Technology and School Branding Research

Doing research on school branding this week was really interesting to me. I guess I never thought of a school in the way that it needs to have a brand. Before, I could understand it from the standpoint of a private school, where they need to recruit students, but from a public school it didn’t make much sense at first.

Then I really started to think about it. How many schools in Omaha have I heard something about in the media and formulated an opinion based off of what I heard? Omaha has an EXTREMELY diverse population. All socioeconomic levels, races, religions are represented. And that’s all over Omaha, in EVERY school, not just the public ones even.

Branding gives those schools a way to take charge of the way that the public sees them. To address misconceptions or maybe truths perpetuated by the media and to change the story given to their audience. There are so many ways to reach people and tell them the other side of the story.

I also thought it was really interesting to read about creating a personal brand, especially as an administrator. I have heard many young educators in my building comment on how "together" our principal seems. Maybe it's because we are young and feel so not "together", but she always seems to handle things with what appears to be ease and poise. (I say appears to be because we all know that things look very different behind closed doors for us, so it is probably the same for administrators). This is a brand I would love to build for myself. I know as a second year teacher I do not come off as poised all of the time, but as the years come, I would like to grow and leave a great lasting impression on all those I meet. 

I was really excited by one article that I read where the teacher uses the Touchcast app to give weekly video updates to the school community FROM THE KIDS! If I was a parent, I would eat that up. Any teacher can make a video summarizing what the students are learning, but you can tell if the student’s really get it when they have to present it themselves. I would love to start doing something like that in my art classroom. I have my Artsonia page, but this would allow students to talk about what they learned about a specific artist or time in art history in relation to the project they made. Because honestly, no matter how many times I pound that information into their brain I know that 99% of the time the conversation never makes it home to the dinner table. Think of all the things the parents could learn, too. The conversations that could be started about what the student’s are taking away from the art room.

For my application project, I really want to do another form of research, but it is still applied and less formal. I want to really look at the private schools in Omaha (Catholic to be specific) and see which schools have Facebook and Twitter pages. Which have the most followers? Which posts get the most “likes” and “shares”? Is there a theme to these answers? Maybe if I find a lot of information regarding Catholic school’s Twitter presence I can take that to my principal and convince her to start one of those too. I know she has been loving the Facebook, I should try to get her more involved while she is loving it.

Let me know what you think? Do you think I will find a lot of Catholic Schools in the Omaha area on Facebook or do you think we will be lacking? What about Twitter? I can see why high schools may already be on board with them but I’m not sure what to expect for the primary schools.

Lesson Plans Featuring Technology

I just finished my application project for the technology integration module (yes, I am a procrastinator) and I am really happy with the two lesson plans that I came up with. 

The first one I wrote is a project that in my lesson plan, I marked for 6th grade students. In reality, I may try to use this lesson with all of my 5-8 graders each year. There are enough artists and art movements in history and enough creation apps that I believe there would be a way to tweak this project each year for the students to keep them engaged. 

For this lesson, I found some resources online. The first is a list of artists the students can choose from which includes the artist name, country of origin, category of art, element of art that can be found in their art as well as the type of artwork they work with. This is really helpful to students so they know more than just a name and can choose an artist that may create work they are interested in.

The other resource I found is a worksheet for the students to fill out with information all about their artist. When they were born, died, what type of art they created, the art period, etc. It also has them choose a piece of artwork created by the artist and has some questions regarding that specific piece of artwork.

For the lesson, I have the students do research for 1-2 class periods using the iPads in small groups, finding the information on the worksheet. Then for the next few class periods, they use the app Book Creator Free to create a book showcasing the information they learned. They then share their book with the class as it is projected on the Smart Board.

I think this art project would be really fun for the students because they always love using technology and this gives them that chance but also gets them to learn about an artist in a fun way. Then they also get to share their book creation with their peers. This is fun for them to show off their work but also teaches the other students about that artist.

For my lesson for the kindergarten students, I wrote a lesson plan that utilizes the MOMA Art Lab app. This app has a creation page where shapes can be manipulated to create an image. I include information about teaching the students how to correctly and safely use the iPads, even letting them help me brainstorm the rules.

Because I only have 8 iPads, I did write this lesson with the assumption that the apps are used in “station” groups of 8. The students are supposed to create an image of an animal, person, or house by using shapes. They are able to choose the color of the shape, as well as shrink, rotate, and enlarge each shape.

I enjoyed looking into technology integration in the art room this week, and was pleasantly surprised that I found a lot of information about integrating art into OTHER subjects. That is so great! There are so many ways that art can get students interested in other subjects and now with the use of technology maybe more teachers will be inclined. I know it is difficult for teachers to always get art supplies; especially the messier ones like paint and even some collage materials. Now with technology, these things can be done digitally and use some of the same skills.

I am excited to see what the next few years bring as teaching and technology begin to be more heavily integrated.

Technology Integration in the Art Room

I just finished my research paper about integrating technology in the art room and I have to say I am a bit disappointed. The number one reason I am disappointed is because there are a huge amount of resources out there I could be using IF my school was 1:1 or BYOD (which we are not) and there aren't many resources explaining how to integrate technology and art if you are limited with iPads.

What I DID really learn throughout the process was from what I read in the required reading for our class. "Stratosphere" and "Digital Leadership" both had really great points to make about how technology should be integrated into the curriculum.

What I read in "Stratosphere" by Michael Fullan, touched on how we need to make sure that we are teaching our students how to determine what is a reliable source on the internet and what isn't.

Growing up, I remember thinking that everything I found on Google was true (years ago, much more of it probably was). I also remember thinking that my teachers were crazy for not considering Wikipedia a reliable source. What a silly, silly child I was. I am so glad that throughout college and now especially throughout my time at Creighton I have really learned how to find good sources and look for information in more places than just doing a Google search. I hope to find a project where I can instill some of that knowledge in my students for the second part of this module. 

In “Digital Leadership”, Eric Sheninger talked about how teachers need to engage students with activities that have a purpose. He included this image in the book which he used with permission. 

Ferriter, 2013.

This graphic really made me stop and think. What am I doing when I try to integrate technology into the art classroom? Am I using it to provide the outcome of a piece of artwork or am I using it as a tool to do SOMETHING?

For what I have done so far, the answer is that I am using it as a tool to enhance learning. I have done some small group stations where I have used apps to allow my younger students to explore creating digital artwork. I didn't require them to complete a specific thing, nor did I keep what they created afterwards. The sole purpose was for the students to experiment with the app and see how they could create artwork on an iPad vs. using a pencil and paper. 

I have also (as I mentioned before) taught many of my students how to upload their artwork to the online Artsonia gallery. Yes, this does have an outcome, the student's artwork is uploaded for people to see. On the other hand, while the student is doing this, they are learning how to use technology to take a good quality picture and upload it to a digital portfolio. 

Many of my students also use technology as a tool that we just simply didn't have before. When they want to look off of a reference of a certain picture, they can now use the ipad to look up a picture and use that as a reference. Before, students were limited to the pictures and books I already had in my classroom. Now, everything is at their fingertips. 

For the next part of this module, I hope to find one lesson plan integrating art and technology for younger ages (grades K-2) and one lesson focusing on older ages (grades 6-8). I am thinking about trying to figure out a way to do some sort of research project with the older students. It would have to be a group project, because I only have 8 iPads. But as of right now I am thinking along the lines of something regarding an artist or movement in art history where the students utilize the iPads to not only do the research, but then create a stop motion video to teach their class about what they learned. 

I'm not sure what I want to do with the younger students just yet. Hopefully I know more during next week's post! 

Using Technology in the Art Room

Last year, which was my first year teaching, my school had limited resources for the student use of technology. Each resource teacher had a set of 12-15 iPads to be used in their room, each teacher had their own iPad, and there were 10 iPads that could be checked out by teachers to be used in their classroom.

This year, over 100 iPads were added to our school. Each homeroom has 2 iPads which replaced two computers, the resource teachers still have their sets, the art room has 8 iPads that are exclusively used in my room, and there are two carts of 33 iPads that can be checked out by teachers.

I thought that I could do so much with 8 iPads when I first got them. There are so many apps that can be used to integrate art into technology. But I quickly realized that most of the ideas out there are for schools where each student can use their OWN iPad, instead of sharing. Well, that posed a problem for my room, because I only got 8 iPads, but never have less than 28 students. I usually have classes of about 32-33.

I also ran into the problem that I can't really check out the iPad carts because of the very odd times I need them. If I check them out for one fifth grade class, I need to check them out for the other. Well, they don't come on the same day or even the same time during the day. This messes up the schedule for other teachers who would like to check them out.

Another problem I ran into is how can I get the younger children (K-2) to use these devices when some of them have no experienc? Also, how can I get the older children (6-8) to use these devices and be trusted to be doing what they are supposed to?

My research questions are:
1. What type of technology integration is happening in K-8 art classrooms throughout the country in schools that are not 1:1 or BYOD?

2. What type of technology integration can be done in other specialty areas (music, gym, guidance) with limited resources?

I believe to really find the answers to my questions, I am going to have to do a lot of searching for elementary art room blogs. These types of things might not be published yet because it is a relatively newer idea, and in an area that is less common. I am excited to learn more about what I can do in my classroom, as well as see what others are doing around the country. Here are some websites that I have found, and plan to look into more deeply:

http://ipadsinart.weebly.com/

http://ipadsintheartroom.weebly.com/

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/free-tech-integration-resources

https://sites.google.com/site/ipadmultimediatools/technology-in-the-art-classroom

Please let me know if you have any ideas, or have seen any resources regarding what I am researching! Thank you!!

Who am I?

Hello to everyone out there in cyber world! My name is Becky Cook (maiden name, Lewis). I am currently the K-8 art teacher at St. Robert Bellarmine School in Omaha, Nebraska. I have taught at St. Roberts for two years now, after graduating from Wayne State College May of 2013. This summer marks one year completed with Creighton University. I am expected to graduate in May 2017 (taking it slow and steady). I love teaching art and actually already incorporate technology into my art classroom, but I am always looking for ways to do even MORE.

Here is a little more about me. I grew up in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. I am the oldest of three children, with a sister, Emily, and a brother, Connor. Emily is a Junior at UNL studying dietetics, and Connor is a Junior at Fort Calhoun High School hoping to study marketing in college. Here is a picture of my beautiful family.

Connor, my mom Deb, Emily, myself, and my dad Todd

Last October, I married my boyfriend of almost four years, Ryan, and took his last name. Here are some photos from our wedding which was in Arlington, Nebraska.

We have not started a family yet, but we do have one pretty crazy puppy, Miles. He just turned 1 year old at the end of January. We are VERY ready for him to grow up a little more. 

This is actually not my first experience with blogging. Last year, as a first year teacher, I semi-regularly posted in a blog about my art room. This can be found at 

misslewisartroom.blogspot.com

This year, instead of posting on the blog as often, 90% of my student's artwork is uploaded to the online art gallery, Artsonia. This gallery of my student's artwork can be found at

http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=145635

Please take a look at those websites. I look forward to learning more over the next eight weeks about all of you. I will post all of my blog posts here, and you may follow me on twitter @MrsCookSRB.

Take care!