Artistic Thinking: Week 3

Artistic Thinking Week 3, Post: Using technology in the classroom

I love my Mac, my Iphone, my Apple TV and all other devices, technology and gagets that make my life easier, more efficient, can answer any question I have or record any idea or note I have and keep things interesting and fun no matter where I am.

I feel like I am a teenager with all my devices, yet I am always several steps behind what they know, what is new and how to access and/or use the latest and greatest.
I believe it is real destiny that I chose teaching art at this time in my life, since I love student centered learning and using technology to keep things interesting.
I want my students to have their own blogs and/or websites for my class since I think it is a perfect way for them to upload work, art images, ideas, videos, music..... anything that they are interested in and want to share. I love the idea of MVLEs, their flexibility, interactivity and collaborative platform are perfect for me and my 21st century learners.
The students can do work, upload it and then play for a bit or find other sources to add and share.
I enjoy my blog since I use it for class and for my own personal space to store good links, videos and ideas to research and share.
I see how attached teenage students are to their phones, and if everyone, in the class, has one with internet capability I will definitely use them from time to time for in class participation and as a learning tool. Unfortunately I know it will be doubtful that each student has one, and unless I could be sure that those that do dont mind sharing and teaching their peers how to use it, I doubt I would use cell phones as often as I might like.

I have already posted some of my art here and you should be able to view it on the right side bar of this page. I still have a lot to learn but I really enjoy working with photoshop. I also have some videos but will get to those soon.
As far as student work goes, I use to teach video production to and after-school group in Oregon and they made videos that were then shown on their Community Cable channel. I dont have any reacent shots of student art work done with technology, yet I made power-points and showed YouTube tutorials to introduce my lessons for the work shown below.
Here are a few done by elementary and middle schools students I taught:

Week 3 Supplement writing:

OPTION ONE: Creativity Project Extension – read and react to Bronson & Merryman’s 2010 Newsweek article “The Creativity Crisis.” Questions to ponder – how might this information be used as advocacy for art education in your school/district? In what ways can you put this information into practice?

After reading, “The Creativity Crisis”, I would use this article to advocate for art education in my district by making an eye-catching flyer, post, and newsletter to distribute and present to the school board about this issue and it’s major importance for the future of our students and society.

I have always felt like I belonged to the Alternative community since my ideas and my preferred activities had more to do with self-expression and being creative than anything mainstream. I have never shared many common interests with those that did not know about, care about or ever think about visual or performing arts. I have nothing against them but they usually were not the ones I engaged in stimulating conversations or respectful debates. I am slowly starting to see how art is beginning to open up and show itself more prominently in all kinds of venues, discussions and even conservative areas. This article and many books and interviews in the past few years have investigated and proposed the absolute need for a more balanced and creative way of thinking, problem solving and working within schools and business.

Just as Peace is not just for hippies, Art is not just for liberals. Art is for the health, wealth and evolutionary progress of us all.

In the article, “The Creativity Crisis.” I was sad to know that our creativity scores are dropping yet encouraged to read that, “Around the world, though, other countries are making creativity development a national priority.” We Americans like competition so hopefully we will jump in and get up to speed as well. I will use this article not only to advocate for the importance of thought provoking art programs in our schools but for myself to prove to family and friends that my choice to teach art was a very wise one!

‘The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future. Yet it’s not just about sustaining our nation’s economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.”

(The Creativity Crisis, Jul 10, 2010 4:00 AM EDT)