Week 14

This week we were assigned to watch some videos and read articles on sexting. I think this is a huge problem with children. Young students are able to bring their cellphones into school at a young age, which allows them to always be connected with their friends even during school hours. Teens are becoming more and more curious about their bodies and connections with the other sex that its only natural for them to take it to this kind of level. If I had it my way I would bad students to bring cell phones to school and if parents needed to contact them they would have to do it like the old days through the office and principle. But these days that is not so practice. Parents want their kids to have phones so it becomes easier to contact. With that being said. There is no real way to always monitor what the children are texting or taking photos of. I feel that the best thing we can do is INFORM the students of the problem and the consequences and hope that they listen to what we have to say.

Flipped classroom

Hey. So for this flipped classroom lesson I decided to do a "Show me." I purchased an Ipad because I wanted to work on making a portfolio of tutorials and recorded lectures for my students. this assignment introduced me to this. With my Ipad I am figuring out more I can do with technology in the art classroom. Anyway, my SHOW ME is first a tutorial on how to draw perspective, then I show some images from history that show perspective, and then at the end I show an example of something we would be working on in class. My SHOW ME is a little long, But I am beginning to think things like this would be real useful in my art classroom, because then students can always go back and look at how I drew it and walked them through the steps. I wrote a paper this week about how I would teach perspective differently to my students than how I was taught and this is just an added aspect of how I would teach art differently than the traditional way it is taught. enjoy.

Screencast

Well....First off, for some reason it took me a long time to download java. Once I got it going it was fairly easy to finish the assignment. Sarah and I went to cafe diam to figure it out together. It actually was a great help and I think helped me get the assignment done faster. The first recording I messed up on a bunch, and then recorded again and was fairly happy with the outcome. I'm not sure I will use this screen cast idea very much in my Art room. For as an art teacher, during class periods I will be working with the students hands on assignment. I'm sure I can think of a cool homework assignment where the students will need to listen to my voice to fallow directions. Or maybe I can use the screen cast with showing them images of artworks and slides. This is a good thing to know and I hope I find a time to use it in the future.

Google Doc presentation

The presentation was pretty easy to put together, I feel that It will be useful in my class for slides of artists work, back to school night, or even to show my own work to the students. I can see using this method of technology in my class in the future. I have also seen this method being used in classes of all ages. I think it is very beneficial and will be wonderful to use.

PODCAST

OK. So I am sorry to say. But I HATE this podcast thing. I worked on this ALLLLLL day yesterday and when linking this to the gallery, ONE minute it works and ONE minute it does not. AHHH I am very frustrated!

BUT I had an OKAY time recording it. I had to re-record my voice over and over again because I feel that I sound like a young kid when being recorded. I AM SO HAPPY to finally have it over with. BUT I do not know if the link is finally working. It has taken way too much time already that I am too frustrated to even look at it.

I am not sure if I would use this method in an art class. Especially because I will be doing more art projects then research projects. BUT I think it would be quite interesting to do the WIki assignment and podcast assignment together as a project for the students to research an artist each year. Or even as a group project rather than a individual project.

Anyway, I learned how to do this podcast, and I am happy I learned it but it took a great deal of time and frustration for me.

Here IS the Link

Podcast Powered By Podbean

week 5

What stood out to me most in all the information that you gave us this week was Ken Robinson. He touched on some interesting topics. Creativity....really drew me in. But he began asking the  question..."What will the world look like in 5 years?" no one really knows, but our educators are expected to prepare students for it. How can we prepare students for the future and teaching accordingly if you do not know what it looks like. Good question.

"Creativity is as important as literacy."
This was a big part of his speech. Ken Robinson talks about how there has always been a hierarchy of subjects in schools. At the top - Mathematics and Languages. Then the Humanities. and on the bottom it is the arts. From what I got from this speech he wants that to change. We need to educate the whole students not just the subjects like math ect. He gave a good example about the girl who was a dancer. She could not pay attention in class and could not sit still. But after many tests and being diagnosed with ADHD the doctor just found out that she was a dancer. This girl had to move to think. And the school wasn't having it because she wasn't able to sit still in her other classes. Someone would of just gave her medication and told her to calm down but the doctor knew all the needed was a dance class to give her something to work towards. Just because some students may not excel at all the "important" subjects doesn't mean they are not just as smart....their creativity is shaping them and they will be able to be original.
As someone who is going to be an art teacher I strongly agree with Ken on this subject. And from personal experience I was one of the students that exceled in art classes. And when I finally went to a school that shined light on my talents I was able to take those positive vibes and bring them to my other classes that in my past I was not able to get much out of. Knowing that my teachers noticed what I was good at and had faith in me that I could get somewhere, helped me do better in ALL of my classes. And now I am just where I want to be, on the path to doing something I really love.

Students should not be pushed into doing things that they do not want to do. If they have talents else where I think those talents should be noticed and hopefully good educated teachers will know how to dig that out of their students and help them achieve their goals.

As for the gaming conference, I think Jane McGonigal had some good points to speak on. I am not a gamer, but I do have a boyfriend that plays games a great deal when he is not working security or at the gym or spending time with me. Jane mentioned that playing games gives people "Epic Meaning" which I can see is completely true. When children start playing video games they take on a whole new world that they can accomplish a goal. In real life...the goal might be to far or too hard to get a hold of. They KNOW that in this game its not that far from reaching and they will spend most of their time to get it.

Are we using games to escape real world suffering? Or do children even care about this real world suffering to even pay attention? I feel as if a lot of children are not even thinking about what is going on in the real world so games becomes their world.
The games that Jane made up were interesting and I feel were a very good idea. But I FEAR that those games would be boring to a child or teenager. Teens want to play shooting games or fighting games. Not games about gas. We have to reach out to the youth and what will really grab their attention.

This gaming idea has given me some ideas about linking Games to art projects....

Week 4 Blog response

I did a great deal of brainstorming for this blog response. I was not sure exactly how advanced 4th graders could be when it comes to technology. After talking with a few people who are around 4th graders most of the time, I came to the conclusion that these children are a lot more advanced than I had thought. I have decided to use Wikis for this learning experience. I feel that Wikis are not that complicated to navigate and with enough instruction and parental guidance with researching, I feel that the students could grasp this concept of wikis pretty easily.

The use of technology will be used through out the assignment with the students as well as the teacher. I will use technology in my description to show the students what to do. I will also provided screen shots that I will print out so they can bring them home to help them work on this assignment.  
In this lesson, I will have each student research an artist. They will be given specific guidelines that will not be very complicated but must do their best to fallow. In class I will give an explanation of a wiki over a projected screen. I will show them a wiki that I have created, and then I will show them that I have already added a page for each student with their names and artists next to them. I will show them a wiki that I have created to give them an example of what theirs should look like.  The students will be expected to include the Artists name, with ONE video relating to the artist. Which they will have to look up on youtube.com with the parents supervision. As well as, up to three images, one image of the artist, and two of the artists work. They will also be required to add a short paragraph explaining a few points about the artist. This typed section should only be a few sentences but should at least include when the artist was born, as well as when they died. Also it must include something about the style of the art as well as why the students like the artwork.

Here is an example of what I am looking to see.  The students will have already viewed my example and have also been walked through a description of how to begin. Along with screen shots and print outs this should be fairly easy for the students to catch on to.

Lastly, once each wiki page is completed, the students will present their artist and digital wiki page to the class. Where we will all get the chance to watch their video and learn about each others artists.

Wiki page reflection

As for the wiki page assignment, I found it quite enjoyable. It had me on you tube looking up videos that would be interesting to others, as well as an art newspaper that I have not looked at in a long time. This assignment came pretty easy to me because embedding I already knew how to do. I find it interesting to look at everyone else s  pages as well. I think the whole class has really good ideas and each assignment comes together nicely.

I do agree with Brett, sitting in front of the computer doing all this does not make me appreciate technology more. Yes, I am getting a hang of it. But on the other hand I rather be out doing something. Although this class is introducing me to useful tools on the internet. I am ALSO on the computer way more then I would like to be. Between all my classes I feel like I spend WAY TOO MUCH time sitting in front of a screen. I have never been the kind of person to want to sit in front of the computer all day, and this is what it has come to. But you have to do what you have to do right?

On that note, Ill end this and I look forward to seeing the next weeks assignment!

Week 2..finding a teachers website.

So it took me quite a while to actually find an OK teachers website. I did not want to settle for something that did not seem all the way finished. I also was looking for a website that would relate to my degree. (Art Education) So I found Mrs. McDonald of Carlstadt Public Schools. I have linked the website to her name. As you go to the page first and foremost it welcomes you into the site and what the site has to offer. What I really enjoy about her website is that she gives you a great deal of links to other websites all over the internet to further your education on art. From a link to the Getty museum to a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw children's favorite cartoons!  I think that Mrs. McDonald put together a really great website with a lot of information on it. When it comes to communicating with parents. I did not see anything that really stuck out to be in direct contact with her. Maybe posting a link with her email address and extension at school would help. Which I did notice on a couple other websites. I think this webpage is very effective and shows that this teacher is very interested in what she is teaching to the students. This is also a great webpage for teachers to refer to!

Four takes on technology-Artical response

As for my technology background, I have some. I can use a mac pretty well, as well as some Photoshop and illustrator. I am not that great at either, but I try my best. I also have an Iphone, which I very much enjoy. I am not a big fan of technology that keeps popping up in random places, as in these days when you go to quick check expecting to order a sandwich, you must use a computer to put your order in. Instead of speaking directly to the person who is standing 2 feet away from you waiting for you to type in your order. ALSO notebooks are becoming obsolete because students can just record a lecture on their ipad or iPhone with an application. Which is nice to catch the whole lecture but I think having to think quick and record notes with a pen and paper forces you to think quick and get the information in your head quicker.  for me,  I will never get rid of my notebooks. I have to write things out to learn the most.

 When it comes to learning in a classroom, I much rather be face to face, actually have to buy books and hold handouts and underline and all that goes into face to face classrooms. Although this class is a different experience to me. I am beginning to find it is not that bad. I was quite weary. I absolutely hate nooks and i pads where you read books off them. But that is just who I am, I enjoy the experience of flipping through pages, and when books get old and wrinkly I enjoy having a library in my apartment and adding to it each year. In response to this article, I believe the four instances that were explained were all very interesting.
Using digitized documents in the classroom- I believe that digitized documents could be very helpful with reading handwritten pieces that could be hard to make out. But I do think that students should have the opportunity to struggle over how hard it may be to read these certain documents. Actually looking and struggling over deciphering the elaborate script is an experience in itself.
Friends and Flags- I like the idea of a global exchange very much! Where students interact with others around the world. Students will learn a lot more about other countries around the world if they actually have the chance to communicate with foreign students. Communicating through email, blogging and discussion boards as I am finding out now, is not bad at all, and sort of fun!
Cultural Identity- I enjoyed the way this teacher used technology to teach her students about their African American heritage. Graphic design demands the use of technology, and since the school this teacher worked at did not have the resources the students needed for their research, technology was a great help. Graphic design as well as all art pushes you to find an individual voice which all students strive to achieve.
As for the last section of this article - Students Teaching Teachers
Many students are ahead of teachers when it comes technology. This is because of the way children are growing up today, glued to all types of technology. Having student teacher mentors is a great way to learn from each other. This section spoke about a student teaching a teacher the wonders of power point. But from my experience in Art School most all my teachers had slideshows and power point presentations ready for us. But for upcoming teachers this is great way for US to learn about the technology that we do not already know. I would be very interested in learning from a student. Since my technology skills are not all that impressive :D

About Me

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I have never done a blog before so this is all quite new to me. To begin, my name is Cristina McNish. I am attending Montclair State to get my MAT in Teaching Art K-12th grade. I received my undergraduate degree of a BFA (bachelors of Fine Arts) at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where I lived for 4 years and graduated in 2011. I decided to go into this field of teaching art after I taught at the Montclair Art museum, as well as being greatly inspired by a wonderful Art teacher of mine back in high school who pushed me to go down the path that I was born to go down. I strive to be an inspiration to my students, even a helpful hand when things get tough. I would love to teach high school one day. Definitely not the easiest group of kids to teach but I feel that from my learning issues in the past and my past struggles figuring out what I wanted to do, I could really relate to the students that have hard times. Art is an outlet that helped me and I hope to pass that on to my students. I have never been your average person. Being an artist, I want to explore, travel the world, teach art to poor children in other countries,  and learn as much as I possibly can. I know what kind of teacher I strive to be, and I am excited to get started. Hope you enjoyed my introduction, and I look forward to reading all of yours!

-Cristina McNish