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Massachusetts College of Art
Division of Art Education
Graduate Programs
Virtual Communities:
An Inquiry into the Role of Virtual Communities
in Support of Artists / Art Educators
by
Karalee Dale Serra
Submitted in partial fulfillment
for the requirements of
Master of Science in Art Education, New Media
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Chapter One - Prelude
I. Overview
II. Defining Virtual Communities
III. Virtual Communities: Then and Now
IV. Online Community Usage Among Art Educators
V. Factors influencing Virtual Communities
Chapter Two - Email Discussion Lists
I. Brief History of Email Discussion Lists
II. General Types of Email Discussion Lists
III. Anatomy of Email Discussion Lists
IV. Email Discussion List tools
V. Email Discussion Lists in Action
Chapter Three - Message Boards
I. Intro to Message Boards
II. Brief History of Message Boards
III. Anatomy of Message Boards
IV. Message Board Tools
V. Message Boards in Action
Chapter Four - Blogging
I. Intro to Weblogs
II. Brief History of Weblogs
III. Anatomy of Weblogs
IV. Weblog Tools
V. Weblogs in Action
Chapter Five - Cut + Paste Thesis Case Study
I. Intro to Media Project
II. Outline of Media Project
Bibliography
Appendix A – Glossary
Appendix B – Interview Questions
Acknowledgements
I’ve realized through this whole experience why
graduates always begin their speeches with a thank you to
the people around them. This journey is a group effort that
no one should take on alone. I want to extend my thanks to
the following people:
Christine Boyle – I cannot even begin
to express the gratitude I have for you. You picked me up
and put me back together at my lowest point. I cannot thank
you enough. You are an amazing woman.
Daniel Golden –You have been my constant
companion and support through this whole emotionally exhausting
experience.
My family –
Jennifer Hall – Thank you for your guidance
and patience.
Richard Toomey –
Amanda Linn, Judy Decker and members of the
ArtsEdNet community –
My interviewees –
Without the patience, kindness, support, and
guidance you have all offered in your own way, I would not
be the person I am today and I certainly would not have hit
my May 2004 deadline!
Abstract
Today, more and more people are turning to web communities
to meet the needs of their personal, professional, and social
interests. As a result, virtual communities are popping up
all over the World Wide Web, offering friendly environments
and information tailored to their members.
The primary objective of this study is to establish
an academic investigation of the role and influence virtual
communities play in the attitudes of artists/ and art educators.
My plan is to answer the following questions:
· How are artists and art educators using virtual communities?
· How do virtual communities assist the process of
art making and art teaching?
· How does the virtual community impact and alter relationships,
space, identity, artistic practice, and ideas about public
and private?
There are a numerous ways in which virtual communities
are defined on the web. I will explore the following three
major categories in my research:
· Email Discussion Lists
· Message Board
· Weblogs
Through the presentation of my findings, I intend
to examine how several virtual communities are currently using
web space and the impact these virtual experiences affect
the work of artists/art educators.
The secondary objective of my thesis proposes
a virtual community designed specifically for art educators.
Its focus will be on the art teacher’s interests and
abilities relating to making art. The community will exist
to encourage educators to pursue their own work by sharing
their creative needs, concerns, and inspirations with their
peers. Through interviews, galleries, an email discussion
list, and excellent creative resources, I'm hoping to admonish
the statement: “THOSE WHO CAN'T…TEACH.”
I intend to use a combination of methodologies
to present my research. My case study, Cut + Paste, will include
a substantial amount of information as to how art educators
are using virtual communities. In addition, I will use historical
information, addressing briefly the evolution of the virtual
community, email discussion list, message board system, and
weblog. A large aspect of my research will involve interviewing,
emailing, and viewing both art makers and art educators within
the context of a virtual community.
My intention for this thesis is to present how
artists and /art educators are affected by virtual communities.
My study will evaluate how artists and art educators are presently
using virtual communities, how they may use them in the future,
and how virtual communities are being used as communication
tools to expand “community.” It is my hope that
the findings presented in this thesis will further contribute
to the existing body of knowledge concerning artists and virtual
communities.
Chapter
One - Prelude
I. Overview
“In a national phone survey between March 12 and May
20, 2003, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found
that more than 53 million American adults have used the Internet
to publish their thoughts, respond to others, post pictures,
share files and otherwise contribute to the explosion of content
available online.”
What is it about virtual tools that makes them
so appealing?
If we take a look at the everyday uses of technology, it becomes
more obvious why legions of artists both young and old have
taken up these technologies as tools for art making. New technologies
are being developed and integrated into our society at a rapid
pace. Telephone, radio, video, cable TV, satellite, internet,
CD and DVD …a large portion of the devices are involved
in our daily communication tasks transferring various forms
of information from a remote location with increasing speed
and accuracy. They all offer a perceptible presence in the
immediate environment.
The internet is constantly evolving, creating
a world of virtual realities and new experiences. A majority
of these online activities involve communication, in one form
or another. “Cyberspace, originally a term from William
Gisbon's science-fiction novel Neuromancer, is the name some
people use for the conceptual space where words, human relationships,
data, wealth, and power are manifested by people using CMC
technology." It offers numerous opportunities to meet
people and keep in touch with friends and family. In the words
of Marc A. Smith and Peter Kollock, editors of Communities
in Cyberspace, “…those who use the Net seek not
only information but also companionship, social support, and
a sense of belonging."
II. Defining Virtual
Communities
How do we define the term virtual community?
A specific definition of a virtual community could not be
found, likely due to the constant debate over what exactly
constitutes a virtual community. According to Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary, virtual can be defined as:
· Existing or resulting in essence or effect though
not in actual fact, form, or name
· Computer Science.
· Created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer
or computer network.
Additionally, community or communities are defined as:
· A group of people living in the same locality and
under the same government.
· A group of people having common interests.
· Society as a whole.
When I proposed the question of what a virtual
community is to virtual community users, I received the following
answers :
· “a group of people organized around common
interests who will probably never meet in real life,”
· “a wealth of information,”
· “a group of individuals coming together for
a common goal,” and
· “a group of people who use the Internet to
share common interests and work together for mutual benefit.”
Howard Rheingold (1993), author of The Virtual
Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier, describes
virtual communities as “social aggregations that emerge
from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions
long enough, with sufficient human feeling to form webs of
personal relationships in cyberspace.” Wally Bock, online
writer, consultant, and speaker, suggests that there are three
crucial elements of an electronic group that make it a virtual
community. The members of the virtual group have to have some
common interest(s), they have to interact frequently with
each other and there has to be some degree of identification
of the members with the group. Similarly, Quentin Jones, author
of Virtual-Communities, Virtual Settlements & Cyber-Archaeology:
A Theoretical Outline, adds that for a cyber-place with associated
group-CMC to be considered a virtual settlement, it is necessary
for it to meet a minimum set of four conditions, which are:
· a virtual common-public-space where a significant
portion of interactive group-CMCs occur;
· a variety of communicators;
· a minimum level of sustained stable membership; and
· a minimum level of interactivity.
I consider the four conditions outlined by Jones
to serve as the foundation of the definition of a virtual
community: a community of people sharing common interests,
ideas, and feelings over the internet or other collaborative
networks who get to know each other over time.
III. Virtual
Communities: Then and Now
Early virtual communities began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s
radio communication. “Instead of talking to a few hundred
representatives, Roosevelt used the radio as a machine for
fitting listener’s into his living room. Although, it
was only one-way communication, people began to think about
“presence in a different way. It was now possible for
millions of people to be present in the same space.”
This early example underlies the structure of where virtual
communities have evolved today.
There are two temporal structures of a particular
type of online community, synchronous and asynchronous communication.
Synchronous communication tools allows the user to be in different
physical locations communication with each other at the same
time. Synchronous communication tools include text chat and
Multi-User Domains or Dungeons (MUDS).
Text chat – Text chat allows the user
to communicate in real time - anyone who is connected to the
system has the ability to correspond instantly with any other
participant.
MUDS – MUDS are an interactive environment
using graphics, sound, and animation and include customizable
characters that represent the members.
In contrast, asynchronous tools allow people
who are not in the same place at the same time to have a conversation.
Asynchronous tools include email discussion lists, message
boards, and weblogs.
Email Discussion Lists – Discussion Lists
are the most basic and easiest form of online gathering places
to participate in assuming that each group member has access
to email. Users do not have to “check in” somewhere
to take part in the conversation, they simply read and reply
to group emails.
Message Board - Message Boards offer additional
features over a mailing list that give you more community
building power including a sense of place, the context of
each message, images, and the community’s evolving history.
Weblogs - A website with frequent, dated entries
listed in reverse chronological order. The entries have links
and commentary and often an opportunity for others to comment.
Although there are many types of virtual community
tools, this thesis will focus primarily on email discussion
lists, message boards, and weblogs.
IV.Online Community Usage
Among Art Educators
In conducting interviews with art educators (see appendix
C), I was able to gather information as to how and why they
use online communities. 100% of those who responded were members
of online communities, a majority from Getty One’s email
discussion list, ArtsEdNet. The majority cited their reasons
for joining the communities were to connect with other art
educators, find out what’s happening in other classrooms,
have thoughtful and in-depth discussions on the philosophies
of art teaching, and share what they have learned.
The interviewees were asked as to whether or
not they were familiar with or read any weblogs. 75% responded
with yes, 25% had no idea what I was talking about. Of the
75% whom knew what a weblog was, 50% had a hard time considering
a weblog a community. One respondent commented that, “…so
far, weblogs haven’t represented a community to me.
Just because I share an interest in something with others,
doesn’t make it a community.” Another interview
participant wrote, “the information is only one-sided,
always coming at you (if you are the reader)…a community
should be a give and take situation. And yet another teacher
responded, “…when there's one person controlling
the dialogue, I don't consider that a community. I think there
has to be open dialogue…if people can't speak their
mind…or if only certain messages get through to the
group, than I'd say, no community.”
There are strong community weblogs and weak
community weblogs. I have a feeling that the 50% who did not
consider weblogs communities, were exposed to the weak community
weblogs. A blog does not guarantee community, and community
does not happen over night. Blog owners must encourage comments
and feedback on their blog entries.
Kathy Douglas, an elementary school teacher
in East Bridgewater, MA, runs her own personal weblog (tabchoiceteaching.blogspot.com).
Her blog is dedicated to the best practices for a choice-based
approach to art education. Unfortunately, Kathy’s blog
does not have the software available for commenting and responses.
So, in her case, I would not consider her weblog a community.
But, when a commenting system is introduced to a weblog and
users are able to comment on the posts and comment on the
comments, then a community can and will exist. Hopefully Kathy
will introduce commenting to her blog. I think the approach
to art education that she takes in her classroom is so unique
that a community could erupt around her.
Only 13.25% of art educators that I interviewed
have used message boards. The small percentage could be due
to the fact that message boards geared specifically for art
educators are few and far between. During my research I came
across a total of four, which was only after an extensive,
Google search over a period of months. Another factor that
could contribute to the lack of message boards used among
art educators is that users have to "check in" somewhere
to take part in the conversation. Users have to physically
call up a website address and sign in to take part in the
conversation. A majority of the respondents said they don’t
have the time.
Participants in the study were eager to share
the advantages and disadvantages to being a member of a virtual
community. Common advantages were, “connecting to people
you would never find in your local area,” “less
isolation,” “learning about yourself and other
people,” and “staying on top of new innovations
in the field of art education.”
The isolation factor repeatedly came up as one
of the main advantages for belonging to a virtual community.
As one participant said, “Art teachers are so isolated
in their field. Often times they are the only art teacher
in their school or, perhaps as in my case, one of two art
teachers in the whole county of Southern Indiana. Online communities
not only allow me to get help quickly from people who are
living it, or have done it; but also give me a greater feeling
of camaraderie.” Another teacher commented, “I
am the only art teacher in my high school…virtual communities
help me connect with other art educators in order to discuss
current projects or we have even met at conventions.”
Craig Roland, Associate Professor of Art Education, at the
University
of Florida, sums it up nicely, “the Net provides art
educator’s with the opportunity to vent and find support
among like-minded individuals who suffer the same fate of
isolation.”
The biggest disadvantage, which continually
came up in almost every interview was that of time. It takes
an enormous amount of time to read, sort, and respond to the
messages that pile up in any type of virtual community.
All in all, the artists I interviewed insisted
that the advantages of virtual communities far outweighed
the disadvantages. This validates that there is an interest
and a desire by educators to use virtual communities as a
resource in their everyday routine.
V. Factors influencing
Virtual Communities
Why do some online communities thrive and others fail?
In 1999, the Next Generation Research Group published an article
entitled, Online Communities: Helping them Form and Grow,
outlining as to why they felt that certain virtual communities
failed and others thrived. The following passage from this
article cites the reasons they felt helped communities grow:
· Invest in the means rather than the ends –
A sense of community or belonging is essential to achieving
a high level of participation.
· Focus relentlessly on the needs of the members –
Devote time to understanding who your members are, what tools
and skills they have, and most importantly what kinds of knowledge,
tools, and relationships they want and need.
· Resist the temptation to control – Outright
attempts to control virtual communities can kill them or send
them underground.
· Don’t assume the community can become self-sustaining
– A significant investment of time and effort is key
in maintaining an active virtual community.
· Consider environmental factors – Introverts
sometimes take a more active role in on-line discussions.
Extroverts often struggle to adapt.
· Extend community building beyond the discussion space
– Absence of activity in a designated on-line space
is not necessarily the sign of a failed virtual community.
Rather, it may be that the definition of the virtual community
should be broadened so that all the interactions can be recognized
as potentially value-creating, not simply those that take
place within a defined space.
· Seek out and support members who take on informal
roles – When members are willing to serve as experts,
mentors, information sharers, even critics or devil’s
advocates, it indicates that the community is something people
value and want to be a part of.
The research suggests that virtual communities
succeed when the community provider invests their time in
supporting the group and its’ needs, but does not interfere
with the activities within the group. Greater emphasis and
care should be placed on the construction and development
of the community in order for it to survive.
Chapter
Two - Email Discussion Lists
I. Brief History of Email Discussion
Lists
No sooner had email become part of our standard communications,
mailing lists immediately emerged. It quickly became apparent
that by combining several email addresses together into a
single address, one email could be easily sent to a group
of people in one action. Some of the early and most popular
mailing lists included the following:
• human-nets -- Human factors and their
relation to networks.
• network-hackers -- Internet programming and protocol
issues.
• sf-lovers -- Science fiction literature.
• wine-tasters -- Wine tasting.
Researchers recognized the impact of network
mail as a significant social medium. As stated on livinginternet.com,
which is “an internet description of the internet,”:
We in the ARPA community (and no doubt many
other outside it) have come to realize that we have in our
hands something very big, and possibly very important. It
is now plain to all of us that message service over computer
networks has enormous potential for changing the way communication
is done in all sectors of our society: military, civilian
government, and private (Key Email Features).
Network mail offered its users many conveniences,
which made it far more efficient than other forms of communication.
People abandoned the use of phones and postal services in
favor of network mail service. Use of the service had a substantial
impact on the organizations involved, creating shifts of dependence
away from the traditional media (postal service, telephone).
Messages were transmitted instantly to their destinations.
Users could compose messages personally, whenever and wherever
they felt prepared to do so and the sender and receiver did
not have to be present at the same time.
The early email discussion lists had to be performed
manually, making the success of a list contingent upon the
diligence of the list's moderator. Until 1985, when Eric Thomas,
an American computer student working in Paris, designed the
first automatic readdressing system. “The system became
operational in June 1986 and by the end of the year it was
serving 41 lists. Eighteen months later there were 1000 lists
on the system.”
II. General Types of
Email Discussion Lists
Email Discussion Lists are a form of asynchronous communication
that operates exclusively through email. They are the most
basic and easiest form of online gathering places to participate
in assuming that each group member has access to email.
There are two main types of email lists: Announce
and Discuss. An Announce List is a one-way list. The owner
sends messages to subscribers, who can write to the owner,
but not to the list. Announce lists are not just for announcements;
they can be newsletters or zines, which contain the work of
single or multiple authors.
A Discuss List is a two-way list. Messages sent
to the list are distributed to every subscriber, with the
expectation that subscribers will "discuss" the
topic within the list. A user will “subscribe”
to a list to become a member of the community and every message
they send to the list will automatically be distributed to
all of the group members on the list. Users do not have to
"check in" somewhere to take part in the conversation,
they simply read and reply to group emails.
Email lists are typically owned by a single
individual or small group. Since all messages sent to the
list must pass through a single point, email lists offer their
owners significant control over who can contribute to their
group. List owners can personally review all requests to be
added to a list, can forbid anyone from contributing to the
list if they are not on the list themselves, and even censor
specific messages that they do not want broadcast to the list
as a whole.
Email lists can help groups of people communicate
and collaborate more effectively. They can be used to schedule
meetings and send simple notifications. Or, they can be used
to hold online "conversations" in which group members
can ask or answer questions, plan get-togethers, and exchange
information. Email lists are a convenience; they allow a group
to reach everyone in the group via a single email address.
III. Anatomy of an Email Discussion
List
A message on an email discussion list is called a "post.”
It may be a response to a previous post or be a new post.
People in the email group can reply to any post and in this
way a discussion or "thread" is formed.
You post a message in the same way you create
a new e-mail message. Click the "Post a new message"
or "Compose a new message button" in your email
program. Place the address of the mailing list in the "To:"
line. Put in your subject and type your comments or questions
and then hit the "Send" or "Post" button.
A few minutes later your message is automatically dispersed
to everyone in the subscriber list.
Similarly, you can forward a message from an
email list to a friend using the "Forward" function,
or "Reply to the Author" to send your comments or
questions directly to original author without your message
going back to the list.
Basic List Definitions-
· List owner (sometimes called the list maintainer)
- The person who manages the list. Often, but not always the
list's founder. Lists can outlast the founder's interest.
· List administrative address (sometimes called list
subscribe address) - The address to which you send subscribe/unsubscribe
information. This is usually different from the address to
which you send messages.
· List address (sometimes called list message address)
- The address to which you send messages. If you send a subscribe
or unsubscribe message to this list, it is sent to each member
of the list or rejected if it's an announce list (see below)
but it will rarely result in you being subscribed or unsubscribed
to the list. There are exceptions, such as mailing lists run
using e-mail software, such as Pegasus.
· Subscribers - The people who receive messages from
a list
· Automated list servers - Programs that manage routine
list housekeeping tasks, such as subscribing and unsubscribing,
distribution of list messages, etc. This is the generic term
for such programs, while "listserv" is a specific,
proprietary program for managing mailing lists. These terms
are not interchangeable.
· List server manager - The person (usually employed
by, or associated with, the ISP) who works with list owners
to ensure the smooth operation of the list.
· Subscribing/unsubscribing - Getting your e-mail address
on to/off a mailing list. This will usually require a precisely
formatted message to the list's administrative address. Frustrations
with the process are often due to operator error (an improperly
formatted message, a sig in the body of your message, sending
the unsubscribe message from an e-mail address other than
the one you subscribed from, or the classic, sending your
message to the wrong address (the list address not the list's
administrative address).
· Welcome message - Usually generated by the automated
list software, after receiving your subscription request.
The message confirms your subscription. It may also contain
the list's charter, rules of conduct, instructions for getting
the list's FAQ and other automatic responses if available.
Save this message until you have left the list.
· Digest mode - In digest mode, the automated list
server doesn't send messages as they are received, but holds
them until a certain number or volume has accumulated. It
then sends the messages in a single file. Not all automated
list server programs accommodate digest mode. From those that
do, you will probably have the option to select either Digest
or Reflection mode (see Reflection mode below). Digest mode
is especially useful for very busy lists and/or very busy
people.
IV. Email Discussion
List Tools
There are a number of free services which offer mailing
lists to individuals and groups. For instance, Topica (www.topica.com),
Coollist (www.coollist.com, Egroups (www.egroups.com), and
Yahoo Groups (www.yahoogroups.com) all allow you to find,
manage and participate in email lists and discussion groups.
In a few easy steps, a user can fill out a simple
web form and start a mailing list. For example, Yahoo Groups
makes it very easy to join or own an email discussion list.
Each mailing list contains an information page with a mission
statement, group info, recent messages, archives, links to
a member’s directory, and other features (see figure
2.1).
figure 2.1
V. Types of Email Discussion
Lists
A search for email discussion lists on Google will yield a
plethora of hits. Gettys’ ArtsedNet and Yahoo Groups’
Art Education are two examples of thriving virtual email communities.
ArtsEdNet
Getty introduces its online community, ArtsEdNet (www.getty.edu/artsednet/Talk/index.html),
as “a community of teachers and learners participating
in a variety of conversations about art education with colleagues
from across the United States or even around the world through
e-mail. Participants in the discussion are welcome to ask
questions and comment on any topic of their choice involving
art education.”
I joined the ArtsEdNet community about a year
ago to study the interaction between the participants and
pick up a few pointers here and there. In the first post I
sent, I introduced myself and my thesis project. Within a
matter of minutes, I received responses including one from
an influential and well-respected poster of the list, Judy
Decker. Judy runs a website, the Incredible Art Department
(www.princetonol.com/groups/iad), which caters to the ArtsEdNet
list. The website includes news, lessons, jobs and resources
for art students and educators. Judy Decker is a “support
member” to the ArtsEdNet list. She has taken on the
informal role of a “mentor / information sharer.”
When someone has a question, she is there to find the answer.
When members like Judy are willing to take on supportive roles
within a group, it indicates that the community is something
that people want to be a part of.
Judy immediately took me under her wing and
has been a strong advocate for my thesis project. Immediately
after receiving my introductory message, she sent out a follow
up email to the group re-stating the importance of my project
to the art education community and again asking members to
contribute as much as possible to my work. Since she has such
a strong presence among the list, my message was well received.
Without the push from Judy, it may have been discounted and
most likely I would not have received the amount of positive
responses thus far.
It is not uncommon for the members of the group
to receive 50 or more emails daily. When asked how they keep
up with the enormous amount of in-coming mail, most admitted
to deleting a lot without reading. I do the same. Keeping
up with this email list could absolutely be a full time job
in itself. But, as mentioned earlier, the benefits of connecting
and sharing with others across the nation, outweigh the drawbacks.
The members of the ArtsEdNet community are an extremely intelligent
and talented group of people whom have much to offer.
Art_Education
Art Education (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/art_education/),
is yet another email discussion group for teachers, students,
parents, and artists. This group focuses on the art education
of children K-12. Founded on June 24, 2001, there are currently
253 members and growing. Group activity started at 1-30 emails
per month during the first two years of existence to recently
over 150 emails per month. Daily activity ranges from 2-10
emails…a little more manageable than the ArtsEdNet list.
Interestingly enough, a handful of the group
members from ArtsEdNet also belong to the Art_Education mailing
list. Curious about the overlapping of multiple lists, I sent
the following email off to a couple of art education groups:
I'm in the process of writing my thesis on virtual communities
and I'm on the email discussion list section. Can anyone who
belongs to multiple art education groups tell me why they
belong to more than one? I can speculate but I wanted to get
a clear understanding for my work.
Thank you
Karalee Serra
The response was immediate. Answers included:
· “I think the differences in the "Personalities"
of the lists and the people on the
lists are interesting. I don't know that I am subscribed to
multiple ones because each of them offer something the other
one doesn't. I guess I just like to hear what other people
are thinking in regards to teaching art.”
· “I have always wished I could get a college
credit for the time I spend with the lists. I have learned
more this way than I ever did with all the hours in a classroom
with a professor. Why several? ' "More, more, more!"
said the baby! ' When something is worthwhile or wonderful,
don't YOU want more?”
· “My reason is simply that you can reach more
people that way. Not everyone belongs to multiple groups.
I reach a lot more and I can get many different perspectives,
ideas,
tips, etc.”
· “I'm on a local one that has info for the local
area, but the larger ones have a broader base for response
- lots of different perspectives. “
“Ask, and ye shall receive” - instant
information at your fingertips. It’s like having a brainstorming
session across the country in your living room. Without ArtsEdNet
and the Art_Education groups, I would not have had nearly
enough information to write this thesis, let alone survive
my student teaching experience. I have used them for support,
guidance, ideas, interviews and teaching philosophies and
have yet to be disappointed with the responses.
Chapter
Three - Message Boards
I. Intro to Message Boards
A message board – otherwise know as a newsgroup, bulletin
board, conference, discussion, or forum – is one of
the most familiar types of on online gathering place. Like
mailing lists, message boards are asynchronous, in other words,
they can foster conversations that happen over a period of
days, weeks, and months. Although, message boards offer additional
features over mailing lists allowing more community building
power including a sense of place, the context of each message,
images, and the community's evolving history.
II. Brief History of
Message Boards
In February 1978, Ward Christiansen and Randy Suess wrote
the first BBS software program. They called it a Computer
Bulletin Board System or CBBS. It was designed to look like
a real bulletin board that you would find in a supermarket,
school, or office. The idea was for people and businesses
to be able to use their computers to exchange information,
post messages and contact people over the phone. Nine months
after they created the BBS software program, an article published
in Byte magazine outlined the technology for devising virtual
bulletin boards opening the door for others to build their
own. Christiansen and Suess’s CBBS became the first
civilian virtual community experiment.
Since then, the BBS's have become mainstream, numbering close
to over 40,000 public and 120,000 private. There are approximately
12 million BBS users nationwide, and growing daily as modems
become standard equipment in every computer sold, growing
at a rate of about 10,000 a day. Estimates suggest that by
the year 2000 there will be more than 25 million BBS users
nationwide.
III. Anatomy of an Email
Discussion List
When opening a discussion board site, the user has two options.
They can either read messages that have been posted by others
or post their own messages. Each message is posted with a
subject heading or title providing information to others in
order to decide which messages that they want to read and
which messages they want to skip.
Message boards come in both threaded and linear
formats (see figure 3.1). Threaded boards contain one main
topic, which branches off into a number of threads. “Threaded
boards are particularly well suited to Q&A-style conversations
because when someone asks a specific question, it’s
easy to see if it’s been answered.”
figure 3.1
Linear boards contain a separate topic for each
conversation (see figure 3.2). “Linear boards are great
for extended, in-depth conversations, which encourage members
to get to know each other better, though newcomers may find
it hard to break into the general hubbub.”
figure 3.2
IV. Message Board Tools
There are hundreds of different packages available
to those wishing to start or belong to an online message board
system.
Big-Boards.com presents its visitors a list
of the most active message boards on the web. The message
boards may be ranked by post count, by members count, by post
per member ratio, or using only recent (previous week or month)
data. Visiting forums from this list may be very interesting
for different reasons, for a user simply searching for particular
information, searching for an active community on a particular
subject, or for a forum admin to learn by looking at successful
boards how to improve his own management.
e-zboards – EZ board is a powerful bulletin
board system that allows users to create their own community
on the Net. Users of this system can also browse existing
communities by subject.
V. Types of Message Boards
To examine the strengths and weaknesses of message boards,
I chose to use the Lee Art Teacher Online board, the AE-Content
network board, and the Teachers.Net message boards. It was
difficult to narrow my examples as the message boards for
art educators are few and far between. The three sites I eventually
chose demonstrate particularly unique tools as well as illustrate
weak points in these still-evolving communities.
Lee Art Teacher Online
The Lee Art Teacher Online (http://pub144.ezboard.com/blatoleeartteacheronline)
bulletin board system is an online community for public and
private school K-12 art teachers currently teaching in Lee
County, Florida. Although, art teachers from any location,
as well as parents, artists and others are all welcome to
be a part of this community. There are 32 members whom post
on a fairly regular basis (see figure 3.3).
figure 3.3
Some of the topics discussed are:
More Art Please! :
Browse through this educational guide of art images and web
site links. See art created with technology, visit museums
existing only online, or discover the international, national
and local artists' work available in our own backyard. This
forum section was inspired by Heather Rayius, an Innovative
Thinker employed at The Ringling Museum. Thanks, Heather!
More art, please!
Private Forum: Students' Online Art Class:
This private forum is an online art classroom for students
whose parents are known to me, and who allow their kids to
be online, to engage in art activities with their art teacher.
To my colleagues: If you're a Lee art teacher and you want
to use this forum to teach a student whose parent is known
to you and also online, let me know and I will provide access
to this private forum.
Every Picture Tells a Story:
Here's where you'll see art created by children. Posted on
web sites of universities studying child development, and
of schools and non-profit organizations, this art was created
by students across the USA and around the world. "Children’s
art — art in general — is one of the most potent
tools for promoting cross-cultural understanding and tolerance,"
says Pamela Michael, director of Young at Art Gallery –
a new gallery in Berkeley, CA, featuring student art.
AE-Content
The structure of the AE-Content (http://aecontent.net/members/modules.php?name=Forums)
message board system is similar to that of the Lee Art Teacher
Online board. One significant difference is that the AE-Content
bulletin board is integrated within the AE-Content Network
website (see figure 3.4). The mission statement of the AE-Content
Network is:
“a content and resource website designed to enhance
the professional and creative life of Boston-city and Massachusetts-wide
public school visual arts teachers, certified instructors
and paraprofessionals and students seeking certification.
Our goal is to become a "virtual drop-in center"
where teachers can find resources for teaching, information
about content-based art education and standards. We also hope
to become an informal place to share ideas with peers. Members
will be able to log in to access private information, contribute
to and initiate forum discussions, author and comment on content,
and maintain a personal gallery and homepage.”
The moderator of the site refers to the bulletin
board system contained within it as, “ the most informal
part of the site…an excellent place to get to know your
peers and share information.” Unfortunately, since the
community is fairly new, the participation within the site
is slow going. There are only a handful of posts on the board,
which gives it an overall empty feeling. For the most part,
users are more likely to participate in lively and active
communities.
figure 3.4
Teachers.net
The Teachers.net forum is, “ dedicated to the teaching
of fine arts and art education at all grade levels, K-12.
Visitors involved in Fine Arts and Art Education and should
feel free to fully utilize this resource by posting questions
and offering solutions, sharing links and Homepages, and networking
with your fellow art educators around the world.”
Through conversations with multiple art educators,
the general consensus is that they do not actively participate
in message board discussions. Again, I think the factor of
time comes in to play. Those who occasionally consulted message
boards admitted that during the school year they are much
less active in their participation. A handful also suggested
that they forget about message board systems all together
since it is a check in system. There is so much on an educator’s
plate, if it’s not being dumped into an email box on
a regular basis it is easy to slip from one’s mind.
Chapter
Four - Blogging
I. Intro to web blogs
A weblog is an online journal—a web page with a series
of frequently updated posts in reverse chronological order,
which are archived after a certain period of time. Weblogs
contain a mix of links, commentary, personal thoughts, and
individual opinions, and often allow for others to comment.
They are an unusual blend of the personal and the public,
published on the web for all to see. A weblog is kind of a
continual tour, with a human guide who you get to know. There
are many guides to choose from, each develops an audience.
Participation in blogging communities can take
a number of forms. According to Evan Williams, co-founder
and CEO of Blogger.com, in an interview with Jim Cashel, “The
difference I see between informally linked blogs and other
sorts of online communities, is that when people have their
own space to write and express themselves, as opposed to some
sort of shared space, they feel a lot more ownership and freedom
in that space. This encourages more of themselves to show
through, which I think can actually result in a stronger community
than something that is more structurally linked.”
In addition to the regular “link + comment”
blogs, photos are commonly taking the place of text. According
to photoblogs.org (a site devoted to helping people find other
photoblogs), “a photoblog is a type of blog that is
regularly updated with photos. Some photoblogs focus only
on photography, while others have photos in addition to other
content. All photoblogs, however, consider photos to be an
important part of their chronological blogging structure.”
II. Brief history of web blogs
As recently as 1998, only a few blogs could be found on the
net. “The original weblogs were link-driven sites. Each
was a mixture in unique proportions of links, commentary,
and personal thoughts and essays. Weblogs could only be created
by people who already knew how to make a website.” This
all changed in 1999, when Pyra Labs released one of the most
well-known weblog tools on the internet: Blogger. Blogger
made it possible for someone with little or no technical background
to create and maintain a weblog.
III. Anatomy of a web blog
The typical weblog is often made up of the following components:
time-stamped entries listed in chronological order, a list
of links, and a feedback facility, which may come in the form
of a guest book or a commenting system.
Time-stamped entries
This is the classic image of a weblog; short groups of text,
usually two to three sentences long, separated by space on
the page (see figure 4.1). Each group of text is marked with
a timestamp (the time it was posted), and posts are ordered
chronologically from newest to oldest. The author usually
limits the number of posts on the front page by an arbitrary
time period (such as seven day's worth of posts) or an arbitrary
number (for example, the last ten posts); and when a post
falls outside of that range, it's only available in the archives.
List of Links
Off-site links are a fundamental part of the weblogger community,
and one of its distinguishing features from other, more controlled
communities (see figure 4.1). Weblogs embrace off-site links
with the understanding that if readers find their words and
links valuable in some way, they’ll return to the original
weblog.
Feedback
The availability of a feedback system makes it possible for
a blogger to set up an interactive weblog. Feedback may come
in the form of a commenting system or guest book (see figure
4.1). “Comments are a simple but powerful way to include
reader interaction into a blog. They’re still substantially
different than a discussion forum, in that there’s clearly
a main voice (or group of voices) and the comments are an
adjunct to that. But, they allow anyone to expand on a thread,
argue, etc.
figure 4.1
IV. Weblog tools
There are many automated tools that can be used to create
a weblog. One of the most popular is Blogger. In four clicks,
no ftp or html experience necessary, a user can have a weblog
up and running with an archive system. The following quotes
are taken directly from the Blogger.com website,
“Blogger gives you a way to automate (and
greatly accelerate) the blog publishing process without writing
any code or worrying about installing any sort of server software
or scripts. And yet, it still gives you total control over
the look and location of your blog.”
“More specifically, instead of hand-coding
your blog posts and frequently uploading the newest version
of your page, you make posts to your blog by submitting a
simple form on the Blogger web site, and the results immediately
show up on your site, with your design.”
LiveJournal is another blogging option which
offers an easy to use free blogging service. Users may choose
from ready-made templates or have more control by writing
their own hypertext markup language, which is a coded language
that controls how web pages appear. There is also the option
to add a guest book and notify list. LiveJournal isn't only
a a great place for keeping a journal…it's a place where
people meet, interact, share common interests, and read and
comment in other journals.
LiveJournal also offers a community feature
which allows multiple users to post entries about a single
topic. The communities are free to use and easy to setup and
create. LiveJournal Communities cover topics from Anime to
Zen Buddhism, from Astronomy to Zim. You'll also find regional
communities for places all around the world. A community has
at least one "maintainer." A maintainer is a user
whose personal journal account is separate from the account
of the community that they maintain. A maintainer supervises
the happenings in a community, controls its settings and Community
Info, and performs other administrative functions. It is possible
for a community to have several maintainers who all have this
administrative access.
For bloggers who are looking for complete control
over their weblog, Movable Type is definitely the way to go.
It is widely recognized as the premiere choice for power users
of weblogs, intranet knowledge management, and marketing or
communications through weblogs. “First released in October
2001, Movable Type has been downloaded nearly one quarter
of a million times, and has been used to power the most popular
weblogs in existence, along with enterprise use by companies
ranging from startups to the Fortune 500’s. Movable
Type's engine is also used to power the TypePad service, which
lets any user have access to the flexibility and potential
of Movable Type's publishing features without requiring any
technical knowledge or access to a web server.”
V. Weblogging in Action
When I first began my research on weblogs and how they were
affecting art educators, I came up empty-handed. I found myself
having to describe what a weblog was to educators instead
of finding examples of them. I thought that I would have to
scrap the chapter all together. Art educator weblogs are extremely
hard to find because they are so few out there. Blogging is
a new media to us and especially to the generation of teachers
that exists now. Our newest teachers will begin to embrace
technology because they have been raised with it. But even
our newest teachers may not have been taught with computers.
The full integration of this technology will take a while
to achieve.
Upon further investigation, I came upon Livejournal’s
community weblogs. Community weblogs are the collaboration
between a number of authors, as compared to personal weblogs
that are the product of a single author. Through Livejournal,
I was able to join a few active communities related to education
and more specifically, art education:
Art Teachers – 23 members (see figure
4.2)
“This is a forum for art teachers of all kinds. Share
your ideas for your sixth grade mural project, or ask for
advice on booking models for your freshman figure drawing
class. If you are a full time teacher, or teach part time,
or are considering teaching as a career after you finish college,
feel free to join and share ideas!”
figure 4.2
Art Ed – 74 members (see figure 4.3)
“This journal is a forum for discussing education, art
education in particular. This will be a place to post lessons,
get advice, and vent. Feel free to join us, whether you are
an art educator, a classroom educator, an artist, a student,
or just interested!”
figure 4.3
Educators – 23 members (see figure 4.4)
“This community is for the educators out there on LiveJournal.
I know you're there somewhere. We can share those stories
of kids who make our day, or those who makes our day hell,
issues in education, challenges, lesson ideas, etc.”
figure 4.4
After finding the LiveJournal website, my passion
for adding the weblog section back into this thesis was renewed.
I came across a few personal journal blogs maintained by educators.
A journal site often organizes itself around the idea of pages.
They usually consist of longer entries, used to record the
author’s thoughts from daily life. It's like finding
someone's diary open to the most current page.
Mr. C – (see figure 4.5)
On September 1, 2003 Mr.C started his weblog. Although Mr.
C is not an art educator, I view his blog as a superb exemplar
of how a personal weblog can also function as a community.
Mr. Cs’ blog has the ability for readers to post comments
and feedback. And comment they do! He receives from 5-10 comments
on a daily basis. His readers keep coming back for more to
see what he’s going to say next.
figure 4.5
He states in his first entry on September 1,
2003, the following reasons for beginning his blog:
“I have caved to the enormous pressures of the internet
and my peers and have created a blog. My main motivation for
creating a blog is entirely selfish: I'm looking for a reason
to write everyday. But I have higher aspirations for it, mostly
centering on making others laugh aloud at my antics. How will
I accomplish this? I will be blogging about my adventures
in public education.
In teacher school, undergrads are encouraged
to keep daily journals describing their internal thoughts,
their reactions, their methods, and their overall professional
reactions to the teaching world and universe. It is designed
to give you time to reflect, learn, grow, and thus become
a better teacher. It is not supposed to be a place to share
entertaining stories, to wax prophetic, or to bitch. That's
what blogs are for.“
Not only did I spend precious thesis writing
time reading through his recent blog entries, I ended up reading
the entire thing. Mr. C is funny, a good writer, and loves
what he does for a living. It’s refreshing to hear an
educator love and laugh at his work. Kids say the damndest
things. He writes them.
Mr. C referred to the daily journals that student
teachers are to keep in undergraduate school. This sparked
another attempt at a Google search…student teachers
and weblogs. There must be a number of student teachers who
have kept their journals online. Found One!
Weblogging among teachers has definitely begun
to catch on except in the art world. I came across a single
art student teacher’s weblog. Dana of ms-grue.blogspot.com
(see figure 4.6), is a graduate student learning how to become
an art teacher. Her intent for the blog is a space for "self-reflection."
She posts links to sites with lesson plans and art resources,
and records her daily experiences in hopes that her blog will
help others to “survive and thrive as a new teacher.”
figure 4.6
Following in her footsteps, I created a blog
documenting my student teaching at the Gates Intermediate
School in Scituate, MA (see figure 4.7). It was a wonderful
opportunity for me to put in writing all the memories that
I kept from the experience. Since I am a visual person, I
opted to create a photoblog, posting daily pictures of the
kids at work. I now have something to look back and on and
refer to in my future work.
figure 4.7
Here is a typical week from my student teaching
blog:
Monday, March 01, 2004
In today's class the student's were given the option of adding
texture and decoration to their vases. Skip gave the demos
for the first few periods and I did the last two. I showed
them how to create block letters and flowers and how to adhere
them to the surface of their vases. I also experimented with
a brainstorming session where the students could offer ideas
as to how they could decorate their vases. That way, when
they went back to their desks to work, their thought process
would have already started.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
The students continued working on their decorations and textures
today. I brought in some clipart books for them to look at
if they had an idea of something they wanted to create. I
think it definately helped to broaden their design choices.
Instead of hearts, stars, and sailboats, some students went
on to create penguins, ice skates, eagles, and panthers.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
A number of the students are starting to finish up their vases.
They are being set aside to dry slowly in the corner of the
room. The students have been told to keep their distance but
they just can't seem to stay away. They are mesmerized by
the results of the project.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Skip was out today, so I took the place of substitute teacher
again. Since I am much more comfortable with the students,
the day went along quite well. For the most part, I had no
trouble gaining their attention and keeping them on task.
Those who were finished with the vases were able to go back
and complete their still life paintings. Anyone who was done
with all of their projects was given the option of playing
with the clay.
Friday, March 05, 2004
All the vases were finished yesterday and are in the process
of drying. They will be fired this weekend and we will begin
glazing them on Tuesday. In the meantime, Skip and I started
a new project. For the new assignment, the students are creating
outside contour line drawings (silhouettes) of their partners
faces. Surprisingly, they are all into it. Although, I did
hear alot of..."I can't do this," "I can't
draw," "Mines not good enough," and a few "I
don't look like that" comments. Some of the students
rushed through the assignment and were not happy with their
initial results. But, with a little bit of coaching they were
able to begin to see the contours of the face and ignore the
features. I can't wait to see the results on Monday!
A community did not evolve out of Dana or my
student teaching weblogs. But, the door has been open. I think
we will eventually see an enormous amount of student teaching
weblogs on the Net. Student teacher’s are assigned to
keep a journal of their experiences, which must be handed
in to their supervising practitioner’s for response.
Wouldn’t weblogs be a fantastic tool for the assignment?
Blogging in the Classroom
Blogs are being integrated into the classroom in a variety
of ways. Educators in K12 and higher education are using blogging
tools for:
· Student logs and portfolios
· A place for students, parents, and community members
to collaborate
· Peer coaching environment for faculty
· Classroom management tool, e.g., place for posting
assignments
· Knowledge management tool for compiling research
logs, reference tools, policies and
forms
In many of these various incarnations, blogs are being used
to strengthen class community. As Colleen Wheeler, a blogger
and member of the Information Technology & Services staff
at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, explains, "…weblogs
can support many of the critical touch-points in the college
experience, as a living, reflective journal informing a student's
portfolio; a bridge to connect class content and writing assignments;
a strategic tool to fuel ongoing research; collective memory
for remote or co-located teams; or a gentle orientation to
the new student or employee, providing insight and context
into how an unfamiliar community really works."
As soon as art educator’s accept blog
technology into their classrooms, I expect them to dramatically
increase in number and become an integral part of our educational
communication.
Chapter
Five - Cut + Paste Thesis Case Study
Teachers have been struggling to overcome the statement:
“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach”
– George Bernard Shaw.
When I typed the above quote into a Google search, I received
6660 hits. No wonder teachers have a complex and are constantly
on the defense. With MCAS testing, the core curriculum subject
teachers are gaining more confidence in their roles in the
school environment. But, where does that leave the art educator?
In a number of school districts, the art class
is referred to as a “special.” Specials are typically
where the students go when the core curriculum teachers have
their planning period. Since the time spent at these classes
is during the teachers’ break, it is easy for regular
classroom teachers to regard it as play time for the kids
and not take the art classroom seriously. One educator noted,
“our district has no respect for the fine arts teachers,
so neither do the teachers.” Another teacher commented,
“I feel like some teachers do not grasp the idea that
we all have curriculums to follow…I don’t know
what it is about being a specialist but I swear we become
invisible or non-people.” It is not uncommon for regular
classroom teachers to interrupt an art teacher in the middle
of a lesson for supplies and expect that the art room is there
to support their curriculum needs.
Art educator’s are constantly having to
justify their programs within the school environment. The
National Art Education Association recently distributed full
color Support School Art Program Stickers to “advocate
art education programs as a member of the profession”
(see figure 5.1).
figure 5.1
I have not seen the need for a math or English
teacher to hand out Support School Math or English Program
Stickers. So if the art classroom is not taken seriously and
the art educator is not taken seriously, how can we expect
them to live fulfilling and creative lives if they are constantly
having to justify their isolated existence.
They say that those who can’t, teach.
Well if you can’t do it you certainly can’t teach
it, particularly art. Art teachers should produce art. This
keeps them developing as artists, which can only enhance their
ability to teach.
I was in contact with two wonderfully talented
art educators who were active in their roles as practicing
artist/art educators:
Amanda Linn
Amanda Linn, a high school art teacher from Arkansas, shared
her artistic journey with me:
“Right out of college I was teaching full time and doing
at least 1 solo show a year, plus participating in a lot of
group shows and donating work to charity auctions. I sold
a lot of work- which was a treat to have extra money given
the salary of a beginning teacher. My plan was to teach a
few years then go back and get an MFA. The longer I taught
I started to question why I was having my students go through
the motions of art lessons- I realized that the art I was
having my students make was not "about" much. During
my quest to develop learning strategies that would help my
students create artwork that was "about" something,
I realized that my art wasn't about much- the more I asked
for from them, I more guilt I felt for not asking for more
from myself. So I stopped making art. My non-art friends would
say "Just start drawing stuff"...they meant well,
but I couldn't do it. For 7 years I didn't make anything-
I concentrated on teaching, I got a Master's Degree in Educational
Leadership. All the time I wanted to make art but everytime
I would start, I would hate what I was making and quit again.
After I spent 18 months with non-art people in the Educational
Leadership program, I was so miserable I knew I had to do
something. I've always enjoyed bizzare, freakish tales. I
started collecting things from the newspapers. My logic was,
If I couldn't find some personal content- I would let someone
else give me some thing to make art "about".
That's what you see today. Now I am working
with newspaper stories as well as the childhood stories of
my friends. Recently when I showed this work to people for
the first time, I was scared to death- an emotion I never
experienced when I was showing work before. This fear made
me realize what my students must feel like when I insist they
put their work on display when they don't feel confident about
what they have created. I also have much more sympathy for
students that have creative blocks. Sometimes I think it is
ridiculous the way we present lessons- "Here is the idea,
I want to see your sketches tomorrow, then everyone should
be working by Friday and the work is due next Thursday".
It took me seven years to get the sketches.
So that's that. For now I am a happy artist
AND a pretty happy teacher. I struggle every day- wondering
if I am doing what is right for my students. I watch them
struggle to make art that is about something. Sometimes I
think I will make it easier on both of us- and when I do,
I can immediately tell the difference in the quality of my
teaching and their work.”
Richard Toomey
I had the pleasure of working side-by-side as a student teacher
with an amazing middle school art educator at the Gates Intermediate
School in Scituate, Massachusetts. Richard Toomey is my ideal
of what an art teacher should be. Not only do the kids love
and adore him but, they produce the most amazing pieces of
work at the seventh grade level. Every student should have
the opportunity to experience the talent and pride that he
brings out in each one of them. Common quotes heard within
his classroom:
· “This is the best drawing I have ever done.”
– David N., grade 7
· “I like art again!” – Zachary M.,
grade 7
· “Thanks for making me a better artist!”
– Andrew M., grade 7
· “I’ve never made something this good
before.” – Chris S., grade 7
Richard has a passion and love for what he does.
He surrounds himself with the arts at every chance he gets.
Not only is he an accomplished painter, but also a professional
banjo, tin whistle and accordian player. Did I mention that
he has a masters degree in English?
As a practicing artist/teacher, Richard found
that he could identify the problems students would encounter
during the creation of their art. He mentions that if he wasn’t
pursuing his own work, he would probably be doing safer more
academic projects. In a twelve week period the kids were exposed
to a variety of media including tempera paintings of still
lifes, charcoal portraits, clay vases, floral watercolors,
linoleum cut prints, and pastel landscapes. Each project was
more successful than the last. I watched as the students gained
confidence in themselves and their work as the semester rolled
on.
Primarily a fine artist, Skip teaches the kids
the techniques that he uses when creating his own work. He
provides them with high quality brushes, paper, paints, and
instruction that will ensure success. Each lesson is broken
down into simple steps that a seventh grader can handle. He
is able to “cut the journey down,” making the
experience of creating art a positive and fulfilling one.
There is room for experimentation but failure is on rare occasion.
While speaking to both of my interviewees, a
common connection was that of community. Both Amanda and Skip
emerge themselves in creative and stimulating environments.
Skip has a pool of people from which he receives his creative
inspiration. From his son Liam whom is a self-taught watercolor
artist to the lead singer in the Irish band he plays with,
from the kids in his classroom to the lobster fisherman in
the harbor, Skip is constantly drawing creativity from his
natural environment. Likewise, Amanda surrounds herself with
“funny, quick-witted people. The kind of people you
have to think really fast around. They are musicians, writers,
corporate hacks, non-profit workers- they are also well read
and knowledgeable about lots of things. From Shakespeare to
Spongebob- they aren't culture snobs. They are also very passionate
about things- political, social,etc.” The key to both
Skip and Amanda’s success is the community of creative
and supportive people they surround themselves with.
Outline of Media Project
I graduated from high school in 1995 and had no idea what
I wanted to do for "the rest of my life." The only
classes that I had ever paid attention in were art, crafts
and photography. Yet, as I knew it, you could not make a living
as an "artist." So, I went ahead and applied to
8 different colleges, none of which had a strong art department.
I spent a year at Northeastern getting lost in the crowds,
a year at Bridgewater State, and finally entered into the
Massart community, where I truly wanted to be in the first
place.
I started the undergraduate program at Massart
in art education. Half way through my sophomore year I realized
– I’m not going to be an artist anymore, I’m
going to be a teacher. Teachers aren’t artists? I WANT
TO BE AN ARTIST. Thereafter, I weaseled my way into the Graphic
Design department. NOW, I would be officially trained and
considered a member of the arts society. I even made sure
on my degree that it said communication design department
and not art education department.
Who planted the idea in my head that I would
no longer be an artist if I became a teacher? Why didn’t
I think I could do both?
Needless to say, I entered society as a member
of the "arts community." I was a Graphic Designer.
I created websites, printed posters and brochures, went on
photo shoots, and saw my work in advertisements and storefronts.
Yet, I still was not feeling a sense of fulfillment at the
end of the day. There was an emptiness and an isolation that
I could not explain. All I really wanted was a way out. I
WANTED TO BE A TEACHER. Therefore, I found my way back into
Massart as a graduate student in the New Media Art Education
program. This time, I’M GOING TO BE BOTH A TEACHER AND
AN ARTIST. And here is how I plan to keep my goals and dreams
alive as well as other artist/teachers out there.
Cutxpaste.net –
Cut + Paste is a site built for art educators. It's all about
their creative needs, concerns, and inspirations. By having
artist/teachers share their stories, wisdom and advice, I
hope to inspire and encourage others, as well as myself, to
pick up that paint brush again or sign up for that glassblowing
class that they have always wanted to take. Through interviews,
an email discussion list, and excellent creative resources,
I'm hoping to admonish the statement – Those who can't...teach.
Goals –
1. Attract and keep enough members to make it worthwhile.
2. To deliver a satisfactory return of my time and investment.
Information Architecture –
Home page (see figure 5.2)– A brief introduction of
who this site is for and what the user will receive from it.
The home page has navigation to several sections including:
home, about, the artists, community, resources and contact.
figure 5.2
About – A description of how to maximize
your experience within the Cut + Paste website.
The Artists (see figure 5.3)– This section
is where the artist/teacher galleries live. Here, the user
can have their work featured and posted online. There is also
the ability for the user to leave the artist comments on their
work.
figure 5.3
Explorations – In the Explorations section
of the site, the user is able to accept an assignment, complete
it by following the simple instructions, send in the required
report (photograph, CD, video, etc), and see evidence of their
work posted on-line. This online environment will aid in the
artist/educators exploration of their own art making process
and help to get their creative juices flowing.
Examples of Exploration Project assignments:
1. Pet Accessory – Create an accessory for your pet.
2. Creative Spaces – Photograph your creative space.
3. Pleasant Surprise – Create an object that can be
placed in an area where only someone truly taking in their
surroundings will come upon it.
4. Instant Inspiration – Grab the closest book. Open
it and write down the first sentence that you see. Create
a piece based on this new found inspiration.
5. Daily Art – Over the next 9 days spend from 20-60
minutes creating 9 pieces of art. Complete each piece the
day you start it. Based on the work of artist, Laurie Anderson.
6. New Endeavors – Today is the day. Sign up for that
class that you've been eyeing for the past few months. Tell
us about it.
7. It’s In the News – Create a piece based on
a classified ad found in the newspaper. This project was inspired
by the work of artist, Amanda Linn.
Guestbook - The user can publish comments on
the site, share links and resources, and view others feedback.
Resources – A number of suggested resources
to help the user on their creative path.
Contact – A space for the user to send
the site author unpublished feedback.
Interface Design Decisions–
During my interviews with art educators, I brought up the
question of what they would ideally like a virtual community
to offer them. The answers were as follows:
· “Thoughtful in depth discussion of the why
and philosophy of art teaching and how that can be put into
practice in the real world.”
· “I don't have an ideal. I figure if I wanted
it, I would create it.“
· “I think just having the sounding board available
is reassuring.”
· “AE grants, studio space listings, connections
to other community boards, lesson plans, and chats.”
After a year-and-a-half of researching the success
and failure of email discussion lists, message boards, and
weblogs within the realm of art education, and discussing
an art educators’ need for a community, I decided to
focus on the following three community building tools:
· Email discussion list – I chose an email discussion
list because it is the easiest kind of online gathering place
to create, maintain, and participate in. The users don’t
have to learn a new interface (assuming that everyone reads
email) and don’t have to "check in" somewhere
to take part in the conversation.
I’d like to note that although I have
been the only one posting to the email discussion list, the
users have been emailing me back personally. As I mentioned
earlier, putting yourself out there in writing can be difficult
at first. There are a number of “lurkers” on the
list who observe, learn from the others, but refrain from
giving their own input. Even though the “lurkers”
are not visible to the group, the members know that some people
participate by reading only.
· Exploration Projects – The Exploration
Project grew out of a "Teaching in New Media" course
that I took during my final year in graduate school. The assignment
was to:
Create a project proposal that incorporates qualities of web-based
learning (an online demonstration, virtual classroom or virtual
community project are some of the directions open for exploration).
While addressing the qualities of new media, each project
should also address the value of new media in the art classroom.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand on my thesis
media project. The idea was to create projects/assignments
that would aid in the artist/educators exploration of their
own art making process.
· Weblog / Guestbook– A recent
addition to my virtual community was a guestbook that acts
as a weblog. The difference is that I wanted anyone to be
able to post to it. Weblogs traditionally are owned by a single
user and visitors can comment on the users’ posts. The
comments are hidden unless the visitor clicks on the comment
link. I wanted everyone to be given the opportunity to have
their voices seen and heard.
Conclusion –
Cut + Paste has exciting potential for a group of creative
educators to come together and share their ideas. Slowly but
surely, the group is beginning to grow. People are talking.
In the six months that Cut + Paste has been live, we have
10 email discussion list members, 7 artists in the gallery,
and 6 exploration projects completed. Although this may seem
like a small success for the amount of work put into the project,
I feel it is only the beginning of something much larger.
As the Cut + Paste member community grows larger,
I will be forced to refocus my efforts “startup”
initiatives to more innovative sustainable ways to use the
platform in order to address the changing requirements of
the group. For example, if the email discussion list reaches
the capacity of the ArtsEdNet group, where users are being
bombarded with an enormous amount of daily email to sort through,
Cut + Paste would benefit by adding a message board system
to the groups’ development. The message board system
would give the members the opportunity to choose which messages
were most important to their needs and ignore the excess.
There is much room for the Exploration Projects
section to grow. Eventually, I’d like to be able to
accept multi-media projects including sound and video in order
to incorporate a wider variety of the arts. It would also
be interesting, if the participants were willing, to exhibit
some of the work in physical space. Perhaps a gallery, school,
or studio would be interested in displaying a particular exploration
project.
I also see the Exploration Project developing
for the student population. I was approached with this idea
from a high school art educator shortly after Cut + Paste
went live. She writes:
“I teach high school graphic design and would like for
my advanced students to participate in Explorations. I think
it would make for some very interesting material. I realize
that this activity is meant for artists and educators but
I'd love to have the opportunity to engage my students in
this exercise.”
In reply to her email, I suggested that we develop an exploration
project website specifically for students. It could become
a really exciting collaboration tool if students from all
over were able to participate.
The addition of interviews and articles to the
Cut + Paste website could recruit a whole new level of community
members. Throughout my research, I have been asking practicing
artists/educators how it has been balancing teaching, art,
and a personal life. I’ve also asked them to add any
words of advice for those trying to juggle a career as both
an artist/educator. The answers to these two questions alone
deserve a space on the Cut + Paste website.
The comments left in the guestbook reflect my
continued enthusiasm for the project:
· Thank you for your support of the teacher/artist.
– Jeff
· Simple and usable, fabulous! – Laurie Anderson
· I'm thrilled to find the site. I'm a middle school
teacher teaching art for the first time. It has been quite
a challenge... I got my BFA in pottery over 15 years ago,
and the kids want to *watch me draw*!!! I hope to get some
ideas and support here... kudos! – Pam Tish
· This looks great! Keep this up-these are such important
issues that they need to be addressed! Thank you! –
Shireen Yadollahpour
· Bravo! Great concept! – Michael Gerrish
· I've fallen in love with this site. I'm looking forward
to spring break so I can work on an exploration project. –
Myriam
Continued support of Cut + Paste came from a
recent review by Coolstop – Home of the Best of the
Cool Daily Pick on May 14, 2004:
"Everyday we help our students come up with ideas for
artmaking but when it comes time to make art for ourselves
we stall and procrastinate until our time is up and then claim
that as teachers we have no time to make art." Laurie
Anderson's one of the art educators who's accepted an exploration
project – "Over the next 6 days, create 6 pieces
of art." Well. She's "60 days into" her commitment
to "create artwork everyday for the next 6 months."
Above and beyond the requirements of the project, it look
like the site's mission "to jump start [educators'] creativity"
is working! And by the way, Laurie's works are great and she's
just one good example of what's goin' on here.”
Cut + Paste is only in its beginning stages.
Starting small has allowed me to find my core audience, develop
a coherent identity, and learn as I go. Running a community
takes time, energy and expertise, and the larger and more
complex the community is, the more that I will have to learn
in order to manage it effectively. The true power lies within
the hands of the group members but responding to their needs
will be my task. As Cut + Paste’s focus evolves, I will
continue to find new topics, focus existing topics, modify
and promote exploration projects, and advertise the communities
existence.
Link to
Resources
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