Comments4Teachers #1 and 2

Dr. Paige Vitulli is a teacher of the arts at the University of South Alabama, and she also happens to be my "Arts in the Elementary School" instructor. Her blog, Pondering Paige is a place where she posts about happenings in the art world, her classroom, and the way that education is changing.

One of the posts she made, which is about Interest Driven Learning includes a video that talks about how education needs to move forward. If the teacher capitalizes on the student's interest in certain subjects, and motivates them to continue learning about the things they love, than the student will go above and beyond the norm. Encouragement is vital in the classroom, and allowing the children to learn about the things that they actually want to learn about will give them a sense of accomplishment. When learning is forced, it isn't effective. In the video, there is a learning center in New York called The New Youth City Learning Network, that includes about a dozen places such as museums and digital learning activities. Ms. Rhoten is an organizational sociologist who believes that encouraging existing interests, and sparking new ones with digital media is the future of education. Basically taking the things that students love, and incorporating them into the classroom. My comment to Dr. Vitulli simply agreed with her. I also looked up interest driven learning and discovered that the U.S. Department of Education's Deputy Director has stated that their focus is shifting to interest driven learning. In the video, Ms. Rhoten mentions that digital media is the future of the classroom, and yet smartphones are banned in classrooms in New York. I asked Dr. Vitulli if she thought that smartphones would ever become commonplace, or even required in the classroom.

This is my class with the Dot Quilt

The second post I commented on was regarding International Dot Day, and the "Dot Quilt" her students, myself included, have made. She discusses the background of how Dot Day got started, and is now an international phenomenon. She includes pictures of the quilt that all of her students have created, and tells the reader how it was made. Using an 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 square of paper, students were encouraged to draw a dot, or a series of dots, using various colors in crayon. Once they were finished coloring the dot, they crumpled the paper. Smashing and unraveling the paper over and over again gave it a cloth-like texture. Then all of the dots were hole-punched and tied together, creating a very large "Dot Quilt". I told Dr. Vitulli that I loved the quilt! The way that the paper practically changed composition fascinates me. I even said "Your brain is telling you that this is paper, but it doesn't feel that way at all!" I added that I enjoyed making my own square, and explained my use of contrasting colors to make it stand out. The thought process behind Dot Day is "Make your mark and see where it takes you!" That phrase, and the corresponding project is a great way to encourage children and adults alike. Dr. Vitulli mentioned in class that the man who wrote the book The Dot, Peter Reynolds, actually retweeted their "Dot Quilt" pictures last year. So I asked her if he had done that yet. After that, I merely stated that I would be creating this post today! Dr. Vitulli's blog is very interesting and I will continue to follow it, especially since I am in her class!