Technology in the classroom

When I registered for this class, my first thought was "How am I really going to use this in teaching?  I am going to be an Art Teacher.  We'll be working with art supplies, not computers!"  The only programs I could think that would apply to the art classroom would be things like Photoshop, and I didn't even anticipate using Photoshop because I have no experience working with digital art.  The longer I have been at UAB, the more I have come to realize that we are living in an age of technology, and using technology in the classroom is a must.  The children we will be teaching will have never been without access to computers.  When I was a baby, computers were the size of whole rooms, and now computers can be as small as the size of our hand.  Technology is changing all the time, so it should obvious that teaching must evolve as well.  Lecture will no longer be acceptable.

With that said, children that we will be teaching literally have different brains.  Their attention spans are shorter, and traditional teaching will be less successful at maintaining their interest and motivating them to learn in the classroom.  Access to computers and technology has driven young people to seek information for themselves.  The internet is a vast landscape of learning that is only a click away.  This must  be taken into account when anticipating what it will be like to be a teacher now and in the future.

I have changed my concept of what my "ideal classroom" will be like.  It will, of course, have art supplies, and posters, and art books, but it will have technology as well.  Some students are more comfortable creating something like a webpage, or a powerpoint, or newsletter, so having those options and being familiar with those programs as a teacher will be beneficial for me when I get into the classroom.

I would love to learn more about more art specific programs like Photoshop and applications on the iPad like Sketchbook Pro, Brushes, and ArtStudio.  I have to keep in mind that children of this generation and future generations will learn new technology at rapid speeds, and if I do not keep myself educated in new programs, I will fall behind just as rapidly.  I want to be able to introduce things to my students that they have never heard of or worked with.  In some ways, art is about discovery.  If a student that may not feel very confident in his or her art skills discovers some form of technology that can aide them in their creation, that might make the difference between an art-lover and an art-avoider.

From the perspective of teaching-aide technology, I am glad I have had the experience I've had in this class making things like worksheets, tests, and grade-books.  Everything I have made in this class will either serve as a "student" sample, or as a ready-to-use artifact.  It is great to give kids options in projects, and the technology that exists today and that will continue to be improved on and added to will give kids a world of opportunity to express themselves and the subjects they learn.