Fred Meijer Sculpture Park

Because Modern Art is often considered as a relatively more profound and unfamiliar area than art of earlier age to the general public for its abstraction and insightful meaning, people still prefer something figurative and representational to easily understand the relate to the artworks. Fredrick Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park possesses somewhat different collection of contemporary sculptors. The park founder, Fredrick Meijer generously presented his collections to public for enrichment of audiences of every age and experience. He once said, “People deserve a place that inspire them, challenges them and offers opportunities of the human experience”. For this very reason, the exhibition, “Sculptors Celebrate the Legacy of Fred and Lena Meijer” was more welcoming to general public in spite of its modern theme.

This exhibition celebrates the cultural legacy of Fred and Lena Meijer through excellent works by 25 of the distinguished contemporary sculptors. The selected works are not naturalistic or realistic but stylized and individualized with a strong foundation of drawing and high level of skill. They were overall somewhat semi-figurative and semi-abstracted with a wide range of materials and subject matters, yet largely one theme of human experience in modern society.

Since the Park displays the sculptures in a natural setting, the subject matter often related to, but not limited to, nature, animal and human figures. This particular exhibition is presented indoor but many of the representing artists have their sculptures outdoor as permanent collection. In front of the exhibition gallery, the life size head sculptures of sponsor Fred and Lena Meijers, done by Philip Grausman in 2002, as if the simplified gracious metallic faces with a warm smile are welcoming the audience at the door. The exhibition is largely divided into three rooms with each room representing broadly related themes and ideas. 

Even tough each room presented couple abstractions with simple geometrics and random arrangements, majority of them make much more sense without deeper studies. The exhibition displays a great amount of concern for “anyone” that Meijers want to offer human experience and inspiration. I mean, it isn’t all that totally abstracted profound installations that a lot of art history reading is required to understand. The subject matters are natural things that anyone can relate and think about. The materials are things sometimes anyone can find in their backyards or storage. The message is largely giving ideas of our modern life in different perspectives. Family with children can enjoy it with some discussions and memories. 

Art Prize: Why is it worth looking?

Last year, I first heard about the Art Prize from my co-worker Karen who mentioned that the giant water wave painting by Brooklyn artist won $250,000. It is one of the biggest prizes I have ever heard and is probably why Art Prize became so popular since it opened last year. 1713 artists displayed their artworks in 192 various locations in Grand Rapids. Venues included museums, galleries, hair shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and streets. The most interesting part of this event was that the general public voted for the winners. I was doubtful about the integrity of the winners’ artworks because normal people with less art background significantly impact the result of the prizes, especially when the last year’s first place painting of realistically rendered giant water wave, unwanted by the museums, is now hung on the back wall of the bar in Grand Rapids downtown.

With much speculation, I visited Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM). The quality of the works was far more than I expected. As walking along the way of the show, I was led to a small dark room that stirred up my curiosity. It was “Salt and Earth (Garden of Patricia)” by Young Kim. Inside was very dim because the material was very sensitive to the light. There were many pink drawings of body cells and membranes along the wall and two large flat piles of salt in the center of the room. On the one salt pile, a woman, Patricia, was drawn in life-size with closed eyes as if she was sleeping on the sand. On the other pile was the mirror image of the first drawing of Patricia with open eyes. I wanted to touch the salt pile because I was not sure how the drawing could have been possible on the pile of salt, not on the paper. I knew it was grain of salt only because there were traces of people touched it and left their hand imprints and even footprints. The artist statement explained that he wanted to show the weakness of Patricia, who was physically going through a lot. Indeed, the salt drawing was not permanent and could easily ruined by other factors such as light, wind and touch of people. The strong but hidden message made me think about life and how fragile human beings really were.

Second artwork that I really enjoyed was the “Vision” by David Spriggs. It was made out of acrylic on multiple sheets of transparent film housed within a display case. It looks like a huge convex light raying out of an enormous clear box. The most fascinating part was when I walked around to the back of it. The concave light ray gives very different look than the front view. It was sensational.  

The next place I visited was Calvin College Art Gallery. Compared to the GRAM, it was a cozy gallery with a seemingly coherent theme of ecology. Majority of works somehow relate to the eco-friendly ideas and integrated into each other very well. The cut-paper piece by the window called “Bitter Sweet” by Celeste Cooning was eye catching to the street pedestrians with delicate repetitive shapes of flowers and leaves. Across the view, there were white bird sculptures hanging in the ceiling down to the eye level with real skeletons of birds displayed right underneath. It was called “Fragile Ecology” by Anna Greidanus. Similarly, Allison Svoboda submitted an “Untitled” collage with repetitive shapes of black feathers.  Besides of these, there were recycle ideas and repetition of shapes that brought different artworks together. Overall, I thought the show was well coordinated, giving a strong sense of harmony.  I enjoyed the exhibition as whole than an individual work.

The last place I went was Fredrik Meijer Sculpture Garden.  There, I found a sculpture that reminded me of frequently used painting subject in medieval period, virgin Mary and baby enthroned. It was “Collective Conductivity” by Julia Rogers. In her statement she explained that she wanted to show the order in chaos in life and universe through the various sculptures of human. The sculptures were composed of glass heads and the metal bodies. One of them just looked like the virgin Mary and baby enthroned except that the woman figure was seated as the Buda’s pose and the baby on her lap. It was a strange combination of the images that I recalled from the Gothic paintings of virgin Mary and the Buda statues in Korea. The idea behind the work was very much like East Asian idea of energy that goes around our body to help us function in Yoga and Tai-chi.

When I found out that the giant pencil drawing in GRAM received the first prize, I had to go back to the museum to see it. I did not remember such a thing when I was there. How could I miss the first-prize winner? I realized that I passed by without much notice because I thought it was a big commemorative picture. As I was carefully looking into it, I really admired his technical skill and patience of putting many hours on the largest pencil drawing I have ever seen. However, I was not quite sure of its creativity. It was just a blown-up version of a commemorative picture of many veterans. Certainly the artist was brave enough to devote himself into such a time-consuming art but only patience and technical skill seemed not enough virtues as the best art.  The artist was from Grand Rapid and maybe he knew the taste of general public in Grand Rapid.
 Nonetheless during the Art Prize, the enthusiasm from the people really made the city alive. Downtown was always packed by art lovers and businesses run busier than ever with visitors from out-of-town. It was definitely positive energy that could have not happen in Grand Rapids otherwise. With knowing that Art Prize just started last year, it was really successful in terms of making the town alive, making the city known to the wider audience and educating general public about different kinds of art.  Plus, I heard from the GRAM receptionist that there is a jury process solely by experts for another prize, which will make the event even better.

MAC-Week 4-Leadership Project 3 of 3

I have presented the Leadership Project during Saturday Wimba session with a Keynote presentation.
I focused on the methodology and the result of digital portfolio and online critique to better implement individualized instruction in my AP Studio Art class. Initial purpose of my AR was to implement individualized instruction in a large school setting, in a broader sense. As I develop my Leadership Project this month with AP Studio Art students as participants, I narrowed down the AR to implement individualized instruction in AP art class. It made a better sense because I was working with AP students and the class was distinctive from general large school setting. I felt more focused and clear with a revised AR question, "How to maximize the art-making time in class with specific feedbacks to fulfill the intense requirements of AP Studio Art exam?”


The feedbacks from peers during presentation were positive. Suggestion was to delete too much text in my Keynote presentation because viewers unlikely read the text in the presentation. One good resolution to the problem is to record a podcast using the Keynote presentation. 
To visit my Leadership Project page, click the link below.
http://web.me.com/soyeonkim/ActionResearch/Leadership_Project.html

MAC-Week 4-Leadership Project 2 of 3

School Arts Magazine

I decided to choose this magazine because it show the practical ways of teaching art in class and I want my AR to be viewed and used widely and practically challenge art teachers to help their students with technology. 

Guidelines

 • successful lessons 

• areas of concern 

• approaches to teaching art 

Each issue of the volume year revolves around a theme that focuses on the human side of the studio art projects, i.e. story, play, meaning. The editor determines which issue/theme is the best fit for your article so don’t worry about fitting a theme. It is more important to be passionate about your lesson, idea, or concept. Go to schoolartsonline.com, for upcoming themes. 

Once you pick a topic you can start writing. 

Think about: 

• How you would express your idea to a fellow art teacher. 

• What idea, artist, trend, or issue influenced your idea. 

• The main ideas you’re are trying to communicate. 

• What teachers need to know to effectively teach the lesson. 

• What problems a teacher might encounter. 

When writing: 

• Use a conversational style. 

Sample Cover Design with student work by Becky Wong (12) 

The article that will be proposed

How to maximize the art-making time in class with specific feedbacks to fulfill the intense requirements of AP Studio Art exam? I wonder what would happen if I give feedbacks online using web 2.0 tools. 
AP studio art requirements

Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art requires 12 art pieces of breadth section and 12 art pieces of concentration section. In total, students have to create 24 pieces of artwork by the end of April to take the exam on May. Although many students already have 9 to 10 pieces to start with from previous art classes, it is still very difficult create 12 pieces of concentration that mandates all pieces in one theme. My AP studio students call this concentration section a thesis. As students develop a thesis, it is essential to assess and critique their work in class or outside the class because a thesis must demonstrate both skill and concept in depth. To fulfill the requirement, individualized instruction with specific feedback was necessary.  It is not surpring to say that critique in art makes a significant difference. (Blaikie, el. 2004) According to Dorn and Sabol, portfolios have been a valid and the most commonly used assessment in art education.  Colleges and competitions currently ask more of digital portfolio than slides for their jury process, which has shifted the way art students develop portfolio. (2006)

Problems during preparing for AP Exam 

Past two years of teaching AP, critique after each project took us two to three days to go over everyone in class. First year, we spent 15 days to critique before AP exam and it delayed the art-making in class. It was crucial to complete 12 pieces of thesis before AP exam and I decided to have less critiques in class. Individual feedback from teacher was the only source of critique and sometimes it made students a passive listener, not an active assessor. Moreover, slide-taking itself took me exactly 19 hours in one week to take more than 12 students’ portfolio of 24 pieces. It was a nightmare as a teacher to take of all students’ portfolio in short period of time. Even after slide-taking, looking for agent who could develop the film in short time was another big issue for students. 

Even after AP exam guidelines changed their submission to digital format last year, students waited till the last minute and did not know how to take pictures and upload them in a professional way. Their photos were crooked and exposure was incorrect. I had to take and edit the photos for them, which took me another days of nightmare right before the exam. 

Building a Digital Portfolio 

In the beginning of this school year, I decided to train students early on to take and edit their own work as a digital portfolio. In Cycle 1, students uploaded and edited four pieces of art on Flickr. Low quality photos were asked to be resubmitted. They also started online critique using Flickr group page after an in-class critique with a glossary of art terms. During the interview after the online critique, students mentioned that they were able to have enough time to think and use proper art terms. 

Students mentioned that they had more time to think and respond for the critique. They also explained that they learned how to use art terms and be more objective. After Cycle 2, students have created a set with eight to nine pieces of artwork. The essay of their thesis was included. Students exchanged feedbacks within a small group using guideline questions. 

After Cycle 2, students’ critique skill dramatically improved. Students actively exchanged thoughts and suggestion and the only thing I needed to do was to confirm and praise their active interaction. It was obviously different from in-class critique, where only few out spoken students constantly participated. I noticed that online critique gave everyone a voice, even to ELL students. One of the ELL student mentioned that he/she used a dictionary to understand other’s feedback and many of them suggested that they had more time to think and write when critiquing others. Students also mentioned that they learned how to talk about art with proper and specific terms. 

As a teacher, the biggest difference for me was that I was able to manage digital submission process during the AP exam without hassle. Last year, I used to be very busy, shooting, formatting, editing, and burning students’ portfolios into CDs. This year, students completed everything about photo images and I just had to assess and suggest how to organize their portfolio once they uploaded images of artwork onto AP digital submission site. This process has allowed me to be able to oversee the exam digital submission process with clearer mind. I also noticed digital portfolio as a holistic assessment. Students were able to assess and decide how to organize their portfolio during Cycle 2, which let them be more independent and productive learners. Dorn and Sabol (2006) claimed that digital portfolio is not only a useful assessment tool but also effective motivational tool for students because it encouraged them to actively engage and participate in their art making. Using digital portfolio, students took greater ownership and responsibility of their learning process.

Implications for the future

This study confirmed me that digital portfolio and online critique facilitate the individualized instruction with less restriction of time and space.  I realized training students to build their portfolio from the beginning is very important to fully benefit from the online activities.  In my school, all art and music teachers will implement digital portfolio for freshmen classes to document and assess student performance and progress. After first year of learning the use of digital portfolio and developing it, students will continue building their own digital portfolio throughout four years of art program. Hopefully students can practically use their portfolio when applying colleges, competitions and exams in the future with a organized body of work prepared. I am currently designing a web page to demonstrate how to build a digital portfolio using Flickr web 2.0 tool for next year students. 

Teacher role in building a digital portfolio in the first year will be intense of covering how to shoot, edit, upload and organize the photos. It will also be challenging to train students to critique works of art with proper terms. I believe it is worth doing after students start creating their own portfolio because it becomes a strong assessment tool to increase their sense of ownership and inner motivation. Plus, teacher will be able to monitor students’ weakness and strength to guide them to the better direction based on individual’s need.

Conclusion

To maximize the art making time in class and to fulfill individual student’s need, digital portfolio and online critique can be a great assessment tool that promote self reflection, sense of ownership and constructive critiques among students. It also allows teachers to nurture students’ learning outside the class with a full attention to each individual with less restriction of time and space. This study implies that digital portfolio opens up new possibilities of individualized instruction in a large school setting.

MAC-Week4-Reading Response-We approach

After reading the Art of Possibility by Zander & Zander, Chapter 12 "WE approach"

Artwork by Dennis Moon (11), Never Admit Defeat.

After giving out report cards in the beginning of the every year, couple students approached me and asked me,

 “Miss, why did you fail me?”

“ I didn’t fail you. You failed.” I used to be frustrated by their obvious question. I had present the excel file with the calculated grades and explained how it came out to their grades. They seemed to understand that I did not go by my feelings on students but they did not understand. I showed them the formula to prove that I did calculation to come up with the grade. Then I lectured them.

“You have a great potential but if you don’t try hard enough, talent doesn’t mean anything. You need to work harder. You are responsible for missing works and you must come to class everyday on time. If you fail, nothing happens in my life. Why would I bother? Because I want you to pass. Should I leave you alone and you get whatever grade? Or push you to work harder for you to pass? You choose.”

“You can push me.” They smiled.

I re-located the responsibility from me to them. It is important to raise the sense of responsibility and the ownership for them. There were times I succeeded in helping them. There were times I failed it.  As I was reading about “WE” approach in the book, the Art of possibility by Zander & Zander, I should have used WE approach.

“What can we do to increase your grade? It hurts both of us when you fail. I am your teacher and I want my students to succeed. What are we missing?”

It is already the end of the year and I seriously should work harder to make all students succeed. That is my job.

  

Mac-Week4-Reading Response-What's the essence?

“ Besides, I know full weel that every time I step onto a podium, I take a risk that thins won’t turn out exactly as I anticipate them in my ear-bu then, there is no great music-making without such risk taking.” (p.144)

The art of possibility by Zander & Zander

When I read Mr. Zander’s story, I always get fascinated by his wisdom.

In chapter 10, he basically is saying that even in a situation of totally someone else’s fault, what is the point of dividing of right and wrong? It only divides “you” and “me” and gives me the feeling of satisfaction of being the right one.

I also really appreciate his sharing of a story with Cora. Mr. Zander sincerely explained how he struggled and came to the conclusion of restoring the relationship with Cora.

This was a perfect time for me to read this chapter because I had a very similar situation with my boss this week. To make a long story, I felt completely insulted by her and I refused to talk to her after that. It has been three days that I haven’t been to the department office. I couldn’t believe how she treated me with such a small matter. But last night, I decided to accept the fact that she is just one of us who constantly make mistakes and to forgive her. She couldn’t hold whatever I did wrong and came out with unfiltered expression. In fact, I decided to acknowledge that I did not do such a bad thing to upset her that much but to her it was upsetting that much. I failed to understand her point of view. I decided to write a letter to her this weekend to recover the relationship. I will be apologetic of not being able to understand how she would feel in those situations. I can't stand it when I have a relationship problem. I need to resolve this. The degree of being right or wrong is not important. The broken relationship is what matters. 

MAC-Week3-Free Style-Nick Vujicic

This video is a story about a man who does not has arms nor legs. Although he doesn't have the health that others have, he seems happier than any other person I have seen. How can a person be so optimistic and determined in such a circumstances? I mean, I complaint all the time about how others treated me, how I make mistakes, and how messed up the world is and so on. Nick completely taught me how to stay determined and positive with myself. He may be in a difficult physical condition, but he is the best emotional mental condition. I admire his passion and inner strength so much.

MAC-Week3-Reading Response-Avoid Quick Judgment

Nature makes no judgment. Humans do. And while our willingness to distinguish good and evil may be one of our most enhancing attributes, it is important to realize that “good” and “bad” are categories we impose on the world- they are not of the world itself.

A man goes to see his rabbi... “When you get some good news, you thank the Lord, and when you get some bad news, you praise the Lord.” “Of course,” replies the man, “I should have remembered. But Rabbi, how do you know which is the good news and which is the bad news?” The rabbi smiles. “ You are wise, my son. So just to be on the safe side, always thank the Lord.”

From The Art of Possibility (p.105)

Living in Harmony by Laura Molina 2007 (Student)

This chapter reminds me of Eve’s apple in Garden Aden in the book of Genesis chapter 3 as well as the last verse in the book of Judges. (Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.)

People judge what is good or bad and everyone has different standards, which cause chaos in the world. Individuals are self-righteous and judge others according to their rules. Bible calls it “sin.” That’s why we fight, conflict and hurt each other. The only way to avoid is to humbly accept the fact that I can be wrong. According to Bible, human beings are born with the natural sin, the sin of wanting to be the judge of right and wrong, which has been ascended from Adam and Eve. It comes from self-righteousness and egocentric view. We are so egocentric that we don’t even realize how egocentric we are. No one is free from that sin. (Romans 3:10 as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one;) I am not being pessimistic here. After reading the passage above from the Art of Possibility, I saw that how natural it is to made judgments and come to negative conclusions on my own based on what I see in the present reality. I too often quickly come to negative, so called “realistic”, conclusions without realizing until I think twice with third point of view from other people.

For example, Catholic church banned Bob Dylan’s electric guitar bands because there were more than one musical part playing at a time. They thought it confuse the concept of unity in God. (Levitin, 2006) The church committee decided to ban certain kinds of music based on their perception and it no longer applies to the modern society. Music itself is not something that has good or evil. It’s people who plays and listens to the music and put good or evil intention or expression in it.

As I read this chapter of The Art of Possibility, I affirmed that I should watch out my decision or judgment on people or situations, especially the negative ones that I thought was realistic. It is continuation of last week’s reading that I was deciding someone’s future or potential too quick from my observation. I can be very wrong and I should open up my eyes to possibilities in others.

I want to share the video on Team Hoyt, a great exemplary case of showing the art of possibility in their lives.

References:

Levitin, D.J. (2006). This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession. Penguin Group. NY, NY.

The new oxford annotated bible. (2001). Oxford University Press, INC. NY,NY.

Zander, B. & Zander, R.S. (1995). The art of possibility. Harvard Business School Press. Boston, MA.

MAC-Week2-Response to Kerry M-Don't be serious

Kerry wrote

I found myself laughing a little more often this week despite the nerve-wracking pace I was trying to keep up. Several times, I caught myself taking myself and others too seriously several times. When I saw it, the seriousness immediately just blew away and I found myself smiling or even laughing. 

What a beautiful book this is, inspiring us to make a difference in the lives of others, to contribute and grant others importance. I’m very appreciative that this book, The Art of Possibility, was our assigned reading this month. It is giving me life again.

I have a story about a lesson that I did with my elementary art students this month. I found a little Reading Rainbow film that read the children’s book, Regina’s Big Mistake. It’s about a little girl in an art class who can’t think of what to draw. She starts to draw what some other children are drawing and they make mean comments and her teacher won’t give her another sheet of paper when she makes a mistake. Regina makes her mistake into something wonderful. All week since, my students have been telling me how they’ve made their mistake into something wonderful. These are 6, 7 and 8 year olds. I think it’s wonderful how a writer can give us that; can offer us a new and wonderful viewpoint.

.........................................................................................................................

Soyeon responded

I love your story of Regina. This week I had the similar feeling about being serious all the time. I am too serious, my friends told me. They make jokes but I turn them into serious discussion. I always admired people with great sense of humor. I couldn’t bear my mistakes and I couldn’t forgive myself. This year was tough for me because I became a director of the art program, getting ready to get married, and other commitments in church. Plus this program on top of everything was more than I can bear. My AP is very meticulous and detail person and she used to give me ridiculous work that required high attention to details I used to be very nervous and panicking on little things. She is a nice person but her work style is very different from other people and that was hard to get used to in the beginning. When I was crying over very little thing because of overwhelming workload, my AP told me to be patient with myself. She said I needed to forgive myself. At first, I was mad at her who made me nervous. But, the more I think, the more it made sense. I was making things too serious. My AP asked me to do all the work and I had so much other stuff to do but I could have enjoy and just finish one by one. I didn’t have to make things too serious. I didn’t have to penalize myself for making little mistakes. Last weekend, I coordinated the art show and I felt very comfortable, not because I knew exactly what I was doing, but because I decided to allow some mistakes and enjoy the show rather than driving me crazy over little things. I went well with some mistakes. After reading this book, I remind myself not to be serious and I remind myself what my AP said, “Be patient with yourself.” Your story of Regina was also helping me think positively. 

MAC-Week2-Reading Response-Reality doesn’t seem realistic.

After reading “Art of Possibility” by Rosamund S. Zander & Benjamin Zander

Student work by Yunkyoung Park

My mother is 55 years old and she started learning how to use computer three years ago. At first, I was willing to help her out. As days went by, she has struggled with computer concept so much that I got annoyed by her clueless questions. I had to repeat over and over the same thing everyday. I thought why she even bothered learning it when she had other things to worry. She said she didn’t want to be left behind of current trend. She wanted to learn and move forward with the rest of the world, she said. She was very determined and committed her time to learn computer. Now, she is still having a hard time but she can attach files, email her friends, download pictures to make her own documents, and surf the web to find information she needs for her work.

After reading about Mr. Zander’s visit to Jewish home for elderly, I would like to compliment how wise Mr. Zander is. The way he reacted to people in situations without taking things personally challenges me as a teacher and a person in general. His sincere and open mind unlocked the most hardened hearts in the least hopeful places. Sarah, a 83-year-old lady, was not even close to the oldest person in the center, seemed not enthusiastic about her own life and reluctant to change anything in her life. Even her regular seat in the speech hall never changes. When Mr. Zander offered a new seat for a new change, she said “Are you crazy? I am 83 years old” and she moved. She moved because she wanted change, any kind of change. She would have not bother even come to the speech if she did not want to change. The age number 83 struck her down to be hopeless but in side of her there were longing for hope and new challenges. The oldest person in the center was over 100. That means that Sarah has more than 20 years to live. Why can’t 83 year old person hopes for the future? Mr. Zander himself wasn’t sure until he visited the center that there were passion and hope in elderly people. Elderly people were touched by Mr. Zander’s sincere effort to come and share his stories of hopeful life.

            Maybe I give up too early, I thought. I decide on possibilities of things as it appear realistic to me. However, I am wrong. I cannot decide the future. Every living person, no matter their age or talent, has desire to dream and potential to make that dream come true. What am I to decide what will happen tomorrow? What am I seeing in people? The reality I see is past and present but the reality is ongoing that I cannot see today. 

MAC-Week2-Publishing project 1 of 3

I have searched art education publications to publish my AR.

Here are the following sites with guidelines linked.

National Art Education Association
Art Education: The Journal of the National Art Education Association
NAHS News
NAHS News is the official newsletter of the National Art Honor Society. Published twice a year (December and April), it contains feature articles of interest to junior and senior high school art students. Topics covered include careers in art, preparation of portfolios, news and photos on NAHS chapter activities, student artwork, and information on financial aid. Each NAHS member receives his/her own copy; each chapter sponsor receives complimentary copies. Total circulation is over 35,000.
Send submissions to: nahs@arteducators.org

NAEA Advisory Similar to Translations, the NAEA Advisory is also provided to NAEA members as a free member benefit. Topics for Advisories should be aimed at translating research and theory into practice for the K-12 NAEA member.K-12 teachers are encouraged to submit papers. Topics might include strategies for instruction and student learning; strategies for classroom organization and behavior management; assessment procedures related to art learning; incorporation of the National Visual Arts Standards into existing state and local curricula; alternative methods for teaching using technology; art instruction and higher-order thinking; issues related to teacher preparation; the incorporation of multiple-intelligences theories; conducting research in the art classroom; instructional practices in other cultures; and, art instruction in community contexts. Submissions should be no longer than 3-5 pages double-spaced including references (600-700 words). Follow APA style. Click on the link for a listing of NAEA Advisories. Refer to recent NAEA Advisory copies for the sense of organization and style or write the editor for further details. Submit a digital Word file to: Advisory@arteducators.org.

School Arts Magazine

International Journal of Education and the Arts

MAC-Week1-Free Style-"Who uses a tool?"

"When a chief uses a knife, it is a master's tool to cook.

 When a killer uses a knife, it is a murderer's tool to kill." 

-Soyeon Kim-

My action research topic is on "maximizing art-making time through online critique using digital portfolio." As I was collecting Cycle 2 data from my students, one mentioned in his response.

“...However, I sometimes do not agree with this new online system because even though it may be a great new method to help each other out, this whole online thing isolates us from reality. What does it matter if we critique online, in our future careers most of us will have to learn to talk in person most of time. The online critiques might decrease our ability to confidently speak in front of another.”

It made me think and I really appreciated his honest concern when he mentioned “online thing isolates us from reality.” I had a similar concern with this student before I took Full Sail Online Program. I sometimes saw on newspaper articles that virtual world or online games influenced people in negative ways. I saw chatting were blocked in work places because people constantly chatted online and got distracted by it. If I were the boss, I would be mad and blocked them too when my workers got distracted by personal chatting.

In contrast, I have observed many times online tools were used in promoting better communications. I have been in the United States for 16 years and I still have contacted my old friends through social networking sites. My friend update their lives and share with other people all the time. My fiancé is in Grand Rapid, Michigan and I am New York but I talk to him all the time. As soon as I go home, I start video chatting with him and spend time talking and even watching TV together. This is a good communication tool for us till we get married. Can you imagine us doing it even after we get married without seeing each other in person at all? That sounds terrible. What is the whole point of seeing each other online if we are not going to see each in person at all? I mean we see each other in person and online.

My point is that online tools cannot be the only communication tool when one really is trying to have a close personal relation with someone. It is an asset to whatever existing. However, depending on how one uses it, one can really communicate in depth for business and educational purposes.

When I compare traditional college with online college that I attended, I see rare difference on how they impacted my learning. Even though I have never physically met any of my Full Sail University faculty or classmates, I felt as close as I was with traditional college classmates and faculty.  The way Full Sail faculty and classmates interacted was as valuable as the other way around. There were specific feedbacks, videos, synchronous class, project sharing, social networking and games. I have learned my thought clearly with more people through blogs and discussions. Ironically, I have gained confidence of speaking in front of people because of so many media presentation projects.

In conclusion, I realized that it is not so much about technology that decrease the ability to speak in front of others or isolation from reality. It is the way people uses technology as tools. Tools have no value until people put positive or negative value in it.

MAC-Week1-Reading Response-Compare with Yesterday's Self

"Do Not Compare Yourself with Other. Compare with Yesterday’s Self."

-Soyeon Kim_

After reading “Art of Possibility” by Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander

• “Michelangelo is often quoted as having said that inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful statue; one need only remove the excess materials to reveal the work of art within. If we were to apply this visionary concept to education, it would be pointless to compare one child to another. Instead, all the energy would be focused on chipping away at the stone, getting rid of whatever is in the way of each child’s developing skills, mastery, and self-expression.” (p.26)

• “Each student in this class will get an A for the course…However, there is one requirement that you must fulfill to earn this grade: Sometimes during the next two weeks, you must write me a letter dated next May, which begins with the word, ‘Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because…,’ and in this letter you are to tell, in as much detail as you can, the story of what will have happened to you by next May that is in line with this extraordinary grade.” (p.27)

Individualized instruction and Multiple Intelligence theory are of the most popular current issues in education and this book also supports the idea of Individual-based education by saying that everyone has one’s own strength that needs to be thoughtfully approached. As a result, one can think beyond the limitations and succeed in one’s expertise.

 

In this competitive modern society, people learn to compete with others in the earlier stage as soon as they enter the schools. Competition gets more intense as the society gets more complex. Ranking, grading, standardizing, all these systems display comparison one to the other. “Who is better than whom?” becomes the core question of educational settings as well as job field. This competition mindset often times discourages students from finding one’s own interest and strength. Students learn to limit themselves comparing with exceptional students. Even in my art class, some students often say, “Her work makes mine look bad.” Or “I am not better than others.” In contrast, other students always remind me how great they are. “I am the most talented student. I am the best in my class.” They refuse to listen and their works are not the best that they can produce. They are content with their own work and settle before they try their best. I noticed that many students constantly compare themselves with other and get discouraged or build distorted form of self-esteem. 

This is when individualized instruction plays a great role in education. I try to find each student’s style of art and try their best in their own way. I ask students not to compare with other because they are simply different people. Students in fact, have unique styles and have potential to be amazing but I do not see everyone demonstrates their potential. I have noticed some educators only praise to raise students’ self-esteem but excessive praising promotes distorted self-esteem. Students become unable to take constructive criticism. They also settle too early to push their limitations, which is not their best yet.

I really enjoy and respect Zander’s approach of individualized instruction. Zander did a wonderful approach in a way that each person sets one’s own goal and push the limitations with self-developed guidelines in the letter of “I deserve A because…” (p.27) In the student letters, they already knew their strength and weakness that they want to develop. They set their future goal as if it was already accomplished. It was self-studied so students didn’t have to take it personally. Plus, because they preset their grade as A, their comments were positive and constructive. This method really made me think how I can teach my teenagers who fiercely struggle with their identity everyday. I want to help them raise their self-esteem in a positive way so that they can take constructive criticism at the same time focus on their own development. Students should not compare themselves with others but their yesterday’s self.

Why another one?

Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiatives has established a new paradigm of e-learning with SCORM. (ADL) Traditional way of LMS (Learning Management System) is widely used for institutions and companies for training their employees and students in different professional content areas. LMS helps launch learning content, keep track of learner progress, and sequence learning content. Its benefit is to meet individual’s learning needs. In contrast, CMS (Content Management System) provides space to back up or archive the content such as articles, books, or pictures that are gathered professionals to share.

However, it is not flexible enough to accommodate different courses with the same content in one or the other system. It means that LMS cannot move courses from one LMS to another. It cannot reuse content nor sequence reusable content for other individualized learning strategies. Plus, unlike CMS, it does not have content libraries to store content across different LMS. Basically, it is inconvenient for administrators to utilize the content for different purposes in different times. (Introduction to SCORM, 2008) LMS focuses on learner but CMS concentrates on content.

This is why we need a new way of e-learning, LCMS (Learning Content Management System). It is combination of CMS and LMS. (Nichani, 2001) One of the exemplary models of LCMS is SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model). Because SCORM provides extra library to store the content and make it reusable, administrating different learning needs becomes possible. For example, when scientific research lab maintains three different lab courses and all courses need “eyewash procedure”. LMS cannot allow using the same module of “eyewash procedure” for all courses. Whereas, SCORM makes it possible to reuse the same content for all three different lab courses which naturally makes the administrators job more flexible and convenient. (Introduction to SCORM, 2008)


(Introduction to SCORM, 2008)


As shown in the picture above, every SCORM has a well defined set of capabilities with the same content that may fit different LMS. In a long run, SCORM make the LMS cost effective because it saves money to move the content to the other. It obviously saves time to redevelop same content for different courses and its reusability definitely makes it uniquely stronger than LMS or CMS(Content Management System). (Introduction to SCORM, 2008)



References

Nichani, M. (2001, May 02). LCMS=LMS+CMS. Elearningpost. Retrieved April 17, 2010, from http://www.elearningpost.com/articles/archives/lcms_lms_cms_rlos/

Advanced Distributed Learning, (n.d.). Who we are. Retrieved April 17, 2010 from http://www.adlnet.gov/About/Pages/Default.aspx

An introduction to SCORM 2004, 3rd edition. (2008). Retrieved April 16th, 2010, from http://projects.aadlcolab.org/scourse/2004_3rdEd/_viewer/index.html

CMS versus LMS

CMS (Course Management System) and LMS (Learning Management System) support different kinds of learning types. CMS supports online classroom type of learning whereas LMS guides individual learning when needed. In other words, CMS is more like a school setting with a set of students with specific timely assignments and progress reports such as grades from instructor just like school classroom setting but online. Class content is displayed in specific a period of time, and discussion boards enable a group of learners with instructor communicate although live discussion such as chatting or synchronous e-learning are not available.
LMS is more individualized. Learner can choose specific content they need to learn and finish the course whenever they want. Learner can enroll the course and finish the test in their own paces. In that sense, LMS embraces wider range of learner with less restriction of time. LMS is suitable for corporations or professional job training purpose. CMS and LMS are used for different purposes.



Carliner, S. (2005, November). Course Management Systems Versus Learning Management Systems. Learning Circuits. Retrieved April, 17, 2010, from http://web.archive.org/web/20070308145724/http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/nov2005/carliner.htm

Measuring the Total Cost of e-learning

When I read that e-learning saves money, I wondered how, because it looked costly to set up softwares, and other technology equipments. Although e-learning cost more than we expect it is, it definitely saves money when compared to traditional learning type with instructor for larger institutions and corporations. Kruse (2004) calculated and compared the total cost of ILT (Instructor-led Training) and TBT (Technology Based Learning) and came up with the difference of $600,000. ILT was more costly than TBT when number of students is big. His study was conducted for three years with 800 learners. The number of students is proportionate to the cost of ILT. So, it may be less expensive to run a course with an instructor. However, the total cost of TBT is fixed regardless of number of students. This implies that the greater number of students enrolled, the more money saved with TBT. Once computers and softwares are set up, it is there for next users or learners but instructor compensation fee is paid every course. \ For larger corporation, in a long run, TBT saves money and time that is also equivalent to money.


Reference:
http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art5_2.htm