Padlet Unit Plan

I chose the topic of Digital Mandalas because mandalas are such a historical and cultural art.  There’s been debate in the visual arts if technology is limiting the creative process. I thought having students create a digital form of such a cultural art form would be a great way of showing technology’s usefulness in the arts. Mandalas can be found anywhere in nature: sun, moon, and planets, as well as in architecture, and social construct—family, friends, and community.  So why not in technology? The choices I made in choosing my topic were similar to my essential questions and my unit goals. I want students to understand the concept of mandalas and where they come from, but to also think about technology’s purpose in the visual arts and its usefulness as well as its limiting properties. I went about finding sources by searching ‘mandalas’ and ‘mandala artists’. The websites I found had links to information on the historical and cultural uses of mandalas and current artists that create them.  I chose Photoshop because it’s a great tool to manipulate and create digital artworks. I, also, chose Emodo because its an amazing app that allows you to share thoughts and images with the class, and students can take quizzes so that the teacher can see the level of understanding students have on mandalas and Photoshop tools. I really enjoyed using Padlet. I think this is one of the best teaching tools I’ve seen this semester. I will be using Padlet in my classroom.

My Padlet