Creating Community and Engagement with Video

Much has happened since my last post. I have a year of Graphic Design under my belt, a new show for my school's Live Stream channel, and lots of new tricks up my sleeve. It has been a wild ride and I continue to love teaching online!

Last year, my school introduced EPAC (ECOT Public Access Channel), a place where students can attend field trips live from home as well as view educational content. Color Me Happy was then born, an art show that is accessible for all ages. In our district, we do not have a stand-alone art course that students take in elementary grades so I wanted to give students a place to get some art making instruction. Check out one of my episodes below!



In addition to Color Me Happy, we continue to explore areas of interest involving Art around the state of Ohio. As always I find video to be a great way to engage students and build community.



I have big goals for this 2017-2018 school year including a use of new technology tools like our 3D printers, vinyl cutter, and laser cutter. I can't wait to give my Graphic Design students a taste of professional design equipment later this year. Stay tuned for more updates!

Welcoming

Over the last week I have been preparing my classroom for students. Now, of course that doesn't mean I am putting up posters or arranging chairs and supplies. For me, it's all digital organizing. I've been pulling web content together from my Gold Course (houses all of the Art 1 curriculum pages) and making my own adjustments. One of these adjustments includes a welcome video message to my students which I hope will help ease their fears of being judged on talent in my class. A common barrier I run into with students is their belief that they cannot draw, and therefore will fail my class. I spend many phone calls convincing them that this isn't true. This year I created a video to address this concern right away, and it also let's them see my face on their first day.

I also created another Glass video about my Pattern Project. I am hoping to engage and excite students with these videos year. Tomorrow, my students begin the 2013-2014 school year. I look forward to our adventures!

Preparing for a Better Year, Every Year

I have had a long and exciting summer and I getting very excited for the 2013-2014 school year to begin. Between new technology tools, implementing common core standards, and carrying out SLO's, we are in for some big changes. I am working on bettering my asynchronous content through more varied visual examples. At the end of last school year, I surveyed my students about how they best learned in my class. The results surprised me.

I had an idea that my WebEx lessons (live/synchronous lessons) would score highly with my students, but I was surprised at how helpful they found my step-by-step instructions. Last school year only 2-3 of my lessons actually had step-by-step lessons pages. Therefore, I have big goals for this year! I know that I want to implement step-by-step guides and videos into every lesson in my asynchronous content. Google Glass continues to be an innovative and convenient way to do this. Below are two new lessons that are ready to go for my classroom. One is a step-by-step guide, and one a video, both made using Glass.

Collaboration Between Students

Last week we closed up the first semester and I said farewell to my students. Two of those students are particularly special to me as they created an experience I didn’t expect to see in my large course of over 200 students. These students met in my class and became close friends. Every week of this semester I held an optional art sharing and critique day and the students who attended really gained a lot in their discussion skills and many of them created art outside of class to share during these sessions. Nearing the end of our class, I presented a project about Cubism in which students create two pieces of art, one being realistic and then a version of the first piece that reflects Cubism. The two students who became close friends asked me if they could work together and instead of changing their own pieces of art to reflect Cubism, they would like to change each other’s. The students met in our art critique sessions each week and shared in progress work while myself and their other classmates gave feedback. My students were able to collaborate and successfully completed the project, working off of each other's pieces of art to change them. It was a very positive experience for myself as a teacher to watch these motivated students work together (without the ability to speak with each other outside of class or in person). Next semester, I am planning to work with my Art 5 students to collaborate on a virtual class art show and I have high hopes for them after seeing these students use the tools and time we have to work together. Below you’ll see their finished pieces. 

"Realistic" by Barbara

"Cubist" by Bowen

"Realistic" by Bowen

"Cubist" by Barbara

Developing an Online/Blended Studio Art Course

I have recently been asked by a former cooperating teacher to share my incites about creating an online art class. His department is being asked to do this for their brick and mortar school. So many schools are starting to create blended learning programs within their schools and I decided to share my ideas I'll be presenting to these teachers here as well.

Important Points to Remember

• Set a timeline and due dates-This allows a flexible class to still have structure and keep students on track with their work. See image to the left.
• Provide multiple forms of instruction (written instructions, visuals, student examples, videos)-You should provide everything you would in a traditional classroom but in a digital format. If you were to do a demonstration, make a video. Images of artwork and student examples can really get students interested and communicate the content better.
• Provide multiple forms of assessment (quizzes check reading, project demonstrates mastery, reflection questions show understanding)-I use projects as the biggest form of assessment in my classroom but I find quizzes and written work show another view of what students understand and are taking home from each lesson.
• Simple materials unless provided-Unlike the traditional classroom where you order supplies, in many cases students need to provide their own. Keep it simple when choosing supplies keeping in mind safety and cost.
• Be available for questions-Students need to know they can reach you if they need help by email, telephone, or in person.
• Give feedback for every grade-Written feedback is essential for communicating to students who are working independently about how they can improve or what they are successful at. In my classroom students are also able to make corrections and resubmit work for a better grade. This is something I have found to work well but it is up to you.

Sample Lessons

For a complete look at all the elements I include in the lesson visit my What Does a Lesson Look Like? post.
Here I have provided some images of what the curriculum pages look like in my classroom.

 

Art 1 Sample Lesson

This Art 1 lesson includes many visuals, some vocabulary, and many written instructions for students because this is an introductory course. I also included a video in this lesson to show what it looks like when someone is doing the shading techniques. I encourage students to include objects in their still life that tell a story. For most Art 1 projects they have a week to complete them.

 

Art 5 Sample Lesson

By contrast, this Art 5 lesson includes lesson visuals, more writing, and a project about concept rather than technique. The students in Art 5 should have much more experience in working independently on projects and are working on creating a portfolio for colleges. For Art 5, students have multiple weeks to complete projects but I ask for in progress work checks to provide feedback and direction when needed.

Remembering to Make a Difference

I have spent the last two days filling up my brain with new knowledge about teaching. I learned about motivating students, new technology I can use, how to involve parents and guardians, and various other techniques to improve my teaching strategies. I am excited to implement new multimedia into my classroom and to increase attendance of my live lessons. I am excited to try new ways of motivating students to make the right choices in their education despite their many barriers. I am excited to work even more closely with my inclusion teacher in a more effective way that helps us be a team. However, I took home more than just helpful tools this week. I was reminded of a philosophy that sometimes gets pushed to the backs of our minds. As teachers, we are here to change lives, to teach students more than simply our subject matter. Our first keynote speaker, Steve Gilliland told a story about the 5 people in his life who have made the biggest difference, one being his 6^th grade teacher. I remember the teachers who impacted my life and who made me want to do the same. Sometimes as teachers we get sucked in to our daily tasks. For me its grading, making PowerPoints, and trying to reach out to those reluctant students I have in my classroom. And sometimes they get lumped together and its call after call and answering machine after answering machine that I am speaking to. But Steve’s story reminded me that I want to be the teacher that students tell stories about later in life, long after they are no longer students. I want remind students that they CAN do it, and that someone believes in them. Though I have been learning about new tech programs and approaches I can use in my classroom, the fact is that none of this matters without remembering to make a difference. I can craft the most wonderful lessons and creative projects but at the end of the day I must always remember my purpose. I am a teacher and I am here to change lives. Every moment of extra time I take to learn about a student and talk on the phone about things that don’t always have to be about art class, every time I stop to appreciate a student’s work, or commend a student on working through a personal challenge, these are the moments that matter. My goal now as I move into the end of the first quarter of our school year is to marry my new knowledge of practical skills with my enduring passion for teaching to make my students successful not only in my class but in life.

Preparing for the New School Year

At last, a new school year is here! I have been working since last Friday to get prepared to make 2012-2013 another excellent year in my classroom. As with any classroom, preparing the environment for students is crucial for starting the year off right. I spent much of my time in the spring making changes to lessons from the school year that needed improvements and clarification. Those changes went into the “Gold Course”, an index of lesson web pages we can import into our classes for the next year. Having made these changes when they were fresh in my mind made setting up online content go smoothly this week. I have imported all of the lessons into my Art 1 and 5 classrooms to get them ready for students to start next week. In online teaching much of the prep to get the classroom ready can be done in the beginning of a semester, leaving the semester to focus on teaching, grading, and working with students. Over the summer many technological updates were made to the systems we use at my school, including a new grading scale, scheduling of live session changes, and a new homepage template. They also updated many of the databases we use to record data. One of the wonderful things about technology is that it is always making our work online more seamless and therefore it is easier to help our students the best ways we can. It’s a little like getting a present when we come back from summer and find new technological tools we can use. One of the changes I am most excited about is the new grading scale and the matching grade book that comes with it. We have moved to a uniform way of grading on a 4-point scale that allows letter grades to be equally spaced. For example 4=A, 3=B, 2=C and so on. Because of the grading change, we have a new grade book to go with it that automatically implements the new policy. The technological tools and the policies work together to make this change effective and clear for students and teachers. Some of my goals for the year will be creating more video content for Art 1 and making more connections to the common core standards that will be implemented by 2014-2015. I will keep you all posted about my progress with that this year and other exciting information from the online art classroom. As always, thanks for reading!

Sick Day

This week I have come down with a cold and yesterday I took a sick day to try to get myself better. This is the first sick day I have ever taken as a teacher and I started to think about the preparations I would have needed to make had I been in a traditional brick and mortar classroom. In the online classroom, substitute teachers are only needed when teachers are out for a number of weeks. This means I did not need to write sub plans. Though I was out, my classroom kept functioning for students. I was not able to answer questions via phone but catching up from yesterday was fairly simple. I replied to emails and returned voicemails. This same concept applies to my students as well for when they might be sick or out for several days. I do not need to re-teach content and that student should not get too far behind. Students also attend school when teachers are at professional development meetings, another day they would have had off. During winter and spring break many of my students logged on to catch up on missing work and they had access to recordings of lessons and content. Online learning is not bound by time constraints or holidays, which provides flexibility for all.

What Does a Lesson Look Like?

Screen shots of lesson pages

This week I am teaching a lesson about color theory and I realized I have not actually shown how the classroom looks for students as they complete a lesson. Translating content from the traditional classroom to online means presenting all of the content you would have lectured about, demonstrated, or delivered in other activities in a way that can be understood using only web pages in the classroom. It is important that the content be engaging and clear to help students understand without a teacher standing in front of them delivering the content. All online education platforms look different but I will share elements I believe to be important for framing an art lesson in my classroom.

Important Elements of an Online Art Lesson:

1.    Introduction-I use the introduction page to explain to student what they will be learning for the lesson or unit. The page also offers a printable version of all classroom content for students who prefer to work away from their computers.

2.     Content: This is what I would describe as the online “text book”. This is where students read about new content that I also deliver in my live lessons. I include images to engage students and promote understanding of art concepts.

3.    Assignment: Most weeks students complete one art project for my class. The assignment page lays out the instructions for the project and some requirements I am looking for.

4.    Examples: Just like many brick and mortar art teachers show teacher examples and student exemplars in person, I share them online. Students can use this page to get a better idea of what the assignment could look like.

5.     Demonstration Video: For some lessons myself and other art teachers in my team create demo videos to show student techniques for their projects. This is just like doing a demo in the brick and mortar classroom, but students can pause and watch as many times as they need!

6.    Practice: For some lessons I offer students a way to practice their new knowledge in a risk-free non-graded worksheet or web page. This week students can use this work sheet to remember different color schemes for their quiz.

7.    Quiz: I implemented a quiz for this assignment to measure student understanding of the different color theory terms. This also encourages students to read the content because they know they are being held accountable for knowing it.

8.    Rubric: Like many art teachers, I recognize that grading art is difficult! I include rubrics for each lesson that remind students and myself of what I am looking for in their work.

This is the first time I have used this project in Art 1 so I am excited to see what the results will be. I will share student examples when they are completed.

Writing New Curriculum for Art 5

Snapshot of the current Art 5 classroom

 Throughout the year I have learned many techniques that work well for teaching art online in my Art 1 class. I have been offered the opportunity to teach Art 5 next year and I want to put my learning to use when creating this class. There is an old Art 5 curriculum in place but it has not been used for a number of years and I would like to put some of my ideas to use. Art 1 is a very large class with around 200 students, which makes some ideas I’ve had more difficult to put into action. The purpose of the Art 5 class will be for students to prepare portfolios for art schools so that will be my end goal for students. Knowing this, I will focus on portfolio development and artist statements as an advanced art class in a brick and mortar school would as well. I have been brainstorming ideas specific to teaching an advanced art class online that will help my students get a rich experience and come out with beautiful portfolios.

An issue I have always run into in Art 1 is the limited supplies. Because Art 1 is an introductory class and many students need to take it, the supply list is rather basic. For Art 5 I plan to let students decide the media they want to work with in their assignments. I will include a manual of basic instructions for many art materials so students can get ideas and decide what they can afford and would like to work with. This will allow students to experiment with new media or work with something they are comfortable with so their portfolio really shows who they are as an artist.

My assignments in Art 1 are very structured, however I want to try more broad assignments with my Art 5 students. Students will have at least two pieces they need to plan, design, and create. They will fill out a planning sheet that describes their concept, what supplies they need, and a time line for their creation. Teaching online as I have said before, does not allow me to see the whole process of a student’s art making. In Art 5 I want to work towards more in progress critiques as a class in WebEx, but also between teach and student. I will require students to turn in sketches and partially completed pieces for feedback so they may improve the work before it is done. Though I might allow up to four weeks for a student to finish a piece I will require them to show me something each week.  

I have created a rich community of students in my Art 1 class through live sessions and a discussion board in the classroom. Students post artwork they like and that they have created in and outside of class for their classmates to see. Since the beginning of the semester the “Share Your Art” discussion board has been viewed more than 600 times! I plan to continue this idea in Art 5 as a place for students to share ideas with their classmates when a live session is not going on. I hope to create a community between these students in the small group class that it will be. I also believe that using the discussion board as well as WebEx sessions to share their work will motivate students and hold them accountable for completing work on time.

I am excited to put everything I’ve learned into a new course and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

Extracurricular Activities Online: Art Club

The welcome page for Art Club

 
This being my first year teaching, I wanted to get involved in anything and everything at my school so I volunteered to be one of the three Art Club advisors. This is the second year that Art Club has been around at my school. It began last year as a social extracurricular option for high school students. Each month, students come together in WebEx and lead discussions about their favorite artists and their own artwork. Because this is an optional activity, it is not graded and is just for fun! Our Art Club members have the opportunity to participate in the many art contests we hold throughout the year even if they are not enrolled in an art class. The big contest we are working on right now it the senior t-shirt design contest where students submit designs for a t-shirt that 2012 graduates will receive. Students in Art Club are also invited to attend any art field trips to local art museums throughout the year where they can meet other students interested in art and friends they’re made in art club. Last week during our March meeting we shared pictures from our recent trip to New York and students shared their artwork. Our Art Club members are working on a collaborative doodle project where they create doodle drawings on small pieces of paper that has been mailed to them and later my colleagues and myself will combine them into a large collage. We will be completing the project at a family night where students are invited to attend and help with its construction. Art Club is a great opportunity for students to feel involved in their school community.

An Experience Like No Other



Today, three art teachers from my school and I presented at the National Art Education Association Conference in New York City. We presented on the topic "Teaching Art Online: How Does that Work?"

Prior to the beginning of our presentation I was nervous. About to deliver my first ever presentation at a national conference, I was worried about how many people would come or what questions they might ask. Would they find our presentation helpful? I was worried about many scenarios but I was completely surprised by the one that actually occurred.

By the time I looked up from reviewing my notes prior to beginning our session, I saw that the room was almost full. Many people continued to enter as well throughout the presentation and by the end, we ran out of chairs. I was confident that I and my colleagues had put together a presentation that was both visually interesting and dense with information. I had no idea there would be so many interested in what we had to say. Delivering our presentation went smoothly with few questions are we spoke, mostly technology questions that we could answer quickly. The real magic occurred after we concluded our PowerPoint slides. Many people asked us questions about how we connect and relate to our students. People told us they are trying to teach online or they do teach online and they looked to us to learn how they might improve. One girl approached me because she is also researching the question, “Can we teach art online?” and she wants to interview me for her research. I hope this experience leads to more of these types of connections. I feel we presented a vibrant picture of what we do and that not only can art be taught online but it can be taught well. Never have I felt so much like I am not alone or that everyone feels art education online is somehow less relevant to the field. Our audience was excited, interested, and intrigued. Several of my professors from undergraduate school were present to support me and learn what I do and seeing familiar faces in the audience made me so proud of myself to be teaching other art educators in this forum.
I have never thought of myself as a researcher or an expert in anything but now, more than ever, I feel that teaching others about this amazing phenomenon of online learning is exactly where I need to be. I am becoming a resource for those learning about this field and I am already sharing my experiences now. I feel like a valuable part of this profession and I will definitely continue to teach others about the unique experience of teaching art online.



Motivating Students and Other Online Challenges

Danger of failing letter sent home to failing students

I spent today contacting many of my students who have fallen behind or have failed to start my class. It is the 6^th week of the semester but I still have a number of students who have yet to complete any assignments or attend class. How is this possible? One of the biggest challenges of teaching online is motivating reluctant learners. Unlike a traditional classroom where students can be motivated to work by looking their teacher in the eye every day, my students can hide from me. I contact these students through email, phone calls, and most recently letters in the mail. I sent a “danger of failing” letter out to all my students who had not started working about a week ago and since then, many have begun to complete work. However, I still have some stragglers. It is a myth that art teachers do not need to motivate their students to do work because it is a “fun subject”. There will always be students who don’t enjoy my class, but in an online setting students seem more likely to disengage in their learning entirely. I’ve already talked before about how online learning requires more self-motivation from the student than traditional learning, and this fact is extremely clear when looking at reluctant learners. I continue to find new ways to engage these students and I feel it is something I’ll always struggle with.

My mom reminded me of another challenge I face in my online classroom with her question: How can you make sure the work students turn in they actually did themselves since you don't always see them working?

This question is an issue that has inspired a policy at my particular online school. I am required to proctor students about their completed work once every 9 weeks. When I call students about their work, I ask them about their ideas and how they created their artwork. I embrace these moments as a time to really measure and learn what students are retaining and putting into practice. It is also a time where it is easy to tell if a student did not actually make this artwork. Many students who turn in plagiarized work in my classroom are easily caught. With tools like Google Image Search, I can upload the image a student submitted and search for others like it online. I also look for similarities in style between different projects done by the same student. It is easy to see if a student who was struggling is suddenly creating work far beyond their previous skills. Though authenticity will continue to be a challenge, I feel comfortable that my students are being held accountable for what they submit.

Digital Learning Day

Today is the first ever Digital Learning Day, a day where teachers, administrators, and students across the country come together to talk about digital tools in education today. It was exciting for me to witness the innovation in digital learning technology by so many teachers and the effect it is having on students. It is a wonderful experience to work in a technologically advancing field. It was an inspiration to see all the schools and teachers who are using technology and knowing I am not alone in my online classroom.

Digital Learning Day is asking teachers to respond to this question:

How do you make a difference using digital tools?

I provide access to at least 180 high school students every semester from all over the state of Ohio to a high quality education in the fine arts. Many of these students would otherwise not have the opportunity or access to study art or even to graduate high school. By offering school online, students who have been bullied, work or volunteer full time, are parents, are professional athletes or performers, have health issues, or for some other reason could not find their place in a tradition classroom now have the opportunity to attend school at their own pace in their own home. Every day I strive to create a community of self-driven, creative learners and I use technology to encourage that idea. The school where I work has an enrollment of 12,680 students who chosen to be educated through online technology. I am proud to be a part of reaching more students, offering personalized attention to each student, offering a flexible pace, and encouraging students to take charge of their own learning through technology. 

For more information about Digital Learning Day check out http://www.digitallearningday.org/

Assessment Over the Computer Screen

Assessment is always a challenge in Art Education as the field is referred to as subjective where right and wrong are not so black and white as they would be in a subject such as math or science. In a brick and mortar classroom I often graded final projects based on the work I witnessed students completing in the classroom. I was able see their challenges and triumphs, as well as the amount of effort and time they put into it. Therefore, my methods of assessment have changed since moving to an online classroom. I now use three different methods of assessment for each unit. I still use a traditional project that students complete to show their understanding of concepts and techniques. This project also encourages creativity and problem solving as a traditional project would in any art classroom. However, a project alone does not tell me the whole story about my students’ understandings of content. This semester I have added reading quizzes. Students begin each week by reading the lesson content in my classroom much like a textbook chapter. Previously, I had no way of assessing understanding of their readings until I added quizzes. This week I am teaching linear perspective and the quiz that students take help me assess what students are having trouble and what ideas I need to emphasize in my live lessons. The quiz also helps motivate students to read the lesson, which promotes a deeper level of learning. I also use the quizzes as data to determine the success of a particular lesson and to group students by their level of understanding. My special needs teacher can use them to monitor IEP progress based on the reading level of the quiz content. The third way I assess students in my classroom is through reflective questions about the project and student learning. Students answer two questions that often ask them to share their experiences, proof of learning, and changes they would’ve made if they were given the opportunity to do the project again. Reflection encourages critical thinking and growth and helps me understand what students feel they gain through the lesson. Overall, I feel these three methods have been helpful and thorough in measuring student success in my online classroom.

New Beginnings: Welcoming New Students

Like any teacher, the first day of a new year or semester leaves me standing in front of a bunch of strangers wondering what this new group of students will bring. Getting to know this new group of students is important for teaching them, and they must also get to know me. My new semester began last week and I gained 170 fresh faces in my virtual classroom. So, how do I get to know them? How do they get to know me? I take a several steps at the beginning of every semester to build a rapport with my students. When students enter my classroom for the very first time, they are greeted with the opportunity to learn a little bit about me through my “Meet Miss Brown” website. 

I share images and facts about myself like I would if I was beginning the first day of class in a brick and mortar classroom. I email all students and welcome them to the course as well, and I include some helpful hints of where to find important information and where they can reach me. During the first and second week of any new class, I like to call each student and individually welcome them to my class and make sure they know how to use their scanner and answer any other questions they might have. At a number like 170 this can be time consuming, but I feel it is really important that each student knows I am here to help and excited that they are here to learn. 

At this point there is still much for me to learn about my new students. I like to know about their previous art experiences as well as their personal interests. The more I know about my students, the better I can structure my class to meet their needs and build a rapport by helping them incorporate their personal goals and interests into their work. I gather all this information by assigning a survey during the first week of class that students fill out. I learn a lot about them through the surveys and I use the information on a daily basis when I communicate with my students. 

A snippet from my call log I use to keep track of contacting students

I take information from the surveys and enter it into a log. I keep a spreadsheet of every time I contact a student or attempt to contact a student from day one. I started using this method when I subbed as an online teacher last year, but I am convinced that it would be useful in a brick and mortar classroom as well. It is impossible to remember all 170 students, when and what we talked about last, and their interests and hobbies. Having this information at my fingertips helps me engage reluctant learners and build a rapport with each student. When I call and check in on that test they were worried about passing that we talked about two weeks ago, the student knows I really care and that I am paying close attention to them.

By using these steps in my classroom I am setting up for a successful semester for all. I am excited for another great Art 1 class!

In Their Words

Last week I finished up my first semester as an online art teacher. I asked students to complete a final test, which included some vocabulary and history but largely consisted of essay questions. I have chosen one question from the final to share that I think really shows how my students felt about their experience in an online art class.

The Question: 
Often times, the arts (music and fine art) are cut from schools for budgeting reasons. Imagine that you are at a school board meeting and art is about to get cut from the school. Share 3 reasons why the art program should not be cut from the school.

The Answers:

“Art programs should not be cut from the school because 1. art allows students to show their creativity. 2. Art brings out everyone's inner thoughts, it allows them to express their feelings. 3. As a student that's been in art, since she can remember, I am not such a good artist. But being in art, I just begin doing a project, and can't stop. It helps me stay calm, as for other classes I am stressing, art allows me to let out that stress. When I pick up a pencil, I feel all the tension being released on the paper. Art is like music in ways, music releases stress for some people, as art does for others.”

“Art programs, just as athletics or other educational programs, allow people to find talents they might not have known they had, and work together to hone those talents. We have to remember that not everyone thrives only on academics, and that many of the men and women we revere in our culture; we revere because of their art. Further more, these revered artists among us may never have succeeded if it wasn't for the support and motivation of their teachers and mentors. It is my opinion that students should be exposed to the broadest spectrum of learning experiences possible. This way there is a greater chance that those in school can find a vocation, talent, or passion, that they can develop and possibly turn into a career or contribution to society someday.”

“Art programs should not be cut from school because it involves critical thinking in deciding how to get work to turn out its best.  Art can bring together different cultures because it is influenced by people from all over the world.  Art has sharing and learning involved as students can share their work and others can learn to improve or show more effort in their work.”

“The art program should not be cut from the school for three main reasons. For starters, art is a way for the students to express themselves and work out their feelings. Art is often times used as a stress reliever. Also, art can provide a satisfying career for people. How else are students to develop their skills and practice, if art is not offered at the school? In order to major in art, colleges require incoming students to present their portfolios. Without art in the high school they came from, that portfolio will be diminished if there has been no formal instruction. Lastly, art provides an opportunity for growth in creativity, and practice in patience and control. In today's world where most things come with instant gratification, art is one thing where the person must invest their time and patience. Art offers an incredible opportunity to practice these skills that are important for later in life. For these reasons, art should remain a program at the school.”

I was so proud to see students showing their passion for the subject of visual arts. Throughout the semester I had the pleasure of watching students become more comfortable creating and sharing art and more knowledgeable about its history. What a positive experience for all!

Oh, How We've Grown

To wrap up my first semester class, I decided to do something fun and special for my students in my live lesson today. The students will complete a final test so I knew I wanted to review for it and I have always wanted to play a jeopardy game in class so I needed to find a way to play a team game through the technology I have. The SMART Exchange has many jeopardy templates for use in SMART Notebook. I built a game using all the questions from the final and today I got to play the game with my students. Can students really play this kind of team game online? Yes! I am consistently surprised at how skilled my students are when it comes to working together in a virtual classroom. I started the lesson with a discussion of several examples of the final project for my class that students had turned in so far. My students have improved so much when it comes to discussing and critiquing art. I am so proud every time I get to see their learning in action. I continued the lesson with my SMART Notebook jeopardy game where I divided my students into two teams and had them discuss with their teammates through the typed chat box. They were so supportive of each other and even rooted for both teams. I concluded the lesson with an inspirational video about creativity and not being afraid to share their art with the world. I was met with many happy comments and thanks for being their teacher. I have developed a real relationship with all of my students this semester. I know their personalities, their artistic styles, and their interests. I truly will miss these students, but I am excited to do it all over again. So, can an online art teacher really get to know her students and create a positive and supportive learning environment? Definitely!
Here are some of the students' final projects:

 

Communicating With Students (pt. 1)

A screenshot of a lesson recording

A common theme in curiosity around distance learning is how teachers communicate with students. Because of the various technologies and formats of online schooling, there are more than a few solutions and not all online schools are the same. In my experience there are five main ways I directly communicate with my students, and they all have their strengths.

Live Instruction: This is probably the way that is most directly connected to what you might see in a traditional brick and mortar school. Twice a week I run a live teaching session in a web conferencing program. Students log in to the program and I open up my virtual classroom. I use various tools to create visual content to show students. My main tool is generally a Powerpoint presentation but I also use SMART Notebook (a virtual SMART board) and I also frequently show videos. I present my visual content while speaking to students over my microphone. Students are able to ask questions via their microphones or by using the chat box and they are able to interact with the lesson content in SMART notebook and Powerpoint by clicking the “raise hand” icon. I make my lessons as interactive as possible and though the lessons are not required for students to attend, many students participate. This method is my favorite way of communicating content to students because I am able to work with a group and I receive a lot of feedback about what is working well with the lesson and what I need to clarify or improve. Another advantage to this method is that every lesson is recorded so students can watch it later. Online schooling offers flexibility for students to do their assignments when they choose, and also to be able to watch lessons when they choose. Imagine this type of technology in a brick and mortar classroom. You have a student who is ill and does not come to school for several days while you are teaching a large amount of new content. All teachers have experienced this, you find yourself working with that student to help him or her catch up on missed lessons. Through the technology I use in my live instruction, recordings of lessons are available for students whenever they need them. The recordings also give me the opportunity to reflect upon past lessons and improve my teaching strategies.

To be continued…