All Over Curation

Hang on to your tool belt. Here is my newly modeled curated topic. It is still a work in progress but it's a good foundation. 

Here's How I Hammered Out the Details

As an artist and writer who likes to create her own content, I was skeptical about curation. Rss feeds make me feel bombarded. There is the daily onslaught of my merged email inbox. The alarming rate of these notifications can not keep me from trying curation. Afterall, I love to explore magazines and museums so curation will be my online collection of content I put my own unique spin on. Creating content is not always necessary but adding your own insight is.

Here's a video on curation vs. creating content and when to do what.

Ok Content is King but should I create or curate? #iSocialTalks

Choosing My Toolbox

Well, curation is my new crack. (Please don't get the wrong idea. Crack was never my crack. Pinterest is. It is my Art Class Resource Go To. Long may it reign because I have over 25,000 pins to get to) Starting out, the list of curation tools is long and impressive but I know what I want and the list is narrowed down. I want one easy to use with a bookmarklet feature. I want to be able to move things around easily. I want to change my criteria or key words without setting up a new curated topic. I want separate pages for topics. I am not interested in an app only. I want visually appealing magazine pages. I want to choose my picture and words. I want a curation tool that works with my blog, Google+, and wait for it...Pinterest! I want it to look professional. I want I want I want...

They Nail It!

Scoop.it for now. Ah Pearltrees my lost mission was so visually appealing. I wanted to love it. It looks like Pinterest but navigating it feels like a maze. I have an account but I still feel lost.

Voila! Scoop.it Intro Video and It just works. Well It Just works for me anyway. "I just want it to work" is what I say about tools all the time. Yea!

Here's a great article on what Scoop.it is and isn't. It was easy to follow and so is Scoop.it.

The Scoop.It Guide that Helped Me Decide

At work with Scoop.it, I have to balance the page. That puts the "cra" in crazy because the page just keeps expanding. I have learned how to stop. I have balanced my resources with teachers, practitioners, and experts. What I need to add is my own content. I am looking forward to doing this because there are many awesome teachers, artists and designers unleashing their creativity on their young students. Unleashing your creativity:Try this at home and at work. Businesses (Microsoft), universities (University of San Francisco), and professionals (Michael Maloney, Global Account Director, Ogilvy) use Scoop.it. With 20 million web pages a day, it's quite a presence.

Holding it Together

When I ask about curation in my work area, I get blank stares and some mumbles about having "enough to do." Here are some other Scoopers I found interesting just choosing personal topics of interest to me and my star student, my four year old son. I like the techniques of eye-catching photos, great layouts and bios, unusual titles, and comments with the curator's personality showing through. I will challenge myself to follow leads on great curators and topics so I can make connections.

Here's a Brit that comes highly recommended. Her one curated topic: Bennedict Cumberbatch News. If you don't no who he is, shame on you and check her out. She has nuggets on Downton Abbey, too.

http://www.scoop.it/u/tina-poulson

This George Brown College professor has topics of Innovations in E-Learning and A Cultural History of Advertising I find fascinating.

http://www.scoop.it/u/k3hamilton

Ironically found this one when I was looking for Scooby Doo. They had high praise for the Great Dane and gang. The Digital Rocking Chair, Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age has some interesting scoops about creative and technical aspects of the genre. I love the image of a digital rocking chair, the best of tradition and innovation together.

http://www.scoop.it/u/the-digital-rocking-chair 

Now to Work, Learn, Grow, and Create Some More

Well enough about my progress and plans, what are you using curation for? Recommendations for topics or people to follow? What is your tool of choice? Is it visually appealing? Have you gotten any hits? How's it working out? It's early days for me so don't poke my bubble.

Resources:

Fanzo, B. (August, 25, 2014). Ok Content is King but should I create or curate? #iSocialTalks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1HnMslXf3Q.

Scoop It. (October 2 , 2013). Scoop It. It Just Works! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3wMwNxgcTU#t=15.

Search Engine Journal. (January 20th, 2012). Scoop This: A Comprehensive Guide Scoop.it for Content Curation by Gabriella Sannino. Retrieved from http://www.searchenginejournal.com/scoop-this-a-comprehensive-guide-to-scoop-it-for-content-curation/38963/.

Under renovation: Any advice to quickly organizing my Pinterest page is most welcome. http://www.pinterest.com/york

Trends, Tools, and Tactfulness in 21st Century Education

A friend recently asked me, “How much time do you spend on plans to get these students (600 students) engaged in learning?” I thought my mind would snap right there from the pressure as we were filming. The real answer went through my head then I scrambled to think of an appropriate response. The real answer is every waking moment. I spend lots of time planning, creating and prepping fabulous art projects then I have to write the lesson plan with every standard and strategy known to the human race. I am creative and smart. I am not organized or polished. This plan is trapped on my desk under physical heaps of inspiration and ideas. If you saw my intro to me video, you are horror movie frightened of responding to my blog posts and feeling pretty good about yourself right now. U R Welcome!  So how does it feel to be creative, smart, organized, polished and good looking? Yes, you!

My name is Valerie York. The best miracle of my life is my son, Jack. One of my dreams was to be Jack’s art teacher and he is now one of my Prek art students. I teach Art Prek-2^nd grade at Appomattox Primary School in Appomattox, VA. I grew up in Chester, VA and went to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) graduating with a BFA in Fashion Design. I went to NYC and worked for Tommy Hilfiger in design. I have moved over 30 times in my life. The last time was from across the street 10 years ago when I bought our house. We have our hounds, Skylar, 15 and Ted, 7. My sister lives in San Diego with her family. My folks live 2 hours away and come to every one of Jack’s soccer games. I am a romantic and idealist so of course I am single. I watch Downton Abbey, read contemporary romance novels, and watch all things Gerard Butler. If I am lucky I take a breath, sleep, eat healthy, and exercise.

I find most of my ideas on Pinterest and resources through my EDIM graduate courses at Wilkes University. My classmates and instructors have awesome ideas and resources to share. I post student work on Artsonia, the largest online student art museum. It is our online portfolio. I have created resources through Wilkes like Weeblys, Google Docs, Glogs, and digital stories I use in class for primarily units on shapes and colors and the art class rules and using art materials. I have been encouraged, inspired, and grateful for the help and support I have been given by my Wilkes classmates and instructors when I have reached out to them. I can usually figure out how to gear a resource in an artistic way for young children. Wilkes people, the educationally elite, recognize and appreciate the skills and expertise it takes to learn with young children in creative media and environments. I am around children 24-7 so it is nice to have adults I can connect with professionally and creatively.

The Goods

http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=12426

http://www.pinterest.com/yorkv/

http://vvyork.weebly.com/  This one is on primary colors and has a link to my Glog. I used this with Prek.

Here’s a Shapes and Lines Mobile Lesson  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JJ6FVGXnSy2Y2hTyGuZQeweQ4PGhrbbzf3Dot0jZDrE/edit#slide=id.g1ce2ed53c_0153

My challenges to incorporate new ideas and resources are time, access to technology and collaboration and my struggle with organization. I see my students weekly for either 30 or 45 minutes. Many children get pulled from my classes every week for remediation. I am on lots of committees including Project Based Learning where I feel pressure to create spectacles to be seen with hours of time and money I don’t have. I am working on breaking things down to performance tasks but even that is difficult because young children have so much to learn and explore before assessments. I want learning to be fun and for the students to have the joy I have when I create art. Art is a stress reliever, therapy, play, and innovation.  Most of my time is used prepping for Art Classes and photographing and uploading student work for Artsonia.  I want to centralize and organize my resources in a phenomenal online presentation. I want to create my own online portfolio to show the value of my work, my creations, my ideas, and my accomplishments. I want to collaborative with creative, smart, organized, polished, good looking, and athletic people. See that, I just raised the bar, expectations and have left out the objective- Make Art Fun! No pressure, you’ve got this. I am giving you the wink, the smile, and the gotcha finger shake. I expect answers in the comment section from the Wilkes educationally elite. Question #2 How do you sanely organize your online resources and put on the polish? Question #3 Are you appreciated for your efforts and asked to do more?   Now you can answer Question #1 So how does it feel to be creative, smart, organized, polished and good looking? Yes, you! ( Athletic, too? My Goodness!) You are a rock star. Thank you for helping the less fortunate.

Valerie York This is Me

EDIM 502 Project-Based Learning Blog Entry 2 AFAIK KIS IAG

AFAIK KIS IAG

I was asked to:

Explain how student use of communication, collaboration, and publishing Web 2.0 applications can help students to meet the NETS-S.

Here is my answer. AFAIK KIS IAG. As far as I know, keep it simple and it’s all good. Well, I didn’t keep it simple but it is still all good.

When the International Society for Technology in Education sets national standards, they offer up a million ways to meet these standards including my textbook, Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. (Boss, S. & Krauss, J., 2008).  

I start with all 3- communication, collaboration, and publishing because that’s how we roll. I teach Art Prek-2. Communicating through pictures, collaborating with classmates, and using creativity to find an innovative solution to the week’s art problem are what we do. We keep an online artwork portfolio for every student -Appomattox Primary Artsonia, http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=12426

I am about to embark on a Project-Based Learning endeavor that includes all of the national standards and relates to the following student profiles Prek-2^nd. Our project is to explore the glass installations of artist Dale Chihuly and his team, their plant life inspirations, and publish our Chihuly inspired creations and reflections. His site is inspirational: http://www.chihuly.com.

The numbers of the corresponding National Standards are listed behind the following profiles. These standards can be viewed at http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007

1.                   Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. (1,2) http://www.artsonia.com.

2.                   In a collaborative work group, use a variety of technologies to produce a digital presentation or product in a curriculum area. (1,2,6) http://animoto.com

3.                   Use simulations and graphical organizers to explore and depict patterns of growth, such as the life cycles of plants and animals. (1,3,4) http://www.mindmaple.com, http://www.theteachersguide.com/plantsflowers.htm and The Great Plant Escape- http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.cfm

4.                   Find and evaluate information related to a current or historical person or event using digital resources. (3) http://www.chihuly.com and The Children Museum of Indianapolis Glass blowing online games http://www.childrensmuseum.org/themuseum/fireworks_ofglass/games_35.htm

5.                   Demonstrate safe and cooperative use of technology. (5) PBS kids.org offers an Internet academy game for young friends to learn about digital citizenship. http://pbskids.org/webonauts/

I do not have all the answers but I do have a plan. I have learned how to plan Project-Based Learning. When I have questions or require something from a collaborator, I know how to overcome a challenge to get to a solution. There are many solutions. Now if I can learn to read and write in texts I can tweet my next post. Stand By.

References:

Boss, S. & Krauss, J. (2008).  Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. Washington, D.C.: International Society for Technology in Education. Kindle Edition

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). NETS for students 2007. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). NETS for students 2007. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-for-students-2007-profiles

ISTE. (2013). [Wiki.] NETS Implementation – Grade K-2. (http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Grades+K-2.

EDIM 502 Project-Based Learning -This is How They Did It

EDIM 502 Project-Based Learning Blog Entry 1

Here are my results of my exploration of three ideal models of project-based learning listed below:



"More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?!" - Diane Curtis, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms 

"Geometry Students

Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning" - Sara Armstrong, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/geometry-real-world-students-architects



"March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration" 
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs

The “More Fun” model surveyed many project-based learning endeavors at Newsome Park Elementary School (K-5) in Newport News, VA. Students were inspired from the ground up - worms, flower sales, wrestling to stock market investing. The “Angle” model followed a multi-layered project with geometry students of Mountlake Terrace High School near Seattle, WA, designing school architecture of the future. The third sample trailed 3^rd grade students of Rockledge Elementary School in Maryland, as they tracked migrating monarch butterflies in a countrywide science experiment.

In all three of these successful, exciting project-based learning templates, the academic, social, and creative needs of the students were a top priority. There was considerable planning on the part of lead instructors who took the role of project managers but these facilitators called in the experts as well. There was cooperation among colleagues, various student groups, administrators, and needed technology available. The students took on the role of team members, investigators, scientists, and designers and were accountable to their team and the project. To manage and assess accountability, each project had checkpoints; check-ins, signed agreements and/or rubrics to allow students and teachers to easily track progress. There was investment and reward in finding answers, creative solutions, raising money for a cause, collaborating with experts, and sharing projects with the community at large. Students and teachers were investors in real-life learning, inspiring passions and knowledge for the future.

Student engagement was increased because they were given active roles and visual imagery linked to written work. The students directed their own inquiries with digital tools connecting students to real-life, their peers, and the world. The critical inquiries delved deep into instructional standards surpassing the instructional goals. Students remembered what they learned because they were engaged in the questions and the answers driving the projects. There were multiple and varied assessments and reflections for both students and teachers to increase achievement. Pressure was relieved because the entire project is in the hands of teams members who were accountable and invested but did not have everything resting on one person’s shoulders. Student achievement in project-based learning has been tracked through traditional and standardized tests showing impressive results. As an artist and art educator, I was impressed by achievement in 2 and 3 dimensional models created by students and their contribution to assessment throughout the projects. Teachers are given support through an edublogging community to collaborate and share knowledge. I found some great “free” resources and rubrics at the Buck Institute education website. It is often said we learn by doing and Project-Based Learning when supported and properly implemented proves the statement true. Collaborating and sharing pays it forward.

Resources:

Armstrong, S. (2002). Geometry students angle into architecture through project learning. Edutopia.

            Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/geometry-real-world-students-architects.

Boss, S. & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, p. 3-5.

Buck Institute for Education: Project Based Learning for the 21^st Century. (2013). Tools: Freebies. Buck Institute for Education. Retrieved from

http://www.bie.org/tools/freebies/.

Curtis, D. (2002). March of the monarchs: Students follow the butterflies’ migration. Edutopia. Retrieved

            from http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs.

Curtis, D. (2001). More fun than a barrel of…worms?!. Edutopia. Retrieved from

            http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms.