The lesson I chose is an intro to the Impressionist art movement. The original lesson was just a brief teacher-oriented lesson with a Power Point, following a demonstration on how to make a stippled drawing. (Stippling is a form of drawing in which everything is composed of little dots. The closer the dots are together, the darker the object is. In contrast, the farther away the dots are, the lighter the object will be.) After the demonstration, the students would start working on a still life stippled drawing. In this Technology Integration Plan, I have included technology in many aspects, hopefully for the better. I have kept the length of the unit the same: the class meets once a day for 40 minutes. I felt that 4-5 days would be appropriate because stippling is a time consuming process. Since our assignment tells us to “dream big” with technological devices, let’s say that I have a computer, internet access, a printer, a smart board, and iPads. Realistically I probably would not have enough iPads for each student, so I will work with what I have.
Before the unit even begins, the students will be assigned to visit a Playground Canvas on an introduction to Impressionism. (The first row on my matrix) The students will explore the canvas by watching videos, looking at famous artwork of the movement, and other articles that will help them better understand what we will be learning about in class. For homework, the students will comment on the “What Do You Think?” widget what they thought about the Impressionist movement. They should post any questions they have as well. This introduction gives them a chance to practice navigating through the internet, as well as posting educational comments. This will also allow them to look up new information on their own. Hopefully they will find the canvas engaging.
The second row on my matrix focuses on the first day of class when I would lead a lecture with a brief Power Point. The presentation would have some more detailed notes and close ups of the paintings. Afterwards, we would visit the Playground canvas to go over any questions the students had. Then I would still do a demonstration on stippling. Instead of drawing on a piece of paper, I would use a smart board. The smart board is a better alternative because it is easier for everyone to see, rather than stand around me and hardly see anything I am doing. With the smart board, it will also be easier to show how to use different colored dots to get a shaded effect in their coloring.
After the presentation and demo are finished, the students will be given their two in-class assignments. The first would be an individual task to use acrylic paint and paintbrushes to make a stippled tree with scenery. It will be small, like 3”x3”. I want them to do this with fine art materials so they get the authentic experience of how the Impressionist artists did it. Their second assignment will be done in pairs. They will create stippled drawings of one everyday activity of their choice using Ipads. Instead of mixing paint and dabbing with paintbrushes, they will apply color with their fingertips. Chances are they will need to look up images online to use for references. Working on a diad (sharing the same canvas) in groups is important so the students can work on a shared expression. They need to collaborate on what they choose to draw, and how they will do it. Not only that, but I mentioned earlier how I expect not to have enough iPads for everyone, so they will have to practice sharing as well as compromising.
The final part is all evaluating and assessment. Before we have a class critique, they will have to print out their stippled drawings. Printing can be a lesson in of itself, as well as responsibility. There are multiple ways on how to print out images, but it depends on what you have. I imagine they will have to send their canvas to my computer, which will be connected to the printer. They will find their canvas and print it out that way. They will need to make sure that their canvas is completely ready to print. We will hang up all of the projects and talk about them. I would be assessing the students on required parts of the project such as theme and if the drawing was done like stippling. I would also assess their behavior as a whole, mostly their working habits and participation in the critique.
To end this unit, the group projects will be displayed in the school hallway. I want the students’ work to be out for the school community to see. That way they know what we are up to. Not only that, but I want the students to feel some pride in what they have accomplished.
Increasing Student Understanding of Impressionism Spreadsheet
Raechel, I can tell you spent a considerable amount of time assembling this technology integration plan. It shows in the level of detail and explanation in your narrative. Your matrix is also logical and in alignment (although the standards column contains extra explanatory information that should instead be in your narrative). Just a couple of questions/comments at this point: Your unit "begins" when you introduce it with the PLAYground (not after). After all, an "introduction" is a beginning, isn't it? Moving forward beyond this course, I encourage you to extend your thinking about technology in ways that are more transformative and less additive or as merely visual aids.
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