Videoconferences for Students

Most programs are accompanied by pre-broadcast activities that facilitate participation during the broadcast. You receive these by mail in advance of the scheduled program date. Additional information and supporting lesson plans for many of these programs are available at http://www.cartermuseum.org/teaching/online-resources.

• A New View of Black History (grades 2–12)
  Through the colorful, rhythmic paintings of William H. Johnson (1901–1970) students explore the lifestyles, struggles, and spirituality of African-Americans in our country in the early twentieth century. A special component of this program will take students behind the scenes in the museum to observe the conservation of one of Johnson’s fragile prints.
• Art of the American West (grades 7–12)
  Working with images from the Amon Carter Museum collection, students learn how to analyze the ways in which important artists have interpreted the western United States over the last two centuries. This program improves students’ observation and critical-thinking skills as they learn about the relationship between history and art. Supporting lesson plans are available for classroom use after the videoconference in the Carter’s online teaching guide Inspiring Visions: Artists’ Views of the American West.
• Beautiful Biomes (grades 3–5)
  Science and art interconnect in this broadcast as students use the work of renowned nature photographer Eliot Porter (1901–1990) to discuss biomes, or environmental regions of the world. Supporting lesson plans are available for classroom use after the videoconference in the Carter’s online teaching guide Eliot Porter: The Color of Wildness.
• Encountering Texas (grades 3–7)
  Explore Texas in the 1840s and 1850s through the eyes of three newcomers who joined the vast migration of Americans headed to Texas. In delicate watercolors and drawings, Edward Everett (1818–1903), James Gilchrist Benton (1820–1881), and Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge (1824–1913) recorded their individual observations of the young state. Supporting lesson plans are available for classroom use after the videoconference in the Carter’s online teaching guide Encountering Texas.
• Erwin E. Smith: Cowboy Photographer (grades 3–12)
  While honing their observation skills and evaluating the authenticity and reliability of photographic sources, students learn about the lifestyle of cowboys during the early twentieth century as depicted through the photographs of Erwin E. Smith (1886–1947). Supporting lesson plans are available for classroom use after the videoconference in the Carter’s online teaching guide Erwin E. Smith.
• How to Make an Artist (grades pre-K–2)
  Students are introduced to artists and their work through picture-book biographies and discussion. Your students’ own imaginations will be sparked as they relate to the early interests and creativity of well-known American artists such as Alexander Calder, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, and Grant Wood.
• Images of American Indians—People of the Plains (grades 2–6)
  During this broadcast, students view selected works from the Carter’s extensive collection of nineteenth-century works of art about Plains Indians to analyze and discuss American Indian culture.
• Metaphorically Seeing—It’s All About Me (grades 6–12)
  In this program students explore portraiture, refine their knowledge of metaphors and symbolism, and experience the use of figurative language in writing and visual media. Students write personal metaphors and visually express them through a collage or sketching activity. If scheduled early in the school year, the activities in this program provide a great avenue for teachers to get to know their students.
• Stories and the American West (grades 4–7)
  Use art to enliven your Writing TAKS preparation. This tour focuses on narrative paintings that offer motivation for students to create their own stories about the American West. Students practice various components of the personal narrative, both orally and on paper.
• Texas Bird’s-Eye Views (grades 3–12)
  From 1871 until 1891, a handful of artists crisscrossed Texas producing these large and highly detailed birds-eye views of burgeoning cities and towns. The Texas Bird’s-Eye Views videoconference gives students the opportunity to analyze these remarkable images and explore the growth and development of Texas towns and cities in the nineteenth century. Supporting lesson plans are available for classroom use after the videoconference in the Carter’s online teaching guide Texas Bird’s-Eye Views.
• Virtual Field Trips (grades K–12)
  Many of the student tours designed for visitors to the Amon Carter Museum can be adapted to the videoconference format and brought right into your classroom. Please see the guided tour topics for these additional program titles. These gallery tour programs do not include pre-broadcast activities; they are usually scheduled on Mondays or between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. on other weekdays when the galleries are closed to the public. To discuss or schedule a virtual field trip, contact the Distance Learning and Docent Program Manager at 817.989.5038 or at distancelearning@cartermuseum.org.

Videoconferences for Educators

Enliven professional development opportunities for teachers by bringing the Amon Carter Museum’s extensive American art collection right to your campus! Through videoconferencing, our professional educators can tailor faculty training to your needs, incorporating visual arts, language arts, social studies, and other disciplines. Contact the Distance Learning and Docent Program Manager at 817.989.5038 or at distancelearning@cartermuseum.org, or browse program offerings at www.cartermuseum.org/teaching/workshops.

Scheduling and Fees

We will broadcast programs to suit your scheduling needs. You may schedule a program by e-mailing distancelearning@cartermuseum.org or calling 817.989.5038. You may also select from a calendar of program offerings on our bridge Web site, www.Connect2Texas.net. If standard program offerings or tours do not meet your needs, you may request a customized program on other topics related to the permanent collection and special exhibitions at the Carter. Audience participation should be limited to no more than thirty students. The standard fee for a one hour program is $100. Discounts will be provided when three or more programs are scheduled in one request. All schools outside Texas are responsible for their own line charges. Payment for programs will be refunded only if cancellations are received forty-eight hours in advance.

Technical Requirements

Unless special circumstances and/or networks are indicated on a specific program listing, we can connect to you through our bridge (ESC Region XI) in one of the following ways:

• Dial-In using ISDN (H.320) with the remote site initiating the call.
• Dial-Out using ISDN (H.320) with Connect2Texas initiating the call at $100 per hour charge.
• Internet connection IP (H.323) over the general commodity Internet.
• Internet connection IP (H.323) using Internet2.
• Direct connections to other Education Service Centers using the statewide videoconferencing network (TETN).

For technical assistance or to ask questions about the connectivity options, contact Lori Hamm at 817.740.7616 or at lhamm@esc11.net.