Tux Paint!

The dimensions of learning can surface by advancing the Arts in the classroom.

During one of my undergraduate courses I read a book called Integrating the arts: an approach to teaching and learning in multicultural and multilingual settings by Merryl Goldberg.  “The arts play a fundamental role in teaching and learning.  They provide the challenges and opportunities for children to explore their questions.  They provide a medium of expression for working with ideas and feelings.  They offer the chance to stretch one’s imagination and creativity.”  Goldberg shared the importance of the arts in education.  The arts can be seen as a form of creative expression.  Goldberg explained that there is great ‘complexity’ when it comes to creativity.  This complexity (I believe) is a result of diverse and unique developmental learning in students.

I think that the arts bring children together to unify elements in the mandated curriculum.   The arts allow for thinking outside the box where students are not restricted to the confines of the mundane curriculum.  After viewing many of the open source applications this week, I found one of my favorites; TUX PAINT!

Here is a quick rundown of Tux Paint. Tux paint is an open source drawing software for children, and even adults. (Yes, that’s right, adults!)  It is easy to use, interactive, engaging, encouraging and specifically, it’s effective for both visually and auditory learners.  Children open the software and are presented with a blank box and an abundance of drawing tools to express and enhance personal creativity and imagination.  There are also sound effects (which can always be disabled if need be).

Did I mention that Tux is…FREE?!?

Tux paint offers so many wonderful learning opportunities for students.  As we know, it is vital for teachers to not only acknowledge the academic and personal diversity that makes up a heterogeneous classroom, but additionally embrace these differences as well.  A typical classroom consists of a multicultural environment because populations are diverse.  To that end, differentiated instruction is a must within the school system.  A teacher is successful when he/she can cater to all learning styles.

Goldberg described how “the arts can join students through a common language.”  This implies that the arts are a style of learning that links students together when they do not all acquire the same language.  For example, there can be an immense amount of difficulty for ELS (English as a second language) learners.  The arts though provide a common ground for learning.  It supports students’ personal, diverse styles and approaches to the same material being taught. Many of Tux parts have been translated into different languages.  There were plenty languages to choose from!  Languages conflict because we have different cultures, and it is the arts, like Tux software for example, that can piece together universal communication and expression.

While I spent time playing with Tux over the last few days, in addition to the time I have previously spent using this software in classrooms, I am never disappointed by what is has to offer.  A child can make a simple picture, or use the special features more in depth to create detailed and real life technology based paintings.  From mosaic to mirror effects and much much more, a child’s work takes on unique and creative forms.  For example, the mosaic effect allows a child to change the medium.  Pictures can be reversed using the mirror effect.  There is even a rainbow, flower, grass, rain, and other weather effects that aid a child in creating different scenery paintings.  A child might choose to create a summer landscape or winter wonderland scene.  And, these paintings can be lessons integrating the arts into all types of subject content (paintings can accompany poems, stories, etc.)

To conclude using another one of Goldberg’s ideas, “…children’s representations are especially important windows into their thinking.”  It is extremely helpful when a teacher finds ways to use children’s representations.  This way, the arts is constantly involved, students enjoy learning and teachers can additionally assess comprehension in its many forms.

*Week 8- open source app review