Looking Back

The journey through the all the different methods of incorporating technology in the classroom has been an interesting one; there were so many technologies that I had not even the slightest clue about! For example, I had no previous knowledge of the interactive white board before using it in this course. Creating projects with each technology lesson gave me the chance to gain experience with that tool, whether it was a Web 2.0 tool or a computer program. All the tools and programs serve some benefit in the classroom for the students' learning; students can be motivated greatly if the tools are used in beneficial ways. One of the great things about these tools is that they are all free or allow use of trials before purchasing, so the teacher will not waste money through these tools. Everyone has access to all the tools, and so that makes them desirable to use in the classroom.

Web Authoring

The journey of making a website this semester has been an interesting one as well as beneficial to my knowledge of technology in the classroom! Creating a website has many tiny steps to it, but it is a great free Web tool from Google.  Also, it is extremely helpful in organizing classroom activities, keeping parents updated, or providing information to the students about any topic really. With a website, I think I could encourage students to become more motivated in my class after they have read my "About Me" page or when they want to become more involved in my classroom by following updates on my web site.  A lot of free Web Tools may not have a wide variety of options for creativity, but Google Sites definitely does. From changing colors to layouts to pages, Google Sites can be personalized for any individual, classroom, group, etc.

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a great tool for so many reasons! First off, it is a project in which the creator can use movie makers or slideshows to add music, text, video, or even photographs to put together a movie for any purpose. In the classroom, it is a great project for educational purposes, or to teach students about a topic as well as introduce the teacher.  Another benefit of this kind of project is there is no limit to the time frame; it can be as short as 3 seconds or as long as 30 minutes.  It is easily accessed on computers as well.  For my art classroom, I would use digital storytelling as way to introduce artists into lessons, using the movies as biographies of the particular artists.  Students can use digital storytelling to demonstrate how they made specific art projects, or to put together a biography after researching a famous artist or historical art period.

Digital Diagrams

Inspiration is a software program available for purchase online but also has free trials to try, and it allows users to create digital diagrams on any subject one can think of.  This program can contribute to many ideas in a classroom, such as creating diagrams for historical subjects, science, people, events, art history, etc. Basically, diagrams can map out ANY idea or topic! The possibilities are really endless.  In addition, I think Inspiration would be a great tool to use for the art classroom.  Ideas that could be mapped out for the art classroom are artists, art movements, art-making tools, art techniques, safety, using nature in art, color in art, etc. The possibilities are endless for the art classroom as well. Students can map ideas out in their own way with their own preferences, which can be motivating for them.  It is also faster than hand-drawing diagrams, which is what I did as a student back in the day!

Interactive WhiteBoards in the Classroom

The IWB in the classroom is a fantastic way to engage the students after a period of lecture or learning. It gets them out of their chairs and moving around, interacting with the board.  There are numerous ways to include interactive activity in the flipcharts. Using a storyboard, I can easily map out a lesson plan or activities, and create them on my computer at home. IWB allows the advantage of preparing lessons at home as well as saving files on USB to carry around! This can easily accommodate teachers so they do not having to be at the IWB to create a flipchart.  In an art classroom, I believe the IWB can provide another perspective of art activities other than creating art manually. Instead, students can learn about aspects of design, computer or graphic art, or even view historical works of art. Even videos can be embedded in flipcharts to view art making techniques. Art can even be CREATED on the IWB by using the paint bucket, paintbrush, pen, or eraser tools! In addition, lessons can consist of art vocabulary terms.

Interactive White Board is a great technology tool that can be utilized in the classroom at any age.  The tool does not require any typing for those students who cannot read or write yet, but it could include it for those who have more technology skills. Using simply visuals can generate infinite possibilities of class activities with the IWB.  It also keeps students active and moving around rather than sitting in a chair for a long period of time and having their eyes glued to a computer screen.

I think incorporating the use of IWB in my art classroom could have great potential as to what possibilities there are of including art lessons.  The variety of options in the toolbar encourage use of many elements of art such as colors or shapes or lines.  Teaching lesson plans consisting of the basic elements of art would be undoubtedly super easy with this technology tool, and some lessons on the IWB could provide a motivational change from the usual art classroom activity such as looking at famous artwork in textbooks.

Scavenger Hunt Slideshow

Lines Scavenger Hunt