Art-making for Students with Cognitive Disabilities

I am doing an independent study in art for students with disabilities, where I have an internship working with individuals with low functioning autism. These students are all extremely mentally handicapped, and are also lacking motor skills. The lessons that the art teacher does with the students focuses on different art processes rather than conceptual ideas. Most of the projects are themed for the seasons. He uses stencils and masking techniques in all of the projects. It is definitely apparent that the students are working on these skills, and that the skill level is appropriate for them. Here at SUNY New Paltz, we learn as art educators to never teach like this. I am wondering how a different approach to teaching art would be with this population, when cognitively based lessons are out of the question. My advisor told me that the teacher should be more concentrated on using Tim Lefen's A.R.T. approach, which involves the student telling the teacher where they want the brush strokes to go in order to create their artwork. I feel that this approach is more for people who are physically disabled, but are higher functioning mentally. I wonder if anyone has any input on this topic.

Artist Presentation

Today my partner and I roll played as teachers during class to do an artist presentation. Our theme was contemporary nostalgia, and the artists which we chose were Greg Simkins andAaron Jasinski. Doing this activity was good practice for being a teacher. In the beginning of our presentation, my partner and I were both very nervous. Although we rehearsed the night before, we stumbled over our words in the beginning. As the presentation went on, we both became more comfortable. We tried to scaffold the questions that we asked according to Bloom's taxonomy. We also asked some "show of hands" questions for silent participation. When nobody answered a question, we called on a random member of the audience. Overall, I think that our presentation was very successful. Some things that I learned about myself as a teacher is that I need to work on being less nervous, and need to become more animated during my lessons.

Jones & Fox - "PIP Generations"

The reading for this week shows data about internet usage for different generations. The adult population of internet users is 30 % Generation Y (age 18-32), 23% Generation X (age 33-44), and 22% Younger Boomers (Age 45-52) . However, there is an increase in older generations using the internet. In 2005, only 26% of ages 70-75 were on line. In 2008, 45% of that generation is on line. Ages 64 and older use the internet mainly for sending e-mails, while ages 18-32 use the internet for entertainment and for communicating with friends and family. 12-17 year olds use the internet most for playing online games. The older generations use the internet less for social use and more for searching, e-mailing, and online shopping. This data proves true in my own life. My mom, who is in the Younger Boomers generation, uses the internet for e-mails and online shopping. Her friends always send her chain e-mails. My grandma also uses the internet for e-mails. She is always sending me chain e-mails which I never read. I use the internet for entertainment, communicating with friends, researching, and online shopping, while my 17 year old sister predominately uses the internet for entertainment and communicating with friends.

Lesson at Rondout Valley High School

Last Tuesday my partner and I taught our lesson at Rondout Valley High School. The students had just completed their contour drawings, and the next assignment was to draw a realistic portrait. My partner and I decided that 30 minutes was too short to show a powerpoint and do a demo, so we skipped the powerpoint. I did a demo on the block in approach and my partner Christine did a demo on the traditional approach. I was nervous at first but then when I started talking I was fine. I tried to talk throughout the demo so that the students wouldn't be just sitting there and watching me draw. After our demo the students got to work on their portraits. Most students used the traditional method of measuring the face, but a few of the more advanced students chose to work with the block in approach. I am excited to return to the school tomorrow to see the progress that the students have made on their drawings.

Critiques in the K-12 Classroom

The readings from this week focused on critiques and how they are used in the classroom. Students K-12 do not know how to critique art. The traditional method of having the student hold the piece of art up while the rest of the class comments on the piece is not effective. The way to make critiques more educationally beneficial is by talking about description, interpretation, and theory.

There are many different ways to approach a critique.The article Critiques in the K-12 Classroom hi-lights some of these methods. Hartung's method is to provide students with cards which have written terms such as line and contrast on them. Students will then place their cards on the work that best exemplifies the term. The "put your two cents in" method works by giving each student two pennies. Each student places his or her pennies on the two works which they want to discuss. Another method is called "PQP" which stands for praise, questions, proposals.

Whatever the method is, the teacher must lead students by asking questions that direct the conversation. This will help the conversation to develop slowly, instead of just jumping ahead to the judgement stage of the critique. For example, the teacher may first only ask students to describe what they see rather than what they think the meaning of the work is. The teacher must guide students through each phase of the critique; description, interpretation, analysis, and judgement.

Popplet

Accordion Book Revised

Here is my revised accordion book. This book focuses on the postmodern principle of the gaze. In this book I was exploring the different power relationships that are established through the gaze. I made my book interactive by layering Mylar paper on top of the pages of the book. I invite the viewer to interact with the pages by shifting their feeling of power depending on if they are in the perspective of the one doing the gazing or the one being gazed at. On the back two pages of the book, there is a mirror with an eye overlayed on one page, and the reverse on the other page. This is to emphasize the difference in power between being the "gazee" or the "gazer". 

Principles and Elements Panorama Abstract Art Book

Postmodern Principle: The Gaze

The term gaze is frequently used in contemporary discourses to recognize that when talking about the act of looking it is important to consider who is doing the looking and who is being looked at (Olin, 1996). Gazing, associated with issues of knowledge and pleasure is also a form of power—controlling perceptions of what is “real” and “natural.”

Materials:  Graphite pencils

                   Frosted Mylar

                   Scissors

                   Needle and thread

Before Starting: Consider the postmodern theme of the gaze. This postmodern theme asks us to consider who is doing the looking and who is being looked at. Gazing can be associated with issues of knowledge, pleasure, or power. Think about how the postmodern theme of the gaze could be applied to your own life, or a time where you have witnessed the gaze. How can you use the pages of this accordion book to visually tell a narrative about this?

Step 1: Choose a single shape. This will bring unity to the piece. Unity is created because the same basic shape is repeated throughout the composition; unity is often created by repetition of art elements.

Step 2: Make 5 or more of your chosen shape. Make these with variations of size or form. Vary the proportions of the sides of the shapes. Make some of the variations as dramatic as possible.  Variety and interest are attained by making variety of the basic shape.

Step 3: Discuss how the arrangement of shapes can create a feeling of movement and rhythm in the composition. Try to create a sense of movement along the long horizontal page of the accordion book.

Step 4: Use frosted Mylar to create an additional layer. Draw on the Mylar and place it over another drawing done in the accordion book.

Step 5: Add text. This will enhance the narrative of your accordion book.

Step 6: Using a needle and thread, enhance the composition by creating areas of texture and through repetition of points, lines, or shapes.

Step 7: Consider the 3D form of the accordion book. How does it exist in space? Complete the back pages of the accordion book by incorporating elements and principles used to complete the front pages.

Consider the entire composition. Does it have a symmetrical or an asymmetrical balance? If you wish, add shapes or lines to complete the composition.

Accordion book as a sculptural form

Back pages

Interactive back pages

Front pages

Detail of interactive right page

Detail of interactive left page

We Make Money not Art

http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2007/01/passively-multi.php

Justin Hall is working on a concept called Passively Multiplayer Online Games. This concept is based on a point system that gives points for searching the internet, reading emails, texting from a mobile phone, and other activities which are not directly linked to an online game environment. MyWare will track and catalogue online, and then will assign a point system for different actions. For example, checking email will give points for "wisdom" and reading a science journal online would give points for "intelligence." Many people are saying MyWare sharing personal information about computer usage with other players is an invasion of privacy. However, Justin says that Passively Multiplayer is a system for turning user data into play, making work into quest play.

Justin's design sketch, found here

Justin's Passively Multiplayer concept relates to the many of the new literacy skills found in Jenkins' article. Players in Justin's game will actually gain points for using these skills such as transmedia navigation, networking, multitasking, and distributed cognition. In his article, Jenkins talks about how important it is for people to acquire new literacy skills. Justin's design sketch illustrates the use of new literacy skills as a person explores the internet. His Passively Multiplayer game will motivate people to explore and exercise their new literacy skills.

Internet Identity vs. Real Life Identity.

Recently in class we have been talking about people's online identity on social networking websites versus their identity in the real world. Today during our discussion, Joe mentioned that a person's online identity is only a fragment of their real life identity since it is impossible to fully represent yourself as a person over the internet. I stumbled upon an interesting article about a web service called rep.licants.org, which is used to enhance your virtual self. People can use this website to install a bot onto their facebook or twitter account. The bot recognizes the user's activity on other websites such as youtube and combines that with a set of keywords that the user enters in to simulate the user's activity on their facebook or twitter page. The bot posts frequent updates, adds people to the list of contacts, and even interacts with facebook friends. Here is a quote taken from the article.

"The bot does not provide a fictitious identity, but will be added to the real identity of the user to modify it at his convenience. Thus, this bot can be seen as a virtual prosthesis added to an user's account. With the aim to help him to forge a digital identity of what he would really like to be and by trying to build a 

greater social reputation for the user."

So far, feedback suggests that users are happy with the results. One user commented that the bot chose to re-connect with an old friend which the user would have never thought of doing. This lead the user to have a real conversation with the friend. Another person stated that he could not remember if some of the postings were done by him or if they were done by the bot. 

An interactive twitter post by bot,  in grey.

I find it very interesting that it is possible to install a bot to your social networking website which essentially knows your interests and acts as a prosthetic of your virtual identity. The bot interacting with humans over these social networking websites further blends together the world of humans and the world of machines. Some people do not even realize that they are in fact talking to robots. 

Using the Smartboard

Today at my internship at  the Anderson Center for Autism, I left the art room for a chance to observe in a special education classroom. This observation really made me re-think learning how to use the smartboard. The teacher used the smartboard exclusively through out the day to teach all subjects. She made interactive slides which were engaging to the students. The students were even allowed to explore the smartboard on their own at free choice time. Before observing this class I thought that there was no purpose of me learning how to operate the smartboard since my concentration in art education is studio art. However, this observation experience has changed my mind. Students in this classroom were extremely engaged and motivated, which I believe in part is due to the lesson being taught on the smartboard. I think that students who are interested in playing computer or video games pay closer attention to the smartboard than to a regular white board. Using the smartboard also gives the teacher a chance to make the lesson more interactive, like a computer game. Using this technology in the classroom is a great way to get students to be engaged, and I believe that every future teacher should take advantage of this opportunity.

Rondout Valley High School Internship Day 2

Today was my second day at Rondout Valley High School. Most of the portfolio development class finished their contour self portraits. My mentor teacher went over grading with my partner and I. Portfolio development class is the closest thing that they have to AP Art at this high school. Since the students in this class will be using their portfolios for college, my mentor teacher grades them with an AP Art rubric. This rubric goes from 1 to 6. We went through the students' work and graded them on ideas, composition, fluidity, image choice, visual impact, and conventions. Many of the students were way behind where they should be at this point, mostly scoring 2's in each category. This experience made me realize how difficult it is to grade student's work. Sometimes you want to give students the benefit of the doubt, but the work does not measure up to the criteria on the rubric. In the ceramics classes, students finished their whimsical fish, which were at the green wear stage. The classes started the critique process, which is describe, analyze, interpret, judgement. Today each class covered the describing part. Each student showed the class their fish and spoke about the process, if they enjoyed working with clay for the first time, and if they were satisfied with their work.

Jenkins – Media Education for the 21st Century

According to a study conducted in 2005, more than one half of all teens have created media content, and one third of teens have shared their content over the Internet. In a participatory culture there are low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing creations, and informal mentorship. The way that teens use the Internet in these participatory cultures suggests evidence of learning.

It is true that many teens spend more time and engage more deeply with popular culture than they do with their textbooks, but instead of looking at this as a bad thing, educators can look at this as an opportunity for learning. Within this participatory culture, students of all ages, races, gender, and education levels depend on peer teaching and feedback, creating an ideal peer-to-peer learning community. This informal learning experience is different than formal education systems because it is less rigid, experimental, innovative, and has the potential to evolve and respond to temporary interests. Teens are interested in this type of learning because they have power and they matter as individuals.

People are realizing how important participatory cultures are. Some low-income cities are beginning to provide high-speed wireless Internet access free of charge. Obviously this is not a solution to the fact that millions of people cannot afford a computer in their home. In order to take full advantage of technology, people also need a wide range of skills which include literacy skills, research skills, social skills, play, performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgment, transmedia navigation, networking, and negotiation.

We should encourage youth to be participants of this culture by developing their skills, knowledge, ethical frameworks, and self-confidence.  One major concern that we should educate youth on is making ethical choices on the Internet and the impact that their choices have on other people. We as educators can help students develop the skills necessary to be full participants in participatory culture. We can also use educational simulations, alternative reality games, blogs, or other technologies in our curriculums. 

New Study Says People "Love" Their iPhones

We all know a person who is attached to their iPhone. No, seriously, their iPhone actually appears to be superglued into their hand. Many people call this an “addiction”, but a new study has been conducted which proves that people actually “love” their iPhones. A team of researchers measured subjects’ brain activity while subjects viewed images of Apple products and religious images such as a photo of the pope. Brain activity was the same in both instances. A second test was conducted on sixteen men and women between the ages of 18 and 25. The researcher wanted to find out if people’s brains showed signs of classic addiction to their iPhones. Studies showed that while looking at a picture of an iPhone or when hearing the phone vibrate, the insular cortex of the brain was activated. This part of the brain is not associated with classical addiction, but with love and compassion. People responded to seeing the iPhone the same way that their brain would respond to seeing a significant other.


To read the full NY Times article, click here.

Lesson Plan: Social Networking Digital Collage

Here is a lesson that I wrote which is based off of the digital composite project that we did in class. Instead of exploring a big idea in Sweeney's article, high school students will explore either an advantage or a disadvantage of social networking websites which they encounter or use on a daily basis.