a jumping off point for them in selecting a project to complete that will take the place of a written final exam. (Better to have a work of art to add to a portfolio, more experience in creating visual documents, and less tedium for me!) I've attached an art-trading card that I easily made on BigHugeLabs. The idea of making trading cards based on famous or contemporary printmakers is one of the choices my students will have for their final project. They can create 20 cards based on famous printmakers in history, or 10 cards based on contemporary, regional new artists. I got so excited about all of the need Ideas, I created a list of over 10 projects for student perusal. They can also generate ideas, and run them by me for my approval. Very Cool for enrichment. (I did point out that students' art could not be simple stealing of site templates, but create own work from these ideas.)

Fun with Flickr...

I really loved the Spell with Flickr-but could not figure out how to save the image to be able to use it in blog, on Powerpoint, in handouts....What is the trick? And, in the midst of teaching a Printmaking/Commercial art class, Spell with Flickr so amazingly addresses Typography, Advertising, use of color, shape, size, layout...with lettering. So, back to the original question--how do you get the words created there into any other format? Flickr montage was great, a bit limiting, but cool, and I really liked the color picker, but am still trying to figure out ways to use it in class as a resourse, other than, wow, that's a cool trick. The Flickr-Kaleidoscope software trick was also very cool, since this year for the first time, I've introduced Kaleidoscopes and Mandalas. Kids are doing nice work, but next year I want this to be more impactful, and personal, so I will be looking quite closely at all aspects of how I present this unit and its connection to the spiritual, cultural, historical significance. If I can figure out the Flickr-Kaleidoscope program it would be neat to save work digitally in Flickr and be able to have students create moving effects.

7th Think! Uploading Photos into Flickr

Wow, one could get lost in the neatness of this--organization that can be cross-indexed to the millionth degree, and, the act of uploading, while deleting from one's hard-drive the multitudes of jpegs, images, downloads....I need more time! As to classroom uses, remember I'm an art teacher, and can never have enough visual resources! How great to be able to save images from web sites-works of art, reproductions, videos...and create public sites for classes to reflect on lesson objectives. Students could also add their work to own blogs, flickr accounts so that specific student groups may compare works, creative thought process...Wow, a world of applications here! Again, I am going to need more than a few personal assistance, or much more time!

Flickr!!!!!

Now we're talking! From an art teacher's perspective how can any of the other 23Thinks compare to online photo storage and libraries? Need I digress? From the stand point of teaching visual arts and visual literacy-what better tools for understanding technique such as composition, balance, high and low key value scales...to enduring understandings such as pain, comfort, home, self....I mean, paintings, drawings, stitchery...Flickr has images of so many media-not just photos! Wow! Now from the point of view of someone moving from the 20th century, how do our students (and own children), ever get homework done? I am beginning to understand how they fill their lives with hour after hour perusing MySpace, FaceBook, PhotoBucket and Flickr. To all you Language Arts teachers out there, I feel your pain. Do students actually read novels and textbooks anymore? And as for my personal family photos, collecting dust in worn albums-perhaps on days too sweltering to exist outside this summer, I can start scanning in loved images for safe keeping! Just coming up for air--

Thing 5-RSS

So much information, so little time! As a novice in all of this, I fear that I am getting more that a little muddled about how to use this "know-how". I am feeling the twinges of addiction to the blog, and now that a plethora of blogs will be sorted and saved, and waiting for my perusal, my-how will I get anything else done? I am confused enough to not feel comfortable with all of this new knowledge, but I am enthused enough to continue to sludge ahead. Once I can adequately maneuver through multiple windows, blogs, technological tools...I envision 21c. teaching going on!

Reflecting on RSS

so much for "real simple syndication". I'm still getting lost creating new posts! I am hopeful and optimistic that this will start to come easier to me, but presently, I have 5 window screens open so that I can juggle directions, blogs, bloglines, passwords....I know I am doing things seriously backward-any advise?

Thing 3!

My mind is whirling with ideas, and wonder. When will I have the time to set this up, and how do I organize this from student's perspective? As for using blogging with art students I can see how importing video, power-point presentations, connecting web addresses...and asking students to respond to surveys, questions and share their comments about art and artists would be a great way to generate real conversation. (Isn't it ironic that in person, in the class-room students can be too intimidated to share thoughts, yet when they can open-up to a computer screen they have little qualms in baring their souls). If I could get a fraction of the interactive sharing on an art blog that I am sure takes place on their myspace and facebook pages, I would be ecstatic! I am also a new member of Art Education 2.0- an amazing web site that hosts art teachers, art -ed students, university faculty...all whose lives revolve around teaching art. Every time I check into that site I loss hours of my life. How does one explore such vast, extensive connective libraries of blogs, web addresses, lessons...without getting hopelessly sidetracked? If anyone has the answer to staying the path when blogging, please let me know! If I could see the path in a more Zen-like way, I would also be able to see how to plan great blog experiences for my kids.

Reflection on "Thing 2"

AHHH!What have I gotten myself into? I am still super excited about what I am going to learn and how I can approach teaching after I know all of this too cool stuff, but now that I know blogs exist and know that there are sites strictly dedicated to blogs, bloggers and the like...(like the very cool one that popped up on Google, when I registered this site) how will I possibly be a participate in the real world when my focus is being narrowed down to the computer desktop? (Do I see an "addiction" in the making?) I already get so sucked into the design of new curriculum, building units, creating visuals, power point presentations, writing handouts, creating web libraries...I now discover what I know will be a wonderful teaching tool, if only I can get past what seems to be the enticing, dare I say, decadent barrage of the literary and visual panacea of information found in the world of blogs? Tonight I am saved by the clock-bedtime for those of us who rise at 5 a.m. What ever became of the very credible evidence that found high schools should start later, elementary schools earlier, due to the natural body rhythms and internal clock of the adolescent child?

Oh My Gosh! This is Too Cool!

Hello to everyone out there! This is the first time I have ever used a blog and I am very excited about becoming an active participant of 21c technology. I may be a bit behind-heck my kids do blogging, podcasting, media sharing...on a daily basis. But I am a mom, a teacher, a wife, sister, daughter, and friend--and--a child of the 20th century, so I am just beginning to learn my way in this amazing new to me world! I hope to share thoughts, ideas and learning with you! Excitedly! Art Room Goddess