After generating a state of the art inventory..for A R T , I noticed a few interesting things that had emerged. You'll need to know we documented our technologies by resources for content management, authoring, collaboration, communication and cultural transformation. Looking at them now, from a different perspective (I printed them all out and tried to recategorize them using more general terms) I found that one of the new categories I created seemed to contain all the "coolest" tools for art educators.
The new categories I chose to use were Physical Tools (like the 35mm camera, projector, all the iAccessories), Cultural Events (Making Art for Change, Art for International Unity and current films about Artists), Instructional Forums, Blogs, or Websites (artcyclopedia, VanGogh's letters, blackboard, art blogs and museum sites) and Interactive (Community murals, GoogleDocs Presentation, CoMaya)....
Yup! My favorite category. I have my professional reasons and then I have my own reasons. Professionally- I find that the following resources are so incredible I myself got addicted to using one. Basically, the learning process needs to involve the student, and a huge question all teachers have today is how can you get the students actively engaged and involved with their learning? The answer seems so easy now! Let me explain- even though it was really hard picking one technology to talk about.
Google Art Project - This amazing program has taken several (but not enough) museums and turned them into interactive rooms where you can actually walk through the museum as if you were there!!! In just 30 minutes I had quickly 'been' to over 10 museums. Now, there is a downfall to this. Although the application was truly amazing- there is still no experience (yet) like viewing a work of art in person. From online you still can't get that texture, the paint application and brush strokes, the true color, and size that you can when you are standing in front of a painting or sculpture live. Other than that, this device would have many professional uses. Art educators can take their classes to international museums with the click of a button, and..it's free! And don't forget about the easy access in a timely fashion.The other great thing is you can use this to plan out trips for your students and take them on a virtual tour of the path they will take through out the museum. This can relieve great stress for high schoolers and even college students who are taking their first trip to a museum. This can be used personally, for students to view works at museums they enjoyed from a prior trip to the actual museum and even to refresh their memory of what a work looked like.
As a collective, these technologies we found have truly impressed me. I have already saved this file so I can add onto it as I need to. Coming from an Art background, I know many other artists too, who don't like to think of Art as technologically evolving content (due to its strong connection to the past and the methods of the past). After compiling this list I can see the positive ways technology is now influencing Art, and I am pleased to see it is not taking over the past methods such as painting, sculpting, drawing, etc. to the point where the human is not as involved in the process.
If you have the time check out the Google Art Project and let me know what you think!
Google Art Project is probably one of my favorite things to ever happen to the Internet. I find myself, for the most part, completely confused and turned off by pieces of art like Jackson Pollock paintings, but there's the textures in it that I'm just instantly drawn to. I admire art more for the aesthetics used on the canvas, and I admire it more when I can get up close to it and investigate every bump and stroke. Seurat's work is amazing from afar, but when you get up close and you can see what it's made of, it's mind blowing. For me, Google Art Project is heaven because I can look at a piece of art in the way I want to most, and there's no gallery rope blocking me from getting as close as I want. (The only hing that would enhance this experience would be if I could run my fingers on my screen and feel the raised strokes.)
ReplyDeleteIn a classroom I could see Google Art Project having some great uses. It's possible to talk about the aesthetics in a Starry Night, but usually you just base it off a picture and the students have to kind of guess what you mean. But with this, you can take them to the exact points you want to look at.
Haha I find that funny because I felt that way about Pollock too until I saw the depth and effects that occur when the paint soaks into the raw canvas vs the piles of paint from all the splattering. Also I think that it would be an interesting idea if we could actually run our fingers over art since you want to so bad in the museum but they don't let you! Maybe soon technology will advance to that point and it will create a whole new type of art experience.
DeleteLiana, I like how you re-categorized the technologies. By organizing them multiple ways we can find multiple uses for each one, and know where to look when we have a lesson that we want to work technology into. Art Project by Google was one of my favorite technologies, too. We discussed this earlier, but I thought it was worth posting for everyone else: When using Art Project by Google, be sure to give the screen time to upload as you zoom in on an artwork. It takes a bit long to upload the detailed images, but when they come into focus you can really see each brushstroke, crack in the paint and minute details. It provides a level of tactile visual understanding that students can't get from images printed in books. Like you, I am impressed with the technologies we found that can be used in our art classes! I'm anticipating a little difficulty in getting used to using them for authentic teaching practices, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of incorporating some of them into our assessment project.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I'm glad you told me to wait for it to load because I wasn't getting as close as I'd like. I too think that it will be challenging for me to create an authentic learning experience involving technology and art. Yet, at the same time after viewing our list I feel like I would be able to accomplish it.
DeleteLiana, I agree, I definitely think we'll find a way to integrate our cool technologies into our art lessons, because we are so excited about them and enjoy using them ourselves! It was great working with you on this.
ReplyDeleteLiana,
ReplyDeleteI was completely unaware of Google Art Project before reading your post. I am not very technology savvy and very unaware of all that Google offers. I feel like I am constantly relying on Google without full knowledge of all that Google encompasses. It is like Google is short for World Domination. Geez, the power. I had never used Google Docs before this assignment and I was unaware of all of Google's aids that coincide with education for students of all ages. I had never been aware of Google Science Fair (that was a shocker!) and now my mind was blown again with Google Art Project (woah, seriously?!). I had read your entry and somewhat dismissed how powerful it really was. After clicking, I was pleasantly surprised. In mere minutes I was in different parts of the world admiring artists that I was not completely aware of, but was intrigued to keep looking. This would be phenomenal when incorporated into lessons in a classroom. It is a field trip without ever leaving and can completely revolutionize the environment your students work in by inspiring their creativity, appealing to their senses, and transforming their visions into something new. I imagine your group compiled an amazing list that will change students perception of art and engage their learning tenfold. I know I'd be excited for art in your class if you use some of these technologies. I want to incorporate this into my lessons. Maybe art somehow influenced famous writers and playwrights like Fitzgerald, Orwell, and Miller. I have some researching to do. I'm excited! Your inventory is impressive, I would love to see more. Nice job. (:
Liana, can you help me understand the aspects of your group's project that either led to or detracted from authentic collaboration?
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delayed response, I have just been notifed of this comment. The aspects that detracted from this project as an authentic collaboration were getting in touch with your group members, hearing back from them, and waiting until they posted their contributions to make my blog post. I like to submit my work on time and the project encouraged us to wait until all contributions were made, yet some memebers took too long to post their ideas for me to comment on - so I analyzed what we had. The benefits were working on this project with all art majors. It really opened my eyes to new technologies that I myself have not yet thought about. Overall this project was successful because my grade did not entirely rely on my partners contributions.