Hey everyone, it’s finally summer, time to relax a bit and let our minds run free. So that’s the assignment.
If you could get any type of technology into a classroom, how would it change your teaching? School’s out, so we don’t need to worry right now about our fears. Fear is the easiest response when it comes to technology; talk instead about your dreams.
I’ll probably write more blogposts (I’m expecting three new UMPCs in the next few weeks and I’ll talk about each), but feel free to take this one over.
Thanks for reading, and thanks even more for writing!
Take care.
wow, summer’s over and not much activity on the blog
I’m dreaming on a bigger scale now, no, not taking over the school (yet), but I would like to drag my department more into the tech age.
My vision for the art classrooms is fairly modest, but could bring great change. Just a ‘SmartBoard” for each of the drawing & painting rooms and in ceramics. Smartboards are easier to use now, don’t need to be re-calibrated all the time, can be used with our existing projectors and laptop computers, are less expensive, easier to use and I think would be used on a daily basis.
The ability to write vocabulary, steps in a technique, or critique questions, and then be able to use the same space to go on a virtual tour of an art museum to show what that vocabulary or art technique looks like and still be able to go back and bring up what was written would be invaluable.
That is only one small way these smartboards would enrich the art rooms.
Not a huge dream, but one I would like to see happen, and I would be willing to train my fellow art teachers on how to use them – so they would be used.
The smartboard idea for art classes would be amazing. It shows amazing potential that could be used for some serious hardcore education.
But one thing to reflect on is how well will this will be used. In my 2 whole years at Mater Dei so far I cannot tell you about the multitude of teachers who use their projectors and laptops only for aeries, gradequick, and MDTV. I’m not saying that it is a fault on anyone’s part, but it sure is sad to see such potential go to waste. I don’t think it is a failure to educate the teachers or a failure to learn from the education sessions (if provided). What I notice overall is that teachers know how to properly use their laptops but are reluctant to integrate it into their own curriculum.
I guess what I’m saying is that we (those who read and comment on this blog and any technology planning committees) are excited to adopt new changes but the teachers aren’t.
Alex Guichet
(And I’m not intending for this to draw attention to any art teachers… I still haven’t taken an art class yet.)