Inspiration

Inspiration would be a wonderful tool to use in the Art classroom. I would be able to have my students create webs that discuss different artists and their lives. I could even have them discuss different artistic movements in history. It would also be a great way to organize art vocabulary. One other exciting way to use Inspiration would be to make a beautiful color wheel!
There are many different Webb Resources that we explored within the class. However, I feel as though I would benefit the most from ethemes. There is a higher chance of me finding information that I would be able to use in my content area. Illuminations is all math, something clearly that wouldn't work for art. Rubistar may work as well if I am doing perhaps an oral presentation that requires a rubric. They even have a tab for Art within their site that includes rubrics for mural painting, painting, art history reports, making a mask etc. One site that wouldn't be the most helpful is the library curriculum. I didn't even find any art options under those sites. But luckily enough there are other art options in a different section of the library curriculum like ARTSTOR that would be of use in the art classroom.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking seems like an extremely logical way to save sites that could be benefitial to one in multiple different facets. As an art teacher I could bookmark sites that showcase specific artists, artistic movements, lesson plans and much more. It would be an easy way to organize all of the exciting features one can find on the web. My students could also benefit because I would be able to refer them to sites that I know are reliable and good for them to use.

It seems to me that even as an Albright student I could benefit from social bookmarking. I know that there are many different sites that I use in all of my classes constantly. By bookmarking them it would make my life much easier because I could find my "old faithfulls" very easily! It would also be useful to my classmates in instances where we may have a group project or group study sessions.

Evaluating Websites

It is very easy for any person to get online and find out pretty much anything they desire. However, the credibility of certain sites and the information they contain aren't always trustworthy. That is why it's important as future educators to know what one is looking at when reading a website. Knowing how to differentiate what is correct and what is just false and/or made up is going to be key to good development and learning in the classroom. I couldn't imagine something more embarrasing then getting up in front of my class and teaching a lesson about an artist and having the information all be wrong. Students deserve to be taught what is right and if teacher's can't be accountable for what they are teaching where will that take education? I am sure that within my classroom students will be using the internet for brainstorming ideas and looking at artists works etc. So using the evaluating tools for websites will come in handy becasue like I said earlier teachers are accountable for what is taught to their students. I may also be able to provide my students with a list of credible sites that I put together myself. Making it easier to know that what they are looking at is acceptable.

Making sure a website is reliable is very simple. One just needs to check a few things such as the author, authenticity, source, timeliness etc. Once those things check out, it is usually a good site to use. I would hope that people would make sure what they are reading ins reliable. However, because of how fast information is exchanged and looked up, it's easy to just read the first thing one finds. In the long run though, going with the easier choice isn't going to reap the most benefits.

Blogs In the Classroom

As I peruse my certification in Art Education, I clearly love all of my arts courses. However, when I found out I needed to take a tech course I was a bit leery. Even in the first two weeks though, I have learned many different ways to incorporate technology into the art world.

One of those ways could be the use of weblogs or blogs. It could be very easy to get the rest of the school and parents involved with the students' artwork by posting them on a weekly blog. Specific pieces could be chosen that showcase the great job each student is doing in the classroom. It would be much like a virtual gallery that would have different exhibitions weekly. Then at the end of the semester those top pieces could be shown in an actual show at the school.

Another way blogs could be incorporated in the art classroom could be as a reflective tool. Students could go onto their blog sites and reflect on the pieces they are making, the history they may be learning, and how it personally affects them. It would be a great way for me, as the teacher, to receive feedback on how the students feel about my projects.

But there can be some disadvantages to using technology in the art room. There is nothing better than seeing a piece of artwork right there in front of one's face. If too much technology is used to display images, the beauty of a tangible piece of artwork could lose its spark. Art is very hands on and heavy in material use, with too much technology that could be lost.

Blog Numero Uno

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