When looking back over the course of the semester I have had a lot of things change when it comes to looking at technology in a classroom. When I first stepped into this class I was worried about the total production value of the class. In the past I have taken several technology classes and to be frank, found them less than par for a school that relies so heavily on technology for every day function. For example, I have taken classes in the art fields of graphics and web page advertising which although helped me to put things online as opposed to a physical paper copy left me saying that I could have figured out on my own and not wasted the time taking the class. Or in another EDST course for technology in the classroom learning how to again put a Teacherweb, which although was a good networking idea I did not see the true application because of personal background.
As someone who came from a home and a school district that has little to no technological background or experience, other than basic typing or simple computer programming, I know how hard it can be for someone to use in a classroom.
That being said, I was pleasantly suppressed by this course. Unlike the others that I have taken I was introduced to new technology. And the style of the class being more open with the projects, giving just the basic rules for the assignment and letting the students work on projects that were more geared toward their personal interests. As an art teacher, I use that style because I find that students will use their ideas and be more into the projects. Because of this I plan on using these ideas in the classroom.
When looking back on the projects that we completed, the project that I would use most in my classroom is the digital story. As someone who has worked both in the professional world of art and coming from not knowing anything about how to present yourself to being used for campaigns, I cannot say how much projects like this will help students that are interested not only in the art world but professions such as business as well learn how to present themselves.
As we all know job hunting is all about presenting themselves in another and more original way than your competition. Something like this has help me personally put another hit for advertising and will help be a more personal resume than that of a printout. I can also see students using this for a midterm or a final in my classroom which would allow them to talk about their views of art and how it effects their world around them.
Another project that I enjoyed was the visual vocabulary project. The purpose of this was to help us learn how to incorporate text and imagery together to be effective for students. Again being in art, I see this happen all too often. Students, teachers, and business professionals all use this to bring attention and give purpose to a word or idea for the viewer to understand. This project I think really helps, students to understand how text and color can effect and image.
For me this project was particularly interesting because for the past three weeks I have been getting emails from the Slideboom about how my presentation was being downloaded. Currently I have been downloaded twelve times, this makes me feel great about how my project was good and would help educators teach their students about the building blocks of art.
The project that I see myself using least in a classroom, is a pod cast. As someone who works mainly with visual applications I do not see me using this in an art classroom. To me the only application would be the use of it as a way of talking about a piece of artwork.
In short this class was a pleasure because it allowed me to actually create for an education class, also it allowed me to learn new programs to use both inside and outside of the classroom.
