So even going into this class, I was pretty familiar with how great and useful technology can be. My undergraduate degree is in graphic design, so I know how to use the Adobe suite, basic html and css, have made flash animations, etc. Learning new programs was very easy for me! But I definitely found some new applications for technology in education that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I really like Diigo and Smore. Wolfram Alpha is a great starting point for art history searches, and of course, Wikispaces allows students to create their own content. . . very useful!
Technology also offers lots of opportunities to allow students to really immerse themselves in one of my favorite things- art history! And you can teleconference with museums around the world to have fresh voices and lessons and even digitally explore places you could never get to in real life.
Technology also offers lots of opportunities to allow students to really immerse themselves in one of my favorite things- art history! And you can teleconference with museums around the world to have fresh voices and lessons and even digitally explore places you could never get to in real life.
Ok, so that video is working with seniors, not young students, but you get the idea. Also, how great would it be if my students could eventually teleconference with seniors or parents to show off their artwork?
Ideally, I want to teach elementary art in an urban school. These students have so few chances to move around or create things with their own hands, and I think one of the most important and empowering aspects of art education is giving students the ability to create with their hands. This is maybe a goofy story, but when I took a metalsmithing class, the most empowering thing about it for me wasn't using acid baths, or blow torches, or cutting metal, but it was when I learned to make jump rings. It's something so innocuous that it never occurred to me that they were something a person could make. And I want to give students the chance to have that moment when they realize that they can make anything and don't have to rely on store bought items, because I think that's important.
Using something like wikispaces offers students a similar sense of empowerment in creating their own content. Maybe not all of them realize that a person can create their own website, or app, or presentation. I can't say I'll use computers every day in my classroom. Maybe not even most days, because the art room is a good place to get messy and paint and use clay, which you're probably not allowed to do in the rest of the school. But as long as students are designing and creating, that's important for art class too.
Ideally, I want to teach elementary art in an urban school. These students have so few chances to move around or create things with their own hands, and I think one of the most important and empowering aspects of art education is giving students the ability to create with their hands. This is maybe a goofy story, but when I took a metalsmithing class, the most empowering thing about it for me wasn't using acid baths, or blow torches, or cutting metal, but it was when I learned to make jump rings. It's something so innocuous that it never occurred to me that they were something a person could make. And I want to give students the chance to have that moment when they realize that they can make anything and don't have to rely on store bought items, because I think that's important.
Using something like wikispaces offers students a similar sense of empowerment in creating their own content. Maybe not all of them realize that a person can create their own website, or app, or presentation. I can't say I'll use computers every day in my classroom. Maybe not even most days, because the art room is a good place to get messy and paint and use clay, which you're probably not allowed to do in the rest of the school. But as long as students are designing and creating, that's important for art class too.