Podcast

I subscribed to Art Ed Radio by Art of Education. It is a podcast meant for art teachers. The topics are relevant to elementary, middle, and high school art teachers. The episodes I listed to were on keeping your art club alive, how to intrinsically motivate students, and teaching artists that aren’t “dead white guys.” There is a variety of topics that range from budgets to dealing with student immaturity to teaching on the fly. The podcasts are hosted by a high school art teacher and he invites guest art teachers and relevant guests to discuss their experiences. I certainly plan to reference this podcast in the future.



Link to Art Ed Radio:
https://www.theartofed.com/artedradio/

Social Bookmarking

I have started adding bookmarks that help me lesson plan and manage my elementary art room:

http://del.icio.us/efischer

Week 3, Reflection

REFLECTION:

Before taking this class, my definition of instructional technology aligned with the more pragmatic definition of the 1970s. I thought of instructional technology as media that works to support traditional teaching methods and tools. I saw it as media that would enhance the teacher, textbook, etc. Just in this very short time, I have learned instructional technology expands much further than that limited definition.

Each time I read a new definition, it pushed my understanding of instructional technology and reinforced its importance. There are pieces of every definition update that I appreciate. I like the 1977 visual of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation, as a wheel.  I also like the notion of technology facilitating learning.  That is also what we do as teachers, we facilitate learning. I also agree that instructional technology is meant to improve performance of learners and instructors.

As an art teacher, I can apply both key elements of instructional technology to my own practice. Media can help with my instructional methods, for instance, using YouTube to show demonstration videos. Technology can also assist with performance. For instance, using online quizzing tools, grading can be done automatically, therefore enhancing my own performance. Most importantly, I would like instructional technology to transform my teaching to make a more individualized, relevant, engaging learning experience for my art students.

I am embarrassed to admit, something surprising to me was the use of instructional technology in the workplace. I thought the definition of instructional technology was limited within the realm of education, but see now it can extend past education. I started thinking about how some of the tools and exercises we have done in this class could assist my husband in his role of training a sales force. Some of the tools could be used for professionals that do not train at all, for instance, customer service.

I didn’t notice anything to be missing from the most recent definition. I felt it encompassed what it needed to and left the definition vague enough to evolve into the future.

APPLICATION QUESTION:

A.) There could have been a variety of reasons why the 24/7 lap top project for teachers and students did not work.

One reason the project could have failed is the technology didn’t work the way it was intended. In the 1930s, audiovisual enthusiasts thought the radio would revolutionize education. The radio never had the impact enthusiasts thought it would. Cuban (1986) indicates poor equipment and poor reception of radio signals resulted in a lack of impact. If the students needed an internet connection to complete their homework, but did not have access to the internet at home, that could cause a lack of performance. Or if the internet connection at school was not reliable, that could have created issues. If the laptops broke and could not be fixed on time, or the school’s technology department could not support the program, that could also impede progress.

Another reason for the project’s failure is there could have been teacher resistance to the change over to laptops. Similar to the failure of instructional television, teachers may have resisted the top-down change. 

Another reason for the lap top project’s lack of success could have been teachers had difficulty operating the laptops and/ or had insufficient funds. The visual instruction movement found itself in a similar predicament. Teachers had difficulty using the film equipment and did not have a budget to maintain the equipment.

B.) Two strategies that could have been employed to mitigate the factors contributing to the minimally effective program are: an orientation for the teachers and a budget to support the program.

Teachers may have resisted the change because the laptops were mandated by administration. They may not have known how to access the curriculum materials on the laptop or how to use the programs to support it. The administration could have set up an orientation showing the benefits of the laptops to both teachers and students. If they had a presentation showing the enhanced performance or time saving capabilities of the laptops, the teachers may have embraced the new technology. The orientation should include training. The teachers needed training on how to use the programs on the laptops to make the curriculum more engaging. If teachers were introduced to online quizzing tools, blogs, or other creative ways to transform their teaching methods, maybe the project would have been more successful.

Another strategy I would suggest is having a budget for the teachers or tech support. The budget could be used to support the simple maintenance of the laptops. Money allocated to have someone service the laptops or give on-call technical advice could have kept the technology running more smoothly. The budget could also be used to purchase more individualized equipment. Maybe the science teacher would have liked cameras for the students to make movies for a project. This more individualistic approach could have allowed each teacher a little more creativity to make the project more successful. 

Google Docs Collaboration, Week 3

The music teacher and I have discussed aligning our curriculum, so that similar content connects at the same time. For instance, during the holidays, the kids in music study the nutcracker. At the same time, I could teach how to draw nutcrackers using geometric shapes in art. That way, the content makes a more meaningful connection to the students.

This google docs is a step in that direction:

Week 3, Embedding Media

One of the things I wish I would have done was take my art club to the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM). GRAM had an exhibition of Maurice Sendak illustrations from "Where the Wild Things Are."

Above is the book cover and illustration by Maurice Sendak. 

Above is a review of the Grand Rapids Art Museum and information on the Maurice Sendak exhibition.


Above is a map of where the Grand Rapids Art Museum is

Week 2 Reflection

I enjoy using blogs. I think they are a great resource for communicating with parents and a way to showcase the great learning experiences happening in the classroom. Sometimes its hard to capture and share what happens in the everyday routine, but a blog can easily share this. My favorite blogging site is Weebly. Wiki doesn't seem to be used as often in the art education world. I like the way it can be organized, but do not care for the aesthetics. Maybe I need to experiment with Wiki more to see if I can change appearances. I like Blogger, but I would like more time to play with it. Right now, I'd like my posts to be more organized. I don't see Socrative as something I can use often for the art room, since I don't test often images can not be used in the answers. I do like how easy Socrative is to use and the ability the check for understanding.  It seems simple and user friendly. I have used Edcite for testing needs in the art room.

I have used Wiki as a classroom site in the past, but revisiting it now, I think it would work great for a class activity. I like that the class as a whole could edit and change a document. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is an exercise I love doing in my classroom. Where the students and I look at a piece of art and I ask the three questions: "What is going on in this picture?, What makes you say that?, and What more can you find?"Sometimes there just is not enough time to do this exercise as much as I would like, or we don't have time for each student to participate. I could see Wiki being a great place for me to post an image of art, and having each student contribute one answer to one or all of the VTS questions.

A blog can serve multiple parts of Dale's Cone, depending on how the blog is used. Blogs are versatile and can provide links to different learning experiences. Blogs can offer videos of demonstrations. A blog can serve as an exhibit with meaningful online posters, like ones that can be made with checkthis.com. Blogs can have links to live web streaming TV or movies. Blogs can contain realistic drawings or podcasts/radio. Blogs can also display visual symbols, verbal symbols and more abstract ideas like graphs and charts.

Socrative/Poll Everywhere, I feel, lies at the higher/more abstract end of Dale's Cone. While it is engaging and hands on, because students take a quiz, the quizzes seem to be slightly limiting. You can use text and pictures, verbal symbols, visual symbols, and still pictures. The option of the game may fit more in the dramatized experience since the students are acting out the information, in a way.


I liked the scenario of being so engaged in what you are doing, that you forget you are using a computer, or watching a movie, etc. I think blogs are an answer to communication and access to thoughts and ideas outside your community. I think a blog would be a great way for students to post their art and receive feedback. I have seen other teachers do something similar on artsonia.com. I can see students posting their artwork on their own blog. Students could write about their process, art concepts/ vocabulary they used, and what they are trying to communicate in their art. Then classmates could post on one another's artwork, offering positive feedback and constructive criticism. I can see this going one step further, where maybe I can set up 'blog buddies.' I envision connecting with another teacher (maybe even in another country) who uses blogs, and asking their students to post on my students' artwork and visa-versa. Then my students are exposed to students outside their community can see what others are creating.

I think Socrative's advantage is its simplicity and the immediate/live feedback. I think it answers the problem of time consuming grading and more accurate ways to check for understanding. I also really like that students can give the teacher feedback with the Exit Ticket. I use Edcite and paper tests for tests given at the beginning and end of the year. I could see using Socrative as a way to break these lengthy tests up. I could give the students a quick question of 'What is print making?' at the beginning of the unit. Then at the end of the unit, as the question again. This would help me understand if students are grasping a concept. Or using the Exit Ticket in a similar way. These questions can be asked and responded to so quickly, that it could help me determine if I need to reemphasize a topic or move on in a matter of minutes. This could actually shape the way I teach a class and tailor my lessons to each specific group.

Wiki Site

Here is a link to my Wiki Site, where you will find my review of the O'Reilly article:
http://artwithmrsfischer.pbworks.com/

Socrative Quiz

I created a three question Socrative quiz. In art, we need to show student growth. My colleagues and I do this by administering a test at the beginning of the year. The questions contain content the students will learn in the course of the year. The students normally do not do well on the pre-test, since they have not been exposed to the information yet. At the end of the year, the students take the same test. The students do significantly better at the end of the year, since they have studied the content.

I chose three questions from the 4th grade test and tried it on Socrative.

To see my set of questions, please visit: http://socrative.com/ 
Login as a student.
The room number is: d6ZUQHck

Week 1, Educational Technology

In response to:  
'Beyond technology integration: The case for technology transformation,' Reigeluth & Joseph
and
'Of Luddites, learning, and life,' Postman

As I read ‘Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology’ (Reigeluth & Joseph), I would pause and contemplate, how can I apply these concepts to the art room, and what would these concepts look like? I gravitated to the idea of using technology to transform the way I teach versus to support a stale pedagogy. I find myself getting stuck in just dispensing information to the students and expecting them to retain it. I know that this is not effective in all cases, and I am consistently looking for ways to move toward a more learner-centered classroom. 

The idea of allowing students to progress at different rates as Joseph describes is similar to TAB, Teaching for Artistic Behavior. This approach to teaching art is choice based. Students are able to choose which medium they would like to master at their own pace. I want to move towards this concept, but I feel there is pressure for students to produce a certain aesthetic. So when art is hung up in the hallway, the art should look pretty, or look the same. I don’t agree with this, art is about breaking rules and being creative. I find myself making excuses to support ‘cookie cutter’ projects such as, ‘Well, we created butterflies, and each student could design it a different way.” But are the students REALLY able to be creative? I would like to take on a more attainment-based system.

I feel technology would allow me to move towards TAB, a more choice based or attainment-based system. I could make instructional videos on how to use a certain material. Then students could watch how to properly use a material and explore it further.

I agree, technology can help us transform the way we teach, and provide a much needed overhaul to our education system. But, technology can be expensive. My district cannot provide the art room with its own set of chrome books or iPads.  Budgets are certainly an obstacle.  As Joseph suggests, policy makers need to invest resources.

While reading Postman’s article, I was reminded of some of my fellow coworker’s arguments. A few resist using technology, because the find value in ‘getting your hands dirty.’ For instance, learning how to draw a portrait, versus tracing a face off your computer screen, or creating a print plate, versus printing something off of a computer. Postman had a much more cynical view of technology. I would argue it is in human nature to create, improve, and progress.

I do agree with Postman’s idea that, “The role of the school is to help students learn how to ignore and discard information so that they can achieve a sense of coherence in their lives.” There is more to school than information, there are societal values that cannot be learned through technology alone. I think that these values can be taught and internalized with the help of technology. Students can still learn to creative problem solve with or with out technology. The reality of the world we live in is, our community values technological skills. I know this is not what Postman is suggesting, but at this point, I think we would do our students a disservice to not include technology in our teaching.

All technology issues aside, I love his question of, “What is the problem to which ______ can answer?” I think this question can fuel dynamic and rich lessons and I plan to use this thought in the future.