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.