Please welcome arts educator Laura Echegaray to EdSpace. She recently participated in a KQED Education workshop where we spent a day at MoAD learning about historical representation through art and film, and later created short films at KQED about missing voices or stories in history. Laura created a film about the history of Salsa music and dance, with a focus on her home country of Puerto Rico.
Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878. National Gallery of Art.
Please welcome arts educator Anna Efanova to EdSpace. She recently participated in a KQED Education workshop where we spent a day at MoAD learning about historical representation through art and film, and later created short films at KQED about missing voices or stories in history. Anna created a film about some important female artists that she wanted to introduce to her students.
From Anna Efanova: We often hear and talk about bringing technology into the classroom. KQED does exactly that by offering workshops for educators that inspire and teach them how to enhance their lessons with technology. I have been looking for other possibilities to present visuals about the artists, and here was an opportunity to learn how to use iMovie.
The workshop began with an inspirational and thought provoking tour of the MOAD museum and their exhibition, COLLECTED: Stories of Acquisition and Reclamation. We explored highlights from personal collections of books, posters and other memorabilia about the culture and history of African Americans.
On the second day of the workshop, we were introduced to the iMovie software and started to create our presentations. It was a first experience for me, but I found the software quite intuitive and easy to operate with the help of Matthew Williams. The whole experience of putting the images, voice and music together made me think of the relative elements of the presentation that make it interesting. I have also added text to make sure that the attention is kept in focus. With the abundance of the media around us and our students, it is to start daydreaming if there is not enough stimulation.
By the end of the third day we got to see the other teachers' projects. I was delighted to see that everyone has taken their own route to present what is closer to their teaching and student's needs. My presentation was about Women artists. I often use images and then talk while showing the work to the students. Making a movie made me think more deeply about the structure and the overall cohesiveness of the presentation. Now, when I introduce a lesson I can use my own video as a starting point and then use the questions and conversations to explore the subject deeper.
Here is how I will follow up with a lesson plan for upper middle school students, or younger high school students:
Activity:
Students will choose an artist as an inspiration to create their own work.
Post discussion:
Why has the artists chosen their particular medium?
What social/political/biographical facts have influenced the artist's work?
Thanks to Anna Efanova for her wonderful video about notable female artists throughout history and today. It is a perfect film for March, which is Women's History month.
Photo by By Bryan Maleszyk/Flickr
Please welcome History teacher Rob Curry to Ed Space. He recently participated in our workshop where we spent a day at MoAD learning about historical representation through art and film, and later worked at KQED to create short films about missing voices or stories in history. Rob created a film about Willie Mays and the baseball legend's experience with prejudice in San Francisco.
Rob Curry: "The workshop was extremely helpful in developing an appreciation for the content of the exhibits at the Museum of the African Diaspora, as well as a way of learning to help my students create digital media projects as vehicles to more fully internalize their learning, and use higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
At MoAD, we learned that there were three African Diasporas. The first was the spread of all humans from the common origin in east Africa. The second African Diaspora was the transatlantic slave trade. The third and on-going African Diaspora is the continued exodus of Africans throughout the world.
The museum has on display a myriad of primary documents. I was very impressed by signed early editions of Phyllis Wheatley’s book of poetry and of Frederick Douglass’ Narratives of a Slave. These original copies of early literary masterpieces are featured as photos in my 8th grade students’ text books. To actually be able to see them, up close and in person, literally sent a chill up and down my spine.
Viewing KQED Spark videos, particularly about the Kerry James Marshall murals at SFMOMA, reinforced the impact of art in conveying ideas and motions. On the 2 days of the workshop at KQED, we were guided in combining the many components (images, music, text, narration) which go into the iMovie project. Having done this previously, I still needed practice. I now feel much more confident in creating these projects with my students."
In Rob's classroom, students will collect 10-15 images related to a person from African American or Women's History who rose above challenges and obstacles. Once images are initially arranged in iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, the students who take on script writer and the image gathering roles will work together to decide the final order of images and text or title screens. They will then work with the students working as audio editors to choose music and set up plans for the narration.
Thanks to Rob Curry for his participation in our workshop. We look forward to seeing his students' media projects in the future.
Kerry James Marshall "Visible Means of Support" mural at SFMOMA
Join KQED Education and The Museum of the African Diaspora for a three-part educator workshop about art, history, and making media. Participants will spend an inspirational day at MoAD studying the current exhibition, Collected: Stories of Acquisition and Reclamation, and discover how history has been conveyed through art and images.
We will spend time in the museum's salon, where we will view excerpts from the 1958 film, St. Louis Blues, about the life of legendary blues man, W.C. Handy. Considered a race film, St. Louis Blues depicts a false life/reality and serves as a snapshot of life in the 1940s and '50s.
In the second part of the workshop, we'll spend 2-days at KQED in San Francisco learning how to develop and produce a personalized digital story. We will draw inspiration from KQED-featured contemporary artists including Kerry James Marshall and Kara Walker, and explore classroom-ready videos and lesson plans related to their work, which communicates a re-telling of history.
To learn more, visit the KQED Events Calendar. This workshop is open to Educators in grades 6 - 12 and there are three required sessions: January 28, February 3-4.
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