https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnwnGKn3pi9sdFBJSzFuYXVVaHM0TUN0TlNiTVNpRkE#gid=0
I chose this lesson plan because it gives students the freedom to express themselves through the use of collage and lets them experiment with the basics of computer art. Adobe Photoshop is a very broad program that has millions of possibilities, but can take some getting used to, so this is a good project to get students more familiar with the program. I chose to tweak the lesson plan in the fact that the students would get to choose their own theme, but will have to explain their choices and ideas to their classmates through a critique as well as a short artist statement to hand in for part of the final grade of the project. I felt that this would be a good way for students to have freedom with this project and to see how many different fascinating ideas the students would come up with and how different all the themes are from each other. In group critiques, students can learn a lot about their own work through talking about it to others as well as learn a lot from classmates. I don't believe these chosen strategies and standards had many gaps, if any at all, I feel as though they were linked directly to the assignment well. It reflects the ways in which artwork can communicate a theme or idea and also the importance of the artist's proficiency. This project is also appropriate for the way it reflects and affects the role of technology in society and on a smaller scale, art classrooms. For this lesson plan, technology is essential for achieving this goal. Students will use digital cameras and scanners to collect images at first, but the main part of the project is to be done on photoshop and experiment with collaging using different brushes, blending methods, and different opacities to achieve a well crafted collage on the computer.
Hi Karli, this lesson sounds exciting and interesting, with lots of room for student creativity and exploration which is so important in art classes. What would you do if your classroom or school wasn't equipped with enough computers for all of the students to use Photoshop during class time? I only ask because for this activity I tried to avoid lessons which required those kind of resources since I rarely see them in the public schools I visit. For example, my Fieldwork site could not accommodate this lesson. Do you think a teacher could substitute a less expensive, more widely-available technology and achieve a similar learning experience?
ReplyDeleteI totally understand what you mean which is why I always struggle with thinking about technologies inside art classrooms. In most schools, there are only a few fine arts classes and technology usually doesn't pay a large role. However, I was lucky enough in high school to take a "Computer Art" class, which took place in one of the computer labs in my school which had programs we used such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and a couple of animation programs. I do understand that these types of classes are rare in most high schools, but most high schools usually have at least one computer lab. For numerous classes, the computer labs were available upon request from the teacher to claim the lab for a certain amount of days for our benefit. If a computer lab wasn't available, this lesson would be completely different, and it would have nothing to do with technology.
DeleteAs an outsider to the Art Education world, this lesson make me REALLY excited. When I look back on my art education, it basically revolved around hands on activities and never did I even imagine how technology would be included in the lesson plans. I also remember all students being assigned one specific art project so to see a lesson designed around student choice is truly refreshing. I think its really great to reach outside the bounds of the expected art class structure. Like Laura mentioned, my concern with the lesson is related to the availability of Photoshop on school computers. Considering the high cost, would this lesson be possible? Would this lesson be implemented in a regular art class or a specialized class?
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