Jessica’s Blog

I really enjoyed the lecture by Norma on Tuesday. I thought it was a clear, concise presentation on blended learning. However, I wish her powerpoint notes were available for us to review.

I thought I would share blended learning by telling you about a lesson I pulled out of thin air one day. I was totally unprepared for school that day (too much graduate school . I went into school early and found the copies of an interview with Jill Greenberg in American Photo sitting on my desk. The copies had been made a month ago and were waiting for a day like today. Having just received my DLP projector, I was eager to use it. I thought, I should show them some of her work on the projector, it will be much more vivid than the photocopies on the interview. So I went to the artist’s website, manipulator.com. On her website she had a link for press, so I checked it out. Turns out there was a link to a podcast interview with a photo magazine.. perfect.

That day in class I handed out the interview and asked students to highlight things they thought were interesting. They shared their comments, and were very intrigued with her work. Next we listened to her interview which went into more depth about her controversial exhibit, called Endtimes, while I browsed through the online gallery projected on the board. The photos  are portraits of toddlers, crying and sobbing with huge tears and swollen eyes. The portraits are taken in a studio, using a silvery shimmering light that makes the toddlers look like plastic dolls. In the podcast Jill talks about how she made the children cry by taking candy away, and why she uses children because of their raw emotion. However, her critics call her a child abuser, and her titles are directed at the Bush administration and churches. She shares her opinions that the toddlers don’t have as good of a future because of his administration, and that is what they are crying about.

About half my students live on an Army base, so I was interested in hearing what they thought of this exhibit. I assigned students to write a mock letter to the editor responding to the article and Jill Greenburg’s exhibit. I had a lot of laughs reading those letters, but more than that a lot of satisfaction at the end of the day. With my tablet and DLP I was able to bring my student’s the real world, controversy, and beauty. Even if they disagreed with her tactics for making the toddlers cry, almost every student commented on the beauty of her silvery lighting. The best part was I didn’t have to prepare this lesson for weeks. I just had to find a few good resources.  

To me, this was blended learning because it recognized visual and audio learning styles, incorporated multimedia, real world issues and controversies; plus, students evaluated the issues and communicated their opinions.

Best of all, it didn’t require a lot of time on my part, nor did it rely on technology too much. I didn’t have to worry about log on trouble, broken links, blocked websites, or students off task. The whole class participated and engaged in dialogue.

I can’t do this every day, but it reminded me to use the lovable KISS method. When I am relaxed and having fun, so are the kids. Besides, they would much rather listen to a professional photographer talk about her own work, than me talk about it for her!

There is a new trend in art education called “Visual Culture Art Education”. VCAE draws attention to teaching students how to be more aware of the thousands of images they encounter on a daily basis. Students will learn how to decipher meaning, messages, and design tactics that draw their attention. My webquest uses VCAE as students examine the media’s influence on their lives and transform the meaning into a message of their own.

I found a great resource for integrating VCAE it is from the Center For Media Literacy. The site had some good resources I used in my webquest (see brainstorm link). Another resource I found that will empower my students is a PBS video called, The Merchants of Cool. The video talks about how much money is spent on advertising to teens.

My webquest will empower my students to examine the world of commercial art by participating in it. They will use professional tools such as digital cameras, studio lighting, and Adobe Photoshop to create a professional quality ad campaign for a product they design. Students will be motivated by transforming their own wants and desires into a new product.

Right now I still have to add information to my webquest. I believe I already have a challenging task, prompts, and open-ended questions. I need to add performance tips, content-rich resources, and evaluation.

I teach Photography and Graphic Design, so I looked at art quests. Almost every art quest I found focused on art history. However, I want to create a webquest that yeilds a creative product. 

I liked watching the Apprentice and the challenge of completeing a creative task with a team. My idea for a webquest came from thinking about the Apprentice and my new graphic design class I am starting next spring. The task teaches students to think like graphic designers by playing different roles in graphic design, using teamwork, and thinking outside the box.

Here is a bare-bones introduction to the task:

You have $50,000 to invent and promote a new product. Your company consists of three experts:

1. Product Designer
2. Commercial Photographer
3. Graphic Designer

Your company will work together along the way, but first you need to become experts in your field.

Next, I will have the students find some background on the different roles. For example, the product designer will learn about effective packaging for the product. The photographer will study lighting, and the graphic designer will study advertising. Students will have to write a proposal explaining their product, target audience, message, and approach.

The final product will be an advertisement promoting the product.

I am considering a few additions:

• Option of adding a commercial component.
• Giving out mock money to students which they can use to buy the mock products. The company that makes the most mock money will win. I could include some economics about setting a pricepoint.
• Having guest graphic designers and commercial photographers come in for a day so students can ask questions relating to their roles. If I can’t get any guests to come in, then maybe we could get an email corrospondence going. I think some design firms would be happy to have their employees mentoring high school kids.

Some skills the groups will learn and use along the way:

• Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Digital SLR, Studio Lighting, Layout, Type, Visual Communication, Marketing, Printing, Teamwork, Career knowledge

Let me know what you think, any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. I need a catchy title!