Sunday, January 25, 2009

Uploading a photo

This cat looks so much like my own Abby, the tabby, that I had to add her.  Abby has a fluffy bed just like this one, too.  My  cat, however, has a patio door to look through as she watches birds feeding on my deck.  This one looks like she's just ready to jump through that window.
 I am just so excited that this might work!!  It  makes me feel great to be experimenting with techniques I've never tried.  

Practice for Humanities

http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/d06.htm  
This is a link to one of my favorite African American female artist's work.  Although it would violate copyright to post the image here (plus it just doesn't work), isn't it OK to refer my readers to this link?  This artist produces elaborate & detailed quilts depicting various aspects of life, and I just love the vibrancy of her work.  I'm hoping some of our students will find a connection with her in our upcoming humanities project.  

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Copyright

Information from yesterday's meeting really surprises & confuses me. As a person who appreciates some "rules", the new guidelines for copyright seem to me almost nonexistent. However, the whole concept of transfer & distribution of information has changed drastically in the last 10 years. THEN, after years of really studying copyright rules, I felt confident explaining things to teachers. NOW, it's just going to require a lot more thought & explanation to students.
On the other hand, it offers so much more flexibility for encouraging students to create, using work of others as a starting point. I am looking forward to working with teachers on classroom wikis & blogs. In particular, an upcoming art reflection project has me excited about watching how students react to new web 2.0 tools.