A Shift in Perspective

Throughout this course, we have read many chapters and read about different ideas, but this one still stands out to me the most:

"The challenge lies in the differences between teachers and students. Today's students may be what Marc Prensky refers to as digital natives who have established relationships with technology since infancy and think and process information differently than their predecessors. In contrast, Prensky identifies their teachers as digital immigrants who may adopt the use of new technologies but frequently revert to past practices and skills that are foreign to their students. At the same time, while students may possess more advanced technological skills than their teachers, their abilities to critically reflect upon the technologies and their associated media texts are less established. As teachers become more fluent in their uses of technology, they are more able to focus on cultivating critical thinking and decision making among young people" (Rethinking Technology in Schools, 53). 

 I believe this sums up the whole purpose of this class quite well...

Though I believe to be technologically savvy, my concerns are that the things I am savvy in will become irrelevant by the time I am ready to teach in my own class. I grew up teaching myself about HTML and coding, then started using blogs like Livejournal and posting in online communities and forums. My interests evolved and changed overtime--Myspace was a big hit for me, as well as a website called Purevolume, where I would research new music artists. After that, I became interested in Facebook, but also about Flickr and Tumblr. Today, I enjoy exploring many applications such as Photoshop, Gimp, iMovie, podcasts, etc. I can only hope that I will keep embracing my own curiosity for technologies, and perhaps even know a thing or two that my students do not know about! My Visual Arts Workshop class has been extremely beneficial in helping me understand how to use these technologies I love so much for the betterment of my classroom. I use iMovie to create videos about artists and also how-to videos. I've created a podcast with a mock "interview" of an artist, and have even begun the process to starting my own website! (If you're interested in viewing, click here). I have also started the process to making a professional portfolio online which has lesson plans, and my videos  on there.

I don't believe that I am a "digital native", as I didn't grow up knowing about technology as young as students do today. I didn't receive a cell phone until sophomore year of high school! But I agree that it is important for teachers not to frequently revert to past practices. I have the ability to critically reflect on technologies and become more fluent in my use of them in the classroom. This class has been a great start in this process to understanding what is suitable and ways to go about making it happen in the future.

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My Video on Jean-Michel Basquiat: Could be used if I was not in class that day, or is an example assignment of what my students could do rather than writing a biography of the artist: