Photoshop Selection Tool Lesson

Save your favorite destination spot!

Save directly from this site using the following steps...
1. Right click image
2. Save Image As...
3. Open from desktop in Photoshop

OR

Click here to download directly from Dropbox

Then choose your new background! 

Life Back Home

These posts have been a long time coming, but I've finally found three seconds in the crazy schedule to sit down and type!

It's been one year since being back from England, I have found myself saying YES to every opportunity that comes my way. It is very liberating living this way, but also exhausting! 

After completing my dissertation on "The benefits of social networking in the classroom: Flickr in the art room" and PASSING, I moved into the "real life: more work, less naps" stage of life...

While re-adjusting to being back home, I've accepted some jobs including

• Head coach for high school varsity volleyball team
• Head coach for travel club volleyball team
• Substitute teacher
• Visual coordinator at local yoga studio
• Art Consultant at a nursing home
• Art Director for summer camp
• Head coach for NCAA DIII Volleyball team

So yes, things have been a little crazy, but are looking up. 

Message to all my supporters: keep your fingers crossed I can land a full time art teaching position soon!!

"Fortune favors the bold"

More to come...

First School Visit: Durham Johnston

I made my first school visit to secondary school, Durham Johnston.

Upon arrival, I was shown around the school with two students from Ms. Browns class. They took us on a tour and my first thought was "WOW!" The sheer size of the shool was amazing. The school was just three years old so everything was fresh and clean still. The rooms were built for specific purposes. There were 3 computer labs, a cooking room, sewing room, 3 art rooms with a darm room, studio space, and laptops for students to add. Each room was equipped with a smartboard and books for students.
Students were not expected to bring books to and from class. Things were left in cabinet in the classroom so the teacher could grade work, and students can have everythign back the next day class was in session.
I thought this was a great system. Students would never be unprepared for class.

When I saw the number of artrooms I was extremely excited. I wanted to hang out in there all day. Because the school is funded by the government, there is no worry about not having enough budget for the art supplies. Students were working on 5x5 ft canvas oil paintings. And may I say, in the number of schools I've observed, the work done by the students in this school was exceptional.
After speaking with one of the teachers, she had said the students have won national awards based on their paintings and charcoal work.
I can say their work inspired me to buy myself some supplies here and get to creating!!

I am sure I will be heading back to this school to investigate and observe some of her classes. I definitely appreciate coming across a great, inspiring, art teacher :)

SynergyNet Project

During one of my first classes I learned about this really cool system in some English classes.

It's called the SynergyNet Project. A professor at Durham has been researching this concept of a Multi Touch room.

Students are set up at multiple tables throughout the classroom. It is in a sense, I giant ipad. Students are able to search for content, move things around for easier understanding. There is also interaction between tables. Students can fling an image or piece of information from their table, to their neighbors.

The teacher has a smartboard up front that connects to all of the tables. When they want to bring focus to one tables information, they can pull up an image of the table at the moment. Everyones tables freeze and students are sent in another direction for the project at hand.

VERY COOL!

Students are greatly attracted to this kind of product. Just imagine a child with a regular ipad in front of them, they love it. This is bigger, better, and everyone has one and can interact at the same time.

 If you want to check out more information, click here.

New Adventures in Education: England

After graduating from SUNY New Paltz, I decided to continue my education and go out to get my masters! What better way to do this, than go to Durham University in Durham, England!

I flew out in September and have been here for four months. I am playing volleyball for the University as well. Everything is a bit slower, people are much more patient.  They may speak English, but the classes and way of living here is definitely different.
Instead of taking multiple 3 credit courses, I am taking 5 modules.

These include:
Dissertation- pretty much my thesis
Research Methods- Prepping and ways of researching for your dissertation
Arts in Education- Super excited about this class! Can't way to see the different ways students are taught in the art room.
Special Education Needs (SEN)- Course directed towards special needs students and how to work with them in the classroom.
21st Century Technology- I'm hoping this course assists me while I am trying to figure out what my dissertation is going to be focused on... It should be cool though, learning about the technology England offers

The way modules run is very different. You are expected to take 24 hours of class, spread out over a month or so, or just a weekend based on the type of class it is. When you complete the main portion of the class, you have a summative assignment which is 15 pages long and argues a point or subject from the class. That's it. No test, no class participation. Just one essay that decides your grade for the class.
The dissertation is the largest focus though, that takes the most time. You are expected to have a research topic and conduct research to aid your paper. It is 43 pages long.... That'll be fun...when I get to it.

Should be interesting! I'll be keeping track of my dissertation on here most likely. My main idea is covering the concept of using social media in the classroom.. if anyone has any info, feel free to share!

Student Teaching Part 2: Gayhead Elementary School

After leaving a wonderful experience at the New Paltz Middle School, I thought my only direction for my next placement could go was down. Little did I know, Mrs. Robinson, the elementary schools art teacher was also an amazing mentor. I learned so much from her as a teacher and peer in the school. Her classroom was extremely organized and displayed all the students work. She had a great relationship with the students and new extremely well where to draw the line between friend and educator.
I hung around the room for a week or so, getting the hang of the way she taught and what the students reacted well to. She had many techniques I took notes on and wanted to incorporate into my teaching style. While I waited, I developed lesson plans and projects.
The projects I did with the students included:

1st grade
Van Gogh Trees- this project may have been a little better for a higher age level, second or third grade. Students had a hard time connecting paintbrush to paper. But, the end results were so cute! Students learned A LOT of techniques and names of styles in this lesson. After reading Sky Tree, by Thomas Locker, students were asked to make their own tree and use color schemes for a particular season.

2nd grade

The Big Orange Splot- The introduction for this lesson icluded a class book reading of "The Big Orange Splot." Students then learned how to mix paint to create the color orange. They then created their own ink blot and had to decide what they saw in the image! Very cool. They were asked to draw on top of the dried paint and recreate whatever they had imagined the splot to be. We spoke about contrasting colors and negative space. Each student also wrote the story of what they saw in their big orange splot.

 

3rd grade

Texture Boxes- After I dressed myself up as Louis Nevelson to introduce this lesson, students learned about Nevelson as an artist and what texture was. They were asked to make their own texture boxes that would create an installation when combined with classmates work. Thank goodness my mentor teacher had tons of materials for this! We used laundry detergent caps, wood, buttons, straws, tissue paper, pinecones..  When students finished their boxes I brought them all outside and spray painted them according to class. This class came back and saw their pieces all gold! The reactions were extremely rewarding and they kids loved to see their work together. They conducted a quick write up about texture, what they see in other students boxes and what they learned from the lesson. This was on display in the hallways and students recieved MANY complements on the lesson. It was abstract but eye grabbing!

4th grade
Nature Books- Students in these classes learned how to create an accordian book and what drawing from observation meant. They were asked to explore outside for interesting materials that they can bring into the classrom. After gathering supplies from outside, they came back and explored the art materials such as painting, watercolor, printing, and drawing.

5th grade
Calder Balloons- This project was definitely a bit of a challenge for this age group. I would love to try it again with 7th graders and see if it was a bit more productive. The main goal for this project was to learn about artist Alexander Calder and create hollow balloon like structures with facial expressions. Using balloons, students wrapped glue-y yarn around the balloon. The base was a primary color and once dried, yarn was again applied to create a loopy facial expression that the student chose in black. Students at this age seemed to have an extremely hard time working the motor skills to control the balloon. After a first failed attempt, I made the balloons smaller. This worked a bit better, but even then students had a hard time keeping the yarn tight from falling off the balloon. Again, an older group would have had a bit of an easier time with this project. In the end, I finished the base for some balloons that had no hope. Students created the face on top and the next day in class, they showed up to their spheres hanging in the front of the room.

This was as well a marvelous experience. I spoke a lot with Mrs. Robinson outside of the classes about how I can improve my teaching and communication with the students. She gave me a ton of feedback for growth and expanding. I would hope to go back one day to see the classes and school again. I greatly enjoyed my experiences student teaching and I often reminisce about how great it was!

Student Teaching Part 1: New Paltz Middle School

After sitting back and rethinking my experiences student teaching, I've decided to get back into the swing of things and post my experiences to share with you. I began my first placement at the New Paltz Middle School with Kim Sturgis. This was an amazing experience. Because I was at this school for my internship, it was an easy transition into teaching the students straight away.

Many say middle schools contain students at "the worst age level" and it is the most frustrating to teach. But I have to say I think I enjoyed it the most. Students are at the age where they are learning about themselves and experiencing new things. I feel this is the age where good teachers are most crucial. I found students respected me as a teacher because I did not try to speak at them rather with them. I found many students felt comfortable speaking with me after class. I also tried to direct my lessons to things students find interesting or are experiencing at this time in their lives. This was helpful for them and myself because students were engaged in the projects.

My lessons in the middle school included :
6th grade
Clay amulets

·      Historical and Cultural introduction to Amulets and good luck charms

·      Jewelry making: Use of wire, beads, hemp to create finished jewelry piece

·      Ceramics: Use of earthenware clay and glaze to create amulet

Doodle for Google
 This years theme was to create a doodle for google "If I could travel anywhere in time, I would go..." Students were asked to create a well thought out doodle and 50 word write up based on their design. End results were great!

7th grade
Word Locker Project- This project was introduced by my mentor teacher and I assisted in the final stages to complete the project. This created an easy transition into the next project
Facebook Project- This was an amazing experience to have while teaching. I introduced social media into the art room. Students needed to create a Facebook for an American Artist. The students had a requirement to learn about an artist. As requested, my teacher asked me to think of a way students can learn from eachother. What better way than introducing something the students may already do at home. I created a template and the students simply had to do the research and plug in the information found. It was a fun and exciting way to change the learning style.

Results were great! Trust me! I am still in the process of figuring out how to post these end products...

8th grade
Elements of Art Project- This was a requirement for the class, for the students to learn about the Elements of art before the leave for high school. I turned this into a group project, students made a poster that would be displayed in the front of the classroom describing the Elements of Art.

 

Sell That Logo Project- A quick transition from the Elements of Art Project, students were in groups and had to create a logo for a company based on their needs and the situation at hand.  Students liked this project because we used companies that were in their own town. Companies they knew and went to every day!

Grafitti Project- 

Students will create stencils expressing concerns of change within their school and community through a collaborative graffiti work by using spraypaint and printmaking techniques. Students had a hard time with the stencil concept but once they practiced and worked with the exacto knives they began enjoying the project and idea of  "grafitti"ing the school.

I also was able to help with the set of the schools play, Mulan. I worked side by side with the students creating backdrops, decorations, and more. This was extremely beneficial for me because I was able to allow students from my class to stay after school to work on their projects. I often had a full class of students working outside of their art class. This is the kind of environment I'd like to create in my own classroom. The art room is somewhere students can be free to explore materials, be comfortable in school, and learn about themselves as they grow up.

Overall, I had an extremely positive experience at the New Paltz Middle School. I will forever think of Kim Sturgis and the students at the school as a group that has impacted my life. The school had an amazing sense of community where the students spoke with the teachers, educators were always watching hallways making sure students were safe and respecting eachother.