Wiki+Assignment+1

Befunky.com-Greene

1. The first tool that I used was the image editor at befunky.com in order give a artistic representation of changes in perception. I took a photo of a sunset that I took my Freshman year during spring term, uploaded it to the website, and by selecting one tool on a website it looks like the moon up in the night sky.

2. I thought that this tool was very easy to use. I think all elementary school students would be able to use this tool quite easily given the correct instruction. All I had to do was choose the photo I wanted to manipulate, upload it to the site, mess around with all the different settings until I found one that was aesthetically pleasing, and then save it to my computer.

3. What I learned by using this tool is that Greene is right; perception is a very powerful thing. This tool allowed for one photo to evoke two completely different sets of emotions, to literally become a night and day comparison, and showed me how cool photo editing sites can be just by clicking one button to change a color scheme. I also had a chance to learn that there are more photo sites out there with better options. I had used some photo editing sites before, like piczo, but this site had a lot more options and was easier to use overall.

4. This tool can be used in a classroom to show young students the many cool things that can be done with technology by altering some of their favorite pictures. For instance, I could take a picture of a beloved Sesame Street character like Elmo, alter the colors of the photo and have the students identify the colors that have now been placed on the picture.

Photobucket Slideshow- Booth Class Projects

1. Booth says that art is everywhere and everything that we lay our eyes on is art...while some people will debate whether or not that is correct I bet our parents will tell you that every little sqwiggle that we did as youngers was a masterpeice that belonged on the fridge. As teachers, it is our responsibility to be able to show parents the things that their children are doing in our classroom, and not everyone has the time to come to a parent teacher conference these days. I wanted to find a way to share the work that their kids had done that day/week/month with them.

2. This tool is honestly the most horrible thing that I have ever used. I uploaded two different batches of photos...expecting them to go into an album I created only to have to different batches in two completely different folders. I also wanted to be able to embed the slide show onto this page, but once I was done creating the slideshow, I was not given a way in which to do this for wikispaces...so I had to link it instead and I made sure to test it so that it works. If I use this method in the future I'm going to be sure to find another website.

3. I learned that a slide show is a good way to share photos of what students have done with parents and make them happy that they get to see their child's work, but the process that it takes in order to make the slideshow happen (including taking the pictures) serves as great documentation for student portfolios for parent teacher conferences.

4.I would envision using sites like this one to share photos with parents, but also with the students to give them a sense of pride and accomplishment. We all know that when our artwork was placed on the refrigerator we felt like the most special child on the face of the Earth, we were on top of the world! Imagine showcasing student's art in front of the entire class?

Wordle- Booth

1. The thought process that led me to this tool was that I wanted to literally turn the ideas that have inspired this entire class into a work of art. We have read Booth's entire book by now and can attest to the fact that he has changed our perception of what art is. So, this is my way of paying homage to that perceptual change.

2.I really liked using this tool because is it very easy to use. All you have to do is type words into the box, click go, and then based on what is generated change the layout, font, and color if you so wish. Who knew that turning ideas into works of art could be so easy?

3. What I learned from using this tool is that anything can be turned into a work of art with the proper tools. I mean, really, these are everyday words that were recently given a sense of power and purpose because of a man named Eric Booth. It is because of his writing that we can now look at the world from a completely different perspective and call ourselves artists even if we can only draw stick figures. That kind of empowerment deserves to be honored in a piece of art.

4. I would envision using this tool in order to teach my students exactly what Eric Booth has taught us in Aesthetic Education class. We don't have wear pointe shoes, be Picasso, or Tracy Chapman. All we have to do is notice the world around us, ask questions, make up stories, solve problems in ways that they have never been solved before, use our intuition, pay attention, and not make any rash decisions.