Fieldwork Observations: Day Two

       Today I finished my fieldwork hours at Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing arts. Again, I observed the "Intro to Photo" class of Rachel Lyons. Today Ms. Lyons gave the students a demonstration on how to do the photo transfer technique. She showed how to spray the photo on sticker paper with hairspray. You have to use just the right amount. Then, flip the image to a textured paper and burnish it, using the handle of scissors.  The assignment was to use a picture they had taken on a field trip to the Botanical Gardens and adjust the contrast and saturation. This would make the image look better when transferred. There was some trial and error when the students tried the technique for themselves, which Ms. Lyons understood and allowed them to print out another image until they got it right. The students were so happy when they got their desired results.
      The next class was  the double period of "Computer Arts" for visual art majors. These students were beginning a new project using Adobe Illustrator, where they would take two images, morphing one into another. It is a vector based drawing program, and the project required using the tools of "anchor points", "strokes" and "paths". I thought this was a great way to teach students to master this program, as I saw examples of previous years work that came out really well. Some students had a hard time coming up with ideas and spent the whole class looking for references, while others got very far in the process, some even finishing! It just shows that every student works at a different pace. Ms. Lyons also mentioned that there are some students that don't participate and work on their own. One student in particular that she said likes to "push her", often does twice the work because of this, having to figure things out on his own.
      Rachel Lyons seemed to have a great relationship with her students, she seems laid back and comfortable with them. She talked to them in a casual, calm manner and they did too. She never had to raise her voice. There were, however, some disadvantages that could be a consequence of such a laid back style. Her class room was quite a mess, with projects, materials and papers scattered about the desks. She also let the students listen to headphones, which some students took advantage of. Some students would blast their music from their headphones so everyone could hear it. Ms. Lyons had to warn, "They are headphones, not speakers, I will have to take away the privilege for everyone if you don't use them properly." I thought it was very appropriate how she addressed this issue.
       One concern of the teacher was the state mandated teacher evaluations, called "SLOs". Apparently 20% of her evaluation is based on her student's performance on a test. While she knows her students will do well, she doesn't see it as an effective evaluation manner and thinks the Buffalo school district has put it together very haphazardly. One great piece of advice that I received from Ms. Lyons was to take advantage of grant opportunities. Through a "artist in residence" grant she received an iPad, an expensive poster printer and a professional artist that came to teach in the classroom. She said, you just have to do a little extra work, send in some applications and it is well worth the effort. That was a very valuable piece of knowledge that Ms. Lyons shared. I think she is a great role model for a teacher. Although I am not completely confident in my technological skills yet, I hope that like Ms. Lyons I can teach myself as I go and learn by doing.

Observing a Media Art Class- Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts

Day one of Observation:

      Today I went to the classroom of Rachel Lyons to observe her high school media and technology classes for the morning. Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing arts is a Buffalo Public school and it is a magnet school. It encompasses grades five through twelve, though it only has about 900 students altogether. Rachel Lyons seemed like a very inspiring, down to earth and knowledgeable teacher. She has been teaching at this school for 11 years now. She mentioned that most of what she learned about technology and digital art, she taught herself. I found this quite amazing because she was teaching the students a wide array of computer programs including Photoshop, Adobe Flash and Illustrator.
      When I arrived at 8:45, her Intro to Photo class was just beginning. This is made up of mostly Senior non-majors  who are filling an art requirement. The class size was pretty small, of about 15 students. The students were very nice to speak with, I discussed college plans with many. They were just finishing up a very cool project where they used Photoshop to combine an illustrated black and white picture with a digital color photo. I thought this was such a clever way to teach elements of Photoshop and the students got very creative with it.
      The next to periods, until I left at 11:00 was a Computer Arts class for Art Majors. Mrs. Lyons explained that the majors' art classes got double periods and then switched half way through the year, so they were still getting a whole year of curriculum. This class was mostly Juniors and they were working on a Adobe Flash Animation project. The objective were to expand skills with Adobe Flash, work collaboratively in teams and to tell a fairy tale with a modern day spin on it using animation. It was a group project and it was also the last day they had to finish it. Unfortunately, some students weren't working as if it were the last day to finish it. This was one of the issues that the teacher mentioned comes up when working in groups, that some students do not contribute as much as they should and rely on other group members. To address this issue Mrs. Lyons made "Teamwork/Effort" part of the rubric criteria and let the student know that their peers would also be evaluating them on this. Despite this, the students came up with some very funny stories that were illustrated quite well.
    It is clear that the students that go to this school  get accepted for a reason, because they are talented and they have drive. They were mostly all very well behaved with great personalities, and I can't wait to get to know them more as I continue my observations.