Arts Education Conference: Collaborating for Quality

Build a moving puppet! Design, cut and tape cardboard, wire a solenoid and suspend rubber-banded "limbs" before decorating with different materials. Using a "constructionist" merging of art and technology, CodeCreate's Power Puppets—combining youth empowerment, analog 3-D design, cardboard building and simple electronics, and scaling with tangible digital inputs and programming—facilitates a unique kind of learning. In a very hands-on art-making session, participants will build their own "puppet" to be photographed via contemporary methods. [NOTE: Attendance at the CodeCreate practice session immediately following this session is recommended, but not mandatory.]

Traditional visions of technology education bring to mind students sitting in mindless rows, gazes from blank eyes fixed on a glowing screen. However, infusing art education with technology can produce very different outcomes. Following this "constructionist" approach, CodeCreate's Power Puppets—combining youth empowerment, analog 3-D design, cardboard building, simple electronics, and scaling with tangible digital inputs and programming—facilitates a very different kind of learning. This hands-on practice session will explore the theories, processes and skills used to produce our work, including cardboard building, electromagnetism, SRS and youth filmmaking, and constructionist design. We will showcase examples of this type of work developed in diverse settings including Chicago schools, youth film festivals, and national professional development. [NOTE: Attendance at the CodeCreate art-making workshop immediately preceding this session is recommended, but not mandatory.]

In this art-making workshop, we will explore the process of hand papermaking and discuss ways the process can be implemented in your classrooms as a station or a full-blown project. We'll cover different strategies for preparing the materials and teaching students the techniques for making paper art and handmade paper. The process can be intimidating to bring into a classroom, due to the amount of water, pulp, and other materials that can create logistical difficulties. But after this session, you will no longer be afraid to make paper with your students!