Edmodo

For my A.P. Studio class I wanted to find a way for us to collaborate outside of class and to stay in communication. I did not want to do this on facebook- it is just too problematic from a professional standpoint. After doing some research online I ran across Edmodo- It is an online classroom designed with an interface similar to facebook. Edmodo is designed for education alone, your classroom account is password protected and private- there is no social networking going on except between your students. On Edmodo my students can post about problems they are having with a project (and post pictures of it), they can share information about artists, and can even post a question to me about a project. I have my account set up so that Edmodo sends me a text message(opt) if one of my students posts something to me - a great way to stay in touch without friending them on facebook or handing out your number. My students love our little online classroom and some of the quietest students feel the courage to collaborate and share in ways you never thought they would. I most definitely recommend checking out this online gem!

Matt Held Portaits

Getting students to break away from the typical mug-shot style self portrait can be difficult. For this project I introduced them to artist Matt Held, who paints other peoples' facebook profile pictures. As an artist he is interested in why people choose the pictures they do to represent themselves to the world and how telling it is of their personality. While Held uses others' profile pictures, we wanted this to be our own original expression and so took our own "profile pictures". I had the students draw them on a large square piece of paper and complete them using paint sticks. Finally, they had each moved from timid artists to students who boldly expressed themselves.