Paper+3

**Paper #3: Web 2.0 Resources Use in Technology Integrated Curriculum**
Would you enjoy using a computer game site or other Web 2.0 technology to create art? Numerous exciting and innovative Web 2.0 technologies may be used to integrate technology into the Visual Arts curriculum. It is important to consider which of these will actively engage students to have a deeper understanding and transfer of knowledge and skills. Certain Web 2.0 tools allow students to make meaning of particular art media and processes that transfer understanding. Yet, others I would really have to stretch to fit my teaching methods and content.

The Web 2.0 technologies that would enable me to help students develop a deeper understanding of the visual arts curriculum vary by desired media and process. When teaching perspective drawing, SketchUp is an excellent tool for drawing straight edged and circular based three dimensional forms, especially buildings. The program progresses from basic construction to more complex design thus making it an excellent tool for differentiation and transfer of learning. The basic premise is for the student to be able to pull and push shapes into proportioned, three-dimensional forms that can be built upon, modified and orbited. When teaching perspective drawing to Fundamentals of Art, Studio Art and Drawing classes; this tool should be integrated into the units.

Benettonplay’s Flipbook component is another very useful tool. A cartooning / animation unit can be taught to Studio Art class that builds upon skills previously taught in Fundamentals of Art. Basic cartooning skills will be developed into more advanced skills requiring movement. Students can find information about how to create a flip book, view other flip books and create their own. Flipbook allows the students to pick colors and brush widths, draw with a mouse, add frames and duplicate frames. A student’s flip book can be saved to his computer, pasted into websites and blogs, and reused in other work.

Glogster is a site where students can create a glog that is an interactive poster of images, video and audio. The poster making is done in collage. Images, video and text may be arranged at angles with overlapping edges that can be opaque or transparent. This site could serve two separate purposes. The students may compose a collage of images, shapes and words that demonstrate a basic understanding of collage. They could also create an interactive poster in collage style to explain the “big idea” or important knowledge and skills of a unit.

When viewing each of the Web 2.0 sites that had visual art components, I felt that SketchUp, Flipbook, and Glogster serve as a best fit to my pedagogy and routine. Units that I teach will have more depth of understanding and transfer with the integration of these technologies. Although there were other art sites that were excellent, they did not fit my teaching methods and routine. One of these sites was Storybird. It is advertised for writers, readers and artists, but it is a site where students can write stories based on other artists illustrations, instead of illustrating themselves. These stories could serve as creative examples of illustrated writing, but would not engage my students in the process of actually creating an illustration. In order to integrate Storybird into my teaching methods, I would have to stretch things to make it more than an enhancement to an art unit on illustration.

Benettonplay ([]) Glogster ([]) SketchUp ([]) Storybird ([])
 * __Web 2 Technologies and their links:__**