Technology in the Classroom

Using technology in the classroom is a delicate balance. With the exception of research projects, computers are not required the art room. We used to have iPads, but the most common technology in my classroom is the student's phones.

More than any classroom management issue, cell phone usage has become a tender subject among some staff and students. It is virtually impossible to maintain a cell phone policy in our alternative high school where we pick our battles carefully, so our principal let us create our own cell phone classroom policies this year. It is a challenge to encourage students to use their cell phones for good and not evil, as I say, but I feel that it is preferable to engaging in tiresome power struggles over texting in class. After all. I myself am guilty oftexting and tweeting during staff meeting

s. How do we expect students to quietly for 8 hours a day and forget about the world around them? In certain classes such as ceramics, and during certain lessons that require complete attention such as observational drawing, I allow students to listen to music on their phones, but that is all. Other times, I encourage students to research using their phones and have attempted to use different apps to help develop good technological skills. I attempt to maintain a classroom twitter account to showcase student artwork, and the STEAM academy has it's own twitter feed and facebook account as well. In the STEAM academy we will help students develop a portfolio and a resume to help with job and college applications and to use as formative and summative assessment. We will use Microsoft OneNote to collect and organize data, and may encourage them to do something very similar to this and create their own website. We used to teach Adobe in the digital arts classes, but since we are more or less stuck with the last version our district can afford and our district will not pay for yearly subscriptions, I may be on the look out for free software that students can access when they graduate as well. Collaborating with the industrail tech teacher is a valuable resource in my classroom. Since their program is regularly funded with Perkins grant money and our STEAM academy has been funded by industry pioneers in hopes that more students will go into trade jobs, we have a lot of cool toys for students to play with. We have 3 CNC machines, two laser cutters, three 3-D printers and if don't have it we try and make it. This type of collaboration is where the lines between engineer, tradesman, entreprenuer and artist really get blurred and where ideas like arts integration and STEAM education really start to make sense. Technology is not just software, it's how you put the software to use.