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So long, and thanks for all the fish

Metacognitive Journal Post I think my strengths throughout this course have been-listening to feedback from the teacher, as well learning from the information I gained from reading my classmates' discussions and comment on my journal entries. I think that I also utilized the technology at my disposal in creative ways in order to complete assignments. For example, for my final presentation I wanted it to feel more like an in-person presentation, so I recorded it in my classroom, while also editing in close ups of the powerpoint slides for easier viewing. In the areas where I could improve- double checking directions after completing assignments and before submitting them. I have been deducted points for mistakes that were easily correctable, if I had reviewed the directions! I also found myself reading the same people’s journals or discussions because they posted in a more timely manner than others. I would like to be more conscious of waiting and looking at people’s work throughout...
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Pick Your Plate! A Smithsonian Museum Game

        I tried to find a Visual Arts based game-and that was tough! I finally found a website the gave you links to museums and their games, and I wound up on the Smithsonian's website where they have a game called: Pick Your Plate! A Global Guide to Nutrition.        I thought that this would be a good game to explore for several reasons. First, so many of our children are not aware of recommended portion sizes, nutritional values, and other valuable information regarding their food. Secondly, they would be learning about countries and cultures other than their own, which is a great tie into their social studies curriculum.      Once I began to play the game, I found some other educational benefits to it as well. The character "Plato" gives directions and information to the player. He reads what is on the screen, so that students are getting the words visually and in an auditory way. You have a limited budget for each me...
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Technology Interview

  I interviewed an 11 year old male, he is in sixth grade and attends public school. For privacy purposes I will call him Steve (not his real name). Before we even began the interview, apparently he was nervous! His mother said he was concerned about what the questions would be, but once I explained that it was on technology, he said, "Oh. I can answer those questions!" Overall, the answers that Steve gave were about what I expected. He said that he spends an hour or two (on average) on his phone during a typical day, and that most of that time is spent playing games rather than texting or talking on the phone. He has multiple gaming systems including a tablet, a Nintendo Switch, and a Wii. Steve said that "unless I'm grounded," he plays on at least one of these systems just about every day. He said that he watches TV or movies every day (his favorite ones are action, comedy, and drama). When I asked him what technology he used at school-this is where he surpris...
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Bibliography

Final Project Research Topic     I have not completely narrowed down the idea I want to research for my final project, but I am leaning towards focusing on technology uses in the art classroom, how it could improve student's digital literacy skills, and what would the potential challenges be. This could include using video tutorials to teach skills, rather than hands on/live demonstrations as well as referencing/using video games as a basis for art lessons and projects. I am being self-reflective on the types of technologies that I use in the art room, how can I use them in new/more effective ways, and what other types of digital literacy tools can I use to improve my teaching as well as improve students' digital literacy skills. The following are the articles I found pertaining to this topic. Hopper, J. J. H. (2016). Digitizing the easel: Student perspectives on tutorial videos in the art classroom. Art Education, 69 (4), 23-28.      Hopper is an art educ...
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  Journal 3: Re, Re, Re, Remix! Firstly, I know that technology moves quickly, and creating a textbook that is 100% up to date that addresses the use of the latest tech would be impossible. However, reading the first few paragraphs of chapter one and encountering a sentence about “Myspace” as one of the digital technologies being used definitely threw me for a loop. I had to think back to the technology we had during my original college days (1998-2002), the amount it changed even in those short four years, and how I used it in ways that would be considered “remixing.”  While some of the technologies mentioned in the reading are still around, they may not be utilized as much or in the same way as how the author described them. I have a Mac and use Imovie to create my youtube videos, but I now use images and video clips that I have stored in Google Drive rather than flickr or myspace.  From the book, one of the things I appreciated about the author’s concept of play vs. wo...
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 Journal Entry 2: Online: R U Really Reading I found the article, R U Really Reading, to be pretty interesting in how it discussed digital literacy-both the benefits and pitfalls. I kind of come down in the middle of the debate: digital literacy is important and teaching students to be critically literate in this medium is vital to their success in and out of school. But also, more traditional forms of literacy, like books, are also still quite vital to how well students learn and grow.  People are storytellers, we have been since we sat around fires way before books existed, but how we tell stories has evolved, and continues to evolve with the advent of the internet and how much our technology improves more and more.   We as educators need to adapt to what our students' needs will be, but also not forget what has worked in the past and is important for their overall growth as students and people.
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  Journal 1:               In my art classroom I like to think that I provide a variety of opportunities for students to explore different types of literacies. I have a bookshelf that is alway open to every grade level as a choice when they are done early, along with finger puppets that "like to be read to." With several grade levels we write short stories that we then illustrate, or we write down our thoughts about artwork and share it verbally with one another. I am definitely aware that literacy doesn’t just mean reading and writing on paper anymore, Huffaker (2005) “Technology has added a new type of literacy to consider.” though I don’t believe that I provide as much opportunity for students to explore their digital fluency as I could.  Oftentimes with my younger students we will read a story out loud together, looking at the pictures and discussing the story. We then use this story as a starting point for an art project; focu...
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