AT: Thinking back...more thoughts on Rosen

            So myself and a group of fellow teachers present professional development to our faculty on 1/2 days throughout the school year. Today was one of those days and as a reflection tool, we introduced blogging.  It was interesting to note as I helped various people get their blogs up and running how different one building's faculty can be when it comes to technology knowledge. We really ran the gamut, from some teachers having no idea what a blog was (not in specifics, just bare knowledge of the term) to other teachers who had already used them in class in the past and now thought that blogs were passé and irrelevant . It reminded me of the quotes from various 12yo's in Rosen's Rewired book. At the end of chapter 1 in the section "Why Do These Kids Hate School?" I could see what we were doing in our PD as trying to catch-up.
          But the question we found ourselves asking was, "Where do we start?" How do you get so many who are unfamiliar, familiar? And quickly, and without being overwhelming?
          As I read and do my assignments for class, I am looking through two different lenses: myself as teacher of iGen students and myself as teacher of adult learners from various generations - Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Yers, and Net Gens. That's a lot of differentiation right there! My head swims with ways to address these issues, for myself to make my teaching more relevant and therefore more rigorous, and for my colleagues that I train and coach as an instructional leader. Hear hear for another MU Art Ed class that is making my brain bulge!

iGen Talk

So interesting thing happened today... I was discussing this year's crop of students with another art teacher in my building and we started talking about our current PD and the idea of increasing rigor and relevance and teaching to the type of students we have in reality(& by extension their use of technology). And it started out the same, the small gripes about administrators don't know / don't appreciate the way art is taught, etc, etc. and that if we are always bouncing from one thing to another (this was from something that was said about the igen's short attention span and inability to pay attention for more than 10 min) we won't be able to teach the valuable skill of focus and seeing. And how that is important to artists' abilities.
For me this conversation reminded me about how I used to feel about the differences between myself and my students. I remember coming straight out of college and realizing how elevated my vocabulary had become. I had to scale way back so that my students were able to understand any sort of discussion. And when we did work in the library (I also helped tutor kids), they were soooo lazy. I couldn't get them to walk over to the shelf to look something up in an encyclopedia, they just wanted to find it on a computer (keep in mind this was 2001 and BG - before google. it was even before Ask Jeeves, one of my personal favorite early search engines). But slowly my attitudes changed. As technology became more available and more widely used, I embraced it. But only for personal use. It was easy to compartmentalize for me because that was the way I had already known school. Then, eventually, I came to accept it as an educational tool. As I transitioned from overhead to led projector, desk top to laptop, disk to jump drive to cloud. How far I've come in really only a little more than 10 years. Its incredible! But I digress...
What I keep thinking about tonight is the comment my colleague made about students wanting to jump to google to look something up instead of just sitting and thinking about it for a while. "How lazy they are!" he said. To which I replied, "But are they? We stop to just think because that's an experience we are familiar with - - where that was the only option as we sat in class.  But to our current class of students, it has never been an option to be without google as a solution. Wouldn't we admonish our students if they couldn't problem solve? If that is a real solution, why shouldn't they think of it immediately? Why do we value immediate recall over this ability to problem solve or identify, evaluate, and use resources? For me its just a matter adjusting what we prioritize and value. When we were in school, no one would have chastised us for getting up to use a dictionary or encyclopedia. Then and now, teachers would encourage it. No one would call us lazy for daring to look up something we didn't know in a book. Why do that with a digital, web based resource like google?"
Just something I've been musing on...

VTS Pre-Test

     I gave the VTS Pre-test last week and as I watched this year's new batch of students taking the test, I wondered to myself something I often wonder as I watch art students writing... "Do they really work like this in their Communication Arts classes?" It led me to wonder if students write the same way in a class where it is unexpected (at least) to read & write as they do in a class where the expectation is to improve reading and writing skills. As the faculty in my building is starting to explore CCSS and looking at cross-curricular lessons, I reached out to my CA teachers to see if anyone would want to team up with me to explore this a bit. I selected another image and created another VTS pre-test (didn't want to corrupt my true VTS pre-test data, ya know...) and three of my colleagues gave it to their CA classes. Three might have been going overboard, but how could I turn down willing volunteers?
    At first glance, it seems like my hypothesis was correct. Students write better when their perception is  it is for the class where they are supposed to demonstrate those skills. However, I haven't looked at them very deeply yet because my week was crazy with a meeting after school every night as well as open house too. It will be interesting to compare results from my VTS students that are also in this CA class. Stay tuned, I'll let you know what I find out!

Artistic Thinking: Week 1 Read & React

What is education’s role in meeting the needs of the 21^st century student?

After reading New Tech in the Art Room by Greh:
        Ok, holy moly (or is it mole?). I was really identifying with the author of this reading (which by the way, what book did this come from and what is the full name of the author?). I am currently setting up 2 pilot projects in my district for a Fine Arts lab at one of our high schools (mine) and one of the middle schools (across form my HS). This lab idea was a major victory of mine. The lab (although I hate the term lab. it makes it seem open to anyone at any time, and since i've worked so hard for art access to technology, I'm feeling a bit selfish) contains a cart with 32 ipads (a class set), an apple tv, a projector, styluses, and a macbook. Then I've also equipped the iPads with apps appropriate for Visual Arts, Music, and Theatre classes. But there is so much to think about when integrating this technology! And I'm not just thinking for my own discipline, but the whole of fine arts! I feel woefully under-equipped for this task. I have an idea of what I want, what it could be used for, but how do I make it worth while? And how do I transfer my enthusiasm to my other 5 art teachers, 3 music teachers, and 1 theatre teacher? And thats just in the hs. So on one hand I'm worrying about did I make the right decisions as far as set up (app choices and the what not), will the teachers use it, will it be used effectively, will teachers take care of it and monitor student use (will we break / "lose" any), will administrators see the value in it, can I plan good pd for it, and on and on. I could totally relate to that list of nightmares. But on the other, I've got such great ideas!! And I am so excited to put this technology into play! And others probably do too! I think this could be amazing. Will others see the possibilities? Will others see how great this is? 
         That was my personal reaction to it. All the while with my critical mind though, I'm thinking, "How old is this article?" It felt dated. And that underscored to me a current trend in tech, as soon as you get a handle on something, it changes. So quickly our world is evolving. And sometimes I feel that we as teachers aren't doing enough to keep pace. We get comfortable. And hey, who can blame us? Who wouldn't rather stay curled up in bed under the nice comfy covers, all cozy? It's nice. and easy. and safe. and its hard to keep running at a break neck pace that as teachers we can overdo too. But like the turtle,we have to keep moving at a steady pace to win the race. Somewhere in between the hare and standing still, we have to find that middle path to best serve our students. 
[alright, I feel like I'm starting to ramble from atop a soap box. next topic...]

"iKids Today"
What are my beliefs and experiences pertaining to/with the iKid/iGeneration? 
How might my generational grouping and my current understanding of technology (*gleaned from the self assessment) impact my understanding of the students I teach?
I feel like I have been pondering this question for a while now - years, in fact. I have been told that I am on the cusp of the Gen X and Gen Y or whatever you want to call that next generation. And there seems to be a new generation after that one (Gen Y) that I feel is the iKids that this refers to. The students I taught in 2001 are not the same functioning students I taught last year in 2011. Those Gen Yers were born in the late 80's, whereas my students today were born in the late nineties, two very different time periods influenced by technology in very different ways. Little things I've noticed have changed the way these students see the world. Little things like not having to wait until Saturday morning for a solid block of cartoons. The development of cable stations into 24/7 content providers have changed the way this generation of people think and approach things. It has changed the way some other generations see things too, but the difference is we can "remember a time when..." It reminds me of the Beloit mind set list (although that too seems to be showing its age this go round). If you are unfamiliar with it,  "The Mindset List was created at Beloit College in 1998 to reflect the world view of entering first year students. It started with the members of the class of 2002, born in 1980."  I've seen how this little difference has changed the way my students react to and reflect their pop culture. That is a fascinating unit for me. And it highlights the generational differences. I've joked with my students that this is the year I got old (Obviously because I can't see the 10 point type I've used on the IWB every year for seating charts), but rather I think its just the year that the difference between everyday habits has had more contrast. I'm trying to come around to some divergent thinking though. Thinking about the same thing in two different ways. I try to problem solve using new technologies and in ways that are relevant to my students. In ways that they will see how it is relevant, and so that we can make connections to build better relationships. And ultimately, this has been my goal with every group of students. It just hasn't been as seemingly different before.   

VTS at MU: reflections from class

So I only wish I had Siri or some other poor assistant with fancy technology that could have rode next to me as I drove back to St. Louis Saturday. I feel like I had a lot more to say about our VTS experiences and wanted to share with everyone what it was I had mentioned that had worked for me as I VTS in class. But between the fried pickles at Harpo's and the mass quantity of Dr. Pepper that I consumed to raise my caffeine levels, I'm afraid I forgot all the brilliance that came to me on the ride home.

The only part I do remember is that I shared that I often have my HSer's pre-write to organize their thoughts (as a bell ringer and as I take attendance or collect materials or fees). I make up a worksheet with the image and the three questions and display the image as students enter class. Then I give them some time to gather their thoughts. This seems to really help with those "shy" (read: unparticipatory) students.

Does anyone else have tips or something that seems to really work for them when VTS-ing or in getting students to participate?

VTS Class Introduction

      I teach in a large suburban high school outside St. Louis. I will be using VTS in my Introduction to Art courses. Intro is a class made up of 9 - 12 graders, mostly made up of 9th and 10th graders. I haven't decided which class to focus my VTS assignments on, mostly because I am still getting to know them. For now, my 1st hour and my 3rd hour classes are the larger classes with 28 students. My 2nd hour class is tiny with 14 students. I am thinking I will probably focus on my 2nd hour with its small size. And that way I can practice my technique and technology use on my 1st hour students. The majority of my students in this class are 9th graders with art experience in middle school. 

      I have to confess I have seen Mary's presentations on VTS at the state conference for the past few years and even ventured into trying it myself in class. I am not confident that I have been doing it as prescribed and think that by focusing on this strategy that I can do my students a great service. I have seen students processing and thinking change through the use of this in my class. THey start to really see what they are looking at and notice details. It helps improve their writing and their reflections on their own art work. I am hoping by using it more in class, and improving my technique that it will benefit them even more. I anticipate that my students will at first  reject the idea of reading and writing in an art class, (it always seems to be an  adjustment of expectations on their behalf).

      Having only known my class for three days, I will be sure to update this post with more information about my students as I get to know them. I look forward to beginning my discussions with them. They are so full of enthusiasm and expectations for the class. I think we have some amazing learning ahead of us!

New Class - VTS 1

Hello!
Just wanted to introduce myself to get this blog rolling for class.
This is my 12th year teaching art at a fairly large high school in a suburb of St. Louis. This year I am teaching 3 hours of Introduction to Art, our beginning art class, and then the rest of the day I serve as our district's Secondary Fine Arts, PE, & Health Curriculum Content Leader.  I used to also teach our Printmaking classes (which I loved, and miss!) but am glad to have only one prep as I have a lot going on at the moment that is keeping me pretty busy professionally and personally. I earned my National Boards last year where I learned quite a lot, but boy! am I sure glad that's over! This is my second class in the graduate program here at MU and I am looking forward to the fall semester and all the great things I am going to learn! #learnerforlife