Chapter 5: Communication
The P21 Frameworks define communication (with my shorthand) as:
articulating thoughts and ideas using oral, written and nonverbal skills in a variety ways and in different environments, listening effectively and respectfully to understand meaning, applying range of purposes including multimedia and technologies with ability to deductively assess impact and effectiveness. Considering we are now communicating in historically unprecedented ways, the P21 communication goals are future oriented.
To understand the full weight of the P21 communication goals, I read the Missouri DESE English Language Arts Standards (MDESE, 2017) for Kindergarten through 5th grade. Included in the standards are reading text and growth comprehension, writing types of text, responding to reading, research, flexible communication and collaboration in speaking and listening, and language conventions, effective use and vocabulary. LIstening and composing for audience and purpose, speaking and presenting effectively in individual or collaborative discussions, and gathering information to analyze and evaluate are included in the ELA goals (MDESE, 2017). In the writing strand, students, with assistance from adults and peers will “use a variety of conventional/digital tools to produce and publish writing” (MDESE, 2017) though keyboarding skills are introduced in second grade.
Identifying the audience is a first step to understand how to achieve a purposeful message goal. Knowing the audience is akin to having a compass for direction; it leads to purpose, intent and clarity. Students need prompts to help them understand the concept of audience. Who will be receiving the communication? What are the characteristics of your audience? What will your audience need to know? What does your audience already know?
Observation helps guide students to decipher the meaning of information. Observation also gives us information about people in our communication. The Innovator’s DNA (2011), includes observation as one of five skills: questioning, observing, networking, experimenting, and associational thinking. It is important to value communication in the full spectrum of the innovator’s DNA. Without observational skills, communication loses its ability to make a connection with an audience, or to ideas from information.
In art, observation is a frequent activity wherein students investigate visual thinking strategies by looking at the big picture first, then observe and analyze details to interpret and evaluate or judge. These steps in visual literacy always bring the observer back to the big picture. We observe using art elements as a frame of reference (line, shape, color, space, value and texture) and concepts (2D, 3D abstract or representational for example). We organize the visual and cognitive processes of describing art by with form, symbol, idea, and meaning.
The Toledo Museum of Art, http://www.toledomuseum.org/education/visual-literacy/art-seeing-art, has developed and shared considerable research on visual literacy as it connects to creativity, critical thinking, empathy, education and technology. As mentioned in our text, observation is an important characteristic of communication that leverages ideas and magnifies information. Observation has become a foundation of collegial communications degrees, such as a BFA in Visual Communication, that includes graphic design, animation, photography, and other creative and technical subjects. In some programs, interactive design is a specialized area of communication.
Students need to practice and develop observation and openness to learn the value of multiple perspectives. Modelling this flexibility merits unique and varied perspectives as equally valuable. Through cultural exploration, students learn to appreciate diversity in creative expression. Nurturing an appreciation for the art of cultures is an important element of my teaching pedagogy as my undergraduate degree is in Art History.
Students share similar interests, but not all have the same interests or experiences in academics or outside of school. This individuality is the foundation to teaching tolerance and cultural awareness. Without this foundation, it is difficult for students to accept a broad view of the world. Openness, flexibility, and the value of multiple perspectives are critical to effective communication. In observing past collaborations, I have noticed that openness can be a challenge for some students. Warm up exercises such as viewing art in the visual literacy context exposes multiple and valuable perspectives, emphasizing that we all may see the big picture, but different details through different lenses.
For students to gain experience in the communication process, Inviting audiences to respond and/or participate activates communication purpose. To integrate technology and art for interactive projects, I explored Flipgrid, VoiceThread, and Bubbl.us.
Flipgrid is a video response platform that gives students a voice to respond to a created “topic” which gives them an authentic audience. Free exploration gives you one Grid which can include multiple topics, however students cannot respond through their own login. Regardless, I created a grid with a topic I can expand, 5th Grade Creative Legacy Project, and hope students can take turns using my chromebook to communicate and interact with this platform https://flipgrid.com/d5s7mu.
VoiceThread https://voicethread.com/ is a multimedia, collaborative tool that allows instructors to upload different types of media into a presentation. The instructor and students can then comment on each individual type of media using text, audio, or video. Students can record over to revise and clarify. This platform is similar to Flipgrid, however only the student’s voice is recorded which provides an alternative choice for means of communication. I had planned to create a free trial account but after viewing the Ray-Pec District Digital Resources, was pleasantly surprised to see that it is an approved app extension. I was also happy to see KidBLog on our district digital resource list which includes a tutorial. This could be Project #3!
I have also discovered that 4th graders all have weebly sites, and hope to have students include an ART page.
Bubbl.us, a collaborative mind mapping tool, also provides limited free use with up to three mind maps. I created a mind map for each 5th grade to explore ideas for the 5th Grade Creative Legacy Projects to use for Project #2 (see screenshot below).
Artsonia and Seesaw are semi-social media platforms students have used in the past to become users and producers, controlling their experience in differing degrees. Students can photograph and download artwork, collect a portfolio, write about their art, and share with an authentic audience of family and extended family members who then post comments and observations. Students earn awards such as a Portfolio, Popular Artist, Rave Reviews and Hall of Fame.
The difference between Artsonia and SeeSaw is the latter has the ability to include links. Interactive elements give life that moves presentations beyond linear through links, interactive diagrams, feedback tools, and an array of different visuals, all of which can be self paced. One of the advances in museum program development has been to create interactive links on the museum website or free museum interactive apps for children, including simulation, that can be saved and shared for two-way communication. The National Gallery of Art’s interactive section entitled NGAKids, https://www.nga.gov/education/kids.html illustrates interaction arranged by genre such as modern art flow, portraits, collage, tessellation, and still life. The interactive simulations can be adjusted for complexity.
In searching for visual art game design, I found an article titled “Interactive Games Make Museums a Place to Play” (Blair, 2009) (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99244253). In this article, a museum scavenger hunt for high school students used the 4Cs and collection pieces that provided hints to guide students on an alternative reality game hunt, using their cell phones to communicate. At Creekmoor, older students could either walk with their chromebooks or borrowed ipads to search for clues in artwork hanging in our school halls to complete a scavenger hunt game and communicate the clues and progress in the process toward a specific goal.
An alternative reality game idea for students at Creekmoor requires much preparation, technology and assistance, but it would activate all senses and engage everyone through interactivity. Included are some of the learning principles that educational games support: interaction, challenge, “just in time” learning, situated meaning, a satisfying degree of frustration, exploration, smart tools and distributed knowledge, and cross-functional teams. Our course text provides a list of sources for gaming, some of which have expired domains. I explored all possibilities and discovered Alice had the most library of tutorials which created the least amount of iteration anxiety for me while envisioning student creation of an art game.
It is clear 21st century students will need experiences to develop in depth skills through empowering projects that provide all means of communication for authentic audiences using interactive multimedia in our innovation age. I feel a little overwhelmed but know the efforts will bring energy, motivation, engagement, and deeper learning.
Chapter 4: Collaboration
Creating a culture of learning together brings such energy and activity to the art room that I sometimes forget to set my timer and reluctantly call everything to a screeching halt. Time is the element that ends an enthusiastic collaboration right at the moment you observe it moving at an amazing pace. Students are resilient and have the ability to adapt easily. I have not always had successful collaborations in class. One of the mistakes I made earlier this year involved setting up a collaboration hastily without articulating goals, and lack of choice in freedom of expression to creatively develop a response to the topic. Reflecting on the experience, I would have approached the collaboration much differently, using the social and expressive talents of the students. On the other hand, one of my most successful facilitated collaborations this year involved dynamically differentiated groups, guidelines and resources, and an exciting challenge to problem solve an unmet need. I also had success with facilitating a rotational model of collaboration with first grade wherein tables were set up with activities designed to encourage learning how to mix colors. One table included two ipads set to the National Gallery of Arts interactive color mixing pallet and was second in popularity to the baking soda/vinegar erupting color mixing table.
Characteristics of effective collaboration include grouping such as differentiation for multiple perspectives or fluid groups depending on student needs, learning with and from students, facilitating not guiding, supporting needs with tools, encouraging choice of means to the goal, communicating to students effectively and as a model of collaboration, establishing roles and responsibilities, and assessing process as well as product. One aspect of collaboration I had not considered was encouraging networking for added support between groups or individual movement. Teaching students to collaborate in class is a process in itself, and preparation includes knowledge of the learning culture of the particular class as a starting point and the learning goal.
Blended learning allows for collaboration outside of class, and a continuation of connected learning face to face in class. In essence, this is an art specialist's dream come true as it transcends the ever present element of limited time and space. Without art technology, Google Classroom would be the best solution to using a learning management system beyond the art room. The following link is my first attempt to create an assignment in Google Classroom for 5th grade's learning goal of writing about art. https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/MTIwODQxNzk4 The assignment includes a flow chart for organizing ideas. In the future, students will have freedom of choice to write about any art work, however, at the present time, the only art work at school is their 3D clay piece. I need to establish how to include only a specific grade level before the assignment can be posted. Another collaboration idea I have considered includes a short slide presentation of a piece of art work students enjoyed making and are proud of to share. This link provides an example of how to accomplish this artist statement task. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RG9P344pSMzVmNKf5jXYDTXEPgQu7wzIXJ8APg5-jow/edit?usp=sharing
Additionally, using a green screen, recording the artist statement and using the artwork as a backdrop would be a very engaging type of collaboration.
I experimented with a few of the resources, and found that Blabberize would add another layer of fun to a whimsical project third grade completed (see image of cat below) wherein they designed costumes for pets but I don't see a strong connection with the 4Cs, particularly collaboration. Dressing up cats and dogs is humorous, but adding speech would be comical and playful, even if only designed with a short story about the pet character using sound and media manipulation. There is an embed code I had difficulty using on Weebly, but my exploration can be found on the URL: http://blabberize.com/view/id/1724774 I also experimented with Twiddla, https://www.twiddla.com/w3q5g1 and Edmodo (see screen shot image below).
In the past, I have used the image platform Artsonia https://www.artsonia.com/teachers/members/ as a means to safely share with family members who can then collaborate with the student about their art work. On this platform, students can manage their own image downloads and portfolio, and also write artist statements as well as receive feedback from me. Artsonia links lesson plans to National Standards in Visual Art. SeeSaw is another student digital portfolio tool that empowers students to document their learning in multiple ways and can be shared with an authentic audience.
In the future I would love to explore a a Google Hangout with an art teacher friend of mine in Iowa. I think it would be exciting for my students to talk to art students in another art class!