Arts Unite

Wow! You guys had so many interesting things to say about Jennifer's family visit to the art museum. Some of you may know that I don't have any kids to take to events, but being aroung pre-schoolers on a regular basis gives me some experience with this!

Jennifer mentioned needs for museums (and, really, the symphony is a museum as well) to address people with all the senses (or modes of learning, if you will), while Chris defended the "quiet reverie" that people often adopt in a museum and Marcia suggested ways to make learning museum rules fun.

Symphonies and other music entities have adopted various ways of appealing to (and educating) family audiences, with kids' and family concerts featuring works such as Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker along with jeans and popcorn. Check out this 1946 Disney cartoon version of Peter and the Wolf. It's one of my favorite "children's" pieces!


Even as long ago as 1946, orchestras were trying to reach out to younger audiences. I like Fantasia, too. When I was in middle school, my school orchestra went on a field trip to see Fantasia 2000 in theaters. So far, I've mostly been talking about the ways that orchestras and composers change themselves to make their product more accessible to children (like "baby food") with jeans, popcorn, and cartoon characters.

Why can't you take your family to a "serious" orchestra concert, say, a Mahler performance? Or Stravinsky's Rite of Spring? As Jennifer and Chris noted, it comes down to our social conditioning: children traditionally "don't belong" in these settings, and orchestras are doing very little to make Mahler and Stravinsky fun for families.

My pre-schoolers love Stravinsky. When we listen to Rite of Spring during listening time, I set the scene and tell them the "story." (I just tell them it's a really fast dance - I leave out the part where the dancer dies at the end.) They LOVE screaming as loud as possible and dancing as fast as they can.

There are so many options out there for orchestras to make "real" classical music fun for families! Maybe our idea that kids will only like music that's been de-thorned and pre-packaged for them is contributing to the struggling classical music industry. It's definitely time to shake things up!

How would you shake up social norms of non-involvement in order to make classical music fun for families? Screaming and dancing to Rite of Spring? Clapping along with Terry Riley's In C?

We want to know!

If you haven't done so already watch our video "What's your story in the Arts" and then tell us your story. You can check out the post here.

( Image from the DMA website)

Watch our video "What's Your Story in the Arts" and then tell us your story in the comments below!

I loved Joan Miro's art when I was in high school. I considered myself a horrible artist, but as a teen, I really connected to his work. I'm not really sure why, but I think I intuitively understood Miro's sometimes-childlike imagery.

Honestly, I don't know anything about dance. I think I've seen "The Nutcracker" a few times, but I haven't seen much that wasn't on my DVD of Stravinsky ballets.

In my other posts, I've (offhandedly) mentioned the importance of understanding contemporary music in the context of contemporary culture. Today's post will examine the different ways music provides a window into the ways we see ourselves today, and (my) posts for the week will reflect this theme.

In my first post, I talked about the difficulties I was having with teaching my preschoolers Christmas songs for their Christmas pageant. Now it is quickly approaching, and the head teacher has asked me to teach them even more songs!

We have looked closely at the concept of appropriation from the angle of ownership and taking an original art piece and transforming it into a "new" piece. All the same issues and questions can of course be applied to theater, and we challenge you to think about those questions and issues in relation to theater.

But for today let's look at a different side of appropriation, cultural appropriation. This is an issue that is faced in all of the arts particularly with the rise of globalization. Here is an interesting summary of a conference on Asian and African Theatre in Higher Education that was held in the UK, one of the topics it deals with is appropriation. We will look at it from the perspective of theater today but feel free to apply the questions it raises to any of the arts. Rather than me telling you all the issues that cultural appropriation presents I would like to hear from you.... what are your thoughts and experiences?

**note the phrase "cultural appropriation" generally has a negative connotation but you do not need to approach this from a negative point of view, feel free to address the positive aspects as well (the link includes positive issues)

Yesterday we looked at appropriation and how it impacts the dance. Today, let's contemplate appropriation in the visual arts and visual culture.

Here are some questions to contemplate:

What do you consider “fair use” in relation to an artist’s image? What about the image of an individual? When is it OK to “borrow” and image in order to create something new? What constitutes “new”? If someone is inspired by the work of another artist, should it be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place? Does it matter if the new artist has paid for rights to use the original image? Should it still be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place?

Now let’s look at two current examples:

Recently, an image and quote of John F. Kennedy has appeared in a 2009 advertising selling Omega Speed- master watches. (see images below)

JFK is also appears in a TV ad for Omega that uses historical film footage of a speech he gave in 1962. (see clip below)

Omega Speedmaster watches have history with the U.S. space program; as does JFK, Omega is linking the two by association. There was never any agreed upon endorsement.
It is important to note that there is not copyright infringement here. Omega obtained the required permissions to use the JFK material from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston. The amount they paid for the use of the image has not been revealed publicly, but there is a drawing of the library building in the lower left hand corner of the ad with a line urging readers to “learn more” by visiting the JFK Library at their website, http://www.jfklibrary.org/. So it is possible this was part of the agreement.



Does this impact how you feel about the appropriation of this image?

Here is the second example…

This image is also of JFK, it was taken on the day of his assignation. It appears in an advertising flyer for a bicycle race which created much controversy around the DFW area. (See image below)

You can see the image on the bike shops website here.

The really interesting part is that the image that was creating all this controversy was not even an original image; it was actually copied from a 1978 Misfits album cover “Bullet.” (see image below)



So this begs the question whose image is it? Did anyone have the right to use the image of JFK in the first place? How does appropriation of images impact the way you teach?

For the next few days let’s take a look at appropriation and how it impacts the arts. Today, let's contemplate appropriation in dance. Here are some questions to contemplate.

What do you consider “fair use” in dance? When is it OK to “borrow” choreography? Should the movement be reinvented or different entirely? What about reproductions of other’s work, and the quality of the dance. Is there a problem is the dancers can’t execute the movement in the way it was originally intended? Or perhaps there is there something interesting and unique about that failure? If someone is inspired by the work of another choreographer, should it be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place?

To read more about this issue check out this article on choreographer Julia Rhoads and her position on the use of copyright and appropriation.

To start off our theme this week of appropriation and ownership issues in the arts, today's music post will discuss these problems.

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras was obsessed with music and math, and considered them to be two related forms of the language of God. Today we'll look at some resources that explore music and math.

Bouncing off of the previous two days posts on integrating Dance with Math and Visual Arts with Math lets finally look at a lesson plan that integrates theater and math together. This lesson plan along with several others came from this site.



Can You Measure Up?

Lesson Overview:
After reading Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel's book Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!, primary students will engage in dramatization and a variety of measuring activities that include estimation, equivalents, and elapsed time. Students will work collaboratively to conduct measuring "experiments", record their findings, and present their findings in final reports.

Length of Lesson:
Three 45 minute class periods

Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades K-2.


Instructional Objectives:

Students will:
dramatize a story using facial expression, roleplaying, and improvisation.
identify and use common organizational structures such as chronological order.
work collaboratively in lab groups to conduct "experiments" about the following concepts: time measurement, subdivision of units, equal parts, and estimation as a strategy.
demonstrate understanding of these concepts through presentation of their findings in oral reports and written essays.



Supplies:

For the Teacher:
*Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

For the Student:
*Chart paper
*Book
*Coffee can
*Rulers
*Tape measures
*Several balls of yarn
*Scissors
*Clock with second hand
*Pencils
*Markers
*Dice
*Measuring cups
*Measuring spoons
*Rice, dried corn, peas and/or beans
*Pitcher
*Newspaper
*Roll of plastic
*Masking tape
*Water

Instructional Plan:

Warm Up
Ask students if they have ever cooked anything by themselves or with another family member or friend. Have students share information about the dishes they have had experience preparing. Then ask them to list important components they needed in order to prepare their dish, such as ingredients, directions, kitchen tools, etc. Make a list of these items on a chart.

Directed Instruction
Tell students that today they will hear a story about animals that make strawberry shortcake, but run into a few problems along the way. Read the story Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! As you read the story, ask students to listen carefully for the problems encountered by the characters. Tell students to raise their hands if they hear a problem. Call on one student and ask them to pretend they are talking to that animal and attempt to clear up the misunderstanding. An example in the story is when Iguana dashes outside to get the flour and comes back with a petunia.

Pick a student, who has raised his/her hand, to explain to Iguana why a petunia is the wrong kind of flour. Explain that there are many words in the English vocabulary that sound the same but are spelled differently. Ask students if they can list any of these. Write them on the board as students list these words. Explain that these types of words are called homonyms. Examples include "bear" and "bare", "hear" and "here", etc. After one or more students have had a turn to clear up Iguana's misunderstanding, continue reading and find out how Rooster resolves the misunderstanding. Continue reading the story and allow students to correct the mistaken conclusions.

After finishing the story, tell the students they will get a chance to dramatize the story. Have students list the characters in the story. You may want to discuss traits of each character. Have students determine the setting of the story. Then ask students how they will set up the classroom to become the setting for their dramatization. Chart a brief retelling of the sequence of events so students will be ready to dramatize. Choose four students to play the roles of Rooster, Iguana, Turtle and Potbellied Pig. The other students can be the Dog, Cat, Goose and the audience. (Note: You will play the narrator for the first performance.)

Using the book, tell the story with the students recreating the individual parts. When you come to each character's part, students will improvise dialogue using their own words but keeping in line with the story. (Some students will want to use the exact language in the book while more confident students may naturally improvise. Both choices are acceptable.) Discuss beforehand the meaning of improvisation and give students a few examples. You may wish to repeat this process giving all students a chance to play individual parts and also act as narrator. Dramatize several times so most students get a chance to play a main role. As students repeat the dramatization, they will become more comfortable and begin improvising more. Leave the book out for students to read on their own time or to use for extension activities (see Extensions section.)

For the next class, have the following centers set up with all appropriate materials before students arrive:

Center 1: Supplies for this center include Reading and Understanding Three-Digit Numbers worksheet, pencils, and dice.
Center 2: Supplies for this center include Estimating Size worksheet, pencils, balls of yarn, books, coffee cans, rulers or tape measures, or both.
Center 3: Measuring Supplies for this center include Data Sheet for Measuring worksheet, pencils, newspaper or plastic to cover table, measuring cups, measuring spoons, dry ingredients such as rice beans or corn, pitchers of water.
Center 4: Understanding Time Supplies for this center include Data Sheet for Understanding Time, pencils, and a clock with a second hand.

During the math lesson of the day, remind students of the story they heard earlier, Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! Ask students to recall any math skills the animals needed to make their strawberry shortcake. You may wish to go through the book as you make a list of all the math skills that are needed. Include the following skills:

knowing how to read three digit numbers to turn on the oven to the correct temperature
estimating to know what size bowl for all of the ingredients
fractions for measuring ingredients and understanding time

Tell students that today they will get to practice some of these skills at math centers. Explain each center to students. Divide class into four groups, and assign each group to a math center. Using a simple flow chart, display how students are to move to each center. For example, Center 1 goes to Center 2, Center 2 to Center 3, etc. At each center, have multiple copies of the applicable worksheets and the Rotation Chart. Give students approximately 10-15 minutes at each center. Use a signal for students to switch, e.g. a bell or turning off lights. If students need more time, be flexible.

Independent Activity
As students work in their groups at each center, circle the room to assist students, answer questions, informally assess students, and prevent any behavior problems.

Center 1: Reading and Understanding Three Digit Numbers
Each student rolls a die three times and records the three-digit number he/she makes. Example: A student rolls a 4-2-1. He/she records the number 421.
When all students in the group have had a turn to roll the die and record their number, each student will read his/her 3 digit number and determine whose has the largest number. The student with the largest number wins. Students play until someone wins 3 out of 5 times or it is time to rotate centers. (Note: you may wish to alternatively have the student with the smallest number win.)
Center 2: Estimating Size
Students must look at several objects on the table (i.e. a book, a container, etc.) They will cut a piece of yarn that they estimate to be the height and or width of the object.
Students measure each piece of yarn with a ruler or tape measure and record the information on a piece of paper. An example is a book with an estimated yarn length of 5 inches.
When all students are finished estimating and recording, they may use the ruler or tape measure on the table to find the exact measurements and record it next to their estimates. Students can then record the difference between their estimate and the exact measurement.
Center 3: Data Sheet for Measuring
Table will be covered with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth.
Using measuring cups and measuring spoons, students measure dry ingredients including rice, corn, or beans. Students will record their findings on their worksheets.
Students should answer the following questions: How many tablespoons of rice equal 1/4 cup? 1/3 cup? 1/2 cup? 1 cup? Repeat the same measurements for the corn and the beans. How many 1/4 cups equal a 1/2 cup or 1 cup? How many 1/3 cups equal 1 cup? (Note: You may wish to have available a liquid ingredient such as water to conduct the same measurements.)
Center 4: Data Sheet for Understanding Time

Table will have a clock with a second hand and a chart that states 60 seconds = 1 minute, 60 minutes = 1 hour.
Students take turns being the "timer." The timer asks students to put their heads down, close their eyes and raise their hands when they think a minute has gone by. They need to keep their hands up until the timer calls one minute.
Students will discuss their thoughts about their estimation. Then the timer conducts the experiment again. Students should discuss if they thought it was easier to make an accurate estimation the first or the second time, and explain why.
Students then take turns being the timer and using other increments of time, such as 10 seconds, two minutes etc.

Note: If you can get access to computers with Internet capability, have students explore the interactive, Crunch the Numbers to review measurement skills and reinforce what they learned during the independent activities.

When students have completed all four centers, take about 5-10 minutes and have them meet within their groups to discuss their findings. Have each group choose a reporter for each activity and then have the class sit as a whole and listen to the different reporters. After each group has presented their reports, have the class discuss the findings. Have all students write a short one-page essay that explains, based on what they learned from their experiments, what they would change about the book or how they could better help the animals.

Assessment:
Use the Assessment Rubric to evaluate student learning and progress.

Extensions:
Students can make costumes or masks to depict the traits of the characters in the story. These masks can be used for their dramatizations.
Make "Great-Granny's Magnificent Strawberry Shortcake" per the recipe in the book. While making the cake, discuss and record how the ingredients change when cut, beaten, whipped, mixed and baked.
Change one or more ingredients in the recipe for "Great-Granny's Magnificent Strawberry Shortcake". Write the new recipe, create a new name for the cake, and draw a picture of the finished cake.
Create an ongoing center where students can practice measuring with a variety of tools such as pints, quarts, gallons, metric measurements, etc. and materials (liquid as well as dry)

Sources:


Print:
Crummel, Susan Stevens and Stevens, Janet. Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! Harcourt Children's Books, 1999.


Web:
Math and Children's Literature
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/math/math.html
National Center for Mathematics and Science
http://www.thecoo.edu/~apeter/math_sites.htm
Scholastic
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/sendhome/ect/homeeng0998.htm

Authors:
Diane Ambur, Retired Staff Development and Mentor Teacher
Montgomery County Public Schools, MD

What do you think about this lesson? Would you have learned math any better if you had been taught math this way? Do you think most teachers are doing this?

** We are still currently looking for a regular contributor to our Theater Thursday posts. If you know someone who would be interested please leave a comment!

Building off our Arts and Math partnership yesterday I thought I would continue the trend by posting a lesson plan that pairs the visual arts with math. This lesson plan came for ArtsEdge which is on our resource list, it is a great place to go for finding integrated arts lesson plans! You can find the original lesson plan posted here along with the supplemental resources to go along with it!







Mandalas and Polygons


Lesson Overview:
Mandalas, symmetrically-designed polygons, are found throughout the natural and man-made world, and in the arts of many cultures. Students will explore the cultural background of mandalas, then learn to make their own mandalas that incorporate polygons, symmetry, and color scheme.


Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute class periods

Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
review elements and basic vocabulary of geometry.
apply geometry skills to increase understanding of polygons.
learn about the history and cultural background of mandalas.
combine their knowledge of polygons and understanding of mandalas to design their own mandalas.
correctly incorporate polygons, symmetry, and color scheme in the design of their mandalas.

Supplies:
Rulers and compasses
8" x 11" drawing paper
Pencils and colored pencils

Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
(Note: Prior to this lesson, you and your students should have a strong, working knowledge of basic geometry, including commonly-used vocabulary and how to use a compass.)
Distribute the geometry Vocabulary handout. Discuss the terms with students, and have them draw examples on the board of selected polygons described in the handout. Review and demonstrate the correct use of a ruler and compass to create circles and polygons. Have students explore the page, Fraction Shapes. This page may help your students to identify relational patterns in shapes. Another exercise, which can be completed offline, during class or for homework, is the Hidden Polygon Activity.
Directed Instruction Mandala, which loosely translates to "circle" or "magic circle", symbolizes balance and unity. Mandalas are found throughout the natural and man-made world, from Tibet to parts of North America. They are used for spiritual guidance and artistic growth. To introduce the origins and significance of mandalas, have students visit the following sites: Exploring The Mandala and The Mandala Project. You may wish to have your class look at examples of mandalas drawn by students.
Students will now combine their knowledge of polygons and understanding of basic mandala structure to create their own mandala. Use the following directions:
Distribute large white paper.
Using a compass, each student will draw an 8" circle on the paper.
Divide the circle in half, and then in fourths with a light pencil line.
Each student should draw a design using their rule and compass in one of the four areas of the circle.
Once the design is completed in the first area, students should repeat the same design in the other three areas of the circle.
Briefly discuss symmetry with students, then have them color the design using not more than four colors.
Independent Activity Each student should have one large piece of white paper, compass, and ruler. Students will design a mandala using at least four different polygons. Have students write the names of polygons they use at the bottom or on the back of their paper. Group students, or allow them to pair off, and share their design before adding color. Students should offer each other constructive suggestions on how to improve the design, symmetry, or potential color scheme. Once they have selected a color scheme that will enhance the symmetry of their design, have students begin adding color to their mandala.
Have students mount their completed mandala on poster board, and display them in the class. Engage students in discussion about what polygons they used in their design, and they created more intricate designs.

Assessment:
Students will assess themselves, and what they have learned about mandalas, by writing a short one-page reflection. Students should describe the significance of their mandala design in their reflection. In addition to the reflection, use the Assessment Rubric to evaluate students learning.

Sources:
Print:
Fincher, Susanne. Creating Mandalas. California. Shabhala Publications, 1991.
Foster, Walter. Mandala Sand Art. California. Walter Foster Publishing, 2004.
Hund, Wolfgang. Seasonal Mandalas. Utah, Publisher’s Press, 2001.
Web:
Exploring The Mandala http://www.askasia.org/for_educators/instructional_resources/ lesson_plans/mandala/mandala.htm
Geometry Online http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Geom/
The Mandala Project http://www.mandalaproject.org/index.html

Authors:
Kim Guzzetti, TeacherCSU ChicoChico, CA

For this week's dance post we will take a look at a lesson plan that integrates dance and math together. This lesson plan along with several others come from this site.

Teaching Mathematics Through Dance and Movement
Submitted by Jan Adams, Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools

Geometry/Spatial Reasoning
•Explore shape with positive and negative space.
•Symmetry statues and studies.
•Dance combination reversals.
•Mirroring reversals.
•Statues with flips, slides.
•Moving pathways, then mapping (big to little, little to big).
•Pathway dances, machines.
•Movement tessellations.

Image source here

Numeration
*Make sets of matched shapes or movements
•What fraction of the whole class is doing a given movement? How would you represent that fraction as a percentage?
•Shape puzzles - problem solving individually or in groups of two or more: "Create a statue with a partner with seven body parts touching the floor."
•Matrix choreography: forward or backward steps add or take away tens. Lateral steps or take away ones. Make up a combination, then figure out what number you would land on if your beginning point was 1 - how about 14?

Measurement
•Predict, then measure how many steps, tiptoes, leaps it will take to cross a room. Discuss non-standard units of measure exemplified by different people's leaps.
•Measure a variety of steps, crawls or leaps on a measurement chart.
•Perimeter dances with a partner. Figure out a sequence of movement that leas you in a rectangle (i.e. 8 slides to right, 4 zigzag jumps back, 8 slides left, 4 zigzag jumps forward). Before you can perform it to music with your partner, you must figure out the perimeter and the area of your dance space.
•Create a map of your school by sending two students out to measure with footsteps each hallway. You may also send students in to measure gym or media center or lunchroom. Then reduce their measurement to an agreed scale (i.e. 10 paces = 1 inch). Have them with their partner cut out a strip (for halls) or a rectangle (for large rooms) of paper and assemble map on large board. Create legend, including scale used.

Calculation
* With vinyl numbers spread around room, dance or move to another number. Figure out an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problem that has that number for an answer. Write down on paper. The paper will provide information for assessment.

Graphing/Probability/Statistics
•Line graph dance. Record your dances through a simple line graph. Put movements along one side of chart and amount of time in units of 8 counts along bottom.
•With vinyl numbers spread around room, put on music and hop, skip, dance to another number. When music is turned off, stop on the nearest number. What is the probability that you will land on an even number? A number above 6? With pencil and paper in hand, go through process 10 times. Gather data and find out.
•Stand on a vinyl number. Notice the color you are on. As you move to another vinyl number, count the number of skips (or hops or walks, etc) that you are taking and you may only land on the same color. If you are moving to another number and someone gets to the color ahead of you, you must proceed to another vinyl square of your color. Count your skips, or hopes, or walks. Repeat 10 times and record the number of steps it took you to get there. What is the median number of steps that you took? The range? The mode?

Patterns/Classification
•Look at two shapes. How are they alike? How different?
•Draw shapes using the least lines possible to capture body shape. Write down how shapes are alike, how they are different.
•Look at a group of shapes or movement patterns. Group according to similar properties.
•Create dances with rhythmic patterns. Interlock those patterns by creating dances "in canon."
•Create movement patterns and movement tessellations.

What are your thoughts about this lesson? Please post your comments!

** We are still looking for a regular contributor for Dance Tuesday. If you know someone who would be interested please leave a comment!

So far, we've talked about why it's important to include contemporary music in your curriculum. But what if it scares you and your students say "it's weird"?

Today's post is for you. A basic understanding of how to listen to contemporary music will help teachers and students use this tool for their maximum benefit.

First, some of the major composers, their works, and some things to listen for in their music.

Steve Reich: known as a "minimalist" composer, Reich's music revolves around repeating patterns and the way that these patterns interact with each other as they fall in and out of "phase" (very much like certain properties of light and sound waves; his music could be used in a lesson about these topics). Try listening to one instrument, repeating over and over again. Listen how small changes in, for example, the clarinet line, affect the overall motion of the music. Reich's music reminds many people of cities, and some would say he is heavily influenced by jazz. Here's a Youtube video of the London Steve Reich Ensemble performing "Eight Lines," which is for. . . you guessed it, eight instruments.George Crumb is known as an avant-garde composer, searching for new ways to make and hear music through "extended techniques." Try listening for the many different sounds Crumb can make through one instrument, such as the voice. List and describe the different "sound characters" in this recording of Ancient Voices of Children:

Last week we looked at a very organized group of elementary students who were part of a theater camp (see post here). This week I thought we could take a look at how theater is often incorperated into the gerneral elementary curriculum. There is a common componant of the reading curriculum called "readers theater" and the concept is that the students read from the script and act out their parts to bring the stories to life, rather than sitting at their desks and reading. Sounds great right?
There are many examples of Readers Theater clips on You Tube. Take a look at these two very different examples :





What are your thoughts? Do these qualify as examples of theater being integrated into the classroom?

Fewer and fewer people are involved in classical music today. At the same time, contemporary composers are exploring the vast range of techniques available to them. Including contemporary music in education can help to make a generation of people informed about the arts, willing and able to understand and support the future of music. But what can contemporary music do for a curriculum?

TAEA Dallas -Artistic Foundations

This weekend will be the Texas Art Education Association's annual conference for visual art educators. One of the calls of leaders in the arts is to do research that is important to the field and to present it. Being a student I have not felt the need to step outside of my comfort zone and present up until now.

I participated in a class held in Second Life by Dr. B. Stephen Carpenter, II who is at Texas A&M in Fall 2008. He asked our class to participate in the creation of the presentation for this conference entitled "Real World Reflections on Virtual World Instruction: An Autobiographical Discussion About Distance Education, On-Line Learning, and Visual Culture." Each of the presenters will give a narrative about our experiences in the class and how it has impacted our thinking and research.

I will not give my complete narrative of experiences or the complete impact on my thinking and research because this would be too lengthy for a blog post. But I will pause to say that the experience has profoundly changed my educational experience. As an educator who focuses on the development of middle school curriculum I now believe firmly that students would benefit from a virtual world environment, and I will briefly lay out a few of the components I think are benefits to virtual world instruction to the middle school curriculum. These benefits can be applied to any discipline.

Why Students Need a Virtual Classroom
While art educators are focusing on exercises intended to help students achieve higher level thinking skills centered on the canon, students are examining television, movies, music, fashion, advertisements, video games, and technology (Tavin, 2003). Virtual world technologies are excellent examples of not only how visual culture and technology can be utilized to provide an environment where student learning and experiences can transcend a single discipline, but also that learning can be meaningful, integrated, and relevant! I propose that it is possible to create a virtual learning environment for students, and note that examples of such environments already exist in virtual worlds such as Second Life*.

*disclaimer -While Second Life is presently being used for the creation of virtual learning environments at the higher education level it is not currently "safe" for instructional use at the lower levels

Time/Place Factor
Using Second Life virtual classrooms, institutes of higher education have been able to link students in a variety of locations and enhance learning. Students are not limited to interfacing with local peers; a new cultural interface built from the whole world is opened to them. For example, your Spanish-speaking students in Florida can attend class with students in Mexico City.

Student Identity
Students with extreme social difficulties also have a more difficult time achieving higher level thinking skills. In education we often attribute this to concepts like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs where, unless the students’ emotional needs are being met, the attainment of self actualization is impossible. Some students will find a freedom that did not exist in the real world. Avatar creation allows for crafting an alternate, if only temporary, identity that may not have a physical disability or other issuer they must deal with in the real world. Avatars can have “dream” hair and clothes, “talk” in any way the student sees fit, and even change gender. For some students this may be an educational benefit allowing them to become who they have been unable to become in real life, and after the initial avatar is designed, focus shifts off of identity and is, perhaps for the first time, on learning.

Field Trips
Perhaps the most exciting possibilities of virtual worlds lie in experiential qualities. Students are no longer limited to experiences in their own cities or things that they can afford to visit, thanks to “virtual field trips.”
Historically significant places where you can take your students are already in Second Life. For example, there is a reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where visitors can watch a production of a Shakespeare play preformed by costumed avatars. There are virtual reproductions of the Alamo, the Vietnam Memorial, the Temple of Isis, and even ancient Rome. Students can visit all of these places from their homes or classrooms and experience the associated history, art, literature, and political science curriculum in a new way. The technology already exists; if you can dream it and have the resources, it can be created!

Check out this wiki for more information about Second Life in education.

References:
Tavin, K. (2003). Wrestling with Angels, Searching for Ghosts: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Visual Culture. Studies in Art Education, 44(3). 197-213.

We don't yet have a regular contributor for Theater Thursday, so in the meantime we will take a look at the work of some others in the field of theater education.
Our first post will be into the private sector looking at the Young Actors' Theatre Camp, which is a week-long overnight theatre training camp in San Francisco. Students are 8 - 18 years of age, and all the teachers are working professionals from Los Angeles and New York who work in Film, Television and on Broadway, the focus is on the development of career skills in theater and acting for the students.
This video shows the day in the life of a camper:



This video shows the "product" of the camp experience



What are your thoughts?

Since this is my first time posting I will introduce myself. I am Jennifer Hartman. I have a BFA in Studio Art, my emphasis was painting and digital media. After earning my degree I chose an alternative certification program and I am certified to teach Visual Art K-12. I taught middle school art for 3 years before beginning work on my Masters degree in Art Education with my research area in curriculum integration.

For our Visual Arts Wednesday post today I thought I would share some lesson planning resources with you for creating integrated units for your students. For myself I felt totally comfortable integrating some disciplines into my lesson plans (like math and science) because they were subjects that I knew a lot about. But there were other areas (like music and theater) that I avoided entirely, or I integrated on a very surface level because I did not have a deep understanding of the subject matter myself. These resources are places where you can go and find lesson plan ideas from the different arts and bring those ideas back and incorporate them into the visual arts classroom.

I hope you find them useful!

General Arts Integration:

ArtsEdge - the National Arts and Education Network

ArtsWork

AEP - Arts Education Partnership

Music Integration:

MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Play Me a Picture -Integrating Music and Art

Theater Integration:

EdTA - Educational Theater Association

Dance Integration:

NDA - National Dance Association

Visual Arts Integration:

The Getty

NAEA - National Art Education Association

Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments, it will help me decide on topics for future posts!

We don't yet have a regular contributor for Dance Tuesday, so in the meantime we will take a look at the work of some others in the field of dance education.
In this video ballet graduate student Justine Sheedy teaches world dances to elementary students. Arts, crafts, and cultural lessons are taught alongside choreography.

Watch the video and see what you think about the integration of the arts into the first grade classroom.



What are your thoughts?

Hello! This is my first time on the blog. Let me tell you a little about my background: I am currently working on my Masters' degree in music theory, I play cello and piano, I also compose and am interested in including contemporary classical music in music education. I currently teach private pre-school music and piano lessons.

Here is a sample of embeding a video from you tube.

INTEGRATION RESOURCES

General Arts Integration:

ArtsEdge - the National Arts and Education Network

ArtsWork

AEP - Arts Education Partnership

Music Integration:

MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Play Me a Picture -Integrating Music and Art

Theater Integration:

EdTA - Educational Theater Association

Dance Integration:

NDA - National Dance Association

Visual Arts Integration:

The Getty

NAEA - National Art Education Association