Interactivity #3: Generating a State of the Art Inventory

To be completely honest, I find it difficult to work in groups; not because I don't like to cooperate with others in my field or don't find it valuable, but instead because I constantly feel that I am not doing enough. In the case of this interactivity, I cannot pretend that I was a big help to my group members. I find it hard enough to remember to do the online work as it is, but remembering to collaborate with my group in addition to that is difficult to me.

However, I did try my best to add something to my group spreadsheet, even though by the time I got there most of the technologies I thought of had been used already. Some of the technologies that my group came up with are so inventive - I would have never thought to add Flickr to the list, partially because I don't think of it as a school-related tool. All of the things listed on our spreadsheet could potentially be used in new and interesting ways to enhance an art classroom.

This could support the CURR 314 module by using some of the technologies listed, particularly the ones that provide a consistent base of information from which students can work. This would give all the students the same starting point and then provide a more level base for assessment. As for the READ 411 class, any of the online museums provided in the spreadsheet would give the students a chance to work on literacy, especially when studying art history.

Interactivity #2: The History of Technology in Schools

We're going to get a lot of work done this way.

"I have learned that despite the dramatic developments in media and technology, schooling has remained very much the same..." - Grace, last question

Undoubtedly, the television has had the greatest impact on art education, but not necessarily in a positive way. Children have a natural creativity and imagination that can be seen at a very young age. However, most times television provides the entertainment that kids would get from art making with little to no effort on their part, therefore hindering the natural creative process. While shows that are meant to be informative and educational, like Sesame Street or Bill Nye the Science Guy, can be good for a child's development, it is only in moderation that this is true. Since the emergence of television, both inside and outside the classrooms, children have been watching more and more television - often the programs that they are watching are less than educational.

Television in classrooms may have its place, but the use of instructional videos in an art classroom are limited. It is difficult enough to get most students to focus on art in general, but it becomes an even greater challenge when they are asked to sit still in the dark and watch a movie or television program that is probably boring. Also, asking students (especially young ones) to focus on a movie and an art project simultaneously may cause a lot of issues, as well as take away from time you could be using to complete said project.

However, it is not to say that educational television does not have its place in the classroom. Especially with art history, videos are valuable. Allowing an expert to step in and instruct the class on a particular period of art history with which you may not be familiar can provide both you and the students with valuable information. Television in the classroom started with pure intentions on both the part of the teachers and the providers, but gradually fell into a way to get free equipment and money. It can be an appropriate tool for instructors, but it needs to be used for the right reasons and in the right way.