iPad Deployment-it's Elementary my dear

Donald ES was the first elementary school in Lewisville ISD to deploy iPads to all student 1-5th. *so excited!*

Last week, teachers and parent volunteers manned stations to help students set up their iPads with starting apps, assist parents with Apple IDs, and so on. Families pre-scheduled online for 15 minute rotations.  It was a busy day, from 9 am to 7 pm, but WOW. Great success. Check out these grins:

you found me.

What are you most excited about?

Leave me a comment!

oh snap!

Thank you Mrs. C at rainbow skies and dragonflies for nominating me! I love that I can communicate and share ideas with a fellow Jersey girl from my Texas art room. The Shore doesn't seem so far away!

I fell (reluctantly, I might add) into blogging while trying to find cool ways to incorporate technology into Art. 2 years ago, I was recovering from surgery and had some time on my hands...and discovered Tricia Fuglestad at Dryden Art and Theresa Gillespie at splats, scraps and glue blobs. Holy moley. I. Had. No. Idea. Seriously, you guys.

So, I played around with blogging and found that it really suited my personality. I love spreading the humor of my classroom and sheer craziness as an "Artist Who Teaches". I was able to learn A LOT more at the NAEA convention (thanks Mr. E and Art of Ed!! You guys are the bomb diggity. I mean it.)

Blogging has enabled me to not only promote the awesomeness of my student's art, it has allowed their secondary art teachers to see what they can do, our administration to see how we in the arts can incorporate technology without always having a device in our hands, and pushed me into a leadership/advocacy role. This year, I presented 6 inservices to our district art/arts teachers, from Beginning Blogging to Digital Portfolios to Ways to Incorporate Tech into the Arts. How many inservices did I present last year? Zero? The year before? Zero. Ten years ago? Zero.

Blogging is fun, easy and I love connecting with all the cool and wonderful artist educators out there.

My goal for this year: creep less and comment more ^.^

Here are some  other blogs that I love:

Mess to Masterpiece- a fellow LISD Art teacher!
Organized Chaos-I am sure she has a ton of followers but I love her posts so I don't care!
........and the remaining spots will be filled when the LISD attendees of the Blogging Basics inservice finish their blogs *ahem* *cough* *poke* 

This made my 13 yr old son literally laugh out loud.

Check out who moved into the Art Room this summer- an Art Fairy! Check out her way cool door! She is going to need some stairs. Or a ramp? I am so excited--iPads and a fairy! Could this year start off any better?

Blogging Inservice. It was a MONDAY.

Blissful LISD Art Teachers Blogging

So I taught my very first inservice (with McAuliffe Art teacher, Rebecca Lake). On a Monday morning. And if it could go wrong...ho boy.

1. Our newly wireless school had no wireless. Server was down. Naturally.
2. OF COURSE I had used Google Presentation. Luckily, I saved it to a flash.
1. Remember kids, always have a plan B!
3. The printers are wireless. I couldn't print. I couldn't print!
4. Finally, with 20 minutes to go, I was able to print the 24 page Presentation and make copies...
5. Toner was down, and I forgot to hit the collate button. *smack head*
6. By this time I was so flustered I couldn't make my laptop and projector talk, so I am totally old schooling it with a document camera.

Remember, I am teaching an inservice. ABOUT BLOGGING ONLINE. Using paper copies on a document camera.

Until Rebecca plugged in the correct cable. Doh!

Luckily the wiffy came on around 9ish. I was able to stop crying and start over and hopefully everyone learned Very Important Lessons. I know I did.

Most important:  heads up blogging-world, we just sent a new bunch of art teachers to you! You're welcome!

Raise your hand if your summer flew by...'cause mine did

For the first time in 20 years, my room is ready before the kids are here! 2 weeks of summer left  ^.^

I am curious about my "icases" (jumbo book covers) for iPads. I will keep you guys posted and let you know if they work or not....I am hopeful as they are a super cheap alternative *fingers crossed*

I am pumped about teaching professional development this week! Blogging with Art Teachers tomorrow!

Happy Summer Everyone!

The last two weeks of school were sooo insanely crazy, I don't think I fed my family or washed clothes, but my garden sure is looking pretty...

oooooohhhhhhhhh pretty. Before the heat comes. And the bugs.

I WAS going to post about end of the year e-portfolios. I have it all ready. It was going to be AWESOME! 

So look for that in August because Leslie is OUT!

Have a great summer, stay safe and eat well.

"I Love you, but the Dr. said you are bad for me"

Another work at Oxide Gallery!

I am so excited, but I really feel that I have purged the desserts from my system!!! 

1:X-- those of us in the trenches, transforming education, one tear and chuckle at a time

In case you didn't know:

Next school year, Donald ES will be a 1:X campus. Which means every child, kinder-5th will have an iPad and/or access to various technologies. This iPad will travel with them as they grow. Can you imagine? How cool?

Transformation isn't just happening. It is here.

See guys? We have to teach THIS. 

Every child, coming to us already fluent in the language of smart phones and tablets, social media and gaming. Masters at technology and expecting to use it in the classroom. How do teachers even begin to prepare to teach these kids?

It starts here:

2 intensive days. One day at Wooten's (our amazing principal) house. Good thing she has good wifi! and 2 cute dogs...

9 teachers, 2-3 administrators. 

Subs in our rooms 9 days before the end of school. ...can I just say, those poor subs...

Lots of pizza, cookies, tears, laughter, mini therapy sessions. Gut checks, reality checks. Checking email, eating cookies, brain explosions. Rinse and repeat.

And 2 leaders charged with attempting to keep us on task. And they did an AMAZING job. (I have to give a shout out to Michelle Wooten and Alan Kohutek for planning and providing this outstanding opportunity. Holy cow people, if you only knew!)

our task:

Identify ways to facilitate this transformation from traditional educational norms into the new 21st Century expectations, with Purpose, Mastery and Self Direction at the forefront. What is this "ipads in the hands of kids all day long" going to look like? What does it look like already? That was one task, anyway. I am still reeling.

Does that sound boring? Eyeball rolling?  NO. WAY.

This was BY FAR the most exciting, soul feeding, mind blowing professional development (if we can call it that? Team building? I honestly have no idea...but I want MORE.) I have ever ever ever been a part of (pardon my poor grammar but I am PUMPED)!! PUMPED.

To our Donald Community, all I can say, AMAZING THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT OUR SCHOOL. I literally tear up when I think about the direction we are heading. I love my job. I love this staff.  I love this school. And these kids! Holy cow! I am so excited for them.

And yes, gaming was discussed. Can games like Minecraft Edu really be used effectively in education? For real? No really-with rich content and mastery of essential knowledge? What about other games? How? How how how how?

Parents, Teachers=baby steps

 Kids=ready.

 I am ON IT. BRING IT.

It is going to be a great summer working with this amazing staff. I can't wait for next year..and this one is not even over!

(and yes, iPads will be meaningfully integrated into my Art program, without losing the focus on strong studio skills. 21st Century skills ARE THE ARTS: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, along with Purpose, Personal Satisfaction, Collaboration, Self Direction, Mastery...seriously, it's the Arts. It's time to fully embrace that. We are not stepping backward.)

Hello. My name is Kimberly. ...and Kim Mack has the floor. ;)

Summer is Coming.

Get me to that beach!!!

 A super fun and easy way to introduce printmaking to Kinder is with Mono Prints. We just folded the paper, how easy, how cool!

The first thing was to brainstorm and discuss the kids favorite place to hang during the summer. We have a sweet duck pond near the school, or many kids go to a lake or the Gulf.

We talked about things you might find in the water (mermaids and fish of course) and things you might see in the sky on a summer day (a blazing Texas sun of course), we reviewed reflections on water and horizon lines.

The kids used crayon resist to create their sky, water and land background. The only thing they could not draw were the trees, as those were the printing portion of this program.

The following week I had a printing station set up and we worked in small groups. They could create any kind of tree and wildflower, working quickly so the paint did not dry. Once they were happy with their work, they simply folded the paper, rubbed and pulled their print. The print became the reflection on the water.

These are so gorgeous! Summer is coming.