Divergent, The Hunger Games and Star Trek. Oh, and Elementary Art Ed.

 Best winter break evah! 

In between delicious naps and sleeping in, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm, I just finished reading, oh, sorry, I mean, inhaling, the "Divergent" series (yeah, yeah I know. The third book. But this is young adult so there ya go). This trilogy  about yet another futuristic dystopian society was a great, fast read. I will confess, I am not a young adult and I cannot wait for this movie in March.

This I how I felt after reading "The Hunger Games". I was so engrossed, so fascinated, so nauseated, so...

sad.

UGH.Why does our future have to look like THIS?

Trust me people, I do not want to wave bye bye to my great-grand-kids while they are trying to save themselves from small children with assault weapons/zombie apocalypse/alien invasion/demon factions in skimpy bathing suits/robot uprising/widespread and contagious catastrophic disease (thanks a lot Stephen King!)/ gluttony and/or famine/thermo-nuclear war/massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions brought about by global warming and the rising of the oceans/ Monsanto/ the Four Hoursemen/life size fire ants... ok, that one I am a little sacred of. See ya kids! Have fun storming the castle! I'm outta here!

Almost every thing envisioned about the future is, just awful. I mean, why bother?

I have friends I know- I KNOW- are secret Doomsday Preppers (only because theirs is the house we are running to, you know, just in case) and I totally understand that unsettling times lead to fears about the future, but I do not want this for my future offspring. Do you guys? Really? Sure it's fun to read about. And yeah, Tris and Katniss are the bomb. But can you imagine your sweet great-great-grand-daughter, who kinda looks like you, running from a robot toddler? With zero electricity? But somehow they have computers? I don't.

When I picture the year 2060, I see a beautiful and exciting future, one with promise and light and knowledge and butterflies and unicorns...oh wait...

I prefer the future in Star Trek:

See? Isn't this nicer?

(Note to fellow geeksters: I am referring to the future of Star Trek (Original) and The Next Generation, not from the novels and other spin offs. Yes, I am aware of the horrible wars on Earth, but moving on...
 Hopefully by now you guys totally understand that I AM A MAJOR GEEK. In college, 1989, I wrote an awesome paper for sociology using Star Trek TNG as a metaphor for our modern society. It was incredible and I am still proud of it, what, 30 years after? ouch.)

Ahem. Sorry.

This future is about exploration, scientific discovery, diplomacy. World problems such as famine, poverty, disease, catastrophic weather have been eradicated through technology and compassion for humanity.

In this future, all knowledge is important. Education is valued. The Arts are valued. Here is a solution to a terrible option. It might seem naive. But I don't think so.

Art is, has always been, the mirror for society. We are showing you what is going on, what is coming. 

Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of a flying machine. 1488. Would have been considered science fiction.

And CHANGE IS HERE my friends. BIG change. Like it to not, strap yourselves in or jump ship.
There has never been a greater need for quality Art Education, taught by certified and trained Artist-Teachers in our schools. All levels. Accessible to every student.

With Art Teachers who aren't afraid to learn. 

How many of my fellow art teachers are afraid to use technology in their rooms, terrified that it might replace or worse, confuse us? How many of us just say NO to any new idea? How many of us are feeling desperate and unstable, after years of being the best teachers, the strongest teachers, the Teachers of the Year?

I did. Although I am a gamer,  I was totally anti FaceBook (narcissistic!) and Twitter (OMG Narcissistic!!) and texting (really??? you can't CALL me?) until...my kid wanted a Tumblr at age 15. I decided to Google it. And booooyo am I glad I did. That forced me to open my eyes. I understood then this virtual cyber world was not going away. It was in my house.

Right. So I play this but hating texting. Go figure.

It's in my classroom. It's in my sweet elementary school. Younger and younger kids have iPhones and tablets. Their own FB page and email accounts. Complain all you want, it is not going away.

Face it, the kids coming to us are different. In 20 plus years, I have never taught a group like The iGeneration (That could be a whole other dissertation/post!) Are you kidding, within 2 years my entire pedagogy (ugh, hate that word) has been upended! Do you know how unsettling that is???
Technology has leveled the playing field for our kids, and un-leveled it for teachers (thanks, Wooten, for this quote).

So I tried social media. I tried blogging. I tried Google Apps. I tried using an iPad. Baby steps--learning the lingo. Asking Google for help along the way. Asking my kids for help. Taking technology courses offered though my district. Feeling like a ding dong. Feeling pretty good.

My school is super fortunate. We have iPads for all the kids and our district provides a super secure server for them to use at school and at home. I know this is not the norm in other 1:X campuses. We are super fortunate, and hopefully we are trailblazing for other school districts.

Yes, using new technology in the classroom has it's challenges (IOS 7. Grrrr.), but for the most part, it has been a blessing. The transition has been smooth, and dare I say, fun?  I believe, more than I ever have, that I am making a huge difference in the kids I teach. They are making a huge difference in me as well.

Sometimes, ignorant (Not stupid. Ignorant.) people smirk or roll their eyes when I tell them I am an elementary art teacher. Because, to the ignorant, I am not a real teacher. I don't do anything of great value. Because, art is fun, but not really respected.
What they don't realize is that I am exactly where I need to be to affect change. Change for good. So maybe we don't hand over a terrible future.

You want to change the world? You want to make it better? You want to make a difference in thousands of people? Teach elementary art. Yeah, I said it.
 Talk to 5 year olds about the wonder and awesomeness of the future. Get them excited to solve problems we cannot. Teach them to create and value beauty in the world, from the smallest creatures to ships for space travel. Teach them how to express their ideas, their dreams and desires through art.

You cannot change an adults mind. Too late. You affect change with the young. It can be for evil (*tobacco industry*) or for good. All I know is as much as I love seeing Katniss shoot her bow to survive,  I would prefer my grand-kids didn't have to.

Mummy Coffins, done and done!

they look amazing!

Remember this?

4th graders worked in small groups and created life-size mummy coffins, focusing on pattern, symmetry and historical reference (Ancient Egypt). They were encouraged to create a"back-story" for their mummy. One group did "Beaker" from the Muppets. And I was happy.

We also played around with hieroglyphics and Egyptian symbols, cool cool cool!

Each group got to choose their (dry) art media, from the following options:

crayon (regular and Metallic FX), marker (permanent and non), colored pencils (regular and metallic) and/or oil pastel (also regular and metallic).  Most groups went with mixed media (btw----I am trying NOT to influence them!!! Ha, I love me some mixed media!)

How we used tech: 

-Collaboration and Research:

Research and sketches of final mummy coffin, in the past, took 3-4 class periods:

      week 1: intro in the computer lab to visit websites, or see a movie, or something...

      week 2: get into groups, begin planning 

       week 3: continue sketching, pouring over books and handouts

       week 4: finalize sketch, trace body.

With the iPads and creation apps, students were ready in under 2 class periods, allowing for more time to create their work of art. Awesome.

-The Scribe:

To simplify the process, one student of each group was the Scribe and in charge of recording all pertinent information. Students were encouraged to write back stories.

This is something we never would have had time to do prior to the tech component. Some stories evolved into plays or multi-chapter stories. These were printed and displayed with the coffin.

-To Record and Assess:

Below, students are photographing their work for a sick member to show her what they had worked on that day. I love this, imagine how this will affect them in the workplace.

With tech, the process of art-making can also be an on-going record for friends and family members. There is a lot of excitement about the ability to share.)

The final assessment was a group video, with peer assessment. I encourage the kids to do the following:

1. introductions
2. explain what we are seeing
3. explain how this was made
4. describe your favorite parts
5. read the story (if applicable)

We keep this fun and positive. As far as the video went, I allowed each group the freedom to do it how they wanted. One group had a director and only one person in charge of filming. They shared the video with their group-mates. Other groups decided to each make individual videos. It was more exciting, and dare-I-say-engaging for the kids to run with this!

(personal observations:Students clearly possess intrinsic knowledge of tech. They were able to navigate easily between research sites, screen shots, photo editing and creation apps for image ideas, Sketchbook Express for sketching ideas, etc. Stuff I even didn't think of doing! They found websites that translated hieroglyphics to help with their art and story. I was very impressed. I just walked around, and the kids showed me the awesome ideas they came up with.
PicCollage (free app) is being used to organize information and generate ideas quickly. We have asked for this on every ipad, and the kids use it a lot, and waaaay more than cute-sy collages.

Minecraft in the Art Room. Creepers gotta creep!

In case you didn't know, I am a gamer. I have been since video games were invented. I play a lot of games, from Scrabble to World of Warcraft. I believe there are strong benefits to gaming, and I am seeking awesome games to bring into the Art Room. (For more information about the benefits of gaming and how gaming can change the world, check out Jane McGonigal)

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With the kids bringing their iPads to Art, I made some necessary additions to my Free Choice Centers (what the kids choose to do when they finish their project). Adding to origami, stamping, weaving, free draw, and assorted games/puzzles, we now can use the iPad as a Center!

No, they didn't rush through their work to get here :)

Some guidelines:

• Art Apps only
• 3 Questions (these are posted and repeated):
• Are you being creative?
• Are you thinking like and artist?
• Is it appropriate?

I explained the 3 Questions to the kids.Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Is Candy Crush allowed?
Kids: Noooo.
Me: Plants vs Zombies?
Kids: NO!
Me: Minecraft?
Kids: No. Wait. Yes? YES!?

So why would I let the kids play Minecraft? Why wouldn't I!

First of all, it is a highly creative and (don't tell) educational game. Talk about STEAM. (ah, that is STEM with a healthy dose of ART). Second, many kids play, it is highly engaging and super fun.  Try this: ask a couple of classes how many kids play and note how many hands shoot up.

Ok, here are my Minecraft guidelines:

• Creative mode only. There are no creepers in creative mode!
• Students must be thinking and acting as an artist at all times.
• Students understand they will not be playing every time they come to art, or even when they have Centers. They will draw, weave, etc. We are seeking balance!
• If these privileges are abused in any way, this goes bye-bye.

Our kids LOVE Minecraft. Why not meet them halfway?

Fuzzy questions: 

• what about other games like Minecraft? 
• What about other creative games?

 This is where the 3 Questions have to be answered. If a kid is "making" goods for the sheer purpose of "selling" them, I don't see the creativity and artistry in that at all.

Teachers and Parents, if you really want to explore gaming, have your kids show you Minecraft. I promise you will at least you will have fun with your kids!