Teacher Tips
November 2007
Technology in the Art Room
By Jackie Ellett, Ed.S. in Art Education
Duncan Creek Elementary
Hoschton, Georgia
Technology has made a huge impact on the way teachers teach in the classroom and in the art room. As an art educator in the late 1980s I thought technology would stifle creativity, but I have now embraced it as an everyday teaching tool. I have gone from using technology to develop my lessons to having my students interact with technology to enhance their learning.
The flex cam, a live camera, is a wonderful piece of technology that is perfect for demonstrating concepts and techniques. The flex cam projects an image onto a television screen, alleviating the problem of crowding and not having a clear view of a demonstration. Digital cameras and scanners have been instrumental in allowing art teachers to efficiently document and showcase student art on Web pages as well as in online student gallerys, such as Artsonia. An interactive whiteboard has great potential in the art room; teachers and students can directly interact with it through PowerPoint presentations, slide shows, art reproductions, and video clips. Many computer programs can also help enhance art education, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Kid Pix.
Using technology enables you to take your students on virtual trips to places such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the Louvre in Paris. The ability to bring the world into the art room has been one of technology's greatest contributions to learning. By allowing our students to experiment with and manipulate a variety of media in the art room, we are exposing them to unique ways of using technology that are not experienced in other classes or at home. Once the learning curve has been achieved, technology maximizes instructional time and encourages, rather than stifling, creativity.
Survey in the Art Room
By Kay Anderson
Art Teacher
Burroughs High School
Burbank, California
Although my classes focus mainly on studio art, I also include art survey in the curriculum. Seeing and learning about the historical and cultural progression of art is very important to learning the techniques and skills needed to create art. I periodically show videos about art history and supplement with slides. Students are required to take notes on these materials, which I check afterwards. After we have covered a few areas, I assign a writing assignment in which students summarize each period and compare and contrast specific characteristics of different periods. Students must use the notes they have taken, and can also use supplemental materials and resources to enhance their essays. This graded assignment is begun in class and finished outside of class. The entire process gives students numerous opportunities to use listening skills, writing skills, and cognitive skills, while it reinforces their knowledge of art history.
Music Technology: Reaching Students with Limited Musical Experience
By Denise Perry
Music Teacher
Wilde Lake High School
Columbia, Maryland
Here's an exciting and engaging cross-curricular music and poetry project that features technology. This is a great way to reach students who have little experience making music. To make the project really successful, find an English teacher willing to collaborate with you and open to working the project into the English curriculum.
Combine classes for three or four class periods and meet in the English classroom. Have students work in small groups to create, edit, and polish a poem that describes a choice the students had to make in their life. Instruct students to include the outcome of their choice!
Then, combine classes for three or four class periods and meet in the Music Technology classroom. Have students use audio loops, notation, or MIDI software programs to create music that will be used as background for a dramatic reading of the poem they wrote, or to set the poem to an original piece of music or an original arrangement. Encourage students to use technological programs they are comfortable with at their skill level.
Burn the results to a CD and share your students' creative endeavors via a recorded concert or online student performance.
Enhancing the Chorus Rehearsal with Technology
By Kathleen Gabriele
Music Teacher
Severna Park High School
Severna Park, Maryland
Technology can play a vital role in your choral rehearsal. Begin with the equipment you already have. As you become more comfortable, look for additional pieces of equipment and more ways to use them.
Here are some ideas:
Audio—Use an evaluation rubric from Experiencing Choral Music to analyze performances of concert repertoire. Provide several small CD players and have students work in sections using ECM CDs.
Overhead projector—Art transparencies from the ECM Teacher Resource Binder can help you make historical and cross-curricular connections in your teaching. A variety of art reproductions are also available through Glencoe's middle-school and high-school art programs.
DVD player—Interviews and documentaries featuring composers, conductors, performers, and performances can be found in a variety of locations. Begin your search for available resources at your local library.
One computer— Create worksheets, quizzes, sight-singing examples, or student compositions using notational software. Connect an LCD projector to present drills, sight-singing, flashcards, notes, or announcements.
Multiple computers— Set up individual workstations for projects, make-up work, and extra ear training or sight-singing practice.
Recording equipment— Make your own rehearsal or accompaniment CDs. Advanced choral students can record themselves sight-singing for personal growth.