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AMICO Users & Uses Committee

School Testbed Proposals

Proposal Review Process:

  • AMICO staff winnowed down the original pool to the applicants to this group of twenty.
  • We would like to have Users & Uses Committee Members review these and rank your top twelve selections.
  • We will tally up your ranking with our rankings in-house and this will determine the 12 AMICO Library School Testbed participants.
  • Keep in mind getting a variety of grade levels, geographic locations, and subject disciplines when reviewing the proposals.
  • Email info@amico.org by October 11th with your selections. (This way we can announce the participants at the AMICO Executive Committee Meeting on October 13th.)

NOTE: Some proposals appear to just cut off at strange places. We believe this is because some applicants had limit sizes on their emails, so please be understanding of incomplete forms. The proposal numbers are from the original numbering of all the submitted proposals, so there may be gaps in the numbering, and these numbers do not have anything to do with their ranking.
Please refer to the proposal number when ranking your selections, so that we may easily match them up. So, your selection email should look something like this:

Rank 1: proposal #28 (this being the strongest proposal)

Rank 2: proposal #2

and so on for your top 12 proposals.

Proposal #1

Location: Queens, NY Grade: K-6 Subject: literacy/social studies

I am a Project ARTS co-teacher at PS 63, Ozone Park Queens-District 27 in New York City. I teach an integrated arts curriculum to grades K-6. For each class, I work with the teacher and I collaborate on the curriculum and carry the curriculum out using a co-teacher model. We mainly integrate with the social studies curriculum and literacy, but we do also integrate with math and science.

Your offer to access the AMICO's library would be ideal for this program. Almost all of our classes have computers and many have internet access. Due to the co-teaching model, one of the teachers could be with the majority of the class while the other is working on the computer with small groups of students.

This resource would interest the students and the teachers as it is one more way to teach students about technology through hands-on experience, they'll have access to more resources through this program and the teachers will have access to more resources, making their lessons more interesting and at the same time exposing teachers and students to the world of art.

Proposal #2

Location: Cotton, MN Grade: K-12 Subject: art

I am a K-12 art specialist in a rural northern Minnesota school, I.S.D 2142 St. Louis County Schools, Cotton School in Cotton, MN. We have an enrollment of 285 students. I have taught for 11 years at the Cotton School. Prior to that I worked as a freelance graphic designer, teaching art out of my studio to children as well as working with various community based programs for kids and parents. My principal is Walt Fisher.

We pull kids from a huge area, some riding 2 hours one on the school bus each day. We also have 70% of our students enrolled in the free lunch program. The school must offer the best programs available. My classes currently work in printmaking, painting. drawing, clay, b/w photography, textiles, video production, graphic design (Pagemaker, Illustrator and Photoshop), web page design (Dream Weaver). We have access to the web as a class.

Currently projects are taught with the DBAE approach to culture, history, knowledge of materials and project all together. Active critique is expected and students work well in the program. We are capable as a school to meet your requirements of reporting and believe that we could use the library to access images unable at this point to have available through the current library sources or department files. Our particular need is needed images of modern work, North and South American

Proposal #4

Location: Bayside, NY Grade: PreK-3 Subject: expressive arts

Overview: P.S. 130 will use The AMICO Library in various ways throughout the school. First, the primary use will take place in the Expressive Arts, a class which the entire student population experiences. Expressive Arts, technology and physical education programs complement and enhance the curriculum areas on all grade levels. Our school is proud of its' ability to mesh specialty programs with real learning in classrooms. The varying of teaching strategies reinforces newly acquired concepts for Early Childhood and ESL (English as Second Language) students. In addition, P.S. 130 has the distinction of being of a Lincoln Center Focus School. This collaboration is built upon a process approach to learning through the arts. In-depth arts studies are experienced by the entire school community. The faculty and administration have been Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) trained in Asethetic Education. Together with parent interaction, we are a community dedicated to learning through the arts, and to the vital role of art in learning and in life. For a more specific example if The AMICO Library in action at P.S. 130, here is one of many possibilities. The third grade children study Italy in social studies. Access to great works of art from Italian history would enhance learning, and stimulate opportunities to analyze and discuss, create original art projects and understand the cultural contributions. Newly acquired Internet connections in the computer lab, school library and classrooms can generate independent research and increased availability to famous artists and their works.

Reason for interest: As the Project Arts Coordinator for P.S.130, I was introduced to the potential of The AMICO Library throu

Proposal #6

Location: Solon, OH Grade: K-8 Subject: art

Overview: We would like to use this program to add art history and show examples of many areas of art time periods/movements to our goal of total cirriculum. This goal is to have each subject correlate in one way or another to enhance the concept being learned. ie., in history the students maybe studying the Egyptian culture. The cirriculum in religion maybe the time of Moses with the Eygptians. We would then also discuss Eygtian art in Art class and make a project using the art of eygptian paper bead making to enhance a display that was made in social studies. A study of the pyrimids maybe used in math problems.etc. The AMICO Library would be used to bring visual aid to students and also allow students to access pieces to enhance reports or projects in other subject areas that relate. We look forward to something that will allow students to view artwork on a LCD projector while analysing them and discussing art history relating to them. Since there is no source allowing us to copy selected photos of artwork from book color plate now that the copyright law has changed, we look for a source such as The AMICO Library.

Reason for interest: The AMICO Library interests me because I look forward to pieces at my fingertips in one area instead of searching books on-line. Most sources I have found have been books on-line where there may only be one or two pieces I can use for a specific discussion.Then I must search other books individually. Many do not have complete collections. I have discussed this with my principal but have not been able to review the library license as of yet. That is why my answer below is no.

Discussed with Principal?: no

Proposal #9

Location: Palm Harbor, FL Grade: K-5 Subject: art

I teach Kindergarten through 5th grade ART. I have been Teaching in Florida over 12 years and 6 years at this school.

For the past 4 years I have been taking trips to Europe visiting famous artist's birthplaces and museums. This past summer I traveled to France and Focused on 4 major Impressionist. I wrote a grant to help with my trip expenses which enabled me to begin creating a video/presentation.

This library would allow me and my students to explore the museums inventory much more easily. We are planning a mural of tiles outside our Media Center for the future. We are planning to create works of art by looking at the Masters and exploring their techniques. Access to this wonderful library of Art will make our learning experience a lot more educational and give us a chance to use the computer as a resource tool. We have a learning lab/ with portable IMAC desktop computers we could use in our art classroom to allow all children to view a Museum. In march I will be traveling to Ireland and visiting museums. Summer of 2001 I will be traveling to the French Alps/ Aix-Provence/Austria. Units of Study would be based on World travel to Birthplaces of artists around the world.

Not sure what you would need from me in terms of approval from my principal but I am sure it can be arranged if I am chosen as the one of the 15 teachers.

Proposal #11

Location: Elmira, NY Grade: 9-12 Subject: art

I am an art teacher in the Elmira City School District in Elmira, NY and have been teaching for 18 years. I currently teach grades 9-12 in Studio Art, Advertising and Design and Photography.

I heard about your resource this summer in Albany when art teachers from NY got together to discuss NYS Standards in Art Education. You are a wonderful on-line resource for my students to use for the art history piece of the NYS Standards. I have always taught art history in all the classes I teach and find it to be an important part of the learning. It is important for them the see art work produced by the masters and for them to see how this influences our society and art produced today.

My students are not able to get to a "major" museum in a big city very easily. I know of seniors who have never left our little town. Your AMICO library will allow those who will never see "real" art to actually view it on a computer and appreciate what others are gifted in viewing. I hope that this answers some of the questions that you ask for in the application for this project.

I will have my principal, Robert Bailey, sign the subscription agreement that you've requested.

Proposal #12

Location: Queens, NY Grade:5 Subject: english/writing

Overview: I would use AMICO's images as part of integrating curriculum,the English Learning Standards, Writing, Arts Standards, and Technology. Students would develop questioning techniques and the ability to discuss works of art in a way that would enhance their understanding of the world around them. The use of the Internet is a compelling tool for expanding access to information to improve learning. We are currently involved with arts institutions whose curriculums could be enhanced by access to AMICO's images. My students have an increased awareness of intellectual property rights as a result of the award winning site on copyrights developed last year. To see how we have incorporated various arts programs and technology, please visit our class web site at: http://home.att.net/~alperstein

Reason for interest: of my involvement with the Museum of Modern Art's Visual Thinking Curriculum. This curriculum involves questioning techniques in which students are able to discuss works of art. Access to a diverse collection of artistic works would provide students with many experiences with art. Awareness of art forms and the concept of intellectual property is essential as access to images on the internet increases. My students' development of a web site on copyrights and intellectual property has started an awareness of these issues that AMICO's collection could enhance. The site, called "From Pokemon(R) to Picasso, Art Rights and Wrongs (http://library.thinkquest.org/J001570) was the recipient of the Thinkquest Junior 2000 Silver Award for the Arts and Literature Category. It is important to work with an organization that recognizes intellectual property rights if students are to ultimately understand why protections are necessary.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #13

Location: Sarasota, FL Grade:K-5 Subject: art

Overview: My first thought was to use The AMICO Library as a resource for teaching about famous artists and cultures in my classes. Then I began to think about all of the other possibilities, like student research at my computer center for 3rd through 5th graders, working with art images to make aesthetic moments (short film clips) with my Lakeview News Network students, assistance for me with an on-line graduate class I am taking through Ohio State, "Critical Dialogue about Art and Aesthetics: Teaching Art Criticism," or assisting me with an application for National Board Certifcation. The posibilities seem endless. My only fear is I will like it so much I won't ever want to do without it. While integrating this into a unit of study, for instance the study of portraiture through time. I would be able to access portraits from many museums and galleries by going to one place. The pictures would be viewed and studied on the computer/TV monitor presentation system in my room, as well as the information provided about the artists and apintings. This would be extremely advantageous when carring on discussions about works of art. The students would be able to put images into their visual journals when they write about art. The uses are endless.

Reason for interest: Using The AMICO Library interests me because I am always searching for new and better ways to cover the art curriculum. My students have learned that every moment in my class is important, because we have so few of them. Covering close to a 1000 students every 6 days, makes quick access to resourses extremely important. The AMICO Library is different because it has a wealth of images from galleries and museums in one place and I don't have to worry about whether I am violating some copyright if I use an image to teach with. I have always felt that something should be done in this area for educators. Finally someone has. I have an aide to assist me during 1/2 of the school year, which allows me to see the students 2 times every 6 days from October 26 to April 20th. This is why I have been doing some research with centers in my art classroom. The results have been interesting and I am hoping this will give my students more time to not only create art, but to learn more about the wonderful wealth of images in our world and the vastness of cultural heritage. I would consider using the AMICO LIBRARY an honor.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #14

Location: Flushing, NY Grade:7-9 Subject: interdisciplinary

If selected to participate, we intend to incorporate the use of The AMICO Library in several units of study. These would include a new interdisciplinary program currently being instituted at our school. This prgoram involves teams of teachers who collaborate to bring a connection to subjects being taught across the curriculum. Subjects involved are math, science, social studies, language arts, Spanish, community service, and art. Themes are utilized in order to weave a common thread throughout the units. We feel that the resources porvided by AMICO would add an invaluable facet to these units through the artwork available on the website. Students will be able to better visualize respresentations of the thematic units through the actual artwork on display in museums. The research the students do will be greatly enhanced by this additional resource.

The extensive actual representations of great works of art from multiple views as well as multimedia documentation will help to bring the learning "alive" for our students. At this time, the nature of our traditional library systems is not as extensive as we would like it to be in today's electronic age. By adding the additional museum resources provided by AMICO, we feel that we can provide the students with a whole new vista of learning opportunities.

One exciting new project we will soon begin is a multidisciplinary unit on transportation. The team consists of a language arts teacher, a community service teacher, a technology teacher, and a science teacher. We will be approaching this unit from several different aspect, and The AMICO Library will be playing a crucial role. The students will utilize the reources to compile information for their projects. They will document and present their completed projects. The multimedia capabilities provided by AMICO will enrich and enhance their learing experience.

Similarly, the AMICO resources will serve to broaden the scope of the project on "How America Became a World Power". They will make the connection between the concepts of immigration, industrialization, and inventions. Students would benefit from the sound files, video clips, provenance data, curatorial commentaries, conservation history, and scanned exhibition catalogs. In an interdisplinary approach the boundaries of the learning experience become limitless with the addition of the vast AMICO mulitmedia resources.

Proposal #15

Location: Queens, NY Grade:6-9 Subject: art/computers

I am interested in access to The AMICO Library on two levels.

The first is as a tool in obtaining information and art on art movements and artists. This would integrate into my subject curriculum at every level. I could make use of the library as I prepare my lessons, as well as a tool for research by students as part of the lessons. I have four computers, which I have my students use on a rotating basis, but our computer teacher has over thirty (please read below).

The second level would be in conjunction with another teacher. I will be doing an interdisciplinary project with the teacher of Computer at our school. I discussed The AMICO Library offer with her. If she were a part of the AMICO testbed participants, and if she were able to access The AMICO Library on all of her computers, she could then assign her students art research projects on computer, while I reinforce it from the art room.

I gave her the information and she will be contacting you also. Her name is Debra Franko and her e-mail is DFranco67@AOL.com (NOTE: This person never actually contacted AMICO.)

Proposal #16

Location: Dallas, TX Grade:7-8 Subject: interdisciplinary

Overview: As a team trained in Leonard Bernstein’s artful learning philosophy, we are accustomed to using masterworks of art as springboards into our curriculum. We use art not only to demonstrate connections across academic disciplines but also to help students forge links between art and their own lives. We also believe in the importance of exposing our students to art as a reflection of social mores and historical influences to develop insight into their time and place. We have several units planned for this year. First, in a series of 4 art museum visits, we will examine in this order the basic elements of art: color, line, form, and texture. These elements will be linked to core subjects. For example, in language arts color will provide the hook into a study of figurative and expressive language. In math, form will be examined in terms of geometry. In another unit in the fall,we will examine Hispanic arts and culture. In spring we plan a unit on the Harlem Renaissance that will include art, literature, music, and history. Following this will be a unit on the Depression, which will include such activities as reflecting on American Gothic by Grant Wood, examining Walker Evans’ grim photographs of people, and reading excerpts from Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. All in all, we have been making plans for some time to integrate fine arts into all thematic units selected by the team.

Reason for interest: We are a group of te

Proposal #17

Location: Venice, FL Grade:6-8 Subject: art

Overview: The AMICO Library would support much of my curriculum in art. I teach art using Discipline Based Art Education. This includes studies in art history. This library would be a valuable resource for both me and my students. Last year I taught a unit on R.C. Gorman and it took me a long time to find and print reproductions of his art work to show students. I have a limited budget, which limits me to a few images from different artists. The use of the library would eliminate much search time and would provide me with many images of art to share with my students. Students in my class recently worked in groups to research an artist and create a mobile on the artist. I found that students had a difficult time finding images of good quality. Students came to class frustrated. Many could find no images. The use of the library would aid in research projects such as this. On a personal level, The AMICO Library would save me time on the computer so that I could be with my 20 month son.

Reason for interest: The AMICO Library would be a wonderful alternative to hours searching the internet for particular works of art that are the right size to print. It would also be an easier way to obtain images than looking through books at a library. It also is a free alternative to purchasing expensive prints for use in the classroom. The service would be a more user friendly way of finding out about art work for both me and my students. Using the Library would also help me to meet the Florida Sunshine State Standards.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #19

Location: Lawsonville, NC Grade:7-8 Subject: language arts

Overview: I have used artwork as a steppig stone for creative writing. At present, I have displayed prints from NC artists that will be used as a story starter. After I view what is available in this project, I will be better able to provide other possible uses.

Reason for interest: I would like to acquaint my students with a wide variety of art and art forms. I am always interested in ways to motivate students.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #21

Location: New York, NY Grade:5-8 Subject: history

I am interested in participating in the school testing of the AMICO database.

I am a librarian at The Cathedral School, an independent school for boys and girls of all faiths, grades K-8 in New York City. I think we would be an effective partner for you in the testing and development of your database for school use.

We are fully wired for high speed internet access with a state-of-the-art computer lab, library, and at least one computer in every classroom. Our teachers are experienced and enthusiastic users of technology for curriculum based projects. We already have library/technology/classroom projects in place at various grade levels that would benefit very much from access to the AMICO database. These projects include a 7th grade research paper on the Middle Ages, a 6th grade HyperStudio project on life in ancient Rome, an 8th grade web project on decades of the 20th century, and a 5th grade project on traditional African art forms. All these projects include specific requirements for the use of artworks downloaded from the internet to enhance the informational content. Having access to a well-organized and properly annotated database of artworks from many different time periods and cultures would help our students to complete their research assignments without a lot of inefficient and frustrating internet searching.

I have an M.L.S. and 18 years experience as an educator and librarian.

Proposal #22

Location: Provo, UT Grade:7-8 Subject: Spanish/French

My name is Robert J. Jackson and I have taught for the last 16 years at Farrer Middle School in Provo, Utah. I teach grades 7 and 8 and have consistently taught beginning and advanced levels of Spanish and French, and on occasion Commercial Art to advanced students. I am also endorsed in English As A Second Language and teach adults in the evening.

I view the prospect of accessing and utilizing The AMICO Library as an opportunity to include a greater amount of real and native culture into my curriculum. I am not referring to a simple show and tell of the works of French artists with my French students (or Hispanic works with Spanish students), but rather the opportunity to utilize appropriate works of French or Spanish cultures, accompanied by guarded (prepared) vocabularies that relate to both the subject matter of the painting and the particular unit we would be studying in our textbook. For example: Monet's works at Giverny, both indoors and out, would provide great ancillary materials while learning about rooms in a home, meals, foods, eating utensils, colors, etc. Works by artists from former colonies dominated by either France or Spain could also be a great stepping stone to enhance respect for varied ethnic and cultural heritages, while still augmenting the basic foreign language curriculum. I do not view this an a single unit opportunity (an occasional lesson on foreign art), but rather a continuously inclusive way to enrich the entire foreign language curriculum throughout the year.

Funding for anything in Utah schools beyond a basic textbook is normally left up to the teacher, especially in subjects that are not part of the big four: Mathematics, Science, English and History. It becomes a challenge for the imaginative educator to find ways to expose his students to life outside of our area and time. You may not be aware, but this is the area that banned certain of Rodin's works at a recent exhibit (at Brigham Young University) and replaced the phrase "Banned in Boston" with "Banned in Provo", much to the consternation of many of our citizens. I can think of nothing that more readily accomplishes my personal goal of exposing students to great art, culture and varied ethnic heritages, in the context of a subject material, than a well developed resource of great and respected artworks.

My administrators are aware that I am requesting permission to be included in your study and my intent to include your resources in developing future lesson plans. They have even committed to providing me the technology to connect my classroom computer to the four TV screens in my room to ensure more detailed display than a downloaded hard copy might produce. I view this as one of the most valuable and unique opportunities I have ever had to enrich my foreign language classroom.

Proposal #24

Location: Spencerport , NY Grade:9-12 Subject: history & art

Overview: Spencerport High School plans to incorporate The AMICO Library into the art and global history curricula. Art History research includes the indentifying and viewing of the works of master painters and sculptors as students research the individual artist's style, use of color, medium, etc. Global history students research the art and artists related to various periods of history. They especially are interested in primary source materials.

Reason for interest: Our students are interested in solving real-life problems and learning about real-life issues and events, not to mention their 4-year study of history in many of the content areas. This library will help with many of the basic understandings and appreciations we strive to instill in our students. Thank you for considering us for this great resource.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #25

Location: New York, NY Grade:9-12 Subject: art

Overview: I would use the images as part of the daily study of looking, learning and writing about about the art of different cultures and time periods. Looking at how other artists solved visual problems can be useful to student artists in the creation of their own work. To have such a range of reproductions from which to choose will enrich my students' art experience. With AMICO in my school students will be able to access images according to artists, themes and historical periods. This will enhance our intergration of the art, history and English curricula. Comparing and contrasting how artists create and working on a unit in which students paint or draw in the particular style of an artist or art movement help students develop higher thinking skills as they develop their art. Students could learn about curating their own exhibitions by mounting different images according to theme, artist, or period on boards that would serve as walls of their model "gallery." These are just a few of many units of study in which I would incoporate the use of The AMICO Library.

Reason for interest: As a National Board Certified Art Teacher, The AMICO Library interests me as a resource because I believe that in teaching students to expand their visual horizons one of the best things to do is to look at and analyze art from other cultures and other centuries. The AMICO Library would facilitate this opportunity for myself and my students. Even though we are in New York City, the great majority of our inner-city students, mainly from Harlem and Upper Manhattan, have never been to a museum. We do go to a few museums during the school year but having AMICO would enable me to bring the museums to my students. The AMICO Library would provide our students with such a broad range and scope of art images from numerous institutions. It is helpful for both the teacher and students to have the resources at one site instead of haviing to search all over the internet for material. Using The AMICO Library, my students and I will be able to put together more comprehensive studies of various individual artist, art movements and historical periods that will far exceed our capacity to do so now with our small slide and reproduction collection. I would be honored to participate in your study and look forward to the on-line discussions that will take place. The communication and exchange of ideas will add to my practice which I will pass on to my art students.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #26

Location: Arkport (upstate), NY Grade:K-12 Subject: art

My name is Terry Guenther. I am the Library Media Specialist for Arkport Central School, located in Steuben County in upstate New York. We are a very small town in the Finger Lakes area located south of Rochester and east of Buffalo. I work with grades K-12, in a sprawling one building school district that has just reached the midpoint of a second large capital project. There are about 630 students and 45 teachers in our district. I have been with the school district for 15 years, currently serve as President of our School Library System for the Steuben Allegany BOCES.

My ideas for incorporating AMICO into our school's curriculum cross many grade levels and disciplines. I am excited to see such a vast sharing of resources among the museums, and am sure to use at least the thumbnails available to the public with my students. Cost would be a deterrent to our obtaining AMICO on our own, so I am interested in applying for the two year period that you are offering. We have many students who have a great interest in art; we have two art teachers who will be very excited about the possibilities of using your resource. I am willing to coordinate the paperwork (email surveys and the summary paper detailing usage during the year) and will pledge to work out a methodology with the teachers in my district for keeping track of use. If our district is too small, I'd be willing to stretch our boundaries into some other schools in the Steuben-Allegany BOCES, or even in the Cayuga BOCES. I have asked my school principal, Melody Troy, to send you evidence of her permission to participate.

I am interested in obtaining access to AMICO for the k-12 district where I serve as the library media specialist. I have evaluated your website as part of a project for Cayuga BOCES (who felt that if a state contract was available, they would have bought into a subscription for their schools already).

Since I work with students on so many levels and in so many different subject areas, I can see that many of our district teachers would be excited to have full access to the collection on your site. I would love to broach the prospect to them when school starts in two weeks.

I believe that I could encourage use of AMICO in art classes (we have 1+ 1/2 art teachers, with a brand new art room/complex area that includes computers, both of whom teach art as it relates to artists and their techniques. Students as young as first grade could be introduced to your site. Older students working on their research projects which are usually on an artist, a movement or school of painting, or an artistic medium, would also benefit from this resource. Our high school art students have taken field trips to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery before, but this gives them so much more. I also see a use for this resource in many other subjects. In social studies, or history, classes, the study of ancient arts, or primitive arts is usually part of the classroom learning projects. Likewise, the foreign language classes in junior high years do projects on the art of Spanish-speaking countries. I can see the pre-Columbian collection being looked at, the Native American pieces, the artifacts from ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt--what a treasure trove for our students and faculty alike.

Our district is very well entrenched in the use of technology. All of our classrooms have internet connected computers--most of the classrooms have between 3 and 5. There is also a newly opened computer lab, with brand new computers, and my library computers were just replaced with 10 new iMacs. We are a very small district, with only 630 or so students, but we communicate well among our faculty, keep our students well apprised of the resources available to them, and are technically able. I hope you will consider us as a participant in your study.

Proposal #30

Location: New York, NY Grade: 3 Subject: history

Overview: The proposed project intends to explore how the Dalton School might integrate the resources of The AMICO Library into its K-12 curriculum. As the resident art historian and the art museum liaison, I am responsible for incorporating visual and material culture into the K-12 curriculum. To this end, the school has had a long-standing relationship with The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as other museums in the New York City area. In addition to museum visits, I regularly go into the classrooms with slides, as well with museum replicas and other kinds of objects that enhance the particular curriculum, especially in social studies, history, and archaeology. Although the school has an outstanding reputation for the way it has integrated computer technology into the classroom and although it is thoroughly committed to a visual literacy and museum program, it has yet to embrace the use of digital art images. This AMICO testbed project would provide an ideal opportunity to start adding digital images to an already sophisticated visual, academic, and technology program. I intend to concentrate on one specific unit of study during the testbed period: the Age of Exploration in the third grade. The ultimate goal, however, is to assess the way The AMICO Library and other digital image resources might be used throughout the school by various teachers for any number of curricula. From the point of view of the museum program, The AMICO Library would provide an ideal way for students to revisit materials they see at museums or in slides, and to explore new comparanda in a disciplined, directed fashion. The Age of Exploration curriculum in the third grade is an already visually rich unit of social studies that is supported by a unique multidisciplinary team of experts: five superb classroom teachers; an archaeologist (Neil Goldberg), who creates archaeological sites for the students to excavate in their backyard; a cultural anthropologist (Stephanie Fins), who has introduced a food unit into the curriculum; and a number of computer experts. Although the third-grade teachers all deal with similar issues of exploration, cultural history, and commercial and cultural exchange, they each tend to focus on different places and time periods. Given the current strengths of The AMICO Library, I envision it being most valuable for those teachers concentrating on Marco Polo and early European exploration in the East, as well as those working on New Amsterdam and Dutch Exploration in the Seventeenth Century. The Marco Polo unit, for instance, starts with an intensive study of the art, architecture, and material culture of Medieval Europe. The students excavate a 13th century Venetian site in their backyard; they examine slides and other images of Medieval art and architecture; they visit the Medieval galleries at the Met and the Pierpont Morgan Library. In other words, they have many opportunities to immerse themselves in the Medieval European context. It would be ideal to integrate The AMICO Library resources into this experience. The challenge will be to find the best way to direct the use of these images in the classroom; for instance, by limiting the number of images, by giving the students specific pairs of images to compare, by asking directed questions. Likewise, the Dutch unit already takes advantage of visual imagery to enrich the student's understanding of Holland (and hence New Amsterdam) in the 17th century. They excavate a Dutch colonial site in upstate New York (in their backyard), where they find a mix of Native American and Dutch artifacts. They examine 17th century Dutch paintings in books, slides, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The goal is to get the students to understand the styles of architecture and material culture that the Dutch settlers may have brought with them to the New World; as well as to give them a chance to start talking about the nature of evidence, artistic style, material culture, social status, and how the intersection of two different cultural groups gets played out in the archaeological record. By starting with a third grade curriculum, this project would give me the opportunity to explore the use of digital imagery from the bottom up -- to see how it might reinforce basic looking skills in the lower grades before exploring its application in the Middle and High Schools, where more sophisticated visual thinking is obviously expected. In the end, I am eager to see how The AMICO Library might be used to strengthen and modernize an already existing program that was designed to integrate visual materials throughout the K-12 curriculum.

Reason for interest: Using The AMICO Library in my teaching interests me because of the unique nature of my position at the Dalton School. Since I am responsible for integrating visual materials into a rich K-12 curriculum, I am eager to have as many resources as possible at my disposal. We already have a small slide library, a good art library, a growing collection of museum replicas, and long-standing relationships with museums in the New York City area. What we need, however, is the chronological and geographical breadth that The AMICO Library would offer us. Since we already have a sophisticated technology program, it will take little effort to make the AMICO resources available to teachers and students at Dalton. The testbed project is tailor-made for the nature of the Dalton curriculum and particularly for what I do at the school. I have no doubts that the results of the testbed project would encourage other teachers to come up with additional innovative ways to integrate the AMICO resources into their own curricula. I foresee the studio art teachers, for instance, using the AMICO images to provide the students with creative ideas. I imagine the Dalton librarians would find The AMICO Library to be a useful reference and research tool. More generally, it would give the school an opportunity to make visual images easily available to its K-12 population. And, it would give us all the challenge of inventing new ways to make visual culture accessible on a pre-collegiate level.

Discussed with Principal?: yes

Proposal #31

Location: Saskatoon, Canada Grade: 9-13 special

My name is Dell Franklin and I am Network Manager and Computer Science teacher at Marion M Graham Collegiate in Saskatoon, SK. I am very interested in your project for my school and would like to discuss this with you.

I am a Masters student in Education Communications and Technology at the U of S and I an interested in exploring/incorporating this project into some research of my own. I would be happy to enlist one of my staff for this project if my proposal is not suitable.

I would like to look at the use of such a library in the microcosm of a school like MMGCI. We have approximately 50 staff members and 1000 students. This could be approached in a similar manner as Industry Canada's Grassroots project where a select 8 classes use this library to incorporate the technology in the classroom.

This is extremely general and with the help of my advisors at the U of S I could submit a formal proposal to whomever you wish. I believe this project of yours is a wonderful opportunity to research the use of this technology in the classroom.


Last modified on  March 8, 2002