The Final Post!!!

What is technology? As defined by Webster’s:" –noun ; the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science." But what about education? Being a teacher myself, I find myself in the never-ending battle for budgets, smaller class sizes, and in the visual arts, a job next year. I have seen firsthand how technology affects the educational system where I work and it is not perfect by far.

To implement anything new is a time consuming process that a teacher must commit to in order for it to work. But, when all the hard work pays off it is amazing to see the difference that technology can make. This especially true when a teacher has to get through the stereotype attitude towards digital gaming and show the educational side of gaming and how it can further a student’s education.

Recently I approached my building’s principal and presented him with my graduate technology proposal for class and asked, “Is this feasible?” He reply was and was not surprising. The surprising part was, “I think this is a great idea and I am all for it. I think that gaming would play a pivotal role in many classes.” Here it comes… “But, the big issue is that providing substantial evidence to prove the validity that this is not for fun and is for educational purposes.” “The school board narrowly approved of a reading remediation class to use audio CD players for enhancing reading comprehension, with a vote of 5-4.”

After hearing that, I still want to pursue this technology, but it would have to be a pilot program that I would have to document and demonstrate to school board members. I have the backing of the building administrators and staff, but having enough gaming systems to use with a class of 15-20 is tough. So I am at a standstill of what to do, with time so precious. Can I apply for a grant to try this out without board approval? Guess I will find out the next board meeting.

Online Learning Modules

This is a PowerPoint that I created for graduate class. It demonstrated how Rclass website can enhance the learning experience for my students.


Let me know what you think!


Please copy and paste the link below to access the presentation.

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/aaronallee-450781-online-learning-moduals/

The UDL/DI Conversion

This course has been an inspiration in the looking ahead to the future of DI in my art room how to design a more functional learning environment for my students. The Differentiation Station network was a GREAT part of this course and being able to discuss the topics and issues with fellow classmates was something that I thought should have happened courses ago! The resources that are available from other teachers in my profession allows me to utilize the tools that they have found and allows me to make well-rounded decisions in my curriculum development, adaptation needs, and resources that I need.

The immediate adjustments start where it starts and that is in my thinking, or mind set, of how I teach and approach the lessons that I teach. If I start at the source, fingers crossed, everything else will fall into place. The curriculum's are what the needs to be addressed next, not to total revamp, but to address the areas that will affect the way I teach and my students learn when working with DI.
The next step is the communications I must have with my fellow staff members and administration about DI and the plans that I will have in implanting and the technology that I will be seeking and using. I would even offer any help that anyone would want to try the DI/UDL way also.

Differentiation Instruction within the Visual Arts Enviroment

This blog entry is one so I may share the pictures of my classroom and surrounding hallways.

Both art and differentiated instruction have been shown to have significant benefits on student learning and emotional well being, but would a combined or united method of these instructional processes yield greater benefits for students?

To be successful in developing an environment that is "DI friendly" we must first look at the effects on student learning when art and differentiated instruction are used to develop curriculum and how the environment will help the implementation of any lesson.

The relationships between the use of art to differentiate instruction and the development of positive classroom environments where students enjoy learning. In addition, creativity can be increased and that all students have the capacity to be creative.

What it's all about.

Who ever said that being a teacher was easy. You certainly are not in it for the money and great benefits. So why do we teach? One word...Passion. To teach a child and watch them grow is a magical thing. Why magic? Let's say that you were teaching a lesson and the kids were all in tune but one. So you break down the lesson for the student, even if you have to stand on a table and yell like a fool, you have to be willing to think outside the box and find that way to reach that child. Where is the magic you ask? It is when you are least expecting it, the student looks up with a twinkle in his/her eye and begin to fidget in their seat and "BAM" there is the magic. They understand and begin to excited and want to learn more and more.

Teaching is not for everyone, and for those who do battle in the trenches of education we need to embrace what is out there. Students are surpassing us in technology and making our jobs harder. This course I have gone through is not art education related, but I made it related. It scared me at first, but I have learned so much and gained the confidence and a new look on how I teach and my students are already seeing a change.

Art educators are a rare breed and to embrace such drastic change and utilize it will ensure that DBAE teaching will be more efficient and strengthen as we move parallel with technology through the years.

"Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another's view of the universe which is not the same as ours and see landscapes which would otherwise have remained unknown to us like the landscapes of the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists . . . . And many centuries after their core, whether we call it Rembrandt or Vermeer, is extinguished, they continue to send us their special rays."

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) French writer.

What's Next in the Art Room?: The Final Class Blog!

The GAME plan that I have developed is one that I can carry on in to the future to help aid me in successfully integrating technology within my students learning experience. Once I understood the process, the lessons and ideas flowed very easily and I have created a lesson that can be built upon in the future and for different grades.

The greatest impact I gain from this is the organization and control that plan gives the teacher. Usually my curriculum and lessons are based upon pass experiences and state and national standards. But how is a teacher suppose to teach effectively to students without being having control over what they teach? That is what this plan does for my art room lessons.
Since beginning this class and this plan process I have started utilizing more of technology broaden my creative thinking and re-energize my imagination. Computers and digital photography are being looked at right now. One of my classes is going to have photographers come in and show the students what photography is all about and how it has changed over the years.

The teaching of DBAE (Discipline-Based Art Education) has forever changed with the use of technology in the art room:
Art Criticism and Aesthetics combined with technology gives the student more avenues for learning art in these areas. It will enable the creativity flow into their work and aid them in research and making their opinions and views about art more effective.

Art History: Technology will allow students to research a more vast network of information from around the world. The information is endless and will allow for a more thorough understanding of the artist, their work, and the culture that they lived in.researching

Art Production: The techniques and inspirations for art art are limited to what an art sees or hears. With technology, it allows an artist to express themselves in a manner that the world can see. Technology can aid in all the forms of art production visually and vocally.

What's Next in the Art Room?

The GAME plan that I have developed is one that I can carry on in to the future to help aid me in successfully integrating technology within my students learning experience. Once I understood the process, the lessons and ideas flowed very easily and I have created a lesson that can be built upon in the future and for different grades.
The greatest impact I gain from this is the organization and control that plan gives the teacher. Usually my curriculum and lessons are based upon pass experiences and state and national standards. But how is a teacher suppose to teach effectively to students without being having control over what they teach? That is what this plan does for my art room lessons.
Since beginning this class and this plan process I have started utilizing more of technology broaden my creative thinking and re-energize my imagination. Computers and digital photography are being looked at right now. One of my classes is going to have photographers come in and show the students what photography is all about and how it has changed over the years.
The teaching of DBAE (Discipline-Based Art Education) has forever changed with the use of technology in the art room.