TLU UNIT

ICT IN THE CLASSROOM

IS IT BENEFICIAL TO ME AS A TEACHER?

I would agree strongly that without the use of web resources in the classroom to draw from as educators and learners we become subordinate in the learning we subscribe too. Technology and the use of the internet have been of high beneficial importance to my teaching style and have given me teaching aids that are not only supportive but highly convenient to someone as myself who has grown up using such technology and programmes.

Being a visual art teacher in an Irish speaking school setting in Cork, one may think that all learning that takes place is experiential learning. One may assume the students are only working in the realm of the classroom as a “creative workshop” setting. Drawing inspiration from tangible things and only using the skills they have in a 3-D sense. This would be incorrect, learning through technology in art has had a huge upsurge in today’s creative world. Although there is a massive divide in this debate. Should we ditch the analog in drawing? What benefit is the pencil as a tool to record the world around us when every second person in the room has a camera phone? These are debates me and my PME colleagues have on a day to day basis. We all have come to the conclusion that one cannot work without the other in this day and age.

I have found uses for instructional and primary resources in my teaching day to day in the classroom. On further inspection i find sites that are primary sources to be a lot more helpful to the students as they are a clear source of engaged inspiration. They not only teach the students about art movements, and other artists work they inspire them to push their own personal creativity and sense of self. I have often used Google Arts & Culture App and site in the art room as i feel google have not only pioneered this amazing app to be used casually but it is generally speaking  an art gallery in your pocket. It not only lets you virtually view galleries from all around the world, giving students context into historical pieces of art, it breaks these works down casually and in a manner what is easy to engage with. This idea alone that you can view historical paintings that are housed in galleries in different countries is a feat in itself.

There are many instructional resources that i use myself as an educator such as TES, But in thinking of the students autonomy and ownership around there own work in class i would have to say the JCT website as a resource to help students understand the curriculum they are navigating through is one i have enjoyed implementing in the classroom.

I feel they way they have laid out the site and given the students videos with insights into craftspeople, designers and fine art painters is a very positive show and tell of variety and it gives insight into what path art can lead you down.

Content knowledge (CK) is teachers’ knowledge about the subject matter to be learned or taught. The content to be covered in middle school science or history is different from the content to be covered in an undergraduate course on art appreciation or a graduate seminar on astrophysics. Knowledge of content is of critical importance for teachers. As Shulman (1986) noted, this knowledge would include knowledge of concepts, theories, ideas, organizational frameworks, knowledge of evidence and proof, as well as established practices and approaches toward developing such knowledge. Knowledge and the nature of inquiry differ greatly between fields, and teachers should understand the deeper knowledge fundamentals of the disciplines in which they teach. (Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching)

The use of both these sites in the classroom can bring a greater structure to the art and design curriculum. They feed the notion of creativity on a digital platform.

One of the most helpful things that i use around ICT in the classroom is my use of photoshop for planning the curriculum, briefs, worksheets and powerpoint visual aids. As an art educator you as the teacher must design the curriculum for your students as there is no real textbook, it is unlike a lot of subjects in that way. You as the teacher must make sure the students have a firm grasp on the Art elements and design principles but you can tailor this through your own creativity as an educator.

Art of course is a very subjective course, under the new JCT guidelines and learning outcomes i feel more supported in educating the students around these terms. I myself am a visual learner, i find myself to be more engaged to something when it is visually or aesthetically pleasing to my eye. I also like to teach the students that using these skills in composition, colour and design is a positive thing. Why hand something up in any class that's not visually appealing? Not just in the art room. My job is to teach these young learners that art and creativity in themselves do not just benefit us individually, we benefit as a community through creativity. The world literally becomes a brighter and more open place when we use these skills.

Upon exploration into the idea of creating a webquest for my students within the classroom this got me thinking deeper into what the future of the art curriculum could look like. I created my own and thought it could be interesting to make something quickly on photoshop to resemble a banner. The web quest was based around the students “Logo Design” module where they were exploring the idea of why business use Logos and the importance around graphic designers work in the everyday. Connecting photoshop to the web quest was quite enjoyable and it gives the students more context around the task.

During the CBA 1 for my second year students they were given a brief to create a landmark building from paper and card to learn about 3-D construction and architectural design. Whenever i gave out a brief or reflective questionnaires around this task i tried to tie the design of the brief around a “Blueprint” that an architect may use in their own studio. Its small things like this that i can use photoshop for to cement context into these lessons.

Thats why programmes like this can be a great tool for lesson engagement.

We are trying to push the Art curriculum towards more experimental, creative thinking conceptual works, so that the students gain confidence in themselves expressing their own artistic ideas whether it be through moving image or photography. This platform of a webquest could really benefit some students in this learning space as it is so convenient and visual.

For the majority of these students also they have grown up in this digital space, so expressing their own personal thoughts and ideas through this setting may be more comforting. This is a great benefit to me as an educator to see how a platform like this could build a sense of self in a student how through the web quest that could be loaded with interesting resources the student could take ownership of their work in a more meaningful way.

HOW CAN I USE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM?

Mind-blowing stage sculptures that fuse music and technology | Es Devlin

A topic i have been taken with recently is the idea of the creative connection spectrum. Music, art, dance, spoken word/poetry... the idea that these creative realms are very much connected. 

but how can i show the students that if they are anyway creatively inclined they can be apart of this spectrum, and how these interests can seep into the artistic process. 

Ted talks as a platform in themselves can be quite helpful in showing the students a diverse range of educators, creators and people from professions discussing something that means something to them. 

perhaps using things such as google sketch up, adobe illustrator could be used for set design when teaching the students. The work by Es Devlin is of course at a scale that could never be accomplished in the classroom. but the idea of exploring set design for things such as events, festivals, concerts and theatre could be something to be looked into.