My philosophy of technology use in the classroom is: 21st century technology and tools can be key in differentiated instruction.  Learning to research, explore and utilize the tools that are available through technology is also an important part of using new tech in the classroom. Keeping students aware of what tools are being used in the world for different tasks is preparing them for real world experiences. Holding students accountable for their learning, behavior and use of technology will encourage responsible practices.  I do feel  that if it does not serve a need pertinent to their learning, then it is a distraction and not a useful tool.  As for my classroom there are a few Web 2.0 tools that we discussed over the course of the semester that I can see incorporating into my instruction and management. Programs such as Google classroom, Schoology and Edmodo for an online presence that students can access assignments at any time, ask questions and review requirements. I would research more possiblities for e-portfolios and in that vein I would incorporate wevideo into lessons as a way for students to reflect on their work. This and many other video editing tools could be used for clean and polished documentation of their processes, as well as creating their own videos as a form of expression. So many possibilities. I can also see myself using poplet or some of the SMARTboard plugins to review art learning habits. In the art room most of the tools I learned about this semester really do not apply, so there are limitations to the use and effectiveness of some tools, but there are just as many out there that really cater to the artist and expression. Such as 3D printing and design, video editing and animation to name a few. Incorporating assistive technology in an art room could really change the way the students create and interact with art. One really big possible limitation is funding availability. There are ways to raise money for technology purchases, of course.  I have two more semesters of exploration and learning before I will be looking for a job, during that time I will continue to research what other 21st century learners are doing in their classroom to incorporate technology, as well as keep an eye on the industry and professional development sites for new resources. I will also begin to plan how to really incorporate, with meaning technology resources into my instruction and classroom environment. I really like the twitter feed for EDUC, ARTed and a few others. Some of them are really all about tech in the art room. I also keep an eye on Pinterest people are doing amazing things every day. I strive to be one of them.

Friday was the last official day of classes for this semester. It was also the last day of our Lab school experience with the Polaris students. I feel sad that I will not be seeing them next semester. It was a bit of a rocky road learning to just be the teacher, but I feel good about our experience and where it will take us. It was perhaps more valuable than some of my other educ classes in that the experience was authentic and the responsibility was on me and my peer/co teachers. Learning to work in a group/team was a lot of the challenge, we all have different ways of approaching teaching and interacting with children, as well as work ethics. I know it will be a challenge to be the only teacher and I will miss my team. It was really good to be able to bounce ideas back and forth and split the work load (most of the time). I hope to find a district to work in that really supports teacher collaboration and cross content learning. Not only the district I suppose but the teachers in the district.  That is all for now, I will have more reflections soon. Oh yeah, there is also the finished metals project! I will post some photos of the finished army of spiders soon.

For my Tech ed class I created a flipped/infused classroom video. The concept is that the learning happens outside of the the classroom and classroom time is used for working/practicing the concepts. At the bottom of this post you will find a link to the flipped classroom video I made on the topic of Digital Drawing. It is designed to give the students time and information to familiarize themselves with a new program that we will used to create projects with. The lesson they will embark upon is the first of three lessons in digital drawing. The first is an exploration. They will discover how to use the tools in the program and experiment with some of the features. Such as incorporating photo elements, as well as working with layers. The second lesson explores similar yet different programs for digital media. Their second assignment is to utilize the program to design their personal logo. They will complete two versions, one with text and the other without. The third lesson will go deeper into the possibilities of digital drawing, the students will discover how they can use their programs to create animations.
To get started the students will view this introduction video:
Digital Drawing Flipped lesson

Happy Drawing!