Engage, Enhance, and Extend Technology in an Art Classroom

Technology, technology, technology...
As 21st century teachers we have all been told to use technology in the classroom more times than we can count. Some of us embrace the use of technology in our classrooms with open arms, and are full of great ideas on how to incorporate technology into our daily lessons. However, there are those of us that have a harder time coming up with ways we can use technology to engage, enhance, and extend our students learning.  As a general observation I have found that Art teachers are among those that struggle with incorporating technology into their classrooms. Often art teachers will attempt to incorporate some kind of technology in their lessons and it will temporarily engage the students, but it does not enhance nor extend their learning.
I keep referring to the three E's (Engage, Enhance, and Extend) when talking about integrating technology into a classroom, but what do these words mean? This is how Keren-Kolb defines these terms as they relate to technology integration projects in her article:
Engagement- The teacher is trying to find a way to motivate or interest disengaged students.
Enhancement- This is using technology to develop understanding of learning goals that could not have been accomplished without those tools.
Extension- The technology brings learning outside the classroom walls and into students' everyday lives, where they can continue to grow after they leave school.
As an art teacher I could tell that based on these definitions I was not integrating technology into my classroom to the best of my ability. This lead me to begin researching how other art educators were able to successfully integrate technology into their lessons and classroom.
I was able to find one article that suggested using iPads in the art classroom. This allows for hands on engagement like any art project would but there is a deeper level of learning occurring. An iPad allows for mistakes to be made and with a simple touch that mistake can be taken away and the whole project is not ruined. For more examples and information on integrating the iPad into an art classroom visit: iPads in Art Education
After taking time to research the internet I have found that there are plenty of resources that can help an art teacher come up with creative and helpful ways to integrate technology into their classroom. It is merely taking the time to do some searching on the internet for lesson ideas. The next step for art educators is to take a chance and try involving technology into their classroom. I believe there will extremely positive results if we as art teachers can get past the block we have set up about technology in our classrooms.

References:
Keren-Kolb, Liz. (2013) Engage, Enhance, and Extend. (pp. 30-37)
Fugelstad, Tricia. iPads in Art Education. http://ipadsinart.weebly.com

Evernote, Skitch, and Twitter

Many of us think that Twitter is a social media website that is meant for posting thoughts or for other personal postings. However, as a future educator I have found that Twitter can be a very helpful resource when it comes to building a professional learning network. According to both Betty Ray and Tom Whitby, two education bloggers, Twitter is very important when it comes to building a Professional Learning Network. The purpose of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) is for colleagues and professionals of a certain field, such as education, are able to share ideas with one another. Ray answered the question “why tweet?” by saying “for the inquisitive educator, there are some jewels herein that can lead to stimulating discussions, new resources, and an ongoing supportive network (How to use Twitter to grow your pln, 2013, 2).” This is saying that Twitter is the perfect resource and place for a PLN to develop. So how does one utilize Twitter in a PLN?  Whitby states “Building a PLN consisting of quality educators, who responsibly share quality information and sources, takes time and requires a plan (Building a professional learning network on twitter, 2013,3).” In order to build a reputable PLN you have to find quality educators to follow. Twitter is the perfect way to accomplish this. By checking a person’s profile, you can check their tweets to see if they are a reputable source. Another way to make sure the twitter account is worth adding to your PLN is by checking to see who follows the account and who that accounts follow (Whitby 2013). This ensures that who you are following is giving out good information and is also another great way to find other profiles that are beneficial to you. 

As a future educator I have already seen the advantages of having a Twitter account as more than just a personal outlet but as a way to share and gain ideas from other professionals in the education community. I will be able to use twitter to be aware of new trending topics in the education community, and more specifically in the Art Education community. Project ideas, new websites, or just sharing ideas with other art educators. As a teacher I will encourage the use of Twitter among my high school students. It is never to early to encourage my students to start building their own PLN in their interested fields, as well as use Twitter to interact with their fellow classmates and me as well. An example of using Twitter in the classroom can be as simple as sending out homework reminders to the class or have it as a way for students to post links that they found helpful or resourceful for their projects. Twitter will definitely be a beneficial resource in my classroom. 

Evernote and Skitch are two applications that can be put on your computer, or iPad, as well as accessed through the web. Evernote in its simplest form is an online/digital way to take notes. You can organize these notes in different sections, known as notebooks. The main benefit to this is always having access to the notes you may need, and not having to physically write them down in a notebook. Evernote also saves time because as most know typing can be a lot more time efficient than writing based on your familiarity with keyboards and such. There is a place for recording in Evernote so as your taking notes you don’t have to worry about missing anything, you are able to go back and listen to whomever is speaking, or what you were trying to take notes on. It is a beneficial tool for active learning in the classroom. Skitch is also an application that works with Evernote. Skitch is used for pictures instead of written notes. You can use Skitch to annotate pictures with text, shapes, and symbols. 

I can see Evernote and Skitch being very useful in my art classroom. One way I hope to utilize these two applications is through art critiques. It is necessary to have critiques in an art classroom. This is where students get to have a chance to explain their work, what they like about it  or don’t, and then get feedback from their peers. I would use Evernote to record and take notes on the critique. It is a perfect way to document what was said and also be a gauge for how critiques progress over the course of the school year. Skitch I can see being helpful in this process in a couple of different ways. By taking a picture of a student’s artwork it will provide an easy way for students to keep up with a portfolio of their work they complete over the year. It also is a helpful way for me to make notes or draw attention to specific details I recognize about their compositions so that I can clearly show them what I’m referring to when I give back comments on their work. I see that Skitch and Evernote will be two applications that I will use a lot  as a future art educator.

I am looking forward to using Twitter, Evernote, and Skitch in my future classroom.

Resources:

Ray, Betty. Edutopia. 2013. How to use twitter to grow your pln. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from: 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/twitter-expanding-pln

Whitby, Tom, Smartblog on Education. 2013. Building a professional learning network on twitter. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from: http://smartblogs.com/education/2013/01/11/twitter-strategy-101/ 

Evernote and Twitter- First Impressions

Here is where you type your text.

Remember to use short paragraphs, bulleted lists, hyperlinks, and integrated pictures to help you make your point.

High Point University