Final Project: Increasing Student Understanding of the Effects of Color on Mood in Still-Life Photography

My Google Spreadsheet

For the final project, I decided to work with the lesson plan I used for Interactivity #4. I made some changes to the lesson plan for this project in order to accommodate the use of more technologies. Originally, the lesson I chose was for grades 3-5, however I decided to make the project more involved and raised the grade level to grades 4-6. My lesson teaches students about still life photography, value, and finding art in everyday objects, but I added a color studies component to the lesson. In the original lesson, the second half of the project involved students writing poems about their photographs. I decided to alter this part of the lesson and instead of having students write about their photographs I would have them use photo editing software to change their photographs in order to evoke three emotions. This helps students understand how color can affect emotion, even in a still life. Throughout this project, students will increase their understand of art vocabulary and will practice describing art critically using the vocabulary they have learned.

In the first column of my Google Spreadsheet, I have listed the Visual & Performing Arts standards that coordinate with the pedagogical strategies imbedded in my lesson. The first standard deals with comparing and contrasting art in various mediums. This coordinates with the class discussion about still life photography and the lecture and PowerPoint presentation about still-life photography with examples following the class discussion. The second standard used corresponds to the elements of art and design which are evident in everyday life. In relation to these standards, students will refer to an “Elements of Art” handout while participating in an inquiry about photographic subjects, shape, texture, and balance. They will then have to go home and find aesthetically pleasing objects to bring to class in order to create their own still life. The “Elements of Art” handout could be made in Google Docs and embedded on a class website so that students could access it from any computer.

The next standard addressed in this lesson is the creation of works of art based on observation of life. Students set up their still life and photograph it, paying careful attention to balance, value, shape, and texture. Along with this, I have added the NETS Standard relating to creativity and innovation (1). This states that students will “demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology” (ITES). I did not change much in this part of the lesson. Next, students will address the standard relating to differentiating between various art-making processes by using imaging editing software such as Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, Gimp, or iPhoto. I added these technologies to enhance the lesson and help students understand how changing the tint or tone of a photograph can alter the mood of said photograph. This corresponds to NETS-S 6, referring to technology operations and concepts. Through making and editing their photographs, students will gain a greater understanding of technology and how it works to support their art.

Finally, students will address NETS-S 2, communication and collaboration, by posting their finished photographs depicting three emotions to an online photo album such as Picasa or Flickr. Students will then look at their classmates photographs and choose three on which to comment critically, using appropriate art vocabulary. This is another technology I added to the original lesson plan, because I feel that it is important to establish a class portfolio and doing so with an online gallery allows for access when outside of school as well as within. Technology in the art classroom is becoming increasingly more important, but teachers often have a fear that incorporating technology into their room will somehow diminish the quality of their subject. However, the opposite seems to be true.

This generation of kids is growing up with technology and therefore schooling must grow with them and art is no exception. Incorporating technology into the art classroom makes art as a discipline more relevant to the ever-changing students who come through its doors. In order for any subject to remain important in a curriculum, it must offer something to students that they will then be able to apply to everyday life. The technologies added in this lesson enhance its effectiveness, rather than detract from it. Students will gain a new understanding of still life photography and color in both a traditional way by using a camera to produce an image and a technological way by using photo editing software and online galleries to enhance their images.

The lesson plan from which I worked can be found here.

Integrating Technology Into the Art Curriculum

Essay by Harold Olejarz, 1996
http://www.olejarz.com/teched/essays/arttech.html

Harold Olejarz teaches the Technology for the P-12 Art Classroom here at MSU. For those of you who did not already take the course, it is something to consider. This essay, though it was written some time ago, gives the reader a good look into the world of not only technology, but technology as it relates to the art classroom. For those who are not familiar with integrating technology into their art room, it can be very intimidating. But this essay gives future art teachers (and even current art teachers) a good idea of how it may be accomplished.

Interactivity #4 - The Pedagogical Uses of Technology

For this interactivity, I looked at many different websites about art lessons, and eventually came back to the J. Paul Getty Museum link given to us as a starting point. The lesson I chose was from the J. Paul Getty Museum website and the subject of the lesson is still life photography. Still life is an obviously important aspect of visual art, and I thought this lesson was particularly interesting because, while it was designed for kids in grade 3-5, it does not simply use drawing techniques to teach the still life concept. Instead, it uses digital photography and incorporates art history as well. I also noticed that this plan had a clear objective and the standards stated were all supported by the activities included in the lesson.
The lesson plan is extremely thorough, and I found that there were not many gaps between curriculum goals, strategies, and technologies. However, I did add the use of an online photo album to create a class portfolio. The technology used in the lesson clearly supports the lesson goals and objectives. Students do not only take a photograph, but rather they explore balance, composition, texture, and light through a variety of teaching and learning strategies. This lesson is very well-written and I think it would be very effective in a classroom.

URL to my spreadsheet

Interactivity #3: Generating a State of the Art Inventory

To be completely honest, I find it difficult to work in groups; not because I don't like to cooperate with others in my field or don't find it valuable, but instead because I constantly feel that I am not doing enough. In the case of this interactivity, I cannot pretend that I was a big help to my group members. I find it hard enough to remember to do the online work as it is, but remembering to collaborate with my group in addition to that is difficult to me.

However, I did try my best to add something to my group spreadsheet, even though by the time I got there most of the technologies I thought of had been used already. Some of the technologies that my group came up with are so inventive - I would have never thought to add Flickr to the list, partially because I don't think of it as a school-related tool. All of the things listed on our spreadsheet could potentially be used in new and interesting ways to enhance an art classroom.

This could support the CURR 314 module by using some of the technologies listed, particularly the ones that provide a consistent base of information from which students can work. This would give all the students the same starting point and then provide a more level base for assessment. As for the READ 411 class, any of the online museums provided in the spreadsheet would give the students a chance to work on literacy, especially when studying art history.

Interactivity #2: The History of Technology in Schools

We're going to get a lot of work done this way.

"I have learned that despite the dramatic developments in media and technology, schooling has remained very much the same..." - Grace, last question

Undoubtedly, the television has had the greatest impact on art education, but not necessarily in a positive way. Children have a natural creativity and imagination that can be seen at a very young age. However, most times television provides the entertainment that kids would get from art making with little to no effort on their part, therefore hindering the natural creative process. While shows that are meant to be informative and educational, like Sesame Street or Bill Nye the Science Guy, can be good for a child's development, it is only in moderation that this is true. Since the emergence of television, both inside and outside the classrooms, children have been watching more and more television - often the programs that they are watching are less than educational.

Television in classrooms may have its place, but the use of instructional videos in an art classroom are limited. It is difficult enough to get most students to focus on art in general, but it becomes an even greater challenge when they are asked to sit still in the dark and watch a movie or television program that is probably boring. Also, asking students (especially young ones) to focus on a movie and an art project simultaneously may cause a lot of issues, as well as take away from time you could be using to complete said project.

However, it is not to say that educational television does not have its place in the classroom. Especially with art history, videos are valuable. Allowing an expert to step in and instruct the class on a particular period of art history with which you may not be familiar can provide both you and the students with valuable information. Television in the classroom started with pure intentions on both the part of the teachers and the providers, but gradually fell into a way to get free equipment and money. It can be an appropriate tool for instructors, but it needs to be used for the right reasons and in the right way.

Interactivity #1: Technology as Autobiography

After watching the two videos posted, it has become clear to me that I most definitely take technology in my life for granted. The computer and the internet opened many doors in my life, both for educational and entertainment purposes, as did cellphones. Until now, it has not been clear how often I overlook the technologies I use everyday. Even now - I'm on a laptop typing this post and eventually I will post it into the internet bubble using my WiFi connection. I have probably sent more than one text since the beginning of this entry and have most likely checked Facebook, too. So, how do kids who do not have constant access cope with modern technologies?

Olivia, the girl in the first video, said she uses the computers at school, in the basement of her building, or at friends' houses. However, it's obvious that just because she does not always have access to these technologies it does not mean she does not know how to use them. In fact, the other people who were interviewed described Olivia as technology savvy. She describes her technologies (computer, cellphone, and iPod) as her life-line, saying that without them life would be hard, especially in her neighborhood which she says has a lot of drug use.

The students in the second video use technology for many different reasons, such as: making music, learning other languages, Twitter, texting, and website creation. Most of the kids say that being able to experiment with new technology is important.

The most influential technologies in my life, so far, have been the cellphone, the internet, and social networking sights like Facebook. They allow you to always be in contact and the more recent models now give you instant access to things like email, internet, and games. It's like having a small computer in your pocket. However, cellphones are also distracting and people have become dependent on their phones. Teenagers and kids who can't remember not having a cellphone often say they "feel naked without their phone" or, as the girl in the second video said, "it's like my third hand."

The internet has impacted my life in so many ways, both in education and entertainment. I remember having no internet in my house and I remember dial-up internet that took way too long to connect, used your phone line, and was very loud. The introduction of wireless internet into our home was one of the best things to happen to my family. The internet gives you amazing access to so much information that you may never have been able to find otherwise and it's EASY to find this information too. The internet can also be a wildly entertaining place. However, like cellphones, the internet is distracting, It's where everyone goes when they're trying to write a paper no matter how hard they try to stay away. Being constantly "plugged in" diminishes skills in research and social situations, as well as limits physical activity. This is producing children who do not know how to talk or play with one another. The internet does, however, provide many good resources for learning new information and is an excellent tool to be used in teaching and learning.

Like the internet, social networking sights such as Facebook or MySpace have played a huge role in my life, especially throughout high school. Sights like these give you instant and easy access to people you know, easy distribution of personal media such as pictures, entertainment, reconnection with people you knew, as well as networking. But for the most part, Facebook is a waste of time. People over-share details from their life and put up way too much personal information, which increases vulnerability to internet predators. Sights like these also diminish our social skills and rarely help us learn new information.

The kids in the videos seem more appreciative of the technologies they have and therefore use them in a more productive way. I feel like I waste a lot of valuable time on the internet or on my cellphone when I could be reading a book, making a drawing, taking a walk outside, or doing homework. It did not seem to me that the kids in the videos used technology the same way as I do, even though we were on similar websites, phones, etc.