Art Assessment

Art Educator, Frank Curkovic, is definitely onto something with his wiki, website and assessment regarding the arts. This is how I want to set up my class online. Also, if you go under grade 10, he's got a great view of his assessments.

Something that really struck home with me was his categorizing of what he assesses on. He breaks it up into 4 sections: Knowledge & Understanding, Application, Reflection& Evaluation and Personal Engagement. I relate to this because this is how I already assess my students, I just didn't know how to break it into categories.

I also love his streamline design the ties his assessments together. I've got an idea for this as well :)

Street Art

Street art is really hot right now, so why not incorporate it into photography? Discuss setting up the photo, editing it in Photoshop, and an alternative display method (no matting - students will love that)!!! Apex HS has a great blog about it.

Watching parts of the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, would be a great way to get students excited about it.

Forced Perspective

This will be a great lesson on perpective! Look at the fun photography tricks!

Image was found here, which also has other creative examples of forced perspective.

Art History Video Remix

Ha! This made me happy!
This is the original song and video 70 Million by Hold Your Horses

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

...that was redone by Apex High School

70 Million, Apex HS Version from iansands on Vimeo.

Super exciting light painting video.

Found here.

TED Prize Winner JR & INSIDE OUT from TED Prize on Vimeo.

This is the best part: Here is the video of him talk about about his work :D

Wow. Inside Out - A Global Art Project. Think about how you can take what you are doing with your portraits unit and turn it into something powerful.

JR updates here showing the photos that have been posted.

Here's a description of the project:
INSIDE OUT is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images will be made into posters and sent back to the project’s co-creators for them to exhibit in their own communities. People can participate as an individual or in a group; posters can be placed anywhere, from a solitary image in an office window to a wall of portraits on an abandoned building or a full stadium. These exhibitions will be documented, archived and viewable virtually.

A Visit with Ian Sands, Art Teacher at Apex High School from Craig Roland on Vimeo.

I really like how this art teacher, Ian, incorporates technology into his art curriculum. In the video he also talks about his lessons on light painting, use of historical and contemporary media, student collaboration projects, using Facebook & Twitter in his class, and having a "sister" school to connect with another school to see what their art students are doing. (Hello Renee?)

Here is a link to his class blog.

Found here.

Teachers.tv is a site that offers wonderful art and design videos.

re:form

There is an immediate need for change in our school system. It's starting to happen and some people are resisting the change, but the reality is that is does need to happen. Standardized tests are setting our students behind the rest of the world. What was supposed to help has actually hindered. Redu is an incredible site that has a focus on using the arts as a resource to drive learning.

Re:Form School by The Masses from Redu on Vimeo.

Adobe Youth Voices

The Adobe Youth Voices Essentials website here gives fantastic examples of youth using media to share their stories. For photography it has curriculum, yes a full 12 week step by step with handouts, on creating a photo essay and digital storytelling. It also has processes involving Creative Learning, Inquiry-Based Learning, and Community-Based, Contextual Learning. There area layers of where you can go in this site, including videos from other art teachers, examples of student work, etc. It's a super inspiration.

P.S. Kimbo - your login is your school email address. You know the password :)

Empowering Art Education

In the midst of 10 hour days, grading piles of projects, and the run around of paperwork, its easy to get caught up in the daily grind of teaching and lose sight of why I'm doing this and what its purpose is. I went into teaching because I want to help students be the best they can be, view something in a new light, question what they know, and freely express who they are. I think that what I'm teaching now inhibits my ultimate goal as a teacher. I am dedicating this blog to inspirations, curriculum, ideas and anything that will progress me as a teacher, which in the end will create better students - our future. I feel the arts are an ultimate means to a creative and innovative society. I will absorb, change, and evolve for the benefit of all students.