About Me

My photo
educators4art.blogspot.com exists to provide educational resources for art and media teachers working in a Canadian, specifically Quebec, High School. The site offers a number of sample, completed, lesson plans, as well as, some inspiration lesson plan ideas or thought provoking activities. The site also has a number of post categories, like "Real Life Art" which critically explores how art influences our everyday life. There is also the "spotlight" section that features a website, resource or educational tool and aside from the lesson plans, the site also offers some ideas for projects that use and integrate technology. As a side note, each of the lesson plans and posts has a comments section where I encourage educators to voice their opinions on the lessons or any comments on how well they were implemented (or not) in the classroom. Of course, any rude or hateful comments will be deleted.

Monday, 3 December 2012

Lesson: Digital Storytelling


Link to online resources (ebook)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79101242/10-Digital-Storytelling-Projects

Offers:

  • Various lesson plans
  • Resources and tools
  • Lessons that integrate technology
  • Lessons that feature narratives and storytelling
  • Sample rubrics
  • Teacher and student objectives 

Real Life Art

Food Design
Synopsis

"The sound of sausage: When a bite produces a distinct crunch, they taste particularly good. Fish sticks, on the other hand, don't make such great noises, but they can be arranged nicely in the pan. And is it merely a coincidence that bologna fits perfectly onto a slice of bread, and that when combined, they make up a popular snack?"

"Designers create clothes, furniture, cars and all kinds of useful items. So why not food? Food designers work on things to eat, giving them a certain style and function. They not only make sure that food and drink fill our stomachs, but also that the eating process is practical and appeals to all the senses - so that we're hungry for more."


"
FOOD DESIGN takes a look at the secret chambers of a major manufacturer of food, where designers and scientists are defining your favorite mouthful of tomorrow. It shows how form, color, smell, consistency, the sounds made during eating, manufacturing technique, history and stories are all aspects of food and eating that both influence food design, and are created by it."
Discussion Topics:
  • Photoshop
  • Use of technology in marketing
  • The consumer or target audience (influence they have on available products) 
  • Advertising as the "Art of the 21st century"
  • Art evoking emotions, senses, and feelings 
Colour Theory:
"Red foods are normally accepted, they're all popular..."
"Black foods make people think of decay and death..."
"The psychology of color plays an important role both in the evaluation and when food are purchased"

Why are red gummy bears more popular? How does the industry react 
to demand?
How does this relate to Art? Or media? Your personal choices? 
What colour do you wear most often? Why?
What colours do you see in stores?     

 

Real Life Art

How Design can influence the Political Debate

Article: How Certain Fonts Reduce Political Polarity
(http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/how-certain-fonts-reduce-political-polarity)

Introduction: 
"When people consume information in a difficult-to-read font, they are likely to form a more moderate opinion of the information they have read, suggests a study just published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. In one experiment, individuals who read an overtly political argument about capital punishment in challenging font were less polarized than a control group who were given an easy-to-read font. "The study is the first to use difficult-to-read materials to disrupt what researchers call the 'confirmation bias,' the tendency to selectively see only arguments that support what you already believe" (http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/how-certain-fonts-reduce-political-polarity).   

Use this article to...

  • show how perceptions can influence how we think about something
  • how "neutral" objects are value-laden by design or by existence within a value-driven society
  • How the world is man-made in every sense, meaning that urban planning and our organizational structures, and symbols are "designed" with explicit and implicit purposes


Spotlight: Website

LangMedia:
http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/culturetalk.html

CultureTalk for High School Students: Arts & Entertainment
Topics for Cross-Cultural Discussion

"CultureTalk features video clips of interviews and discussions with people from many different countries and of many different ages and walks of life. Some interviews and discussions are in English; more are in the language(s) of the countries involved. Translations and/or transcripts are given for all non-English video clips. Topics include family, food, education, religious and cultural customs, work, art, sport, travel, and more." (http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/culturetalk.html)

Popular Entertainment

Modern Art Videos

Getting to Know Modern Artists Series 
http://www.artbabble.org/series/picasso-warhol-get-know-modern-masters

Spotlighted Artists:
Louise Bourgeois
Joan Miró
Fernand Léger
Romare Bearden
Andy Warhol
Marcel Duchamp
Alexander Calder
Constantin Brancusi
Jackson Pollock
Pablo Picasso
Jasper Johns
Giorgio de Chirico
Henri Matisse

Spotlight: Website

ART BABBLE
http://www.artbabble.org/

Art Babble is a great resources for art teachers. It offers a wide selection of museum collections, images, videos (public talks, lectures, how-tos, making-of, behind the scenes...etc.), and series. 

Media Studies:

The Jackie Look: Branding a Presidency Through Fashion

http://www.artbabble.org/video/ima/jackie-look-branding-presidency-through-fashion

Digital Art:

Aziz + Cucher: Some People

http://www.artbabble.org/video/ima/aziz-cucher-some-people

History/Portraits before Photography:

Dallas Museum of Art Collection: John Singleton Copley

http://www.artbabble.org/video/dma/dallas-museum-art-collection-john-singleton-copley

Installations:

Exhibitions @ MOCA Cleveland

http://www.artbabble.org/series/exhibitions-moca-cleveland