Web 2.0 WebCanvas.com
Webcanvas was another of my found tools to use in the classroom. It is an on-line collaborative art initiative to create the World’s largest collaborative painting. Uniting the participation of a worldwide community of artists (2007). This painting is continuously changing and evolving, every time a new artist signs up.
In first coming to the site I found it a storage room of artistic images from everywhere around the world. It just keeps going! The tools and login are easy to use and navigate. Initial registration is easy and secure.
My first impression was,” wow what a stew of visuals!” As you study it further it does show a larger presence of higher-level thinking and sophistication. But there is still that childlike illusion of the site when you first view it.
The site is set up to view the work at a quick glance. But as you zoom in and get to the canvas, you will see the tools pop up on the top center of the screen. The tabs that are available are,: user, location, extras, info, the tool being used and the zoom in/ out controls. At the bottom of the page you will periodically see the coordinates of individual locations (north, south, east and west). Under the location tab there is several option, the one I like most is the specify locations link. By placing in a set of coordinates you can view that section of the canvas. I thought this was pretty cool. Using the art tools is simple for any user of a computer to understand, basic draw and paint tools. Once an image is placed on the canvas it stays, unless someone reports a breach in artist licensing agreed upon registering to the site. The creator of these tools has sole rights to remove anything that is not according to his agreement in the registration process.
In the classroom I could use this as a lesson in Internet etiquette and artistic licensing. As students log into the site they will be able to see how collaboration on an artwork works. Students will also be taught the art of meaning and substance for their artwork by referencing historical works and comparing them to place on the Webcanvas site. It could also be used as a tool for drawing and sharing. Students could create a work of art with in the site, post coordinates to me to view the work and then I could respond to the students work on an individual student site set up for grading and remarks. Possibilities’ could be endless, and yet the students would be part of something larger than themselves! The creator Antonio Roldao Lopes stated this, “WebCanvas is different from other on-line painting initiatives mainly due to the introduction of the WebCanvas concept, where by a painting is no longer limited by a specific frame size.”
References:
Lopes, Antonio Roldao. (2007). Webcanvas.com. Retrieved on October 17, 2009. From http://www.webcanvas.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment