I have recently set up three
accounts to evolve my technological resources: a weblog, twitter, and a Google doc’s
account. The benefit of having various
accounts online is the ability to access them from any device connected to the Internet. Setting up a virtual storage will be
beneficial to constantly have access to all files uploaded as well as confirmation
that they will not be lost if your computer crashes. Students today communicate virtually through
short snippets of text and images.
Having a twitter and using it educationally will gear my mind to the way
today’s students process thoughts. A
twitter will document process over time as well as a weblog.
People learn in all different ways
and it is important for me as a teacher to differentiate and provide an
environment to provide all learners an opportunity for success. I know I learn best visually which makes
sense because I am an artist. I like to
see the process and believe in modeling when teaching new techniques. This style of teaching may make the most
sense to me, but not all of my students will learn best this way. As teachers we need to be aware of this
possibility within our classroom and be ready to provide different insights of
learning the material.
According
to Wilks, Wilks, and Cutcher (2012) “the virtual world of cyberspace is the new
environment, the new tool and medium through which all activities and
transformations will occur” (p. 54). In
visual arts the medium is the material that you use to transfer ideas to
imagery. If more than one medium is
being used the term becomes media. Art
can be created on the Internet in many forms to include movies, graphic design,
3-D modeling, scanners and many more techniques (Wilks, Wilks, Cutcher, 2012,
p. 61).
Integrating a variety of technology into my lessons in the form of creating art as well as using it to take the class on virtual field trips or encourage internet use to learn new techniques could catch student’s attention and therefore drive them to be more attentive and engaged learning visual arts.
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| Integrating Technology into Teaching |
Wilks, J., Cutcher, A., & Wilks, S. (2012). Digital technology in the visual arts classroom: An [un]easy partnership. Studies in Art Education, 54(1), 54-65.
That is the best part about the technology we are using for this class. No matter were we are, if we have access to the Internet, we can use these sites. This can really come in handy if a device isn’t working in the classroom or the class needs to be held in the computer lab. You and your students can keep learning!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about the learning environment. I wrote in my post too about keeping the classroom diverse for all learning types to ensure all students understand the material. Although it can be hard to not just teach to our preferences!
I also loved the words you used for your Wordle!
As a Foreign Language Educator, I have to think about variety. I have to make sure students are using their knowledge of Spanish in many ways in order to create variety in their language skills. That is why I like your last paragraph so much. I did one art class in middle school, and did not get as excited about it as I thought I would. The class solely consisted of art on paper and sculpting. While these are great forms of art, I would have loved to learn about using art in modern technology. If students can apply what they have learned artistically into as many mediums as possible, they could use it in their future lives and careers as well. Opening students up to every possibility will show them opportunities and experiences that they never knew existed.
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