iPads in the Art room---using the time lapse function, so cool!

Sometimes a picture is all you need:

(I know what you're thinking: Holy cow, she didn't write a novel! Wow! But really, this is easy. And the kids came up with the idea. Time Lapse is part of the Camera function. We use book stands donated by the Library to hold the iPads in place. These videos can be placed in their digital portfolios or for sharing with family and friends!)

Thinking like an artist: Castles with Landforms, 3rd grade

Think like an artist: If you could create a castle anywhere, where would it be? What kind of castle would you build? What would it look like? How would you build it?

Before we begin, take 15 min and watch this. Just do it.

Without realizing this was an Art Ed movement, this has become the direction of my art program. Out of necessity. Out of frustration. And I am so glad to know I am on the right track, that other teachers are dealing with this exact issue.

I have introduced  modified TAB (student choice within the assignment), because despite my best efforts I keep seeing from my elementary kids:

• Copy art, even with no demo
• Refusing to think out of the box
• Anger if I don't give yes/no answers (Kids: Is this right? What do you want me to do now?)
• Tendency to do the minimal required

Why? I don't know. I usually blame standardized testing. I know I am not the only art teacher dealing with this. Kids want a yes/no answer. They are terrified to make mistakes. To think for themselves. They require constant validation. It's our job to teach them the skills to think for themselves. 

So I find myself demo-ing less, and chant "Act and think like an artist" about 50 times a day. "YOU are the artist. This is YOUR idea. I am here to help you, but I cannot tell you what to do".
 They seem to get that. (*Some kids are upset with this creative freedom, just be prepared. Be patient and direct. They can do it.)

With all this is mind, I spent the summer reviewing lessons (I rarely repeat), and rewriting some lessons by aligning them to science and social studies curriculum so I could really hit integration hard, as I love integration. It's that connection she talks about at the end of the video. (*You have to do it right, though! Research first so you don't sacrifice the importance of art on its' own merit)

I also backed off solely focusing on the elements and principles, as those would be taught alongside, and just not be the superstars. I made the idea the superstar. I added metaphors and questions to my project intro.

The castle lesson: This is a 3rd grade lesson. Create an architectural work of art using geometric shapes (typical Elem art project) with landforms (science integration). See how easy it is to integrate?

I switched my approach and just casually asked the kids as soon as they came in, if you could create a castle anywhere, where would you?

 Here are their responses within the first 20 seconds, blurted out with excitement.

More on that terrible example later. There is a reason for that, I promise.

See? They have great ideas. They don't need me to dictate those parameters.

Ok, then I looked around a saw the panic and excitement. That glorious ambiguity. They wanted to make THAT CASTLE NOW, but how? I knew they needed guidance. They are 8 years old.

So I gave them some basic criteria:

• Where is this castle?
• What kind of castle are you imagining? Sand? Medieval? Underwater? Ice? (Oh, and no copying of Disney castles allowed... so yeah, no Frozen ice castles, which made some of my girls a little mad...)

• Landforms (3rd grade science integration) they are currently learning about landforms in class, so they need to add 2-3 in this castle landscape. Could you have mountains and canyons with an underwater castle? How about forests and plains on another planet? What would that look like?

• Mood: here is where I brought in the art history because I cannot give that up. I created a short presentation of castles around the world, with some medical paintings thrown in for good measure. Then we talked about the mood of the castle. How does it feel? What would a sleepy castle look like? How about a sad and lonely castle? An excited castle? Then the kids realized this would probably be best explained by their color choices.

• How to build (this is where I bring in the elements and principles: overlapping geometric shapes) to create 3D.
• Use your imagination

To start:

These kids were buzzing with ideas. They needed a way to plan and organize their thoughts.
First: use the iPad to research castles (I did not allow clip art), for a few minutes
Then: create a Thinking Map (flow chart) to organize ideas. Or they could write notes. Whatever their choice, the kids need to learn how to take their great ideas, organize them and save them for later. This could be done on paper or iPads.

Examples of a Bubble Map

Once they had great ideas that meant all the criteria, then the sketch:

3rd grade student example of castle sketch. This shows the power of having technology at their fingertips.

Once they were happy with the sketch, then onto the final:

 The kids are creating these castles on black paper, with black outlines (oil pastels) and using chalk pastel for color. This will be the first time we will be using chalk pastels, and they will be great for expressing mood, blending and visual interest.

Alright. So this is MY LAME EXAMPLE. I did this on purpose. I promise.

The kids and I talked about my example:

Me: Does the castle meet the requirements?
Kids: no, there is no overlapping, and not enough geometric shapes. It's kind of boring.

Me: Does it have landforms?
Kids: yes, but they are not very detailed. Like, we can't really tell what kind of landforms they are, except for the water.

Me: why did I make a LAME example?
Kids: so we wouldn't copy?
Me: Yep! I did this so you could see what the black outlines and chalk pastel look like. You can do better.

And they did.

Color will happen in January, as we are in the 2 week stretch before our Christmas break. Stayed tuned!

A week in (way cool) Art!

Ever wonder what a week in a busy elementary art room with over 400 kids per week looks like? 

Wonder what your kiddoes are doing? Check this out!

Kinder and First Grade: Self Portraits (All About Me)

Kinder is creating their very first work of art, a Self Portrait. This is my assessment, where I assess fine motor skills like drawing, tracing, coloring. I watch how they are holding pencils and paint brushes. 

I also assess their developmental levels. Are they drawing "potato people" or "stick people" or have they leveled up to creating using shapes?

Drawing, they love to sprawl out!

Needless to say, this group ROCKS. I even threw in crayon resist painting for giggles and they LOVED IT.

Note to my fellow art teachers: if you are struggling with kinder, give them paint and crayons. Limit the color choice (I allowed for 2 watercolor colors) and encourage drawing in white crayon. This will excite the kids and keep them engaged for a long time. 

If you throw down some table covers and clean up with wet wipes, clean up is fast and easy!

First grade is also creating a Self Portrait, but this time, they need to show movement (Winslow Homer's, "Snap the Whip" was our history connection) by bending knees, elbows, etc!

Again, this is an assessment. We talked about leveling up, which allows for harder but stronger technique. I am looking for perseverance, drawing with shapes, attention to details, how the kids hold the pencils and crayons, how and if they mix color families.

The kids were so excited, they even added backgrounds to help their story. We are ending with watercolor resist as well.

Love this!

Kinder painting, check out those happy faces!

Kraft paper is a quick, reusable table cover. Cups are from the Dollar Store.

1st grade Self Portraits showing movement

I love the attention to detail!

2nd and 3rd Grade: Weaving, using textiles to tell a story

2nd grade is creating yarn weavings that describe Fall through color. Close your eyes. What colors come to mind when you think September? How about October? Are the colors different than November?

Using plain weave with fringe.

I precut the yarn in a wide variety of Fall-ish colors.

Yarn colors are kept in baggies, students choose ten pieces of yarn at a time.

This is starting to look like a cozy fall sweater! That Bill Crosby used to wear, but still...

3rd Grade is creating Radial Symmetrical Weavings. This is a great connection between math and art as we are using complex patterns with symmetry, and measuring with a ruler.

Once we start weaving, we are going to learn about the history of this prehistoric art form, through the Greek myth of Arachnae and Athena.

I LOVE making the connections between ancient and modern art. We wear and use woven cloth today. 

First, they created these awesome designs on the edges of paper plates. Student choice on dry materials.

With the design finished, we flipped the plate over and added an odd number of slits along the edge (we did 15), plus a whole in the center.

This week and next, the kids are threading 14" yarn through the hole and each slit, tying with a nice tight double knot.

This requires measuring, so another important art and math connection!

Color choice is very important here, as the kids have to seek colors that complement their drawn design.

4th grade: Ancient Egyptian Portraits

Ok, I totally got this lesson idea from Cassie Stephens, who got it from Artsonia, who got it from??? But this is such a cool lesson, and I love that we art teachers are finally collaborating!

First, we spent some time learning about Ancient Egypt. I have websites all ready for iPad research. I also have a wide variety of books, including the very popular "Book of the Dead". 

(*I am using the brand new Google Classroom with 4th and 5th grade. This is a great way to send info, materials, website links to all the kids through their school email accounts. It is attached to their Google Drive, which we have been using for a few years now.

I was able to link relevant websites to an announcement and the kids had that info quickly without having to type and wait.)

Google Classroom: I love this! Here I have the necessary website link ready to go for their in-class research. They get an email in their school email, and a folder in their Google Drive. So great for teaching large groups like we do.

Kids doing their research with a variety of technology.

Check out the "Book of the Dead" illustration. This is a great resource.

Once the kids selected their favorite god/goddess, they began the sketching part. Here is the big deal, please no judging, ok, but I allow them to copy the Egyptian gods. 

Why? Because Ancient Egyptian artists had to follow a formula when creating people, and they had to copy. So it is perfectly reasonable for my kids to do the same. It does make me twitch, but they are learning valuable skills like observational drawing and drawing in profile.

Next, for color, I am bringing out the Holy Grail for elementary kids: Prismacolor pencils. Over the years, I have slowly built up a supply, and guard them carefully. 

The kids are LOVING using these for color. They laughed when I said they were like butter. But then they got it. And now they might be asking for them for Christmas, sorry mom and dad.

There are many more parts to this project, involving hieroglyphics and mono-printing with our Gelli plates. Stay tuned!

5th grade: 3D drawing and How to Draw in One Point Perspective

I spent this summer doing a lot of professional development- learning about how to effectively use the iPad in the art room, without sacrificing crucial hands-on art making time.

Here was my dilemma:

The first nine weeks of 5th grade are typically spent learning:

• About the Renaissance (1-2 class periods)
• Leonardo da Vinci (1 class period)
• Intro to their sketchbook and the world of drawing pencils (1 class period)
• How to draw in 3D: tricks and tips of shading, value scale, perspective (at least 3 class periods)

As you can see, it is not until OCTOBER before we can actually take all these new skills and create a work of art. It is a frustrating part of only seeing the kids once a week.

I wanted a way to cut that time down and get to creating sooner. And I think I found my answer in iBooks!

Using iBooks Author, I created 3 books for Donald kids: 

• How to Draw in One Point Perspective
• Welcome to the Renaissance
• Meet the Master: Leonardo da Vinci

I love the versatility of creating my own book for my kids!

I created an iMovie intro about the Renaissance-so FUN!

So the big plan is that the kids "read" these quick iBooks on their time (like a lite flipped classroom) and then we create while they are in Art. 

The easiest way to share them is through iTunes University, so I made a quick course and uploaded the books there. The kids can access and download the books onto the iBooks app on their iPad. 

In a perfect world, this will all work out....ha....ha....ha...

I am hoping to to have these kids drawing from observation and learning 1-point perspective next week. Instead of mid October!

Stay tuned, I am really excited for this. The kids are always amazed that they can draw realisticaly. All they need is patience, practice and chilled out observation. Oh, and some drawing pencils! 

Parents, check out my website for drawing supplies, they make great gifts!

Two Art Shows in One Week: Epilogue

Thursday 8:30 pm, , Open House, Student Art Show (see previous post)

Saturday: Spring Break starts

What to do about Friday?

Children and teachers were zombies. I went to Starbucks and got the largest tea I could, plus their protein plate and I still had tears leaking out of my eyes due to exhaustion. 

The thought of getting out the art supplies and trashing my-ready for break-clean room filled me with hopeless despair. I was tiiiiiiiiirrrred.

And then I remembered. These kids have iPADS. We can do a digital art day! Haven't done that before, let's see how it goes?!

I wrote 6 apps they could use (all free except one): 

                   

In case you can't read my chicken scratch:

Blendoku

Brushes

Inspire Pro

Sketchbook Express

iMotion HD

Drawing Pad (an optional, paid app)

I gave them full reign to try each app and create a work of art. Artist choice.

I briefly introduced/reviewed each app. 

We talked briefly about career paths that utilize digital art (most of them btw).

I talked for 5 minutes tops.

And off they went:

Checking out Blendoku for color theory--they love it

Friday ...Day Lights

Here's where it exploded. These boys are using iMotion HD to create stop action animated movies. I don't have a lot of stuff to make movies from (toys, etc).

Our library has an enormous supply of Sensory Tubs. 

These boys borrowed them, and I didn't hear a PEEP out of them the entire class time.

Student engagement? You could taste it. 

Collaboration? You could feel it.

Beauty, relaxation and joy? It was shining in the air. Literally. Shining.

Kids without iPads used the Mac Airs to create their art.

Then third and fourth grade took the ball and RAN with it. Here are groups of kids building movies.

They are sprawled all over the hallway, and yet, so quiet...weird...right?

And not all kids chose to go digital. A few wanted to finish up their weaving.

                     

Meanwhile, classroom teachers were walking their classes around the Art Show and filling out Comment Cards for their Reading Buddies, friends, etc.

Younger students were just as excited and engaged...






...but they found the higher levels of Blendoku to be a bit hard!


See how they are working together? I love that. They are open to help and suggestions.

That doesn't always happen when they are talking about traditional art making. Usually that leads to tattling and hurt feelings.


Comments heard all day:
BEST DAY EVER.
I CAN'T WAIT TO DO THIS OVER SPRING BREAK!
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT MAKING MOVIES WAS ART.


Best part? Clean up was 30 seconds long, I didn't have to stay after school to clean my room, and soon I was back in bed where I belonged.

HAPPY SPRING BREAK, PEEPS!

rest and relax!

Reality check time for using tech in the Art room!

So halfway through this piloting 1:X year, here is an update on how we are *REALLY, really*  using tech in the art room:

Good news: it is going SO MUCH BETTER than we imagined. A few bumps, and few hiccups, but overall, here at Donald, things are going well (*knocking on wood*).

With regards to tech, the kids are way ahead of us anyway, so integrating tech into daily school life is no biggie for them. I have seen some very cool stuff happening around our school. True, it has un-leveled us teachers, but that's ok, we are in the Learning Profession. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Reality check and fyis:

Not all of our kids have iPads, as parents can opt-out. Or they forgot them at home. Or they aren't charged by the time they get to Art. Or they haven't uploaded the instructional apps we need.

Ok. This is Really Important: In our district, parents can opt not to put apps on their child's iPad (even instructional ones). Parents have the final say, naturally, and keep in mind that our district provides a safe and secure server the kids can use at school and home. So yes, parents have the final say as to what apps they want to deal with on nights and weekends ( My son is 13 with a school issued iPad, and trust me, I need to parent that thing.). What is appropriate for one family is not always appropriate for another.

Going 1:X does not mean every kid gets an iPad or a laptop, or blah blah blah, and we don't believe that putting an iPad in their hands will make them smarter/better test takers/robots.  It means making sure every child has access to the tools they need to succeed.

So, all kids here have access to iPads, Mac Airs, traditional books and prints, etc...what they need to get the work done.

Look at it this way: 

Remember back to your 4th grade spelling tests in the 70's, 80's or 90's.

I remember my classroom looked like this:

Anyone remember those desks?

Or maybe you remember this?

Where is this? Pleasantville?

(Anyway, see those kids? YEAH. Those kids don't exist anymore. They are now adults who have had children WHO ARE NOT LIKE THIS. The NetGen or iGen kids are completely different. Completely. Don't believe me? Hang out at Chucky Cheese on a Saturday afternoon.)

Now, image you HATED spelling. You were terrible at it. Or maybe, just meh.(Unlike me, who was soooo super awesome that I was given the super awesome job of READING THE SPELLING WORDS OUT LOUD to my classmates. No, I didn't have to actually TAKE the test. Note to teachers everywhere: do not do this.)

SOooooo anyway. Spelling tests. Right. 

Ok, imagine you could take that spelling test with a purple glitter pen, as the pencil smudges left from that awful pink eraser stressed you out.

Or, you could lay on the floor and take the test. Or sit on a overstuffed chair.

Or you could use a typewriter, a word processor or a tablet, as your handwriting was so super terrible your teacher couldn't read the properly spelled words (this is not about handwriting folks)...

What if--this is crazy--you and another kid could collaborate and take the test together? 

Would that help? What is the point here, to have every kid do exactly the same thing the same way, or learning how to spell?

Look, obviously I am not an expert on Elementary Language Arts (my "inventive" grammar alone should prove this). But taking spelling tests in school is something I think we can all remember and agree on.

What does this have to do with anything in Art Ed?

A lot. 

I have to use this amazing technology is a way that meets the needs of ALL my students. And maintain the high expectations for a quality art program (read 'My Conditions" side bar). No two kids or art projects are the same. 

My struggle (ha, what a struggle. First World Problem Alert!), how can we do a digital painting or movie when out of 22 kids, 4 don't have the app uploaded and 2 don't have an iPad? Painting websites are not anything like the apps. So the tech has to be an OPTION. Or the kids work in GROUPS. Both are fine and wonderful.

First of all, remember, we are the masters of differentiation (can that be a tee shirt?).  How many other classes have 22 kids doing 4 completely unrelated things? Have you ever seen a classroom with science experiments, LA, Math and Social Studies happening at the same time, with one teacher successfully navigating? Nope. I am sure you have not (ok, maybe on those crazy half day before a break. That is not what I am talking about ^.^).

But we do it all the time. With iGen kids who:

• cannot sit still
• now have an attention span of .0008 seconds
• who view quiet as a form of disapproval
• who require constant feedback and redirection and assurance

...or is it just me? 

What is happening here: kids on the right are finishing their project, child in the back here is assessing and photographing with iPad, students at the left table are finished and doing Free Choice Centers: modeling clay and finger weaving, and the kids on floor are doing a Free Choice Center: cup weaving. 

How I am using tech in my art room and how I imagined we would be are two very different things.

I thought we would all be making at least one amazing piece of digital art by now, until I realized not all my kids had access to the iPads and/or special art apps (the year is not over yet!). 

I thought sharing these digital art projects would be a breeze, until I realize not every app allows you to save and share the way we need them (we use Google Apps, with Apple products).

I thought I had it all figured out, and then Apple pushed the IOS7 update that changed app security and briefly messed up our proxy and that (*frustration*) is part of technology.

I thought I had to master and pre-teach all these Art Apps, until I realize that kids had already figured them out. And were showing each other. Even the first graders.

So right now, in January,  here is the for real how students are using the iPads:

• taking photos of art work, charting the journey from beginning to end, for use in digital portfolios, saving all in their art folder in their Google Drive. 
• Creating Google Docs for assessment/reflective questions.
• Taking videos of their art work and discussing the process and reflections.
• Taking these images and popping them into Animoto.
• Using Art Apps as a Free Choice center when they have finished their art and assessment.
• taking photos and videos of their Free Choice Centers to save and share.

Yes, I am aware it is a lot of photography. I am teaching good photography tips!

These kids made this in about 5 minutes in the Free Choice Center: rods and connectors, then they took turns videotaping their creation and their process for their families to view. They were very excited! Why the heart? She is not allowed to have images online. PicMonkey allowed me a quick solution.

Biggest observation? We don't use the iPads all the time. And it's ok! The kids are using traditional art materials and talking face to face --much needed social skills.

We are using the technology when it makes sense, not as a dog and pony show. And that, my friends, is a huge relief.

Love these kids!

Old School Technology! Look ma!