Art and Problem Solving: Freshmen Experience Meets Sol Lewitt

Students Working on Art (Image by J. Madden)

Last week I had dinner with John Madden (@Ahab6633), a staff developer and English teacher at Morristown High School in NJ where I learned more about the freshmen experience that he and technology supervisor, Scott Klepesch (@shklepesch) created this summer.  John and Danielle Firavanti (also an English teacher) enacted this 3-week project this fall with 100 freshmen as a means to introduce the students to the high school and to create occasions for the students to work together to problem solve, communicate, and make art.

Here is a brief video that outlines the project and shows portions of the finished 8' x 40' art work students composed. Students incorporated aspects of the project in their humanities (English and history) and physics courses.

Freedom to Read

This video by Bookmans beautifully affirms the importance of the freedom to read.

When someone  or some government wants to ban books what they are actually saying is that you or the guy down the street or the kid around the corner or an entire country can't think well enough and need to depend on this anonymous (or perhaps known) person/government to make decisions.

They are saying that we can't think. We can't know what we want. That to read the book is too dangerous for the likes of us.

Banners takes away freedom.
That simple.

I am pleased to have read (in some cases reread) s well as taught most of the banned books illustrated in the video. How about you?

Here's a list of banned classics - books by ALA.
List of banned children's books by Amazon.
2012 list of banned children/YA books by ALA

Go ahead and read a banned book today. Exercise some freedom.

Into the Woods

Images made during a foggy moment today while walking in the woods.

Rapunzel (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

Between Trees (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

In the Woods (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

One Tree (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

The Road through the Woods (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

The Dance (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

Luminous (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

The Wind (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

Tree (M.A. Reilly, 12.8.12, Oakland, NJ)

iPad Apps for Middle School Literacy Project

I will be working with a school who is instituting a one-to-one iPad project with seventh graders in January.  I am considering recommending apps from the list below. I am asking what you think about the selection, as well as any additional apps you think are essential that are not on my list or ones on the list you would not recommend. 

Thanks. I am so much smarter with your help:)

Mary Ann


Art Making, Creating/Remixing and Photography
100Cameras (1.99)
Animation Creator (1.99)
Camera + (.99)
Comic Life (4.99)
Downcasts (Free)
Garage Band (4.99)
Hipstamatic (1.99)
iMovie (4.99)
iPhoto (4.99)
iStop Motion for iPad (9.99)
iTalk Premium (1.99)
Instagram (Free)
Learnist (Free)
Photo Collage Creator (Free)
SketchBook Pro (2.99)
Synchronous Camera (Free)
Videolicious (Free)

Audio /Video/Written Text for Consumption
Amazon Instant Video (Free)
iBooks (Free)
Kindle (Free)
Netflix (Free)
Pandora (Free)
Stitcher (Free)

Communication and Assisted Learning
Dragon Dictation (Free)
Speak it! Text to Speech (1.99)

Tap to Talk (Free)
Tiny Vox Pro (Free)

Content-Related Apps/Books/Literary Works
Alice in New York (3.99)
City Blossoms (1.99)
Constitution (Free)
Declaration of Independence (Free)
Free Books - 23, 469 Classics To Go (Free)
Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War (4.99)
Gettysburg (.99)
Google Earth (Free)
Greek Gods (Free)
Here On Earth (11.99)
History 3D - Civil War (1.99)
iPoe, Vol. 1 (3.99)
iPoe, Vol. 2 (3.99)
Literary Analysis Guide (3.99)
My Congress (Free)
Our Choice:  A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis (4.99)
Poetry Creator (Free)
Science 360 (Free)
Shakespeare in Bits: A Midsummer Night's Dream (14.99)
Shakespeare in Bits: Romeo and Juliet (14.99)
Star Walk (2.99)
The Elements: A Visual Exploration (13.99)
Word Mover (Free)
Writing Prompts (1.99)

News/Public Radio
Flipboard (Free)
NPR for iPad (Free)
This American Life (2.99)
This I Believe (.99) or This I Believe Podcast (Free)

Productivity
Doodlecast Pro (3.99)
Dropbox (Free)
Evernote (Free)
GoodReader (4.99)
Google (Free)
JotNot Scanner (.99)
Keynote (9.99)
MindNode (9.99)
Noteshelf (5.99)
Numbers (9.99)
Pages (9.99)
Paper by Fifty-Three (Free)
Pearltrees (Free)
Prezi Viewer (Free)
QR Reader (Free)
Show Me Interactive Whiteboard (Free)
Sticky Notes (Free)

Reference
Google Earth (Free)
iTunes U (Free)
WolframAlpha (3.99)

Social Media
Skype (Free)
Twitter (Free)

Make Me Look. Make Me Understand. Visual Representation and Science

Felice Frankel co author of No Small Matters (with chemist, George Whitesides) explains how important the thinking that happens alongside the making of images/models are. She explains how reating representations yields critical thinking. Making representations (photographs, drawings) gets "me to thinking about how to create that representation had to force ne into understanding the stuff better."

A talk by Felice where she explains on this idea follows.  During the talk, she mentions Picturing to Learn.

Making A Playground for Ideas: WonderBooks

In thinking about a Year of Wonder Project, making WonderBooks to record thoughts, ideas, possibilities are important.  Here are a few possibilities.

I. Making Your Own WonderBook





II. Gesso:  A Book: How to Make an Altered WonderBook




III. Collected Artifacts: Filling Your WonderBooks (Favorite Things)



IV. Embedding an Art Conversation into Your WonderBook

Conversing without speaking and using paint as the medium for exchange is the idea behind art conversations. My friend, Jane Gangi and her students at Mount St. Mary's College have been busy engaging children through art conversations.  Adding an art conversation to your WonderBook allows you to think beyond the spoken word.  Here are a few examples of children's art conversations.

Genesis of an Art Conversation (Reilly, 2009)

V. Your WonderBook

The first rule is there are no rules.  A WonderBook is a place to set down tentative ideas, explorations, disconnections.  It is very much a playground for ideas. I have never consistently kept a 'writer's notebook', but I have lots and lots of artist-books where I think and explore ideas and feelings. Some of these have been made with paper and others are digital.

This is a page from one of those books that later became a finished art piece, The Alphabet is No Language.

A page from my WonderBook

On the Way to School: Images Made

Yesterday on my way to pick my son up from school, the fog was particularly lovely.  A few quick images.

Three Poles (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Reservoir Study I (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Reservoir Study II (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Light Falling (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Fishing (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Wood Study (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Ringwood, NJ)

Wood Deep (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Oakland, NJ)

Landscape and Light (M.A. Reilly, 12.4.12, Oakland, NJ)