Classroom Connectivity and Art Bring a World of Possibilities to Louisiana and Mississippi Educators

September 4, 2008

By Jenny Carless

There is a world of possibilities - in the form of tools, other resources and content - available to teachers outside of their classrooms. However, to truly harness these possibilities, every classroom needs the power of the network to connect to that outside world. The teachers must also know how to take advantage of these many technology-based resources.

With that goal in mind, Cisco and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) worked together to create a Teacher Institute, at the museum in June 2008, to which they invited 30 educators from selected schools in Mississippi and Louisiana. The participating middle school teachers and instructional technologists, all part of Cisco's 21st Century Schools Program (21S), learned how to use technology to integrate the visual arts into their curriculum.

21S: Enlivening Curriculum through Technology

21S was conceived in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Now a US$80 million philanthropic initiative to rebuild affected schools with technology infrastructure and training in the Gulf Coast, 21S endeavors to foster rich learning environments where students are fully engaged with curriculum through creative uses of technology.

"We have been helping to implement pedagogical professional development and technology professional development, making it easier for these educators to integrate new skills and knowledge into their curriculum," explains Mary de Wysokci, executive director, Cisco 21st Century Schools Initiative. "This Smithsonian American Art Institute has provided an opportunity to bring it all together. Now, these educators have the know-how and ability to more effectively use the network and the other technology resources at their disposal."

An Inspired Collaboration

This is the first time that Cisco has worked with a national non-profit organization to develop content for 21S, and it has been an inspired collaboration. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a leader in providing electronic resources to schools and the public through its national education programs, and Cisco, a technology industry leader, promotes the power of the network to improve lives.

Teachers and instructional technologists representing seven 21S school districts attended the Institute. The application process encouraged cross-curriculum teams of three, with the intent that the participants will return to their schools and work collaboratively to share what they learn. In a similar vein, the instructional technologists will be able to hold workshops to train others.

Participants learned how to integrate into their teaching both classroom technologies (laptops, interactive whiteboards, projectors, high-speed Internet connectivity, iPods, speakers and microphones) and district-level technologies (video conferencing equipment). The Institute also introduced them to many free resources, including generally available resources (social networking, such as Ning.com, where attendees created an online community; blogging; podcasting; iTunes; Audacity, a free audio tool for creating podcasts; and Google docs) and resources from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Training included sessions on studying SAAM's collection, creating successful interdisciplinary lesson plans using art, using SAAM's online educational resources and virtual museum tours, integrating art across the curriculum, and using podcasts as teaching tools.

"Regardless of socio-economic background, ethnicity or age, anyone can learn from and appreciate art. It creates a universal playing field," notes Beth Bellemore, Cisco Fellow, Cisco 21st Century Schools Initiative.

"I teach science, and part of my standards are to teach process skills, which include 'observe/infer.' I never thought art could help me teach this," says Lisa Rednour of Riverdale Middle School, Jefferson Parish Public School System, Louisiana. "This really is a great way to teach these skills, because the students are able to use the words in another context, rather than simply looking at them in a science context. It is also much easier to make an inference about a work of art because it is easy to assume the passion and inspiration of the artists who have created the art work."

The Universal, The Personal

At the end of the five-day institute, the educators had a lot to show for their efforts. And they returned excited about sharing their new-found knowledge with their students and fellow educators.

"I can't wait for school to start so I can jump into my lessons," enthuses Malia Triggs, who teaches 5th and 6th grade reading and language arts at Rawls Springs Attendance Center in Forrest County School District, Mississippi. "I have redone my entire curriculum so that I can incorporate art into each lesson."

Suzanne Nugent, who teaches language arts at T.H. Harris Middle School, Jefferson Parish Public School System, Louisiana, had a similar reaction to the Institute.

"With these resources, I hope to inspire my students not only to improve their academic achievement, but to go on and see beyond the walls of home and school," she says.

Some of the curriculum developed at the Institute directly reflects what these educators - and their students, families and communities - experienced from Hurricane Katrina.

For example, Kimberly Flair, Ruth Brewington and Nugent, all from T.H. Harris Middle School, developed a lesson plan based on "El Chandelier" by Pepón Osorio that has both universal and very Katrina-specific themes.

"El Chandelier was created to have a larger social implication," Flair explains. "It represents how immigrants that migrate or are displaced from their native area are torn between two cultures: one they left behind and one they are truly accepted in. People are constantly trying to bridge the crevasse that exists between the two."

The trio intend to use the dazzling art piece to discuss its general social context ("How can art be a catalyst for discussing migration?). But beyond that, they see an avenue of exploration related to the students' experiences in being displaced from Katrina. ("What were the things you brought with you? Where did you go? Why did you bring those things with you? If you were displaced again, what would you bring that you didn't bring before?")

Moving Forward

In keeping with the 21S goal of being sustainable and replicable, the Institute was designed to help attendees share their new-found knowledge beyond their own classrooms.

"Part of the role of the instructional technologists is to create - with the help of 21S staff - a workshop to train other teachers on the components of the Institute," Bellemore explains. "They will be able to reach out to other educators in their districts and beyond. We also plan to develop programs with local Smithsonian affiliate museums."

Working together, the 30 educators and the Institute sponsors are taking advantage of the power of the network to bring the outside world, and its unlimited possibilities, straight to the desktops of children in Mississippi and Louisiana. From there, the newly trained educators will then multiply the benefit of the week-long Institute exponentially by sharing the wealth of their learning far beyond their own communities.

Jenny Carless is a freelance writer located in Santa Cruz, CA.