MoMA Art Lab on the iPad with Kindergarten

MoMA Art Lab

                                                                 
Kindergarten students have started off their art training learning how to use the elements of art line and shape. We used the art app MoMA Art Lab to play with these elements.  Some students stayed abstract and others made representational objects like houses, snowman, and cars.  I believe play is an important part of the art process, and this app allows students to do that with minimal supplies, mess and time.  We didn't explore the activities on the app yet, but I'm hoping after this introduction students will continue to use the app at home and in the future if they have choice time on the iPad.

Since I was more on top of the lesson, today's class finished early, so I had them do the activites.  I choose the Mastisse game where they had to cut out shapes. It turned out to be a really good motor skill practice for them!

Students had to "cut" the shapes out with their finger.

Starting Kindergarten on the iPad

See more on Artsonia.

Where do I begin for my Kindergarten students?  This is the question I was asking myself when thinking about how to incorporate the iPad into my K curriculum.  I came across the app My Flake and decided it was a simple idea with excellent results so I'd start there.  Students had just finished drawing themselves on a snow day, so it fit with the idea and I could display them together.  The first day, I had students work on their snow day portraits and called ten students to the carpet to work since I have ten iPads (ten of which I'm very grateful for!).  I thought I could run it like a centers in their regular Kindergarten class.  I didn't like this set up, however.  I didn't like that I couldn't help students who were drawing and was stuck on the carpet.  The students at the carpet weren't helping each other because they were consumed with their own iPad and were very needy with me sitting right there.

Today was attempt two.  I decided each table (I have ten, conveniently) would get an iPad and they would just watch each other work.  I felt this worked better.  Students helped other students.  (Some have them at home, others do not, so they teach each other the basics like how to use the home button.  Which saves me time since I only have K once a week for 40 minutes!)  I was able to help all my students.  Everyone was focused on the same goal.  Students were excited to see their peers' results and gave one another positive feedback.  Kids and I were happier.

I used Skitch to write the
name on each snowflake.

As they finished their snowflakes, I took a screenshot of the snowflake and then I opened the photo in Skitch. I prepared the text box for each student and they typed their own name and saved it.  Extra keyboarding practice was a bonus!  I was very busy with this task and 23 kids, but as the class went on, students learned the process by watching and it went faster.  I cropped the snowflakes after class.  Each iPad uses the same Skitch/Evernote account, so I could crop them all on one iPad because they automatically sync together.

When I first choose this app, I was conflicted if it really went with my curriculum.  I'm not one for fluff or pretty things if students aren't making meaning.  Was it teaching them anything other than just how to use and share the iPads and a really cool app?  As they were working today, I realized they were using shapes and lines, and then turning those into a snowflake.  It put meaning to their random choices, gave them a chance to play, and started Kindergarten students on their journey of using iPads in the art room.

Choice and Research with the iPad

 For the past four years, I have had third grade students create Ohio wildlife animals out of clay.  They also create habitats where playing with materials is encouraged.  Tissue paper turns into a pond and pom poms become rocks.  We even had a nest built in a paper tree for a bald eagle one year!

Each year I have difficulty getting the students to understand what exactly a wildlife animal is and is not.  There is always someone who wants to do a dog or horse.  It takes an inspirational talk for them to understand a stray dog is not exactly what we are going for (although I adopted my own daschund!)

This year, with the power of the iPad and wireless newly installed in my classroom, the students were able to do their own research.  I sent them to the Department of Natural Resources website for Ohio where there was an A-Z species guide.  Students choose their own animal and saved the picture to photo library.  They just touch the picture, and a SAVE IMAGE button appears.  Couldn't be easier!  Each student picked their own animal and wrote down the name.  Then students used a search engine to find more photos for different angles and a close up on the head.

https://www.dropbox.com/

Images were then downloaded into the Dropbox app and immediately appeared onto my computer.  Dropbox has been working extremely well for the transfer of pictures and documents from the iPads to my computer.  I printed them out (I'm lucky to have a colored printer) and laminated them.  I can already tell the results of our project are going to be the best yet, and we will have a greater variety of animals represented instead of the same ten I would have printed off for them.  Students have more information to create with and have a sense of ownership by doing their own research.  To watch our progress on this projects and others visit our school blog!    
 

I'm excited to see how the painting improves from having their own resources to look at!

Every student assumes they know what a turtle looks like, until they can really see it in photographs! 

Process over Production

My curriculum is an assemblage. It is not pretty and perfect on paper (although I try my hardest on Google calendar and the gazillion spreadsheets I've made ) but when put into process my curriculum accounts for the students, encounters, lines of flight, and all the little nuances of an art classroom environment. I teach artmaking with a developed plan of process. I teach students PLAY, SKILL BUILDING, KNOWLEDGE BUILDING, and help them make PERSONAL CONNECTIONS. After all these processes are are achieved, we make art that has MEANING.

I recently took a graduate class at The Ohio State University and the word assemblage was part of a new language we learned from the philosopher Deleuze. We used process to understand his concepts. I didn't always understand the class material in readings or when we were given assignments. As soon as I dove into the process however, concepts became clearer and understanding happened.

This is how I want my students to learn---with moments of discovery and new understandings. I don't want the curriculum to be all about producing pretty things for spectators to gasp at, but a curriculum that is deep and considers more than fancy new tools---it considers the student.

My goal is to include the iPads in all parts of my curriculum and enhance the process of artmaking that I believe is so important to a contemporary art curriculum. Stay tuned...