Week #3 Discussion Post

So for my final project I have been inspired to do project for middle schools students on Global Oneness. This specific project will be on youth violence and how it can be overcome with respect, trust, and love. Students will be asked to watch a video on from the Global Oneness Project: Building a Community of Trust, interpret it, and then create either a painting or a digital piece (or photos) showing how youth violence effects others and how it can be prevented.

Resource Portal (resource 1)

PBS Learning Media: Global Oneness Project: Building a Community of Trust
Url: Global Oneness Project
Finding: I found this idea a while back when I was in seminar and I have been using the idea of global oneness as a unit plan. I found this specific lesson when looking for inspiration for this final project by searching "Global Oneness" and I thought that for the age level this topic would be really interesting for the students to work with.
Use: This is where I found the video link that inspired the lesson so I would have students watch this video, discuss it and then start applying it to their own lives and building a piece around it.
Standards: - VA:Re10.1.5a- Identify how art is used to inform or change an individual’s or society’s beliefs, values, or behaviors.

PLN Resource:

Name: Global Oneness Project ( Twitter)
Url: Twitter Account
Finding: I found this twitter handle when I was doing our PLN project early this week. I was really excited because if you couldn't tell I LOVE the concept!
Use: I would use this twitter page as a way for students to get interested in the Global Oneness idea. I think I would ask them to explore the page and get and understanding for the concept before we start the project so they have a general idea of what I'm looking for.
Standard:- VA:Re7.2.5a- Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery.



Resource 3:

Name: Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center
URL: MI-YVPC
Finding: I found this when looking into the youth violence prevention.
Use: I would use this website as a starting point for students. They can look around the website and see what we are doing in Michigan the prevent youth violence and then they can build their own ideas off of what they find.
Standards:

- VA:Re1.1.5a-Combineideas to generate an innovative idea for art-making

- VA:Re1.2.5a- Identify and demonstrate diverse methods of artistic investigation to choose and approach for beginning a work of art.

Educational myths

The most surprising educational myth to me was the “Are your students engaged? Don't be so sure”. I know that the basic ways to tell if your students are paying attention in class is by their focus, their test scores, and if they are participating, but this article basically threw that all to the wind and said guess again. I didn't like  that they just destroyed what we think we knew and then didn't offer credible solutions or ideas on how to know if students are actually engaged. The one that I immediately dismissed was the article about debunking learning styles. I read it and was irritated that the article was so one sided. I know what it's like to be student and I know for a fact which learning styles work best for me and which don't. Even at GVSU they teach us about learning styles and adapting lessons to fit all of our learners. I absolutely disagree with article 100%, just because there is no evidence (according to them) that supports different learning styles doesn't mean they don't exist. My take away from reading all of the articles is that you really can't always trust what you read or what your told. If you feel like something is working or will work for students DO IT. If the administration was trying to force me into teaching a specific way, I would try it,  but keep a detailed record of students learning and show them the evidence if it's not working. At the end of the day I want my students to succeed and be successful and I am going to teach them in the way that best accommodates their learning. 

Week Two

I don't know if this is weird but I am actually enjoying doing this PowerPoint. I think the action buttons are the coolest thing and I have shown it to everyone that's been in my house over the course of the week! I am still waiting on a placement for the fall, which is a huge bummer! However summer classes seem to be going smoothly so I'm hanging in there! Graduation is getting closer! 

Using a Blog in the Art Classroom

So I have a small amount of expierence with using a blog in the classroom as you might have already been able to tell. ( I also encourage any readers to browse my blog look at my digital work and give feedback) Having a blog allows the teacher to have easy access to student work, but also the ability to get student feedback or an idea of what is going on in their life with weekly posts. When I used this blog for my digital creativity class each thought, and artistic process was documented for my teacher to be able to see where I was what help I needed and where my ideas were coming from. As a student it gave me access to any pictures I needed, I could access my work anywhere, and it was also an easy way to see what my classmates were doing. If I use a blog in my classroom it will be specifically for my students to to get their work out there. They would be responsible for documentation and uploading as well as getting their blog site out there for people outside of the class to see. As artist we want to eventually sell our work and make money so learning to advertise yourself and your abilities is a. Key skill to have. I would ask students to make an artist statement, talk about what they are interested in, what mediums they enjoy using, and give updates on what they working on. I would also want them to have documentation of all their work and contact info in case someone is interested in their work. As for me it would allow me access to my students minds, I would be able to check up on students work and how their creative process is coming along. I could have them talk about some things they are struggling with and have other classmates posts ideas or possible solutions. I feel like a blog is a fun way for students to include technology and social media into their classroom expierence, while also getting their work out their and showing off what they are proud of. The big difference here is that these blog will be open to the public, anyone can see them and that is what sets them apart from word documents and google docs. Students will have to think about what they are saying because anyone will be able to see these. 

I already know this is something that I'm looking forward to including in my classroom! Yay for technology! 

Learner Analysis

So the character I chose to analyze was TJ Detweiler from the hit show Recess. Basically TJ is the class clown who only goes to school because he loves recess. He is a fun-loving kid, a leader, and friendly but he is also mischievous and a big trouble maker. He enjoys fun, pranks, and hanging out with his pals. He does not excel in school however, he gets bad grades, is very unfocused, and lacks ambition. TJ is from a middle class family and seems to live a comfortable life. TJ is not engaged in school at all, his life revolves around recess and making it to summer vacation. He's also always pulling pranks or distracting his other classmates. If TJ was in my class I would have him create things that he was interested in, such as interactive sculptures (that could go along with his pranks) or design a new playground. He lacks interest in school because the teachers are boring and they are teaching things he is interested in (or they aren't interesting teachers). He needs to be entertained or he looses interest quickly. TJ is not college ready at all, he is only in 4th grade so he has plenty of years to prepare but he will need to become more studious if he wants to succeed.

I found most of my information here.

About Me

Hello, my name is Amber Anderson and I am an Art Education Major with a sculpture emphasis and wood working focus. I will graduate k-12 certified but I really want to teach middle school! I'm going on 5 and a half years at grand valley and I can't wait to graduate in December! I am the mom of a beautiful three year old boy named Weston and he is my ambition for everything in life. My hobbies include lots of DIY, being the side kick to my sons favorite superhero of the day, and gardening. The experience I have with including technology in classroom is using a smart board, using some Google classroom, and blogging. I also learned about how to include some technology in UDL.

Here is just a picture of me working with some of students.

Here is a video of my doing something that I love to do, which is getting into silly back and fourths with Weston's while quoting the Sand Lot (his favorite movie)