Wicked Problem Project: CEP 812

The Educational Need:

As an art educator, I am responsible to assist senior art students to prepare and create a portfolio of their artwork in preparation of college reviews. Students entering colleges and universities to pursue the fine arts have opportunities to apply for art scholarships with a portfolio review for their high school artwork. College professors will critique the art and offer scholarships to those who they see potential in. . Typically, students collect all their artwork and physically take their art to the colleges and universities, but recently schools have requested digital files as the medium for the artwork to be submitted. My wicked problem is to provide a unique way for students to create a portfolio using technology. 

The Solution:
Using the web-site creator Weebly.com students will create an online art portfolio. The students will be able to have images and text readily available for any interested college and university. Using a website will allow the students to organize the information and artwork more efficiently than using a blog. The Weebly service is free and allows educators to set up accounts for their students.

The Scope:

Students will begin the digital portfolio project as Juniors in high school. Students will begin research on the admission process to schools of their choice in order to create a portfolio for their target audience. Student will also be given short lessons on photographing artwork and will review good design practices.  I will set up a Weebly account for each student, so they can begin the design process. The students will continuously add information and upgrade their website as they progress through their junior and senior year.
Research:

As we have learned in CEP 812, technology is becoming more and more a part of the educational environment. It is no surprise that the art education world is changing too. After a simple Google search on high school art portfolios I learned the request for digital formats is in demand. Although, it is very important for students to contact individual schools to be sure to meet their admission requirements. One thing I learned during my Google search, was specific schools may have very specific requirements for art portfolios. It is crucial that my students contact schools directly for all admission requirements. Most schools are not requesting the actual art pieces from the students, which further showcases my need. I read an online article from the NY Times that discussed what should be in an art portfolio. This information will be good to share with students, in order to assist them in what work should be put into the portfolio. I would like to see information from other art educators as what they are doing with their senior students.

The Plan:

Due to the fact that my school year is over, I will be having a junior in high school begin work on their online portfolio as a test run. This particular student is very serious about an art career and plans to attend an art college after graduation. Luckily, I can still contact this student and she is willing to get started this summer.  She will begin submitting photos and text to her webpage and continue the process next school year. When the 2012-2013 school year begins I will be able to assist the other junior and senior art students in preparing an online portfolio during the digital arts course or the after school art club. I have considered creating online portfolios or blogs for all art students, as a medium to showcase their work and writings.

Success: 

As mentioned earlier, I will be using this summer session as a test run with the Weebly program and incorporating online portfolios, hopefully clearing any roadblocks for the fall. The student volunteer and her parent will be able to work with me through online communication in preparing this portfolio. If the student successfully builds an online portfolio, I will be able to view her artwork and navigate through the information easily. Feedback from the student will also be crucial in terms of learning the perspective of the student. In order for this project to be successful the student must create a Weebly website, (I set up an account for my student using the Weebly Education Application) photograph and upload her artwork with text, and organize the images and information in a viewer friendly manner. 

TPACK:

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?
The Technological Pedagogical knowledge is the ability to use the Weebly application and tools. The students will learn to photograph artwork, upload digital files to the computer, create a web-site using Weebly.com, use the design principles from prior learning, upload images and text to the web-pages in an organized manner in order to fully complete this need. There are a range of tools that students could use to complete this task. In my experience Weebly is a free, teacher/student friendly application that eliminates problems encountered in other services, such as Google Sites. 
What is the TC knowledge for the solution?
The Technological Content knowledge presented in this project relates to the Michigan Visual Arts Content Standard 1:  All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts. Benchmark 4: Be involved in the process and presentation of a final product or exhibit. Students will learn the importance of art selection in preparing for a portfolio review or art exhibit. Students should include artwork from multiple disciplines to show their talents in a wide range of styles and materials. Students should also be sure to include artwork in which they worked “from life.” Meaning, the student observed an object, person, or place to create an art piece rather than a photograph or art piece from another artist. This will allow the viewer to see the true talent of the students.
What is the PC knowledge for the solution?
The pedagogical content knowledge is the intersection of the content and the application meet. As already discussed the Weebly application is very user friendly and will provide an easy transition for my students. Along with demonstrations from myself and one on one guidance I feel the students will have very few problems. The students will be able to present their artwork in a whole new way. I will guide students through the new information hitting multiple learning styles/multiple intelligence's in order for the students to learn the information needed in order to be successful. Auditory: Verbally guide the students through the process. Visual: Projected on the Smart board students will be able to see the process taking place. Kinetic: Students will do the steps with me.