"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." ~Albert Einstein
Like a blank sheet of paper this blog has great potential for my classroom and my curriculum. Since I currently teach elementary art (k-5), it seems appropriate that my blog be divided into these three categories:
1) a gallery to show off student art work to share with the students, parents, and the community.
2) an index of lessons I teach ( include powerpoint presentations, links to artists and the artworks, etc I use in my class) and the benchmarks and standards that are covered.
3) an "inspiration zone" for students to go to get ideas and help if they are feeling "artist block" (maybe perhaps include links to other "kid friendly art websites")
The student art gallery is great for students to see visuals of the projects they are working on. Showing students art work also reinforces self-reflection, "What makes an artwork successful or unsuccessful?" and "How can I make my own artwork more successful?"
A lesson index is a great way for parents to see what their students are (or will be) working on and how Art teaches skills that are important to their child's education.
And the "inspiration zone" is just plan fun. As a child who loved art and being creative, I would have loved to have a source to seek inspiration from.
Kristina,
ReplyDeleteI think you have done a fantastic job of thinking through how best to utilize blogs in your classroom. I have no doubt that students will love having their work posted to the art gallery and like you said, they will reflect on how they can further improve their work. My only concern is how you will decide what works gets posted. Will it be all work to aspire towards or works in progress? I ask because I know there are some students that may never produce an A level piece of work yet would love to see their work in the gallery. With all of the classes you teach from K-5 I can't imagine that you would be able to post something from everyone (unless you rotate throughout the year).
The lesson index is another great idea and I like that you included that parents can see how important art is for their child's education. I am a phys ed teacher and I know phys ed, like art sometimes gets cast aside as unimportant by parents. This will be a great way to let the parents see exactly what the value of art is. In addition other teachers can use it as a resource for lessons that they may not have taught or a different take on the same lesson. In that vane have you checked out curriki.org? It is a great website for curriculum related lessons and I have heard from a colleague that there are some great art lessons on there.
Kristina,
ReplyDeleteI like the inspiration idea. It would give children an opportunity to post and share their work in a different light. Adding art websites would be something unique.
Are the children to creat artwork, then take a picture or scan it to the computer. Would it then be posted to the blog? Would other students be aloud to post feedback and thoughts to the artwork?
Well, you have really thought this through. It sounds wonderful. I like how your blog will be functional to both parents and students. A well rounded blog. It is nice that you have included a gallery for their work. Everyone likes to see their items on display. I am sure your site will be shared among all their family members.
ReplyDeleteYour blog site has your artistic touch. I am already drawn in. I was wondering how you would identify students so parents would know which piece of art belongs to which student? Also, I am curious as to how many students attend your school? I teach at an elementary school with 540 students and our art teacher works with each class for an hour a week, two weeks on and two weeks off.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea you have of using your blog site to post student work, specifically art work. Since students learn in different ways, this allows your more artistic students to show their talent. How specifically will you grade this assignment? Also, what is the criteria you will use to determine which student's work will be posted? Overall, I really like your idea!
ReplyDeleteLots of factors to consider....
ReplyDeleteAs for my student art gallery I am going to treat it like the bulletin boards in my school (which there are three that belong to the art room) not everyone's art or every project will be posted ( I have 23 classes and 600 students in my school! It would be an overwhelming task to keep up with!)
I also have to protect my students' identities and privacy so I am not going to post any names with my students art work at this time (perhaps I could sent home a permission slip asking parents if they would allow their students first name and grade to posted with their art work but we will see) I am using the "keep it simple" motto for this blog at this time...
As for grading,my students keep an art portfolio and I give them an overall grade based on the effort and craftsmanship of their projects, participation, and behavior. Any art work posted on this blog would be a general survey of students' work NOT what I would consider to be the best or the worst of the bunch.