After reviewing the stages of technology integration, I feel that I am personally somewhere between stage 2: adoption and stage 3: adaptation. As an art educator I believe there was some reluctance on my part to accept the use of technology to enhance my own skills as an artist. However, after looking at some of the blogs and podcasts available on topics such as art history, art technique and personal development, it has helped me formulate a better vision of how I could implement the use of these technologies in my classroom. I have never really seen any art educators rely on PLN’s or other social media in teaching students art. Most of the teachers I have observed throughout my graduate work only used PowerPoint or other presentation applications to organize slides of artwork or arrange information for students. I think that art educators are more likely to stumble at stage 2 or to work backwards from stage 5 and we need to focus more on the students acceptance of entertainment media, social networks and other existing technologies to create more engaged, critical thinking learning environments.
I know of an art teacher that uses a blog to host all of her students' artwork. She then asks parents to go on and ask questions about the pieces or comment on their child's art.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to use multiple forms of technology to be successful. The key is finding one tool that is relevant to your practice and stick with it. Once you have mastered that tool it becomes easier to incorporate others.