Saturday, March 29, 2008

Notes about "Whale Done"

Presented in a Story-telling fashion.

Illustrates the journey of 'Wes', a troubled managerial type who is frustrated by his inability to manage employees.

See's a Sea World show and meets a trainer who illuminates him to a Positive Reinforcement technique for training whales

"One thing we learned quickly was that it doesn't much make sense to punish a Killer Whale and then ask a trainer to go get into the water with it"

Wes is then introduced to a Coach/Motivational speaker (Anne Marie), who continues to illustrate the concepts with more story-telling.

The core concept in this method seems to be building a relationship with your client/employee/student/loved one that is built on positive reinforcement, and building a positive relationship


ABC's of Performance
A = Activator
Whatever gets performance going
B = Behavior
The performance that occurs
C = Consequence
Your response to the performance


Your response to performance is the most important key

There are four kinds of consequences:

  • No response
  • Negative response
  • Redirection
  • Positive response

The key to this method is positive responses, or when not reasonable, redirection:

  • Describe the error or problem as soon as possible, clearly and without blame
  • Show its negative impact
  • If appropriate, take the blame for not making the task clear
  • Go over the task in detail and make sure it is clearly understood.
  • Express your continuing trust and confidence in the person
PRAISE PROGRESS "It's a moving target"

Whale-done approach uses encouragement (calls is ATTA-boy/girl) and always coaching criticisms with praise:
  • Praise people immediately
  • Be specific about what they did right or almost right
  • Share your positive feelings about what they did
  • Encourage them to keep up the good work


As opposed to 'Gotchaa' method of calling attention only when there is an error

The book highlights the tendancy for managers, parents and teachers to only give attention to negative behaviors. The suggestion is not to ignore these behaviors, but to take the time to redirect negative behaviors.

In a teaching setting (or management) this can be done eloquently by accepting blame as the teacher manager ("I'm sorry, I didn't make this clear enough - could you do x.y.z.).

It is then essential to follow up with praise when they are on task or progressing





Thursday, December 13, 2007


BHS Art History Wiki Project


I Introduction - Goals and Objectives

II Needs Assessment

III Learner Analysis

IV Instructional Strategies and Sequencing

V Evaluation

VI Development Process

VII Appendix




http://bhsarthistory.wetpaint.com/



I. Introduction

One of our most important missions in the Fine Arts Department at BHS is to connect students to the greater world of art. All Fine Art's programs in the district have the self-imposed mandate to include a base-line art history project using career technology during the year. Our mission at BHS is to pilot a new type of technology enabled research project leveraging Web 2.0 technologies. The vision for original District the project was to create a common assessment tool for the whole district - but the assessment is based upon using Power Point. After having taught this Power Point project over the last three years, we've found parts of the research tasks that need to be better prepared to allow for student learning, and opportunities to use new technologies for a more enriching and interesting project for the students.

Due to changes in the nature of the Internet, computing is moving more and more to an online format. Formats such as Wiki, Blogs, online social networking and moodles, as well as suites of Internet productivity applications are becoming the norm in many educational and business settings. Teaching our students to use these tools not only better prepares them for their future careers and education, but starts to harness the potential of doing complicated tasks with the school computer labs without having to buy our own specialized software at the local site.

By students creating a resource that can be used in subsequent years, we are also adding a new element to the existing project objectives.

Goal

Students will work in a collaborative setting to create a school wide art History Wiki using a number of web 2.0 technologies.

Objectives

  • Students will work collaboratively on an art history research project using web 2.0 applications such as iGoogle docs
  • Students will create video projects and learn how to post them online and place them in a Wiki
  • Students will contribute to a course Wiki and critique other entries in the Wiki
  • Students will practice good design skills in their Wiki page construction
  • Students will make clear connections between different art styles, and how historical events and art interplay

II. Needs Assessment

The current common assessment Art history research project decided by the district is a PowerPoint research assignment. At BHS we have determined that this assignment fails to meet the needs of students, and that it is in need of updating for new technology opportunities. There is a big push for Career Technology skills in schools, and although Power Point is a useful technology, there are many newer technologies that students need to be capable of using.

The previous curriculum for the project revolved around an artist list, a slide list, and a brief introduction to Internet search and Power Point(appendix 2a). Students would be shown examples of previous assignments, we would go over the slide list, and students would be shown how to use google to do web searches. In a previous research assignment students had already experienced using a search engine, copying pictures from the web to a Power Point file, and proper citation of their sources.

In order to meet our instructional objectives there are several shortcomings to this curriculum that need to be expanded. In researching past student projects and looking at students who achieved high, medium and low grades it became apparent that many students were not prepared to either find high quality resources, or to make inferences about connections between artists and historical events or time periods(appendix 1a).

In addition to teacher dissatisfaction with student achievement, student satisfaction with the project was low. Many felt that the project was not interesting, that information was hard to find, and that teachers did not adequately prepare them to achieve top marks on the assignment(appendix 1b).

III. Learner Analysis

  • 9-12 Grade public High School Students
  • Currently enrolled in either Ceramics 1-2 Art 1-4, Digital Multimedia Art and Design 1-2, or Drawing 1-4
  • High variety in learning styles, previous experience and aptitude (need to preselect groups?)
  • Some students receive IEP or 504 accommodations and need special grouping and support
  • Base line level of Internet experience allows most students to do basic web tasks. It is very rare that students are unfamiliar with computing

Context Analysis

  • IMac lab on campus that can be used for video editing and computing
  • IMac in the Art classroom that can be used for video editing
  • Need to procure a digital video camera for each classroom or borrow from video classes
  • Ceramics classroom should have an IMac for editing

IV. Instructional Strategies and Sequencing


In order create an effective strategy and sequence the instruction each objective should be considered. For each objective I have outlined new steps that will aid students in successfully completing the objective

  • Students will work collaboratively on an art history research project using web 2.0 applications such as iGoogle docs
    • Using online formats allow us to use any of the three computer labs at the school or school classroom computers to work on research and wiki building. This will greatly reduce problems we've had with students not communicating with partners or having access to their work.
    • By focusing on web applications we will be introducing many students to skills they will utilize more and more in todays higher learning and careers
  • Students will create video projects and learn how to post them online and place them in a Wiki
    • Our research suggests the students would be more engaged in making connections between an artist or style and history by creating a short film
    • By using video we can incorporate new technologies into our curriculum including online editing like jumpcut.com
  • Students will contribute to a course Wiki and critique other entries in the Wiki
    • This will allow subsequent generations of students to add, monitor and critique the resource. this will be a vast improvement over merely showing examples from previous semesters
  • Students will practice good design skills in their Wiki page construction
    • A big part of this project is how students use font, images, spacing and organization to effectively communicate knowledge
    • C.R.A.P. elements of design by author Robin Williams will be used as a simplified set of design principles for graphic design. The current art curriculum uses a similar but broader set of principles that the students will be familiar with.
  • Students will make clear connections between different art styles, and how historical events and art interplay
    • By having an online resource where students can critique others work and watch it progress they will have more opportunity to see connections between the different subjects
    • By pre-screening websites for content, and creating a set of essential questions for each topic students will be giving enough guidance to effectively complete this objective

Prerequisite Knowledge Required

Basic computing skills include

opening applications,
familiarity with a web browser,
ability to copy and paste images,
ability to use search engines and follow web links


Other prerequisite knowledge and skills

Fundamental understanding of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design


Strategies

Based on observation and student survey, it is clear that we need to create more emphasis on the making connections portion of the assignment, use better collaborative tools in groups, making the project more engaging, and create a series of resources so students will be using at least one excellent resource for every research topic.


In addition, Power Point is only one of many career technology applications, and although we plan on using Power Point in other projects, we have decided to use iGoogle power point and Google docs in concert with del.icio.us to share information between partners in groups as more effective applications. By adding a video segment to the assignment as a requirement and tying it to the making connections portion, the project will be more engaging and harness yet another set of career technology skills.



In terms of instructional theory, in these art classes students are used to working in a hands on and social format. There-fore, a research project also needs to be carefully crafted to not contradict their assumptions about what the class day will hold for them. Students react with obduracy to class days that focus on more 'mainstream' type of work commonly found in academic course. One tenet of a studio lab class is that students learn by 'by observing and copying the behavior of others' (Bandura 1970). This sort of social/situated learning concept relates also in the sense that motivation is a key ingredient in the process that needs to be nurtured by structuring work time to match student expectation of what the course will be.


Sequencing

Some additions to curriculum planning will need to include introducing students to videography tools and techniques. One possibility is to have students film each other working on projects and create short videos. Students will also need introduction to iGoogle docs, using social bookmarking, and training in the use and purpose of a Wiki. The entire sequence of these steps, how to fit it into vertical planning for the arts classes, and actual lessons are in the development stage.



V. Evaluation

Summative Evaluation

Summative evaluation consisted of surveying students using an exit survey regarding the Power Point project (appendix 1b). Student work was evaluated to see what objectives we were meeting, and which goals needed improvement or needed to be added. Instructors also held a number of curriculum meetings where we discussed the project and what we could do to improve it (appendix 1a).

Formative Evaluation


At this point, pre-instruction, we are determining how to evaluate the success of the student work that will be produced. OUr teaching team is creating a rubric that we can bring to the District Art Meeting in early January. A new exit survey, review of the finished projects by the district art teachers, and further instructor discussion will all play a role in our evaluation.

VI. Development Process


Content Review

The content review process if complete in Stage 1, including SME evaluation from school faculty, survey data analysis, and assessment of needed improvements. We will be continuing our Summative Evaluation through the school District Arts Meeting in January.


Document Design

The structure of the basic project is taking shape on Wetpaint at http://bhsarthistory.wetpaint.com/. Further design will be ongoing throughout the months of January and February. Teachers will be creating online resources for students. The majority of the work will be going towards organizing research areas into topics, creating Focus Questions for topics, and creating a rubric for the project. The full design document will be elaborated as instructional strategies and sequencing are determined and formative evaluation is designed.

Alpha

An alpha version of the project will be completed by the District Arts Faculty meeting on January 24th. SME critique of the project and the revised learning objectives will be assessed and discussed.

Beta

The final version of the project needs to be completed by March 2008 to be used by the students from the various art courses. The final version will encompass the completed Wiki.

Deployment and Evaluation

In order for deployment to be complete, all considerations into learning context must be addressed. The appropriate computing and videography equipment will need to be purchased or it's use arranged for. Also, in the deployment phase students will be given access to the Wiki for editing and posting purposes and it will become a live document.


Deliverable
Activity
Due Date
Content Review Stage 1
Review surveys, teacher round table to refine objectives. Discuss new possible technologies
November 2007
Document Design Stage 1
Elaborate project scope and stage in Design Document Stage 1
Decmeber 2007
Alpha
Produce most of the topic areas and focus questions for the Wiki. Finalize Wiki templates and 'look'. Instructional sections complete
January 24, 2008
Beta
All topic areas and focus questions completed. Calendar posted. Students access created for the live Wiki
February 28, 2008
Deployment and Evaluation
Have students produce their Wiki projects. Give students exit survey and hold a Stage 2 Round Table
March 2008


VII. Appendix

1a) Teacher Round-table


Teacher agreements based on our experience teaching this assignment, observing student performance, and evaluating the outcome include:

Students often use poor resources
  • Students often find poor or questionable resources

Students need to collaborate more effectively
  • Students do not share access to resources (one student alone has the power point saved to their network drive or USB thumb drive)

Most groups do not form connections between their research and other world events or art movements
  • This higher order thinking is possibly the most critical component of the research.
  • We need to do something more active that can appeal and be accessible to the widest assortment of students
  • Only the highest achieving students seem to be acceptably performing at this level
  • Teachers need to give focus questions, essential questions, that can be used as the basis for students to make the connections

Power Points are not really useful except for the class in which they are made
  • Students may work harder if they know their work is publicly viewable
  • Students will continue to build up the resource and it will be a 'living' document
  • Students will have a rich assortment of examples to see from previous years
  • Wiki can leverage all of the other resources on the Internet to add to the student content

1b) Student Surveys


Survey Results from Ceramics 1

Note: Students who elected to sign up for Advanced ceramics had a notably higher level of engagement and Connections. This trend continued in other classes

2a) Previous Assignment Resources


Artist Research Project Guidelines:

This is your FINAL project for ceramics 1/2

It is worth 100 points

You may work alone, or with a single partner (no groups of three)

1) With your partner chose an artist from the list. Before making your final selection make sure that you can find enough information and artwork online.

2) Before starting your slides, review the slide list and find all (or most) of the information  and pictures you will use to support your presentation.

3) You can (and should!) save images and information either to your Schoolloop digital locker and to your personal network space.

4) You will be graded on the quality of your information FIRST and then the quality of the presentation SECOND. You can not make up for poor research with a flashy presentation

5) We will have 4-5 class sessions to work in the library or computer lab. It is expected that you will spend 2 or more hours outside of class time finishing the project.

RUBRIC

All information required from the slide list is presented effectively:
10 (Above requirements. The students show additional information and draw
personal inferences about the artwork that they support with evidence)

8 (Most information is presented, is properly cited, and is accurate)

6   (Most information is presented, but there are many inaccuracies or poor research)

3 (Most slides not completed)

Presentation clearly communicates information and shows good slide design

10   (Slide presentation reflects the artist’s style and compliments all information)

8 (Slide design effectively communicates information)

6 (In general slide layout does not effectively aid in communicating ideas and
information)

3 (Communication of information is lost by poor slide design on most slides)

Minimum Slide Requirements List

Each student or pair of students will create a multimedia presentation (Microsoft’s “PowerPoint”). Each group is required to create a minimum of 15 or more slides in the following suggested sequence:

Slide #1. Title: Art Research and Multimedia Project
Include:
Name of artist or a title that represents them and their work

Slide #2. Members of Group

Slide #3. Biography: The name of the artist

List the date of birth

List the place of birth

Suggested: Picture of the artist

Slide #4. An example of the artist’s artwork

Include: The title of Artwork

Media or Materials used

Size or Dimensions

Date Artwork was created

Picture of the artwork

à Try to pick an artwork that represents BEST what this artist creates

Slide #5. Education: How did the artist learn art techniques? Be specific about art schools attended, whether taught by a master, self –taught, and so on. If the artist is unknown, what cultural style and production was used?

Optional: Photo of the young artist. A map of the country, picture of a school or flag

Slide #6 - 8. Other Works: What were this artist’s most famous works and where are they today? If the artist is unknown, discuss other similar works from the time period (this would be for a slide show on a culture rather than an artist).

Required: 3 slide minimum of other artwork

Include: Title, date, media, and current location

Slide #9.   Element of Art: Looking at your primary artwork from slide 4 identify one element of art, where the artist used it, and how the materials and techniques were used to express that element in the work.

Required: Picture of the artwork

à Use an arrow or other PowerPoint drawing tools to identify one element of art

Slide #10. Principle of Design: Look at this artwork and identify where the artist used one principle of design and describe how the materials or techniques were used to express that principle in the work.

Required: Picture of the artwork

à Use an arrow or other PowerPoint drawing tools to identify one principle of design

Slide #11. What techniques, tools and materials did the artist use to create the artwork?

Suggested: An extra slide that goes over processes in detail, especially if the artist uses techniques we have not studied in class

Slide #12. Which style, time or culture does this work belong to?

Suggested: A map of the country, historical or cultural image

Slide #13. What cultural or historical event may have influenced this work?

Suggested: Look at other artwork from the same time period or look for references in critiques or articles about the artist’s work. If you are having trouble isolating a cultural/historical influence, does the artist’s work have a theme you can discuss?

Slide #14. Evaluation: Your opinion of whether or not the piece of art is successful based upon what you have explored in description, analysis, and interpretation.

  Defend your answer being candid as possible to the specific strengths or weaknesses of the work.

Required: Picture of the artwork

Suggested: Arrow to identify strengths or weaknesses

Slide #15. Credits: Information/Picture/Sources/
Required:
Make sure to include all your MLA Citations here!

Slide #16. Optional: Special Thanks

Optional slide ideas – To get the best grade possible it is HIGHLY recommended that you include at least one of the following:

· Discuss other contemporary art movements or interactions with other famous artists

  • Show examples of artwork or artists that influenced your artist
  • Show other artwork of your artist and discuss its connection to the artist or time period
  • Show how the political or cultural climate of the time effect the artwork you show
  • Discuss a debate or conflict in the art community regarding your artist or one of their artworks

MLA Citation: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/mlastyle.htm#documents

A typical citation my look like:

Dawe, James. The Jane Austen Page. 16 Sept. 2003 <http://jamesdawe.com/austen.html>.




Career and web 2.0 technologies that may be used:


WIKI site - http://bhsarthistory.wetpaint.com/
jumpcut.com (pwnoyes) - online video editing
voicethread.com - online photo show with voice over (possibility insteadof/in addition to video)
youtube.com - online video hosting
igoogle (docs) - online collaborative document processing (Power point, excel and Word)
google earth - online satellite imaging AND information gathering/displaying by geographical search
flickr.com - online photo sharing and creative commons photos
http://del.icio.us/ - online social book marking
Secondlife - online 3D virtual community with many educational resources and art displays
IMVU -
Camstudio/snapz - screen capture recording)



Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. NeW York: General Learning Press.


Thursday, November 29, 2007

Second Life Presentation

Interesting Factoids
  • About SecondLife
    • 125 schools, colleges, and universities have used Second Life°
    • Over one million real American crisp and shiny dollars are spent every day by the over ten million residents in Second Life.(http://www.finextra.com/community/fullblog.aspx?id=660)
    • Symantec warned authorities with the possibility of criminals using online games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life for money laundering purposes.
    • 10$/month leases you a small piece of land to create stuff

Applications to Education
  • Advantages over standard distance education°
    • "create a sense of class community — something that develops fairly naturally in a face-to-face class" -Rebecca Nesson
    • English Language learners can take their time to read and type discussions
    • Less likelihood of having people dominate the discussion
    • Easier for less outgoing people to contribute
  • Being able to do reconstructions of real places and times
    • Sistine Chapel at Vassar Island in 2ndlife
  • http://www.sloodle.org/
    • virtual reality moodle!


Online Gaming
  • America's Army
  • Social Aspects
    • "Many MM ORPG gamers play with a romantic partner or a family member. About 16% of male players and 60% of female players play with a romantic partner, and about 25% of male players and 40% of female players play with a family member."
    • "About 40% of players feel that their online friends are comparable or even better than their real life friends"
    • "People are more willing to talk about personal issues when they can maintain their anonymity, and about 30% of MMORPG players have told personal issues or secrets to online friends that they have never told anyone else. These environments also encourage people to form trusting bonds with each other by repeatedly placing players in spontaneous and stressful crises that require players to work together in order to survive. And most importantly, players are pre-selected to be compatible with each other because MMORPGs are a very specific form of entertainment. People who enjoy gradual advancement in a fantasy world where they take on roles as ogres and elves are not a random slice of the population."
    • Status Reversal
      • Young people are more likely to take leadership roles than older people in MMORPGs. In fact, the younger age groups are the most active in 'leadership roles' in the online gaming community (under 25)
      • Ender's Game - Orson Scott CArd
        • Plays virtual reality interactive games on his computer to learn military theory
        • Brother and Sister use the Web (net) and act like to rival political wonks to basically take over the Earth government
    • Instanced Encounters in MMORPGs can take up to 20 minutes long and require near flawless execution of 40 players working cooperatively

Places to Learn about Education in SL


°http://blogs.computerworld.com/node/5122
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_critiques.html
http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Top_20_Educational_Locations_in_Second_Life

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

2nd life



WOW! and Daedalus project!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Education in a Flattened World

The book The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman poses a lot of things to think about for the upcoming American generation. In his book, he emphasizes how technological forces are reshaping economies. It got me to thinking, how do his 10 flattener's, and his 3 convergences relate to the field of education?

For some time now, I've felt that our public school system is stuck in a deep rut. In fact, our society as a whole has not adopted the concept of what the world is becoming. To some extent we adopt the devices and conveniences of the flat world, but when confronted with the world wide developments I feel that most Americans prefer to either gripe or close their eyes.

For example, as we embrace the cheap prices at Walmart, we also mock the off shoring of call centers and manufacturing moving to China. Our schools would rather ban electronic devices for fears of cheating or distraction, rather than embrace the educational potential of these devices.

Although the human interaction of school is vital to student development, I can't help but feel the 32 student classroom and lecture followed by text book homework is hurting our education system. With information being so easy to mine, why are we still testing on meaningless facts, dates, and hundreds of abstract formulas and letting the concepts hopefully fit into the cracks left?

What do we tell our kids?

Something educators need to consider is that we are as much a part of the destiny of America as corporations. In a flat world, educators must "reach for a shovel and dig inside ourselves", we can't afford to build walls and try to protect old ways that make no sense. As time passes, what we teach is less important than how we teach it - what experiences we are bringing to our students. Friedman states that the small need to act big; it is every teachers job to be the 'value add' to our curriculum and teach our students to be the innovative thinkers that will propel them to success in the new America.

Saturday, November 3, 2007