CyberARTS

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CyberARTS is a multi-disciplinary, integrated six-year arts and technology specialized program for Ontario, Canada students in grades 7 through 12, offered in four schools in Toronto. The CyberARTS program has been honoured by Maclean's magazine as one of the best programs in Canada. Many international delegates come from places such as the UK, Spain, the USA, and even China to study the unique model of this highly successful program. In addition to learning art, design, and technology, the students are also taught about important skills such as organization, work ethic, presentation skills, professionalism, career building and post-secondary education planning.

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[edit] History

The program was created in 1995 by a group of educators, principally Tito Faria, Sharron Forrest and Kathy Yamashita, who saw a need for enriched learning through the arts at the high school level. They wanted to develop a program for students interested in specializing not only in science and technology or in performing arts and art, but in a combination of the two areas.

The program had the support of Don Mills Collegiate Institute principal Linda Newnham, Don Mills Middle School Principal Cam Pinkerton, Northview Heights Secondary School principal Terry Wensley, and Mike Mori from North York Board of Education’s Computers in Education. There were two years of planning before the launch of the first CyberARTS classes in September of 1995. Much of the planning, program design and technology infrastructure was directed by Lesley Monette (Wasylenki), Head of Computer Studies.

Partnerships with industry leaders such as Kodak, Alias/Wavefront, Apple and Silicon Graphics helped with the initial capital investment.

[edit] Mandate

Integration

CyberARTS is an integrated program in which students spend approximately one half of every day in academic core subjects and half the day in CyberARTS gaining credits in Comprehensive Art, Extended Media, Communications Technology, and Computer Science every year and Music, Drama, Dance, Media Studies and Co-op in some. In order to accommodate this intensive integrated curriculum, students stay for an extra period of class in an extended day, gaining an extra credit every year.

Student centred

Curriculum in CyberARTS is designed so that the teacher is facilitator, manager, producer, and support, while students take an active role in problem solving the task at hand whether it be creating or publishing children's books' authoring interactive CD-ROMS, organizing a conference or creating a traditional portrait.

Project driven

Each Lesson unit in CyberARTS integrates at least two of the main CyberARTS subject areas and results in the completion of a major project. Large time blocks, team teaching and team curriculum building have allowed for the development of 4-5 major projects in each year and some specialty units that address specific skills, leadership and presentation and performance instruction. Example major unit: Foot Fetish-from the dynamics of human form to the animated walk cycle, Talking Heads - from personal history and iconography to physical portrait and performance, Producing a conference.

Real world connections

Educational Partners: Apple Canada, Kodak Canada, Alias/SGIWavefront, Rogers Communications, the Textile Museum of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario College of Art & Design, and Softimage, have provided software and hardware support as well as training and educational consulting and support for special projects and initiatives. Sheridan College and the University of Waterloo School of Architecture are educational partners as well.[1] Staff and students at both levels work together on creating a seamless path for our students and giving them more knowledge with which to make important educational and vocational decisions.

CyberARTS is also committed to both formal and informal experiences in Cooperative education and seeks in the development of curriculum to provide "real world" projects that extend beyond the classroom.

Example: The Kodak Sponsored CyberARTS booth at Multimedia 96 was provided with computers and software for demonstration from SKI /Alias and Apple.

Outcome based - not grade dependent - and open-ended

Although credits granted meet the Ministry outcomes for each course delivered, specific CyberARTS outcomes have also be developed as well as team curriculum development guidelines. The first two years of CyberARTS are grade 9 and 10 followed by two senior years, Year 1 and 2 to allow for entry of senior students into the program who may have grade 11 or higher at the appropriate entry level. CyberARTS ends with a full time co-op placement that may be waived in favour of the auditing of college or university level courses or pursuing a traditional academic track.

[edit] Staff

The staff are really what make CyberARTS unique. These dedicated individuals come with decades of experience and education. Many sit on advisory boards at Universities and Colleges. It has been said that you haven't experienced CyberARTS unless you've had Sharron Forrest as a teacher. Sharron, an educator at Don Mills Collegiate, has been called the 'mother' of CyberARTS, and her dedication and persistence has won her numerous awards in education. Past students of CyberARTS say that they would never have been where they are today if it weren't for Sharron.[citation needed]

[edit] Students

The students in CyberARTS come from around the city to take part in this prestigious program. Some students take hour-and-a-half long bus rides to school every day just to experience CyberARTS. These talented individuals have gained acceptance to the program through a successful audition, interview, and application package.

Many of the students later become well known artists, designers, and architects. Many win international awards even while still in CyberARTS. In fact, there are lists of the hundreds and hundreds of awards of which CyberARTS students and their work have won. Including the Toronto District School Board's logo design contest.

[edit] Work

Because CyberARTS is a specialized program, the workload can be extremely intense. Students in or finished University often compare the workload of CyberARTS and University, with CyberARTS coming up on top.[citation needed] Still however, these select individuals who take part in the program know they are extremely privileged to be a part of a prestigious organization. Some however, drop out of the program at various levels because they find the workload too difficult.

[edit] CyberARTS Summer Camp

The CyberARTS Program at Don Mills Collegiate Institute holds a CyberARTS Summer Day Camp at the school. The camp provides the program with funding, as well as allows the students to take on leadership roles. The camp is entirely planned, operated, and maintained by current Don Mills CyberARTS Students, and has been lauded as a 'Camp of the Future' in such publications as The Discovery Channel, The North York Mirror, The Town Crier, among others. The camp offers weekly day-camp courses during the months of July and August for children ages 7-17 in the areas of graphic design, web design, traditional cartooning, 2D & 3D animation, and traditional arts. The official website for the CyberARTS Camp is www.cyberartscamp.org.

[edit] Courses

CyberARTS Students at Don Mills Collegiate are required to complete the following CyberARTS courses in addition to their regular high school courses:

Grade 7 / Year 1: CyberART

Grade 8 / Year 2: CyberART

Grade 9 / Intermediate Year 1: CyberART, CyberTECH, CyberGEOGRAPHY

Grade 10 / Intermediate Year 2: CyberART, CyberTECH, CyberHISTORY, CyberCIVICS, CyberCAREERS

Grade 11 / Senior Year 1: CyberART, CyberTECH

Grade 12 / Senior Year 2: CyberART, CyberTECH

[edit] CyberART

Units of Study continue to build upon:

[edit] CyberTECH

[edit] CyberGEOGRAPHY

Uses the project-based teaching style to promote creativity and use of learned skills throughout the CyberARTS program in a grade 9 geography curriculum.

[edit] CyberHISTORY

Uses the project-based teaching style to promote creativity and use of learned skills throughout the CyberARTS program in a grade 10 history curriculum.

[edit] CyberCIVICS

Uses the project-based teaching style to promote creativity and use of learned skills throughout the CyberARTS program in a grade 10 Canadian civics curriculum.

[edit] CyberCAREERS

Uses the project-based teaching style to promote creativity and use of learned skills throughout the CyberARTS program in a grade 10 career studies curriculum.

[edit] Locations

CyberARTS is offered at the following middle and high schools:

[edit] Requirements

Entry to the high school program is based on a successful audition, interview, and application package. The audition involves completing a creative activity, such as a still life drawing. The interview is a 15 minute face to face interview with two CyberARTS teachers, a senior CyberARTS student, and often a guest artist. The main purpose of this interview is to see what kind of a person the student is. Can they think outside of the box? Do they have potential in this program? All of these questions and more are explored in this process. In addition, a portfolio and sketchbook is highly recommended during this stage. The last step in the process is the application package. This package includes a student information sheet, an interest and background form, two teacher reference forms, a creative writing piece, and a release of information form. Prospective students are required to have this package into the school of their choice by the beginning of January.

Within the program, students are required to maintain a grade of 70% (B–) in every class. However, more recently this is rarely enforced. Usually, many students can be seen in the lab before and after school working on projects, and are chronically the first to arrive and last to leave school during the year. As a fee, parents are required to pay a $75.00 lab fee for grade 9, $80.00 lab fee for grades 10-12.

All CyberARTS students are expected to contribute to the program, school and/or greater community. These community hours will involve student application of their artistic, creative design and technological abilities in a variety of areas. The following are a few examples:

Many CyberARTS students have hundreds, and some thousands of volunteer hours, participating in important CyberARTS events. It is expected that students take on leadership roles in these activities as part of the curriculum and skills training.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Karin Marley. "Classrooms of Creativity", Maclean's, 2004-08-23. Retrieved on 2007-05-08. 

[edit] External links