Lisa Dorsey

SLM 521 Fall, 2004

Elective #10

COLLABORATION

Collaboration is a wonderful way to share and learn ideas from all over the world. Below is a link to 10 art collaborations that art students can participate in. Because I am not limited to teaching any specific grade level, my selections vary in age appropriateness.

Monster Exchange is a fun program geared for students K-8. Students draw a picture of a monster, and then get an e-pal who does the same. They exchange written descriptions, draw what they think the other persons description of the monster looks like just from their writing, and then share what it really looks like. A fun way to interact with others and learn to express through writing and drawing.

http://www.monsterexchange.org/contact/contact.htm

Westward Ho! This collaborative project takes students on a wagontrain through the wild west. It is a great history project, but can also be adapted for art. The students could create a journal with a combination of writing and sketching of what they see and experience. Looks to be a fun trip in cyberspace! I would suggest for middle school.

http://www.cyberbee.com/wwho/pioneer.html

United Nations Painting Contest – This site leads to an art contest for children between the ages of 6-14. The focus for this year’s competition is green cities. Thousands of children from all over the world participate.

http://www.unep.org/Tunza/paintcomp/default.asp

Aftershocks is a collaboration of artwork by children who witnessed the Bosnia war or were in New York on 9/11. This site features video and artwork. There is a button where children can send a message to one of the children artists. This shows how young people turn a negative event into a positive work. Great site for all ages.

http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/aftershocks/about.asp

Ask an Ambassador – This site is linked to United Nation Ambassadors. Each month, this site features an ambassador. This month the ambassador is from Greece. There is a form to fill out where you can e-mail the ambassador a question. If the class is working on, for example, Greek Revival Art, your class could come up with a couple questions to submit. A way to connect across the world.

http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/modelun/email_eng.asp

Migration – This website is about the journey of butterflies and migration. It is very well done. The idea is that thousands of children from the United States and Canada send this site their butterflies. The butterflies than are sent (they migrate) to children who care and keep them. It is a beautiful idea and a fun project.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/symbolic/SMDesignsE.html

Folktales tell a lot about a culture and their people. Handed down over centuries, they become imbedded as a part of a culture. Students can visit this site and choose a folk tale that a peace corp worker transcribed. The student could then research the country, and then provide illustrations. Although this did not have a collaborative link the student could then e-mail their artwork to the peace corp to show the value of the Folktales that they preserved. This could be a project for grades 5-12.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/students/folktales/index.html

Peace Corp volunteer in the classroom! The Peacecorp has a place on its website that allows your classroom to connect with an actual peacecorp volunteer. Perhaps your class could create illustrated stories for the children in the country that is represented.

elect10.htm

This site links to a narrative cartoon project. It gives examples from Roberto Clemente Elementary School in Chicago. After using the narrative cartoon lesson plan provided, and viewing the examples, your students could send their artwork to the Roberto Clemente Elementary school and share their work.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/water/africa/lessons/HSart02/index.html

This site is dedicated to the preservation of the environment. There is a lesson plan that allows you to create and design a zoo. Besides learning about current environmental issues, students can put their creative skills to work to design habitats.

http://www.fieldtripearth.org/strategy.xml?id=12