I have learned some things about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology into my teaching. One is showing patience on my part, and another is that technology is not a fix all for education. At times the Internet does not play fair. meaning that there are many glitches to the effective teaching strategies due to Internet speed, access and availability. I attempted many excellent web strategies integrating technology into the plan, only to discover I had no access to the Internet at the time I needed it. As a result, I went to plan B, non-web based until I had access. An example of non-web based was the PowerPoint interactive presentation. The presentation could be accessed over the Internet if posted to my website or it could be standalone, saved to a classroom’s computer hard drive where the students would have access to the presentation.
When I thought about integrating web-based technologies into the Arts, it was at first something I felt would be extremely time-consuming and uncomfortable. As an Art teacher I want my students to create works of Art, not spend their time on a computer doing research or whatever the other teachers are having them do. It doesn’t seem to fit what I do and what I need to teach my students. However, there is the history and cultural aspect of Art they can learn on their own, self-paced, using the Internet to access the information. This would and should free up more time in the classroom for more of the creation of Art. I see it as something students can do at home or in their study skills/advisory class.
My personal goals always have been to keep up with technology and transfer that knowledge to my students. I enjoyed creating the WebQuest. The Website and the PowerPoint presentations were very exciting. I look back and want to recreate them because I thought of perhaps a better way to construct them and to include other things.
One of my short term goals is to keep up with all of the online learning information I have gained over the course of this class. Another is to complete the pages of my Website that I was not able to finish and add more. Also, I would create more WebQuests and more PowerPoint presentations that students can do on their own. My long term goal is to complete the Masters in Educational Technology through the University of Michigan. My short term goal is to complete the paperwork to accomplish my long term goal. That might seem like a minor item, but ordering transcripts and doing all of the paper work is strenuous and only a means to an end. This is not something I really want to be doing, but I know I must.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
On Line Learning - What an Experience
An online learning experience that I could incorporate into my teaching is WebQuest. My students are creative and curious, and they love to explore. What better way to fulfill their needs but to put them on an online Quest searching the Internet with a directed purpose. My Art students are curious about what famous artists have created and how they created their works. A WebQuest into the life, time and methods used of their favorite artist would fall into their interests and the standards they are required to learn.
My digital photography students want to see how their work compares to others and how things are done. The students in this class want to know how an image is altered and the methods used to alter the image. I could use this method to send them on such a Webquest searching the Internet for those photographers who alter images and what programs they use and how they are inspired.
The pedagogical strategy I would use with my students is one of Guided Discovery characterized by a computer simulation that allows the students to manipulate some device or environment. At the end of each quest the students will be required to produce a physical product that will be an example of their discovery.
There are many online learning technologies that would be difficult to use with my students. One in particular is the Test Preparation Tool, a web-based practice test taking and feedback tool. Most of what I do with my students is hands-on work, and testing is practicum based. When students complete a project, they are required to turn in the work. When demonstrating the functions of the camera or how materials are used, it is not something students could easily describe in a written document, multiple choice or true or false answer format.
My digital photography students want to see how their work compares to others and how things are done. The students in this class want to know how an image is altered and the methods used to alter the image. I could use this method to send them on such a Webquest searching the Internet for those photographers who alter images and what programs they use and how they are inspired.
The pedagogical strategy I would use with my students is one of Guided Discovery characterized by a computer simulation that allows the students to manipulate some device or environment. At the end of each quest the students will be required to produce a physical product that will be an example of their discovery.
There are many online learning technologies that would be difficult to use with my students. One in particular is the Test Preparation Tool, a web-based practice test taking and feedback tool. Most of what I do with my students is hands-on work, and testing is practicum based. When students complete a project, they are required to turn in the work. When demonstrating the functions of the camera or how materials are used, it is not something students could easily describe in a written document, multiple choice or true or false answer format.
Monday, August 16, 2010
There is a lot of hype about Online Learning and the benefits it has to the students. Technology is a tool, and as a tool it needs to be used in that fashion. Great teaching has been occurring for as long as people have existed in some manner. As we progress, so do the tools we use to teach our students. I believe that technology is a great tool, but I say that with caution. Too many people are jumping on the Internet bandwagon only to find that the resources are not always available, and they are not that great. Many times my students can find the answer faster in a book simply because the Internet is slow due to many users logged on at the time my students need on to get the information. Or perhaps the school’s server is down at the time they need the information. At present I feel Online Learning is an unpredictable and many times an unreliable resource.
Technology is expensive, and at times the cost pulls from other programs that also need to be supported. Programs need updating, servers need to be maintained, and equipment needs to be kept in working order. Students need constant monitoring, and resources need to be constantly checked.
Standards are being written and implemented before all of the resources are in place. Not all students have computer or Internet access, and we are asking them to participate in the use of technology at home. In many ways I feel that society is putting the cart before the horse, expecting success. Many schools do not have the financial resources to purchase many necessary supplies for the students, yet they invest in technology that does not always fit the curriculum.
Many teachers do not have the knowledge and the background to teach or monitor the technology. Also, students are coming to school with a greater knowledge and understanding than the teacher.
In time I believe Online Learning will become smoother and easier to use and will prove to be a much more efficient resource. Like most things that a teacher will pull from his or her bag of tricks, the Internet is just another motivation and trick the teacher can use. The expectations that technology will fix many of the teaching whoas are high. Administrators, parents and most members of society expect to see results now.
I do believe technology is the means and the way of the future, but only in time will it show its success. Technology is increasing at such a rapid speed that it becomes almost unmanageable.
Technology is expensive, and at times the cost pulls from other programs that also need to be supported. Programs need updating, servers need to be maintained, and equipment needs to be kept in working order. Students need constant monitoring, and resources need to be constantly checked.
Standards are being written and implemented before all of the resources are in place. Not all students have computer or Internet access, and we are asking them to participate in the use of technology at home. In many ways I feel that society is putting the cart before the horse, expecting success. Many schools do not have the financial resources to purchase many necessary supplies for the students, yet they invest in technology that does not always fit the curriculum.
Many teachers do not have the knowledge and the background to teach or monitor the technology. Also, students are coming to school with a greater knowledge and understanding than the teacher.
In time I believe Online Learning will become smoother and easier to use and will prove to be a much more efficient resource. Like most things that a teacher will pull from his or her bag of tricks, the Internet is just another motivation and trick the teacher can use. The expectations that technology will fix many of the teaching whoas are high. Administrators, parents and most members of society expect to see results now.
I do believe technology is the means and the way of the future, but only in time will it show its success. Technology is increasing at such a rapid speed that it becomes almost unmanageable.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Google Picasa
Google Picasa 3 is a digital photo sorting and organizing program that is easy to use and easy to down-load to a computer. Picasa is very user friendly and easy to navigate. Once the program is on the computer, it will automatically copy the digital images from the computer's hard drive to the program, creating a replica of the folder with the images inside the folder. Once all of the folders of images are copied to the computer, then you are able to click on a photo. If there is a face in the photo, the program will ask, "Who is in these photos?" You are able to add the name of the person in the photo. The program will scan all of the albums, looking for faces that are similar to the one in the photo you have tagged. The the program searches for images that the program believes is the same person.
The Google Picasa 3 has many great features that are easy to use. The program has other tags that the user can use to tag images. People is a facial recognition tag that identifies people in a photo and links the person's name to all images that contain that person. There is a tag that is linked to Google Maps. An image can be linked to any geographical location. There is also a section where the user can create his or her own tags. Picasa also has a photo editing component that works fairly well. It is not as sophisticated as Adobe, but it works well for an amateur or for someone just starting out editing his images. Picasa 3 will also create albums that can be uploaded to the Internet and shared. There are many possibilities for the program.
I didn't find much that was frustrating other than it would scan and bring into the program images that were not something I wanted in the program. However, they were easy to delete.
Google Picasa 3 would allow even a novice to use the program with ease. I think it would be very student-friendly. The program allows the user to create albums that can be shared thought the Internet. Photo collages also could be created with the program and images could be printed. Picasa 3 could be easily adapted in a digital photo class. Students would be able to take images they have taken and edit them in the program. I can see many other uses in the classroom.
The program could be used by the student to create a collaborative photo essay. Each student could be given a part of the photo essay, and then each student could share his or her images and put them together to form one single product such as a collage or a digital album.
A managerial part that the teacher will need to consider is how to combine the images together when there may be limited computers or computer use. The students would have to use the same computer to do most of the work as I have not figured out if they are able to upload to the same location and if they are able to upload to the same album. The students may have to create the album together on the same computer and then share it through the Internet.
The Google Picasa 3 has many great features that are easy to use. The program has other tags that the user can use to tag images. People is a facial recognition tag that identifies people in a photo and links the person's name to all images that contain that person. There is a tag that is linked to Google Maps. An image can be linked to any geographical location. There is also a section where the user can create his or her own tags. Picasa also has a photo editing component that works fairly well. It is not as sophisticated as Adobe, but it works well for an amateur or for someone just starting out editing his images. Picasa 3 will also create albums that can be uploaded to the Internet and shared. There are many possibilities for the program.
I didn't find much that was frustrating other than it would scan and bring into the program images that were not something I wanted in the program. However, they were easy to delete.
Google Picasa 3 would allow even a novice to use the program with ease. I think it would be very student-friendly. The program allows the user to create albums that can be shared thought the Internet. Photo collages also could be created with the program and images could be printed. Picasa 3 could be easily adapted in a digital photo class. Students would be able to take images they have taken and edit them in the program. I can see many other uses in the classroom.
The program could be used by the student to create a collaborative photo essay. Each student could be given a part of the photo essay, and then each student could share his or her images and put them together to form one single product such as a collage or a digital album.
A managerial part that the teacher will need to consider is how to combine the images together when there may be limited computers or computer use. The students would have to use the same computer to do most of the work as I have not figured out if they are able to upload to the same location and if they are able to upload to the same album. The students may have to create the album together on the same computer and then share it through the Internet.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Blogging In the classroom.
I could use my blog to have students research and discuss Art Aesthetics, Art History, Creativity, Culture and Production. My blog could provide a means for an open discussion with a variety of opinions in regards to all aspects of the subject Art. Through the use of the blog students could discuss and learn what other students think about a piece of Art. As the instructor I could post the name of a piece of Art and the artist who created the Art. I could post the first blog ask the students to respond, describing first the physical aspects of the Art how the Art makes them feel and also why the students think the artist created the art. Was it shock factor? Does the Art have a message? Did the artist create the Art for his or her own pleasure?
When teaching the production of Art--hands on where the students are actually creating Art a blog would not fit. Computers in production Art rooms are difficult to manage, let alone keep clean. Students would spend more time on the computer than creating a piece of Art that is not in the digital form.
I can see the use of blogs to help in converting a part of the Art curriculum that is many times left out because of time. When time is short, the parts of the Art curriculum that are always left out are the Art History and Aesthetics. Students could be given the name of a piece of Art and look at it on the Internet. Then they could trace the history and discuss the aesthetics of that Art in a blog. This could be done during that down time when they are finished with an assignment in class or when they are in their Advisories. Responding to a blog could be a form of a pre-arranged homework assignment when students would be out of school for an extended period of time.
Sometimes it is not the technology that imposes the limitations but our own imaginations and ability to adapt technology to fit our needs.
A form of Art that does not easily support Web 2.0:
Teaching a variety of types of Art, it is difficult to focus on one specific area that would not lend itself to the use of blogging. However, I have students who do not like to ask questions in class about how to do things when creating any form of Art. I could post the Assignment in a blog, and students could ask questions throught the blog about how to use the materials or about how to do the assignment when it is not clear. In the classroom the procedure is that once I give the instructions, a student needs to ask three other students for the answer to a question before asking me in hopes that the other students will know the answer as well and that I have fully explained what it is they need to be doing. In a blog I could wait and let other students answer first and then reply to the blog to clear up any misconceptions.
When teaching the production of Art--hands on where the students are actually creating Art a blog would not fit. Computers in production Art rooms are difficult to manage, let alone keep clean. Students would spend more time on the computer than creating a piece of Art that is not in the digital form.
I can see the use of blogs to help in converting a part of the Art curriculum that is many times left out because of time. When time is short, the parts of the Art curriculum that are always left out are the Art History and Aesthetics. Students could be given the name of a piece of Art and look at it on the Internet. Then they could trace the history and discuss the aesthetics of that Art in a blog. This could be done during that down time when they are finished with an assignment in class or when they are in their Advisories. Responding to a blog could be a form of a pre-arranged homework assignment when students would be out of school for an extended period of time.
Sometimes it is not the technology that imposes the limitations but our own imaginations and ability to adapt technology to fit our needs.
A form of Art that does not easily support Web 2.0:
Teaching a variety of types of Art, it is difficult to focus on one specific area that would not lend itself to the use of blogging. However, I have students who do not like to ask questions in class about how to do things when creating any form of Art. I could post the Assignment in a blog, and students could ask questions throught the blog about how to use the materials or about how to do the assignment when it is not clear. In the classroom the procedure is that once I give the instructions, a student needs to ask three other students for the answer to a question before asking me in hopes that the other students will know the answer as well and that I have fully explained what it is they need to be doing. In a blog I could wait and let other students answer first and then reply to the blog to clear up any misconceptions.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Blogging or Web
What is the difference between a Blog and a Web page? A blog is a persons thought or thoughts on any given subject. A blog can be what the author deems it to be but it is all done in journal format.
A Web page is well I am not sure just how I want to describe. Web Pages like blogs are designed by the author to serve a purpose. Some web pages contain information for the viewer some are to sell items and others are commercial and others are that of news items.
A Web page is well I am not sure just how I want to describe. Web Pages like blogs are designed by the author to serve a purpose. Some web pages contain information for the viewer some are to sell items and others are commercial and others are that of news items.
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