The Web 2.0 that I found, and I think would be a good resource to use in the classroom is Glogster. It is a network where people can share their photos and images that they have created. You can take your creativity, and create collages and images with words and pictures, as well as upload your own artwork that you can created outside of the website. I think that this is good for students, because it gives different classes the opportunity to look at the artwork of students who may not be in their art class period. It also gives students the opportunity to openly critique the artwork of their peers, because many students are nervous when they must do  critique in front of the person who created the art piece. The phrase on the website it, “The Next Level of Expression”. My favorite part of the website is the ability to collage, and put a bunch of different elements together to make on work of art, without even having to touch a pencil or medium to a piece of paper. I think that this is something interesting that students would enjoy, since students are so technologically advanced todat.
Since my animation focused on exploration and growth, I think that my ideas on the human interfaces connect to my flash animation. In my first blog entry, I said that I would use the I/O Brush and the Easel 1998 as a way for the students to explore objects deeper than they could with their own eye, then have them explore that even deeper by creating their own art piece with traditional materials. I think that this method could also lead to growth. Therefore, my interface ideas and my animation do connect.
As I was imagining what my classroom would be like in the year 2020, I pictured an art classroom much like a modern day classroom you would see today. There were posters hanging on the wall of abstract artworks by Picasso and Dali, as well as framed, student artwork being displayed all around the classroom. I saw the children sitting in clusters of 4 in big tables, rather than individual desks. It was a medium sized class, about 16 children. Not too big, and not too small. Lastly, all of the children looked happy to be there. The five things that came to mind that I hope that my children learn in my future art classroom are exploration, growth, technique, cofidence, and lastly, how to have fun. The first thing that I would like to teach my students to do is to explore different aspects of art. I think that it is very important that kids know not only about the traditional drawing and painting, but other art forms that may not be used as frequently. Through this exploration, a student who may not like art very much, or may feel that they lack talent, may find an art form that fits them well, and that they thoroughly enjoy. I believe that to really understand art, it takes a lot of exploration. A way that I could teach them to explore is to have them research artists and their art form, and then create a piece of art that uses the same techniques. Through this they are jumping out of their comfort zone and trying new things. The second thing that I would like to install in my children is the concept of growth. I believe that people grow as artists, and over the time period that the students’ are in my classroom, I would like them to see their growth as artists from beginning to end. A way that I can let the students’ see their growth is by letting them create more than one piece when we have a lesson. The first one could be practice, and the second a final. They can look at their mistakes, or even lack of mistakes, in their first piece, and draw from that to create an even better piece. The third thing that I would like my students to learn in my classroom is different techniques. I want them to fully understand the different techniques that they can use in their artworks. Some students may not be good at one technique, but may be amazing at another. It is important that they have options, because I feel like each and every student will find a way to fit into one one way or another. Another thing that I’d like to instill in my students is confidence. I believe that it is very very important to have confidence in yourself and your artwork when artmaking. I want the students to get into the habit of picking out all of the good qualities of their artwork. A child’s piece may not come out as realistic as they wanted it to be, so I’d like for them to find ways that their piece works even though it didn’t come out exactly as they wanted. A lot of children think that good art is perfect and realistic, and no mistakes, but that is not the case. Lastly, I would love for my students to learn to have fun while making art. I do not want to have a classroom where the students feel like they are being forced to do things, but rather they come to class and look forward to what is coming next. I want them to learn how to enjoy the materials and the exploration that they will be working with.
Animation depicting my teaching philosophy
As I read the article by Anderson and Balsamo, I began to realize just how much digital technology is starting to take over education, and the potential it has to become more important than traditional teaching methods. As I was reading, a sentence in the first paragraph of the reading really made me think. “The future is already here, it’s just distributed unevenly”. This statement is very true, because every second coming is the future. Something could drastically change within five minutes. It doesn’t take 20 years for the future to come. Two of the human interface ideas that I liked were the I/O Brush and the Easel 1998. I like the idea of the I/O brush and how it lets the children explore an object deeper than it’s immediate appearance by making them explore texture as well. I also like the Easel for the same reason that it picks up things in an object that the human eye may not be able to pick up immediately. Although I like both of these technologies, I wouldn’t necessarily let children in my classroom use it to make artwork. If I were to use it in my classroom, I would have the children make a piece with the I/O Brush or the Easel first, then have them paint or draw the same piece on their own on a canvas or piece of paper. This allows the students to use their own talent, rather than technology to make a work of art. I feel that if students were to use these technologies to make artwork, it is not fully theirs, and it takes away from the learning process, because they are not creating with their hands. This teaching method that I would use reminds me of a quote from the reading, “Their imaginations are structured and shaped through encounters in different kind of mediated worlds”. The I/O Brush or Easel would work as something to shape their thinking of an object and it’s appearance, and they would take this knowledge and further learn by creating their own work. There was a lot in the reading that I did not agree with, because I do not believe that education should focus so much on technology. Yes, technology is very important and can be very educational in a sense, but too much technology can take away from the traditional way of learning, and in the future, many students may depend on technology as a way of learning. I agree with their idea of “original synthesizers”. I do believe that much knowledge is created from different sources, mainly being from media sources. Lastly, although I disagree on education being taught solely through technology, I do agree with IML research done, where the idea that, in order to be fully literate in today’s world, students should be able to read and write using the languages of multimedia as readily as they read and write using text”. In today’s society, may children grow up knowing how to work a computer before they know learn how to talk, because it is inevitable. Starting in kindergarden children start using computers and technology as a way of learning, including many toys that teach children the alphabet, numbers, etc. Since much of education is done through technology, it is important that students know how to operate it, so that no one falls behind because they do not know how to use a computer. Again, I think that technology is a great way of opening the minds of students, and can be used for great teaching methods, but I do not think that education should be solely taught using technology in the future.
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