In this lesson, students are asked to create a self-portrait that highlights what is unique about them while also emphasizing self-expression and celebrating differences between individuals. In the end, students will have actual, tangible self-portrait and a video of the drawn self-portrait talking and telling the audience what qualities and characteristics are unique about the artist.
I started applying MAET concepts from the second I started revising my lesson. When it comes to incorporating technology in my art room, I had a lot of things to consider. Most importantly, I didn’t want to simply choose any technology just to check that off of my to-do list for this project. In their online reading, Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century, Crayons are the Future, Mishra & The Deep Play Research Group bust the myth about technology and creativity that “the technology tools we have today should drive how we conceptualize teaching and learning in the 21st century” (Pg. 13). Technology shouldn’t drive our instructional decisions. What is best for student learning comes first, technology follows and supports. So, I had to carefully consider the learning objectives and how the technology I chose could enhance that. It goes without saying that I also had certain limitations and real-world restraints on what technologies I could and could not bring it. I see each class for 45 minutes about once a week and I do not have any kind of tech cart permanently in my classroom. I have to sign out the specific cart that I need for the times that I need it. Secondly, the app absolutely must be kid friendly. There is simply not enough time for me to deal with any other option. Lastly, I needed something free, simple and easily accessible/sharable. That lead me to ChatterPix. ChatterPix isn’t meant specifically for a classroom. As Mishra and Koehler point out in their article, Too Cool for School? No Way!, “The idea of creative repurposing is important because most technologies that teachers use typically have not been designed for educational purposes” (Pg. 16). I could totally repurpose ChatterPix to meet the creative needs of this project while enhancing student self-expression. Another reason I chose ChatterPix was because I noticed the app has a lot of similarities to other apps that are popular and higher tech. For example, the camera mode is very similar to the iPhone’s camera mode, which I’d say a majority of my students are familiar with. And if they aren’t familiar with it, then they will learn something new in ChatterPix and hopefully have the ability to transfer that knowledge the time they are able to take a photo on an iPhone. In their book How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, Bransford, Brown and Cocking describe the importance of preparing “students for the flexible adaptation to new problems and settings” (Pg. 78). I believe using the ChatterPix app will allow students to build familiarity and knowledge on this app and allow them the potential to transfer that knowledge when it comes time to use another one with similar features. References: Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368 Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Learning and leading with technology. Link to article: “Too Cool for School” EJ839143 Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking technology and creativity in the 21st century: Crayons are the future. TechTrends, 56(5), 13-16.
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Here are the three materials that I bought from Meijer which cost about $11 total. I bought two different types of yarn. The darker blue one is 100% acrylic and the lighter green one is 100% polyester. I heard that acrylic is better for beginners but I really liked the color of the polyester so I bought both. I also am curious to see what kind of difference there is between the two types of yarn. I bought a three pack of different sized aluminum hooks, as well.
Based off of the advice from a website called the Spruce Craft, I decided that my first goal was to create something simple and basic: a washcloth. It uses a couple of simple stitches and will teach me the basics of how to get started and get the hang of the crocheting process.
Based on what I know now, I don't think I'll be moving on to create a scarf or hat like I had mentioned in my planning post. There are so many other stitches and tricks I need to learn before moving on to something that big. I think my next goal will be to create something circular like the little face scrubbier you can find here. So far, I have learned quite a few things. I'll list them off one at a time.
The resource that has been the most helpful so far is this YouTube video. It was really helpful when I started the trial swatches which are pictured below. However, the video also has some shortcomings. In my opinion, the woman that is teaching in the video leaves out some small details that maybe an expert like she wouldn't think about. As a beginner, I had a few questions left unanswered while watching and copying her. I tried looking at a different video and it helped answer some questions.
The picture above shows my very first attempts from left to right at trying to create chains and single crochets.
The picture below is my very first finished piece. It is a simple square wash cloth. She isn't perfect but she is mine. Definitely need to work on getting my edges straight. Check out the video at the bottom of the blog post to see me actually creating this washcloth!
The thing that I find the most challenging about learning how to crochet using different technology resources is that I don't have anyone to check my work. When I have a question, I don't have an actual person to simply answer or show me; I have to type my question into google or do some research on another website or video and hope that I can find the answer. Sometimes I don't. For myself, I find that to be a major drawback because I am spending valuable time digging for an answer when, if I were learning this in person, I could much more easily and efficiently have my question answered and move on.
The beginning of my journey of learning how to crochet is learning the very basics. In this video, I am creating a small square washcloth using single crochet stitches.
I fell down a deep, dark rabbit hole of what is Agbogbloshie. I'll get back to that in a minute. First I'd like to explain what I was looking for originally. I found myself drawn to the article "The Global Cost of Electronic Waste" by S. F. Ahmed (2016) and wanted to write on e-waste. I was intrigued by constant consumer demand specifically for newer, more advanced products when most people are already in possession of products that work completely fine and are not in need of replacing! For example, their phone is a generation older than the new one that just came out. I also was interested in finding some statistics on who the biggest e-waste generators are and consider different ways to reduce the waste. However, in the start of my research, I found Agbogbloshie. Agbogbloshie is a neighborhood in Ghana's capital of Accra. There is a large slum and "living area" there and a scrapyard. But not just any scrapyard - one of the biggest contamination sites in the world.
I ended up watching two different YouTube videos; one was a documentary called "ToxiCity: life at Agbogbloshie, the world's largest e-dump in Ghana" (2016) and a Ted Talk called "What a scrapyard in Ghana can teach us about innovation - DK Osseo-Asare" (2018) which are both linked below. A lot of what I discuss in this blog post is a reflection of what I saw along with some research that followed up because of it.
Watching the ToxiCity documentary was like looking at a different world. I was thinking in my head "There's no way this is actually happening somewhere." But it is.. and it looks really bad. My research helped me understand that Agbogbloshie is commonly mistaken as a dump but it actually is a scrap site. (TED, 2018). In fact, most sources online do call it a dumpsite probably because that is exactly what it looks like but it is more than that which will be explained below. There is most definitely tons of e-waste there but, according to Van der Velden and Oteng-Ababio (n.d.) it is not the largest e-waste dump site in the world. A site in China is that actually specializes it. Agbogbloshie is top three though, along with China and India.
From what I've understood in my research, electronic "leftovers" (I call them that because a lot of what is considered e-waste isn't even waste; it is still working and is just an older model that people are discarding for something newer) and e-waste are being illegally bought and brought into Ghana and the buyers/owners of the scrapyard are making loads of money (Documentary. 2016). The workers, however, are not. This scrapyard ends up being a major hub for jobs and since there is not much work in other areas of Ghana, people as young as children are forced to go there to make money - but not much. Furthermore, while they are there, they are surrounded by poison (Documentary, 2016). These workers are breathing in pollutants, growing food in contaminated soil, eating from markets across the street from one of the largest contamination sites in the world and living in absolute filth. On the flip side, there are also jobs being produced where workers can make a decent living refurbishing second-hand electronics. So overall, all of this e-waste and leftover technology is generating jobs but at the expense of what? Hygiene, fresh air, a clean environment, children's education and human life? Doesn't sound like a good gig. Luckily, great things are being done! The Ted Talk (2018) that is linked below brings up the fact that there are maker spaces being created in areas of Ghana and collaborations being formed between the workers from the scrapyard - who are essentially self-taught techies - and students and professionals in STEM fields from around the world. These collaborations are both physical and digital. For the projects mentioned in the Ted Talk, all parts of the projects that were being made came strictly from Ghana. Which is incredible because there are so many resources there that are still completely functional and operational. It would only be a waste if these objects weren't used. As an MAET student, it is absolutely incredible to see what the maker movement is doing globally, how it is applying to real life situations and positively impacting the world. References Ahmed, S. F. (2016, September 29). The Global Cost of Electronic Waste. Retrieved July 18, 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/the-global-cost-of-electronic-waste/502019/ Documentary, RT. (2016, June 01). ToxiCity: Life at Agbobloshie, the world's largest e-waste dump in Ghana. [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mleQVO1Vd1I TED. (2018, August 30). What a scrapyard in Ghana can teach us about innovation | DK Osseo-Asare. [YouTube video]. Retrieved July 18, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_wtaoHCw3k Van der Velden, M., & Oteng-Ababio, M. (n.d.). Six myths about electronic waste in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://africasacountry.com/2019/03/six-myths-about-electronic-waste-in-agbogbloshie-ghana Click here to check out our Innovative Learning Project site! For our innovative Learning Project, each of the team members were asked to create a lesson plan that was inspired by innovative technologies and the Maker Movement and then, as a group, to combine all of our plans onto one website. Creating the site ran smoothly for multiple reasons. Firstly, my teammates were extremely easy to collaborate with. Each team member did their part quickly and even helped answer questions I had while creating the website. Secondly, I had already used this website making platform before so I had some preexisting knowledge on the layout of the site and how to use the tools. And lastly, the feedback from the year 2 students was informative and stimulating. I applied quite a few of their ideas to my website and incorporated them within the project itself. Here is a sneak peek of the website I created. Click here to visit it! The main purpose of the activity “This is not a cup” is to challenge students to quickly think outside of the box without much direction or many rules. The significance of this is that students are allowed to create, explore, make and build and are encouraged to let go of the fear of “messing up”. Although this is a low tech project, it still has an innovative and unique approach that makes it valuable. To further defend this point, I bring up Koehler and Mishra's article Too Cool for School? No way! Learning and Leading with Technology where they argue that "almost everything that is artificial... is technology, whether low tech or high tech" (Pg. 15). So, we take something as simple as a Styrofoam cup – which does not originally have an educational purpose at all – and repurpose it by turning it into an amazing three-dimensional sculpture! Although this activity could probably be applied to most subject matter, in my art room, the main objective of the project is for students to demonstrate their understanding of our two vocabulary concepts – void and in-the-round with their final sculpture. A "before and after" photo. The planning stage of this whole project was the toughest and most intimidating part. I had no idea what to do at first. It actually kept me up at night because I was racking my brain with what technology to use. Originally, I felt like I had to use some kind of high-tech tool or advanced technology. Because of this, I felt limited in resources and I knew I didn’t want to spend much money putting something together. Finally, after discussing different possibilities with my team and instructor, a lightbulb went off; whatever I used did not have to be expensive or comprised of electronics. It could be something as simple as a Styrofoam cup but as open-ended as repurposing it. Once I had the idea of what the project would be, everything seemed to be smooth sailing from there. The process of planning the website was easy because of the reasons mentioned above. One major takeaway was learning how to do the RQI technique – the Right Question Institute - which is a presented by Warren Berger in his book, A More Beautiful Question (Berger, 2016, Pg. 65). This is something I plan on using in my own classroom. I see a lot of value in the maker movement because it is essentially what art education has been doing for hundreds if not thousands of years. There may not be electronics typically involved in art but the basic ideas are similar. Both require a hands-on approach and creative problem solving. As Halverson and Sheridan (2014) argue in their book, The maker movement in education, "artists and art educators have long histories of supporting learning in the making across a variety of art forms and media" (Pg. 498). Regardless of my role as an art educator, I believe that any type of educator should include making in their lessons - it's just that using artistic creativity can make it even more successful!
However, I do see the argument that Halverson and Sheridan (2014) made about how makerspaces are more organic and unless there are at least a few guidelines set up – like in my example, students demonstrated the understanding of sculpture concepts through the maker activity – or some kind of end result expected, "learning is not guaranteed; nor is it regulated" (Pg. 502). The most important takeaway that I experienced with this project is that a teacher can create a successful innovative project with low tech equipment. Take for example, how Mishra describes a myth about technology and creativity in education in Rethinking Tehcnology and Creativity in the 21st Century, “The technology tools we have today should drive how we conceptualize teaching and learning...” (Pg.13). This relates to how, at the beginning of the project, I was so wrapped up in the fact that I had to find some kind of high-tech tool or advanced technology to use in order to create a successful lesson. I was so focused on the tech driving the lesson. With some careful thought, I realized that this did not have to be the case. A simple list of ingredients was all that was needed. If I were to give advice to someone else about this process, I would say be creative and use resources that are available to you or are inexpensive. Educational technology and the Maker Movement certainly can include electronics and high-tech tools but don’t necessarily have to. Consider repurposing something. That in itself is innovative and is considered educational technology. Look around you.. could you use anything in the room you’re in for something other than it’s original or sole purpose? For example, the tip of a cap of a Crayola marker could be dipped into paint and stamped onto paper to create an abstract painting. If you’re interested in creating a resource website yourself, consider pairing up with colleagues from different content areas. This will help make your website more accessible and attractive to an even wider group of people. The website should be easy to navigate. I recommend writing the lesson plan in a way that is clear, concise, and includes pictures or visuals to enhance viewer understanding. I suggest considering whether or not you’d like to publish you actual whole lesson plan or just bits and pieces so as to not give your whole lesson away. Again, you can click here to check out our Innovative Learning Project site or click here to see my personal lesson that I taught. References Berger, W. (2016). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. New York: Bloomsbury. Halverson, E.R. & Sheridan, K. (2014). The maker movement in education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495-465. Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Learning and leading with technology. Link to article: “Too Cool for School” Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking technology and creativity in the 21st century: Crayons are the future. TechTrends, 56(5), 13-16. My goal for the Network Learning Project is to learn how to crochet! I've always wanted to learn how and I am really interested in textiles, fibers and three dimensional art. As an art educator, this is something that I can easily incorporate into my classroom. Crocheting might be a bit complex for the younger elementary students but I know there are elements that I can bring into the fibers unit that we have. I have experience sewing and weaving so I believe I have a nice foundation set up to support my learning. After talking to some friends who know how to crochet, I think it might be best for me to set a goal of learning how to do different patterns and advance in difficulty with each try. I plan on probably sticking to making scarves but depending on how it goes, I could potentially make a small blanket or perhaps even a hat! There are plenty of sources online. I plan on using YouTube and other DIY websites. There are SO MANY sources! This should make it easy because I will have different people explaining the process in different ways and I can see which teaching style fits me best. Check out the sources below.
Youtube Resources: How to crochet for absolute beginners: Part 1 HOW TO CROCHET FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - EPISODE ONE - Bella CoCo Crochet How to Crochet for Beginners - Easy and Simple Tutorial by Naztazia Websites: How to Crochet For Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide - Bluprint The Spruce Crafts Learning, Understanding and Conceptual Change
There are two main definitions of the word "Learn" from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary: 1. To gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction or experience. 2. Memorizing (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). There is a great difference between those two. Learning is a process that has been, is and will always be studied in order to be improved. However, the study and science of learning has progressed rapidly over the past three or four decades. In the past, learning meant simply memorizing facts and repeating information. Remember. Repeat. More recently, largely due to advances in technology, different learning theories and studies have evolved the study of learning. Although knowing facts is still important, today's learners are being asked to dig deeper than simply memorizing. Within the past thirty years, cognitive studies have become more relevant to learning theories. The importance of having knowledge on a subject has switched from being able to remember and repeat to finding information and applying, using or transferring it. As Bransford, Cocking and Brown argue, "these aspects of high literacy are required of almost everyone in order to successfully negotiate the complexities of contemporary life." (2000, p. 4). As the authors point out in their book, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, educators and researchers nowadays understand that there are different components to learning like cognitive, behavioral, understanding, reasoning, and more. In order for students to be successful in the twenty-first century, it is necessary that they learn with understanding and have some ability to transfer; not just simply memorize. One topic that is being researched to help further our understanding of how people learn is the study of the difference between how an expert learns and how a novice learns. Bransford, Cocking and Brown (2000) describe many differences in depth between the two. While experts are learning something new, they have a superior base of information to draw from while novices have informal ideas about areas of study. Experts notice patterns, plan tasks, and generate reasonable arguments and explanations as opposed to novices who tend to use memorization or manipulation to get answers. Experts can more quickly access relevant knowledge compared to novices and can transfer that knowledge into different situations and concepts. Experts organize previously learned knowledge in a meaningful way - around important ideas and concepts. Unlike novices, experts exhibit the use of metacognition, which is "the ability to monitor one’s current level of understanding and decide when it is not adequate." (p. 47). Additionally, experts will have inner dialogue that helps them analyze information and draw analogies to advance understanding. There are many tools, techniques and approaches in teaching that support student learning and understanding. It is important for an educator to get to know their students and what they already know. For example, pretesting students to learn more about preconceived notions and knowledge is a great method to find out what students know about a topic prior to teaching. Using frequent formative assessment is another way to check for understanding on a daily basis. Another technique that is brought to our attention in the book How People Learn is to provide students with in-depth coverage of fewer concepts as opposed to skimming the surface of many topics (Bransford, 2000, p. 20). Teachers should also be sure to give students time to play with and process new information (p. 58). If done correctly and in a timely manner, feedback will promote a deeper understanding and help students monitor their own progress. One last method is that teachers could model metacognitive thinking during demonstrations to help students see how it works. Hearing how an expert thinks can promote those same thoughts while students work independently. Although it is not an easy thing to teach, if students can have a metacognitive approach to learning, they can take control of their own learning goals and monitor their own progress. This, in the end, is the goal of education; " to prepare students for flexible adaptation to new problems and settings" (p. 77) and to generate self-sustaining, lifelong learners. As an educator, I believe that it is necessary for me to have as many tools in my toolbox as possible so that I am able to accommodate student needs, personalize learning and improve my instruction. For me, that means I must keep myself up to date and well-researched on past, present and future learning theories and pedagogy. The art of teaching and learning is constantly evolving - now more than ever due to huge advances in technology. Education reform needs to happen to match how much different our society is now than it was when our current educational system was developed. Halverson and Sheridan (2014, pg. 500) argue that if we, as a society, believe that technology empowers our students and prepares them for their future, then we need to do our part and provide them with technological opportunities in school. Teachers must embrace technology and learn how to safely and appropriately incorporate it into lesson plans. Koehler and Mishra (2009, pg. 15) confirm this argument by pointing out the importance of teachers understanding the tech tools they are using before applying them into the classroom. Technology is one more tool that I can integrate into my classroom to not only help me achieve my goals as an educator but more importantly, to help my students become successful learners and contributors in society in the twenty-first century. Reference Bransford, J. D., Cocking, R. R., & Brown, A. L. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Expanded Edition. National Academies Press. Halverson, E.R. & Sheridan, K. (2014). The Maker Movement in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495-465. Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Learning and leading with technology. Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/learn. |
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