Interactivity #3: An Inventory of Technologies for ART

What I found most exciting about the inventory we collected is how well some of my favorite technologies can be used in conjunction with each other. For example, all students in my "dream classroom" will have iPads. They can use them for research on Art Project by Google (the zoom feature ), choose a favorite artist, then use Paint Like a Famous Artist to interactively explore what design properties distinguished that artist's work.  Then they can present their interactive research to the class by connecting to our Smartboard (I think teachers need to be more creative in how we use them for learning.) I do think it is imperative that 21st century students learn traditional methods of art-making (using manual technology when appropriate) in order to understand art history, but now they can upload their own work, by themselves, to our class website and/or blog. This will enable family, friends, community members and artists to view, discuss and question the students' art. An interdisciplinary unit could require students to design their own cultural transformation project such as Make Art For Change, then share it worldwide using VoiceThread. Voice-Activated Apps and Assistive Technology are really cool ways to make the action of art-making accessible to students with physical disabilities. Volunteers can be challenged to Bend a Building with Voices as a year-long collaborative undertaking.

Researching for this interactivity was engaging and self-perpetuating. Many times when I discovered an amazing technology it led to others. I do not think the group process for this interactivity was truly collaborative for our group. It has been difficult to communicate effectively with people we have never met. (Are people more accountable when they have to meet in person?) I have other course-related obligations all day tomorrow and need to make my post this evening even if the group is not finished, so I cannot wait for last-minute additions. It was a fun surprise each day to see what new technologies had been added to the spreadsheet, and I'm looking forward to using what will be accessible in my future classroom. My CURR 314 course just began last week, but I feel confident that some of the technologies we found could serve as cool tools for student assessment as well.

Are you wondering how to begin incorporating all of those cool technologies you found for Interactivity #3 into your real classroom?

Now that I've discovered all of these really cool technologies that I think will enhance student learning, I'm watching the schools I visit more closely to see how they are working new technology into the curricula. The following article looks at how one school district is doing just that! It also discusses some of the difficulties they are facing, such how gaps in funding play a role in bringing in new technology or struggling to maintain antiquated machines. Based on what we've already covered in this course and the school district in the attached article, I am anticipating that our generation of teachers will see a day when each of our students are supplied with a iPad or iPod instead of textbooks. Read this article and start thinking about how you'll put what you've found to good use! (And remember to think outside the box... many technologies can be used in other ways than just how they presented to us.)

School District on the Cutting Edge of Technology 

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District is using technology to provide teachers with resources that increase student engagement in a technology-driven world.

• By Corinne Speckert
• August 22, 2011

ART EDUCATION 2.0

http://arted20.ning.com/


For all of you Art Ed majors.... I recently joined this group, which turned up in my search for Interactivity #3. Art Education 2.0 is an online professional learning community of art educators from around the globe. It is allowing art teachers to participate in forums, groups, blogging, photo and video sharing, and RSS. It's kind of a cool world-wide collaboration to incorporate technology into the art classroom!

This article works back to my post for Interactivity #2, and how the relationship between major tech corporations, advertising and education is an ongoing business of balancing pros and cons.

http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/06/06/3236522.htm

Does technology affect social behaviors?

My six year old son attended a video game themed birthday party yesterday for his eight year old friend. Most of the guests were neighbors and school friends of the birthday boy; my son was the only child from out of town. A giant arcade on wheels arrived in front of the house, where the invitees played Wii, PS2 and Xbox360 for two hours. When the children filed back into the house I noticed that many of them, whose ages ranged from four to eight, were toting iPod Touches and iPads, FaceTime-ing each other, playing music and more video games, as if two hours in the traveling arcade weren't enough. They stopped using their devices only to eat pizza and cake. The children who had devices had no desire to share them with children who didn't have their own. I also noticed that children had a general attitude of "I don't care" and disrespect for each other, the party hosts, and the other parents present. Most of these children are with each other in school every day, so I found myself wondering if that contributed to their behavior, or if it was in some way tied to their obvious obsession with social technology. I plan to research this on my own, but first I would like to know if any of you have had experiences with very young children, their behaviors, their technology or any combination thereof? Students in high school right now did not grow up with iPads and iPodTouch devices, so how might this upcoming generation differ from current teenagers? How might our combined experiences and observations transfer to the classroom?

Interactivity #2

 

Alluring, well-designed advertisements and the messages they conveyed to children were a debated issue as television and video usage increased in schools during the 20th Century.

Dr. Seuss for Holly Sugar, 1940

The Advertising Artwork of Dr. Seuss

www.libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dsads/#intro