After going through all the lessons in this course, i was proud of myself for already using and being familiar with some of them. I think overall, what i have taken from this course is a heighten awareness of technology in education. The School 2.0 lesson really helped illustrate this idea. I have many ideas for using most of the tools we learned in my instruction.
One main thing that i plan to do differently is really use my website more. I will make sure that students get a list of links (my website, blog) and have opportunities to use them throughout the year. I will also make sure that i go over what is on my site and how they can use it. This is something that i haven't done in previous years, despite having resources posted.
I also hope to get a blog going to use for critiques outside of class time. It will be a great way to post a video of an artist and have the students comment on it.
Something else that i picked up in one of the podcasts, was to have students research a topic as opposed to lecturing. There are many times where i just feed them info about an artist. I am looking forward to giving them a name, having them research and then asking them questions. I hope that this might motivate them (for small rewards of course:)). I get excited to learn about artists so somehow i would like to transfer that to them.
This course was very useful and i would recommend that every teacher take it! What a great way to learn about all the things our students already know!!!
8.05.2008
8.02.2008
Lesson 11- School 2.0
The thing that strikes me most about School 2.0 is how connected everything really is. There are connections between everything... students, their cell phones, classroom computers, teachers, parents, home computers, administrators, etc. The model works on getting EVERYONE (even the community) involved in a child's education, with the thought that it is an investment in EVERYONE'S future.
I think one of the best things is the access that students have outside of school... on their home computer and handheld devices. No more excuses for forgetting about the homework or not knowing they were failing.
It's hard to say what i would change because this is all pretty different from what we have now. We are definitely heading in this direction but this is an idealized model. I think it will be a while before we can get more students and parents (and some teachers) this involved. So as far as what to change, that is a really difficult call.
Overall it seems like a great plan, and i hope that we can someday get to that point!
I think one of the best things is the access that students have outside of school... on their home computer and handheld devices. No more excuses for forgetting about the homework or not knowing they were failing.
It's hard to say what i would change because this is all pretty different from what we have now. We are definitely heading in this direction but this is an idealized model. I think it will be a while before we can get more students and parents (and some teachers) this involved. So as far as what to change, that is a really difficult call.
Overall it seems like a great plan, and i hope that we can someday get to that point!
7.30.2008
Lesson 10- Dr. Zhao's podcast
Like in the previous lesson, i found the podcasts to be very interesting. It was eye opening. Getting into how out of date our educational system was overwhelming and somewhat scary. It seems as though our world has been constantly changing but the way we run our schools has not. We definitely have not kept up with our more global and digital world.
It is a difficult task to undertake. I am only 26 and i really learned about computers in college. Even when i was in high school it was not a big part of my education. I can see that if you are, say, a 40 year old teacher who didn't grow up using computers it is very hard to learn it, teach it and stay ahead (or even just keep up) with the students. Even with my vast knowledge i sometimes feel i am at the same level as them. I think as teachers retire and younger ones come in the change will start to gain momentum.
Dr. Zhao's comments on blocking websites (such as email, youtube and myspace) really struck me. He did not agree with the current movement to block many websites to students. He thought it was going against the digital/ global movement.
Up until i heard this, i completely agreed with blocking these sites. But while he was talking, it made me realize that maybe instead of blocking these sites we should be educating students on proper usage of the sites and how to use computers in class. The students know ways to get around the blocks anyways, so it just becomes something 'bad' that they can do. This year in my digital media class i am going to spend more time discussing computer use... not just saying "this is what you can't do", but having an open discussion with them. I think this might be a better way to approach it.
I also thought the idea of online classes being offered was a useful idea. How great would it be to allow students to choose what they wanted to learn? Maybe eventually there could be a central website with certified online classes in many subjects (languages, specific sciences, web design, etc). Students could have the option to choose a class for credit. They would be assigned a period to go to the "online class lab" with a teacher to monitor. This would definitely help motivate them and open opportunities that maybe they wouldn't have normally (especially in small or rural schools).
It is a difficult task to undertake. I am only 26 and i really learned about computers in college. Even when i was in high school it was not a big part of my education. I can see that if you are, say, a 40 year old teacher who didn't grow up using computers it is very hard to learn it, teach it and stay ahead (or even just keep up) with the students. Even with my vast knowledge i sometimes feel i am at the same level as them. I think as teachers retire and younger ones come in the change will start to gain momentum.
Dr. Zhao's comments on blocking websites (such as email, youtube and myspace) really struck me. He did not agree with the current movement to block many websites to students. He thought it was going against the digital/ global movement.
Up until i heard this, i completely agreed with blocking these sites. But while he was talking, it made me realize that maybe instead of blocking these sites we should be educating students on proper usage of the sites and how to use computers in class. The students know ways to get around the blocks anyways, so it just becomes something 'bad' that they can do. This year in my digital media class i am going to spend more time discussing computer use... not just saying "this is what you can't do", but having an open discussion with them. I think this might be a better way to approach it.
I also thought the idea of online classes being offered was a useful idea. How great would it be to allow students to choose what they wanted to learn? Maybe eventually there could be a central website with certified online classes in many subjects (languages, specific sciences, web design, etc). Students could have the option to choose a class for credit. They would be assigned a period to go to the "online class lab" with a teacher to monitor. This would definitely help motivate them and open opportunities that maybe they wouldn't have normally (especially in small or rural schools).
7.28.2008
Lesson 9- Collaboration
I really enjoyed Kevin Honeycutt's podcast. Being in between the generations (students and parents) made it very easy for me to relate to both sides. I have had a myspace page for years, but i also check up on my 14 year old cousin's page.
Also, being that i teach a computer art class, i could definitely relate to the students aptitude for using the computer! We often openly use their knowledge to add to the skills we teach.
As far as collaborative projects go, i don't have a solid idea, but a handful of thoughts.
Art projects can have many steps and stages from design to completion. One idea i had was to have each student in one of the 2D classes (studio art, drawing & painting) do a drawing of an original design... maybe for a building or simply a chair. The drawing would then be sent to one of the 3D classes (sculpture, ceramics). The students would take the drawings and figure out how to successfully build the object. They would have opportunities to talk with the designers throughout the construction. Afterwards the finished construction would be sent back to the designer to complete the surface.
This is just a loose idea, which would need some work and planning to be worthwhile.
I was also thinking of a collaboration between art and tech classes where art students would do the designs and the tech students would build them. Going across the departments might even be more effective.
Also, being that i teach a computer art class, i could definitely relate to the students aptitude for using the computer! We often openly use their knowledge to add to the skills we teach.
As far as collaborative projects go, i don't have a solid idea, but a handful of thoughts.
Art projects can have many steps and stages from design to completion. One idea i had was to have each student in one of the 2D classes (studio art, drawing & painting) do a drawing of an original design... maybe for a building or simply a chair. The drawing would then be sent to one of the 3D classes (sculpture, ceramics). The students would take the drawings and figure out how to successfully build the object. They would have opportunities to talk with the designers throughout the construction. Afterwards the finished construction would be sent back to the designer to complete the surface.
This is just a loose idea, which would need some work and planning to be worthwhile.
I was also thinking of a collaboration between art and tech classes where art students would do the designs and the tech students would build them. Going across the departments might even be more effective.
7.13.2008
Lesson 8- Reflection 2
I think the tools that will be (and have been) most useful to me are YouTube and del.icio.us.
YouTube: Being an art teacher (ie. visual learner teacher and students), YouTube is a great resource for finding visual examples of artwork, artists in action and animations. In the classroom i use it to show these clips to support my curriculum. Personally, I enjoy browsing it to find interesting videos and inspiration for my own work.
del.icio.us: I am new to delicious but have been meaning to get into it for a long time. I can't tell you how many times i have lost my bookmarks because i got a new computer or it crashed or whatever. It's a great way to avoid this! Also professionally, the other art teachers and i, especially the one that i teach the same classes as, are constantly talking about websites we've found. This will be a great easy way to exchange these.
YouTube: Being an art teacher (ie. visual learner teacher and students), YouTube is a great resource for finding visual examples of artwork, artists in action and animations. In the classroom i use it to show these clips to support my curriculum. Personally, I enjoy browsing it to find interesting videos and inspiration for my own work.
del.icio.us: I am new to delicious but have been meaning to get into it for a long time. I can't tell you how many times i have lost my bookmarks because i got a new computer or it crashed or whatever. It's a great way to avoid this! Also professionally, the other art teachers and i, especially the one that i teach the same classes as, are constantly talking about websites we've found. This will be a great easy way to exchange these.
7.08.2008
Lesson 6- Wikis
I have to admit, i'm still a bit confused on wikis after going to the example page. It is different than what i thought it would be. I gather its somewhat of a combination of a website and a blog where you can post info and others can go in and change and add. Almost like a collaborative website. I still like the idea of blogs better, especially for use with students.
Lesson 5- Online Video Sites
Before exploring the 4 sites the only one i was familiar with was YouTube. After looking at these sites i think that YouTube has the biggest variety and is most useful for my educational purposes. In my HS art classes, videos that i show are artists working, animations, and music videos. Showing these are great ways to expose students to current and past artists and also showing them a connection between what they are learning in the classroom with popular culture (animation/ cartoons, music videos, etc). YouTube is the only site of the 4 that offers these. I think it is a good site to use because you can find a lot of stuff that the students can relate to. Obviously a bad thing about YouTube is that anyone can post on it, so it takes teacher screening before showing videos.
I found that TeacherTube seemed to be aimed more for Elementary teachers. I could not find a lot for art or HS. It seems like it is just getting started. I think it definitely has potential to be a great resource.
Next Vista is a good resource. Again, there was not a lot of videos for my subject matter, but i think the way it is broken up is useful. I also really like the global feel of it. Having kids from all over the world posting videos about their lives is a great way for students to learn about their peers in different cultures. I did find this site a bit confusing to navigate.
Finally, i found that Clip Blast was the most confusing. I thought it was very hard to find applicable videos. I couldn't even tell if it had art videos.
I found that TeacherTube seemed to be aimed more for Elementary teachers. I could not find a lot for art or HS. It seems like it is just getting started. I think it definitely has potential to be a great resource.
Next Vista is a good resource. Again, there was not a lot of videos for my subject matter, but i think the way it is broken up is useful. I also really like the global feel of it. Having kids from all over the world posting videos about their lives is a great way for students to learn about their peers in different cultures. I did find this site a bit confusing to navigate.
Finally, i found that Clip Blast was the most confusing. I thought it was very hard to find applicable videos. I couldn't even tell if it had art videos.
7.03.2008
Lesson 4- Reflections on classroom blogging
I think that classroom blogging can be a great tool to get kids involved.
Students will be more likely to 1) write things they would not say in front of the whole class, 2) be involved in discussion with other students and 3)take time to consider and compose their response.
Contributing to a classroom blog would also be a perfect homework assignment. In art we really don't assign many homeworks, but i might consider creating a blog to discuss artwork and art related topics. Discussion, analyzing and critique are very important aspects of a well rounded art education and a blog could be a great tool to do this.
Possible problems: 1) Availability of computers during classtime, and 2) students involvement in actually reading the whole blog and comments.
Students will be more likely to 1) write things they would not say in front of the whole class, 2) be involved in discussion with other students and 3)take time to consider and compose their response.
Contributing to a classroom blog would also be a perfect homework assignment. In art we really don't assign many homeworks, but i might consider creating a blog to discuss artwork and art related topics. Discussion, analyzing and critique are very important aspects of a well rounded art education and a blog could be a great tool to do this.
Possible problems: 1) Availability of computers during classtime, and 2) students involvement in actually reading the whole blog and comments.
7.01.2008
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