Thing 1 & 2

2012-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

The "Pay Attention" video brought up some really great facts that we probably already knew but don't spend much time thinking about because we are used to doing things in the same way we have done for years. It is overwhelming for me to think about how much technology can be utilized in the classroom. It is clear that technology leaks into just about every aspect of our lives and our students know more about it and how to work it than I do because they were raised on it starting in, or even before, they got to kindergarten. I didn't have a computer in my house until I left for college! Needless to say, my computer and technology skills are very far behind my students.
It certainly is important to incorporate technology in the classroom and revise the way we teach for the new generation of learners. I understand it can be a very effective tool in engaging students. However, as a "studio art" teacher, not a computer or "graphic design" teacher, I would really hate to see students miss out on experiencing raw mediums with their own two hands. The last thing I want is technology completey taking over the arts. I would rather my students spend a class period in the art studio, rather than the computer lab, where they have the real life experience of feeling, smelling, seeing, and hearing what it is like to create with different mediums and media. It is not the same experience when art is created with a keyboard or on an i phone! When technology is used so much, everyday, all day, why do we feel the need to have it consume every part of who we are and what we do???

Teaching with Technology

Thing 1 & 2