Week 4 InTime site video

The InTime website was easy to navigate with a choice to search videos by content area, grade level, and many more options. I chose to search by my content area of Fine Arts. There are 10 different categories to chose from. From this search, I had 7 videos to choose from. The choice was fairly simple due to age and subject level. Many of the videos were on music, whereas I teach Art. There was a kindergarten lesson on farm animals that may have been help to me when I taught elementary. This is even too primal for my cognitively disabled students.
The video I chose is a unit on photography and Microsoft Image Composer. I do not teach the digital photography course at my high school but I would be willing to give my Art 1 class a taste of photography. In this video, students are instructed to take photos at a school event using a digital camera. The images will be put into a collage with Image Composer and uploaded to the school website. Currently at our high school, the web-design class takes all the images that are displayed on the school web page. However, I could collaborate with the teacher of web design to share a lesson with his students and mine. I could look at my students to take photos that have a strong composition, while his students could do the technical side of uploading the images.
As for the usefulness of this tool, I'd say moderate. It is always good to have a wide range of ideas for student learning. As an art teacher, I usually don't have an issue with creative lessons. However, I like the technology side of this unit. I would consider using Microsoft Image Composer with my students in the future. I may change the subject topic of student photo shoots.

Week 3's Progress

Mixed feelings arose in week 3. I found some information to be very helpful and pertains to my teaching. On the other hand, I don't know how often I will use the information realistically. It is definitely beneficial for students to know spreadsheets, I teach a studio art class. Yes, I could be creative in finding ways to incorporate the use of spreadsheets, yet I have so many art techniques to teach in a year that I can't spend time with spreadsheets. Don't get me wrong, I work to incorporate technology where possible with blogging project reflections, art history research, and hope to incorporate more in the future. I am all about cross-curricular education, but my studio time is precious to my classroom. Therefore, I may use a spreadsheet project for an extra credit option or perhaps a day when the students need a change of pace.
I did have fun reading chapter 5. Creative thinking is something I teach and require of my students daily. Too often, I think our students are being taught rigorous subject appropriate techniques, and creative thought is left behind. This chapter encouraged me to reflect on my own teaching to see where I encourage creative thinking the most, and where I could do more of it. As a creative person myself, it was hard for me to understand how difficult creative thinking can be for students. High school students are so self-conscious that it is hard to put yourself out there for ridicule, when they could stay safely in the comfort of the norm.

Rolling through week 2

This week in class, we looked at various web browsers and online word processing.

Online word processing has become a daily tool for me since the beginning of this class, that is seems anything but new to me at this time. I admit, I solely rely on Google docs, but so far I can't complain about them. I enjoy being able to post to the web and share with others. The topic of collaboration was focus from our readings. Students struggle with collaborating effectively, and online word processing can help. I will use a source like Google Docs to have my students write written reflections at the end of a large art project. They will be able to share the document with me, and I will be able to write comments right on their reflection. I can eventually have students reflect on others' work. I did look at the other word processing systems, but think I would stick with Google. That way I can also have my students email me and so forth. Mainly, it is what I am comfortable with. But I plan to have students experience the other software available.
Looking at the various web browsers was fun. I may even switch to using Bing, more than Google. I really like the history feature of Bing. I can look up past searches easily. As an art teacher I appreciate the beautiful photographs on their home page. Basically I only use my web browser for searching the web and images. Oh and the occasional direction look up. I would enjoy a weather tab. I thought Google always had a weather tab, but I could not find it today.
I frequently use Hotmail as my personal email program, which Bing supports. So Bing is a useful tool for me. But as Google is my default browser in my toolbar, it makes for a quick search.

See whats happening in another class...

Ahhhh!!! Is about all I can say right now. Another class is starting and I'm trying to keep my head on straight. Another class ning to learn, more assignments and now Blogger decides to change its features on me. When does it all stop??? It took me a week just to have time to sit down and figure out how to re-login into Blogspot to comment on this blog. In all honesty I am sure the switch over process for blogger is a smooth one for most users. And I'm sure it is just the stress of the new classes that added to my confusion, but I can't keep which site to be on, at what time, with what password, and now another google account. Like I need another google account!!! Breathe Hannah, breathe. I know it is all a game of competition between software programs, but I feel very overwhelmed trying to learn them all in short time periods.
This week in class we read about a school who is receiving grant money for technology, and we were to look at how they should write their proposal for spenditure. Many ideas were discussed as what was needed to be ordered in this low-income school district down to how to set up labs. There are numerous aspects to look at by the technology committee, and the opinions will vary greatly. At my current school, we are looking to hire a new IT position. The committee is currently reviewing resumes and that alone is overwhelming. So many applicants with so many different qualifications. As the art department, we are looking for someone with Mac experience since our lab is all Mac. Other departments could care less whether or not the new technician can work with our iMacs, as long as they can get into the school ASAP to start the number of problems already existing with PC labs. Getting back on track, there are so many aspects to take into consideration. With technology changing at a rapid pace, how is anyone suppose to keep up with speed? I know I'm working hard to stay above water, while enjoying every moment of success throughout the tasks set forth. Don't get me wrong, complaining is not my intention. I am just making sense of quality vs quantity as to where I need to invest most of my time in order to benefit from what is being taught and how I can best use the information to strengthen my teaching. What is set for us to take 15 minutes, is taking me more than an hour because it more than just doing the work in my case; but rather how to do it. In the case of creating a presentation for my class, that took me 2 days. I had to experiment with each presentation tool offered to find which one I wanted to use. Then I had to figure out how my chosen program (Zoho) worked after creating yet another account. Once I learned the available tools featured, I could start to think about what I wanted to incorporate in my slides. For me the slide show needed to be useful for my classroom lessonplans, which is why I created a slide show on cubism. This same situation happened when I experimented with creating a Graphic. There were so many programs to choose from. After tediously creating my graphic with Mr.Picassohead, I discovered a glitch in the software that does not allow for saving. I now had 2 choices, learn the tools of another program or start over. I started over since I want to use the program with my students. Bottom line: this work takes me hours and hours, if not days to complete. So something as easy as posting on my blog tonight, took much anguish in changing my password and finding a computer that lets me log into my wolfmail account, since it is blocked from my computer. Lets not forget about the chapters of reading that were done while working at my part-time job as a bartender.
I fear of sounding negative, but I do look forward to learning more uses for technology. I just wish I knew what the best software is and it would stay that way. There are too many providers with too many different options to stay on top of. I can only imagine what I will learn after reading other classmates' blogs of what they learned and tried that I too will want to experiment with.

Connecting this Course to Me

I never would have thought this course would connect to my teaching in the art classroom. Although I may not be discussing the insides of a computer with my class, the knowledge learned is valuable. If nothing else, I am able to understand the passions of some of my students to create meaningful relationships with them. This may seem small, but I had the opportunity already to connect with a student that I thought was impossible due to the assignment of taking pictures of the inside of my computer and labeling the parts. His face lit up as he asked me what I was doing. I will remember that moment for a long time to come. It is easy to lose sight at times the value in student-teacher relationships.
Besides a lasting connection, this class has opened my eyes to the possibilities offered through technologies. Coming into this program with little knowledge of computers or technology, I have come a long way. I will use blogging in my classroom on a weekly basis, now that I am in the habit of writing. Currently I do weekly vocabulary words, which I can create a blog spot for students to discuss the words. I will also look into implementing an art history assignments where students can go to the blog to view and critique a famous artwork.
As far as the real content of this class, I find it to be most valuable on a personal level. I am much more aware of properly protecting my home computer than I was before. My eyes were opened to how naive I was. A prime example of the classic saying, 'It won't happen to me', was my thought. I have been lucky not to have experienced a computer crash thus far, but I am not willing to risk it. I have upped my firewall protection and hard drive backups, feeling more secure.
Overall I feel the information presented in this class was very valuable. As with anything, you will get out of it what you want to; meaning if I want to find a way to connect the information I will. It is prevalent the use of technology is a beneficial tool when teaching to our students of the future.

Cannot Afford to Lose

Firstly, I must say I have little trust in a computer's hard drive even though I have never had a computer crash on me. I know too many people who have had that happen, in which I try not to rely on the computer for important things. However this assignment encouraged me to make sure I back up any pictures I have that are worth saving with a method other than my hard drive. I put most of my pictures on to CDs for future reference. I'm often afraid of losing the physical picture also, so I have resorted to CD for many years now since I have began traveling more.
As for important documents, I do have several jump-drives or removable storage that I use. I find a problem with both CDs and jump drive methods however due to the fact that I often lose things. So when I have a document that is very important: tax returns, professional documents, etc, I have a bad habit of storing it solely in an email. When I save the original document I will then send it in an attached email to myself and leave sit in my inbox. Yes, I said inbox. I do not even save it to its own folder within my email account. This class inspired me to open a Gmail account which I have found, I am loving. I am thinking I will switch my entire Hotmail account over to Gmail for the use of Google Docs, calendars, and so forth. I love these features and wish that Hotmail would have offered this option so that I did not have to switch my account over. Since I am often working from home and work, I like being able to access my files from anywhere instead of having to email them to myself. I have also switched jobs a few times, and had to covert all my professionals documents over to a jump drive. What a mess!
Currently I have few files at home that I could NOT afford to lose. I will be uploading all my photos to a web-based site tonight though. Since I am not connected to the network at my work, I have not been saving files to any sort of hard drive at this time. I have saved a few things to my desktop, but this year alone I have been saving a copy in my Google Docs so that I don't lose it. I feel fairly secure that my most important documents are saved in the 'clouds' rather than my computer.

The Future of Computing

Where do I begin? I would never would have believed the future of now back when I was young. I grew up thinking computers where for games and word-processing. Don't get me wrong, I am one fast-typer and an expert game player. Looking at all a computer offers the user now, I can hardly image what will come in the near future. I will say, computers will be everywhere in the future. I tend bar on the side for extra cash, and I was discussing this with a common patron who feels computers are the root of all evil. I chuckled at his remarks that the 'government' is to blame for these so called 'monsters'. He is standing his ground against ever buying nor touching a computer. I applaud his stance, however I laugh. This may be possible now, but I don't see a future for the revolters. Whether we like it or not, computers are the way of the future. For this fact, I embrace it and want to learn more to better prepare my students.
I see my art classroom still having small built in screens where I can post a questions to my students, and they will touch the correct answer on the screen. I will instantly be able to see students answers. They would be able to take their own attendance through fingerprints on screen. I will still be teaching the value of hands-on paper and pencil drawing, but will incorporate technology where possible. I am already looking into programs like, TECC and International Youth Art Exchange to bridge my students with students of a different culture to find ways to use art as a solution to problems in the city. Or perhaps critique a student's art with various cultural influences to broaden my students ideas of issues and problems in other societies. To find common links and differences. Once a week we could connect with Chinese students to learn not only art styles of China, but great lasting global relations.
My goal is to instill the importance of self-learning. I want my students to take the responsiblity to gauge appropriate learning and to teach others their knowledge. I image my students running home and showing their parents or grandparents how to talk to their pen-pal online. Giving my students this knowledge, they will be better prepared for a life surrounded with technology. To encourage my students to be life-long learners will force them to adapt to the changes surrounding.
The affect technology is going to have on myself and my students is going to be great. The ease many tools will be able to offer us in daily tasks will be astonishing. My fear is that students will lose the social interaction of face to face conversations. Will our youth still be able to have those 'hard' confrontations needed at times? Will our youth hide behind the walls of technology with bitter/bold words that would necessarily be spoken if face to face? Currently we are already missing out on interactions with others due to self-checkout lines, automated check deposit, internet shopping, online dating, etc. These are all things we do daily which used to force us to meet new people.

Computer History of Hannah Smits

I have done more with computers in the past two weeks then I have done in my entire lifetime. Some would describe me as nearly illiterate with technology, until now. This is a huge reason as to why I enrolled in this Master's program, I want to learn more. I want to be that savvy computer "geek". As for my history, I remember back to computer class in grade school where we worked on typing skills and the simple math, reading, etc games by inserting the large floppy disks. We received points as we completed the various disks. The graphics at time were nothing to be desired, if there were any at all. This greatly improved my typing skills with a high words per minute average still to this day. We would look forward to Fridays, when two lucky students would get to go on the big Apple computer to play Oregon Trail.
As for a personal computer, there was no such thing. As the computers era was growing, many teachers were looking to have homework typed. This is when my parents splurged and bought a big, heavy word processor. Essentially it was a typewriter with a few extra "gadgets" including a computerized small screen. But it worked. It wasn't until later, my grandparents bought a new computer that my family was given the old one which admittedly was a large paperweight. It was constantly breaking down and "freezing" up, hence the reason I am afraid to experiment with a computer at all. The fear of breaking a computer is always lurking which prohibits the technological advancements of my skills.

Turning Wheels in Week 2

The information presented in week 2 really stirred an excitement of notes and notions to use technology in my classroom. The ability to collaborate through Google Docs hadn't really sunk in until the discussion that took place last Monday night. I do very little writing in my studio art classes, however I always require students to reflect on a finished work of art. This is where they look to see how they have improved, what difficulties they ran into and why, what they would do differently if they had to start over, etc. The doors of communication swing wide open through this. I learn so much from my students about their feelings on the artwork and in return, I provide valuable feedback to flourish creativity and skills. Since students are writing the reflection anyhow, why not do it on Google Docs where we can work together on the reflection process? (Not to mention the fact that I would no longer hear the excuse 'My printer ran out of ink last night so I can't hand my paper in' anymore!) But even better is the fact that students could collaborate on classmates' work also. At the higher level of art studios, I begin to teach students the correct way to critique the artwork of their own and others. I hold the ablity to communicate with peers very highly. Today I believe too often students lack the skills to physically communicate face to face with not only superiors, but peers in general effectively. We have enabled students to hide behind the walls of technology to communicate and lost the benefit of face to face interaction. Words can become more harsh and thoughts more bold when you do not have to face the victim you are attacking. Wow, I do not hate technology, although it may seem like it at this point. There are so many benefits that I am truly excited to experiment with. What I am trying to say is that I find even in my own past, I have been more bold in my word choice when I know the reader cannot see me or ever know me. Which is not an entirely negative thing. My plan for use of Google Docs is as a way of allowing students to begin the peer critiquing process because it promotes the collaboration I want plus encourages honesty. I think if they can write suggestions and constructive criticism anonymously, the critique is more beneficial. I often remind all my students that constructive criticism may be hard to accept at times, but it can make you stronger. And I do love technology! As the wheels keeps on turning, I will look at ways to incorporate web cams into the mix. I love the ability to interact with others hundreds to thousands of miles away, in learners of all cultures.

A beginning to a Masters

Honestly, I am not only amazed at the mere fact that I have started a Master's Program, but that it is in the field of technology. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to be part of this class however I never thought this day would come. I have been somewhat "computer illiterate" up to this point. I have made it a personal and professional goal of mine to learn the ins and outs of technology and the programs I can bring to my classroom. I am so excited to incorporate these newly learned skills into my classroom. I understand the technological society we live in and teach or students today. This is why I want to be the teacher who can bring new ideas to keep my classroom fresh and exciting. I am hoping this class will strengthen my abilities to incorporate programs like Ning, Blogging, Chat rooms, and perhaps Pod casting to my students. My current field of study is quickly moving to the computer graphics side, which I must embrace. However there is so much to learn from the hands-on art forms of basic pencil and paper drawing. I wish to incorporate technology into classes, to embellish on thoughts, techniques, and ideas learned through studio time.
Currently I teach the beginning art fundamental courses for a high school in southeastern Wisconsin. This is my fourth year teaching with my first two years being at the elementary levels. The district goal of my school fits along with my professional goal of teaching students through a higher level of technology. After completion of this program I plan to share my knowledge with fellow staff. My thought is that if I can learn, anyone can learn! I have not had very much experience teaching with technology. My first impression of this class stirred much excitement. I was shocked at the amount of free tools offered in effective communication strategies. Recently my school has set a district wide goal of improving literacy scores in our students. I have struggled with how I will do this in the art field, without taking away from valuable studio time. I hope to use the tools present in class to communicate with students on a higher level of thinking including important vocabulary and terminology not only in art but in standards set by my district. I'm very excited for this class, and can't wait to learn!