artists – iLearn Technology

A Lifetime of Color

February 25, 2010Kelly Tenkely8 Comments3065 views

What it is: A Lifetime of Color is a fun interactive environment where students can learn about, and study, art and artists. in these “Art Edventures”, students will discover how great artists made their famous works and learn tips and techniques for create their own masterpieces. A Lifetime of Color is split into activities for primary and intermediate students. In the primary section, students will learn about line and shape, landscapes, color, architecture, industrial design, and portraits. In the intermediate section, students will learn about the history of art, the art of crime detection, Leonardo, color theory, architecture, design and portraits. In the study section of the Lifetime of Color site, students can explore a timeline, artists, and access a glossary. The activities section includes technique demos, projects, and featured artists. The lesson plans are cross curricular, combining art with science, social studies, math, and reading.

How to integrate A Lifetime of Color into the classroom: One of the saddest developments to come out of the budget crisis is the cutting of the arts from education. The arts are so important to learning and development. Art asks students to think differently, creatively, innovatively. Art is a necessary focus in education. A Lifetime of Color is an excellent site to integrate art into a variety of subjects. With ideas for the science, social studies, math, and reading classroom, there are no excuses for not infusing your classroom with art. The activities lead and guide students to look at the world in new ways, to consider detail, and to interpret what they are viewing. This is an excellent site for the art classroom but has activities that will easily extend and enrich any classroom. Use the activities with the whole class using an interactive whiteboard or projector or set up A Lifetime of Color as a center on your classroom computers for students to visit.

Tips: Make sure to take a look at the lesson plans for your grade level, there are some fantastic ideas for introducing art to your curriculum.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using A Lifetime of Color in your classroom.

Jackson Pollock Whiteboard

February 10, 2010February 10, 2010Kelly Tenkely12 Comments15055 views

What it is: Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter and a big name in the abstract expressionist movement. Recently, I was reminded about the Jackson Pollock Whiteboard interactive from the wonderful Techie Classroom blog. This website allows students to create Jackson Pollock-esque virtual paintings. Students click anywhere on the screen for splatters of paint, drops, and dribbles. As they are “painting”, students can press any key on the keyboard for a different background color, erase using the space bar, press alt+ any key to change the color of the drip, or use numbers 1-0 or left, right, up, or down arrow to change the color of the drip or background. Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetas is also an iPhone and iPod Touch application.

How to integrate Jackson Pollock Whiteboard into the classroom: This site is just plain fun! Students will enjoy creating abstract works of art by clicking and moving around the virtual page. Obviously this would be a great way to introduce students to abstract art and to Jackson Pollock, students could start by creating here, and then study Jackson Pollock and his famous paintings. Put the Jackson Pollock website up on your interactive whiteboard and let your class create a Pollock masterpiece throughout the day. Take a screen shot of the finished painting at the end of the day/class period. This could be done every day over a week or month. At the end of the week/month collect all of your classroom virtual paintings into a slide show. Do the finished paintings convey the emotions of the days? The slide show of paintings could also be used as a backdrop for information that students learned on their Jackson Pollock study.

Students Pollock masterpieces can be used for adding some color to the classroom walls, as a desktop picture or screen saver, or as thank you notes for classroom helpers.

Tips: In the iPod/iPhone version of the Jackson Pollock Whiteboard, multi-touch capabilities are built in for even more fun!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Jackson Pollock Whiteboard in your classroom.