Blogging in the Art Classroom
Lately, I have been trying to work out how to get more discussion and reflection on art into the high school ceramics arts curriculum that I am creating. I also have been wondering what new technology would enhance my program. Among the many tools that I am researching, blogging seems to be a good match. There just seems to be so little time allotted for art that my class discussions revolving around aesthetics and art criticism have been few and far between. This seemed a shame because the depth of thought that can go into creation of a fine work of art seemed lacking, though great craftsmanship was there. So I decided to dig through a bit of research to find out what other people were doing. Sure enough, I found some things.
Overby (2009) found that by using blogging with her advanced placement photography students in critiques of student work, it became easier for some students to open up and enter the conversation. This in turn, produced more reflective and thoughtful responses from the artist. Also, the nature of the blog gave students time to think and to respond in ways that would not happen in the classroom.
Overby described the outcome of her pilot activity with blogging in the art classroom this way:
"With artmaking often being a nonlinear process, the blog gave us the ability to post an idea or question that might occur after the classroom conversation ended. Blogging also allowed us to link relevant outside information that related to our artmaking. Students were able to connect influences from news articles, movies, and events in the art world to their work in the classroom. The real proof of the success of the blog came at the end of the semester, when the students turned in their portfolios. Compared to previous years, these students' finished artwork was well- researched and thought-out, with a strong demonstration of critical thinking through their chosen visual problem. The artist statements they included were equally mature. Students could explain and defend their artmaking in a fluid manner reflecting time and thought about their artmaking process" (p.23).
Buffington (2008), in conversation with an art teacher who used blogging with his students in an aesthetics lesson using museum artworks, discovered that not only did the students communicate and respond to each other, the teacher and museum personnel in different ways regarding the art, but they also learned writing skills.
The key would be teaching the relevant technology and techniques (style and format) and giving students good leading questions. I am sure there is more to it than that, but that is where I plan to start in a first trial run.
Buffington, M. L. (2008). Creating and consuming web 2.0 in art education. Computers in the schools, 25, 303-313.
Overby, A. (2009). The new conversation: Using weblogs for reflective practice in the studio art classroom. Art education, 62(4), 18-24.
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