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!