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The
Talking Book A.R.T. Project: Integrating Art, Reading, and Technology The Program: The
Talking Book A.R.T. Project
involves literacy, art, and technology.
Students revisit a pleasant piece of childhood by reading the book Goodnight Moon together. This book has a soothing, rhythmic quality
and is easy for students to illustrate while also learning to use new
technologies like computers, scanners, video cameras, and the software
program Hyperstudio. The students
create original artwork using both traditional (paper, crayons, etc.) and
digital (the tool and color palettes in Hyperstudio)
materials. The artwork is scanned
into the Hyperstudio computer
program, which enables them to add sound, graphics, rudimentary animation,
and video to a nonlinear arena, allowing the book to “come alive.” Once the
project is complete, students can reread the book, this time using Hyperstudio
to hear it read aloud, or to watch someone read it aloud on a video,
and view their own and their classmates'
illustrations. This project is
a motivation tool to interest students in reading, while they create art and
learn to use technology. It can also be a jumping-off point for
writing and illustrating their own books, as well as having classmates
videotape them reading books, which can then be added to their own
project. The Talking Book A.R.T. Project can be carried out in any classroom with art
supplies (paper and crayons, markers, or paint) and books from the school or
public library. Access to a computer with the Hyperstudio program and a scanner (students will scan their artwork into the computer) is also
required so the books the students create can "talk.” The Students: Two classes of 15 SIE IV
and SIE VII students meet daily for the Talking Book A.R.T. Project. They meet five times a week, and divide a
double period between the computer lab and the art room. The students, who need no prior experience
with computers or the Hyperstudio
program, are introduced to various aspects of the program in the lab. In the art room, we read Goodnight Moon and produce artwork
based on the book. With the art room
computer, the students learn to scan, and take turns putting the talking book
together using skills acquired in the lab.
The Talking Book A.R.T. Project can easily be adapted to
all ages, grades, and skill levels. The needs of all learners are addressed
because the multi-modality, multimedia features of Hyperstudio lend themselves perfectly to different styles. Overall Value Possessing little or no
reading skills is a crisis situation for a high-school-age student. The Talking Book A.R.T. Project
motivates kids to read while they perform a relatively enjoyable,
non-threatening activity, namely art.
The incorporation of technology is a bonus, and a static, linear book
comes alive through video, animation, sound, and graphics. Teachers can use talking books to make
otherwise-difficult subject matter fun, because the use of art materials and
technology can make almost any subject palatable and easier to learn. |
Rebecca Kaufman is
an art and technology teacher. She received a United Federation of
Teachers Mini-Grant in 1995,
and has given staff development workshops on infusing technology into the
curriculum. She developed this
project when the teachers in her school were given the task of incorporating
literacy into all subject areas. In
addition to her master's degree in education, she also has a Bachelor in Fine
Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts and is currently working towards a
certificate in computer graphics. She
has been teaching in the NYC Board of Education for fourteen and a half years.
CURRICULUM AREAS:
GRADES: High School (9-12)
Rebecca Kaufman, Art Teacher James Madison High School 3787 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229 Tel: 718-377-0400 E-mail: kaufman@con2.com Principal: Ms. Sandra
Abrams |