Kicking and Screaming My Way into the Cloud!

Hello, all!

Well, in my final post, I would like to share remarks about how being forced into using new Web 2.0 technology has been a positive experience, although I was terrified at first.

Like many teachers, I tend to teach from my comfort zone, which for me would be using my school fusion website blog,  making interactive presentations on the Promethean board, and embedding instructional videos in Power Points. I had heard about google docs. and geotagging, and wikis, but I cowered in fear from using them, so I  didn't!

This course has elevated my knowledge of what is out there and forced me to acknowledge that I can't keep teaching in my little cave- that the cloud is not going away, and I owe it to myself to get up to date. I think with technology, I've been like my parents, who didn't get a microwave oven until about fifteen years ago.
The experience and fear of trying new things as a student has actually helped me relate better to those of my student's who , like me , suffer from-"I can't !" syndrome. I think I can use examples from my experience as a student in this class.

How was your experience using all these new bells and whistles? Do you think you will actually use a lot of them, or do you do that already?

How do you Control Noise Levels in Your Classroom?

I find myself like a broken record, constantly saying SHHHHH! I allow students to whisper as they are working on their art work, which is fine , as long as they are actively engaged, and they really do work. But then the noise level gradually rises to the point where I can't believe they can concentrate but they do! Am I crazy, or are students just generally become louder ? Or have I finally become one of those out of touch teachers who say,"oh, kids these days!"
Fortunatley, or unfortunately, the AP's office is right next to my class room. I was apologizing for the noise level, and she said, "Oh no, they're not too loud, they're just engaged and it 's their time to be creative." maybe she was being diplomatic.
What should I do? Require total silence ( which seems a bit absurd for ninth graders?) Buy a set of ear plugs? Discipline more?
I walk by academic classes and it seems like a wonder land , with students actively reading or taking quizes, or doing math problems alone in their seats, and think- Wow- silence!
How would you monitor the noise level in an art class?

Block Schedules

Hello all!

This year, for the first time, I am teaching on a block schedule with two hour and a half classes. I don't know about you, but even in college, in labs, we would at least have several ten minute breaks. I am a traditional sit in the seat and take notes learner, but even I get quite squirmy in a faculty meeting that pushes 45 minutes! I think expecting our stimulus trained, hands on students to actively learn for 90 minutes at a time is ridiculous. Even my most motivated students burn out after about an hour. Do you think it's fair to have students in one class for this length of time or does it suit the way you teach? I feel like I need to start tap dancing or break out the hand puppets after about an hour!

Cool Colleague

For the first time in about 15 years, I have a colleague! I have always been the sole art teacher wherever I have worked, and at my new job, this year, I am one  of two! There are so many advantages to working with someone who I admire professionally, and get along great with to boot! For instance, we lend each other spur of the moment supplies, commiserate in quick asides in our common office, and give each other ideas for projects. Although Dale is a neat freak, and I am a slob, it is such a novelty to talk to someone who actually knows about my subject matter. In addition, we seem to raise the level of each others' performance. Do you like working independently or with a colleague? Have your experiences been positive or negative and why?

I phones in Art Class

So here's the situation:

Every student in my class has an i phone, cell phone, or mp3 player in their pocket. Period.

No students are allowed to have them on their person.Period.

We are a "Technology" District.

There are some valid applications of I phones and cell phones in an art class. For instance, to teach a unit on the elements of design, students could use their phones to capture photos which demonstrate form, texture, color, line, etc., and save them or send them to me as a digital art journal. Or they could use downloaded drawing apps to create exciting art works. They could text responses to art history questions.
In addition, allowing students to listen to their own music would intensify concentration on projects, creating better work ( hopefully), and would cut down on classroom management issues.

To date, I have enforced the school policy on electronic devices in the classroom, which is to collect the device, and write students up if they object. I trully understand the reasoning behind the ban; students do make bad choices through social texting, cyberbullying, playing video games, and looking at inappropraite material.

But here's the problem; one by one, teachers and administrators are relaxing the policy. So when students come to my class, they whine and moan about how cruel I am in comparison with their other teachers. Hey, I like having a job! I follow the rules! There are even parents who've complained about me because they can't get in touch by text with their children during my class!

Yet I am accountable for following the district policy, and I'm the one who would be punished if I flout the rules!

There needs to be a serious discussion in my district regarding this policy, because we teachers are floundering in a gray area again, left in the middle between administrators, parents, and students.

I f we go ahead and allow these devices in class, wonderful! If we are not going to allow them, support us in enforcing the policy.