Graduate Work
Goal Refection
“My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Sir Ken Robinson
An Unfinished Artwork
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When I started my master’s program, Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET), I had two main goals. The first goal was to learn how to incorporate technology into the “specials” setting (i.e., art, music, P.E.). The second goal, was to learn new technologies that could be used in specials, specifically in elementary art. I hope to showcase, here, how I have been working on these goals throughout my coursework in the MAET program.
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When I first started my coursework in 2016, I wanted to learn more about how to incorporate technology into the “specials” curriculum. I originally thought that I would focus on all specials and teach my school team how they could also use technology while teaching. However, as an art educator, my focus changed to specifically focusing on using technology in elementary art. I started this journey in two courses that transformed my thinking on how to use technology in art. I learned about the maker movement, which pushed me to deepen my understanding of the Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) art studio, and I ultimately moved to a TAB centered art studio this school year. You can read more about the beginning stages of this learning here and check out this infographic I created highlighting the maker movement and art education. Moving on through the next few years, I have learned how to better utilize Google Classroom, as well as, other Google Suite applications. I also learned how to create and administer assessments using different online programs, such as, padlet, twine, and plickers. I also explored using Artsonia and SeeSaw to create digital portfolios of student artwork. In addition to learning about how to integrate technology into the art curriculum, I also learned how to be a technology leader and how to share what I learned with other art teachers at our annual state conferences in 2017 and 2018.
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Click Me
When I reflect back on my second goal; to learn new technologies that could be used in elementary art; I am blown away with all that I have learned about and have been able to implement with my students. While some of what I have learned, I already had some knowledge on, such as, Google Classroom, plickers and SeeSaw, I was able to deepen my understanding on these programs and use them in a whole new way. In addition, I learned about using a 3D doodle pen and how to create an online game through Twine 2.0 to assess students’ knowledge of color mixing.
When looking back at all that I have learned, one might think that I have met my goals. However, just like that one piece of artwork that is finished, but is never really finished, that is how I feel. I did meet my goals and learned much more than I anticipated about myself as a teacher and how I teach my students. However, this is that unfinished work, it looks done, but there will always be more that can be tweaked or learned about.
A video I created during the beginning of my MAET journey about TAB, passion, curiosity and questioning.