Reflections of AED 398

1. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the best? Why?
The assignment I most enjoyed working on for this this class was the self-portrait. I think that my being so comfortable with using Photoshop contributed to this a lot--it gave me a chance to experiment with some new tools and techniques that I had not previously used efficiently. I also liked that it was a diptych because I think this format challenges us to create a sort of mini-story or progression from one portrait to the second.

2. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the least? Why?
The assignment I enjoyed working on least was the resume and I know this is because I was not comfortable with InDesign. Looking back, I do think this was a good assignment to get familiarized with the program, especially since we were to use it again for our Portfolios. Another reason I did not enjoy this project as much as the other ones is that I did not push myself to be as creative as I could have been. I would like to make some changes to my resume because of this.

3. How did you like using ANGEL?
ANGEL was extremely convenient and I wish all of my professors were on board with using it. I think that having this tool in the classroom is a great example of professors being a digital native vs. being a digital immigrant. I hope that the use of ANGEL becomes a stronger trend in classrooms at Buffalo State.

4. If you had the opportunity to change this course:

What would you keep?
I would keep the use of ANGEL, the Blog journal and all of the Studio Assignments. I also really appreciated that we had class periods where we could just work on our projects.

What would you remove?
It was a little bit difficult keeping track of assignments due on three different days for a class that meets on only one day of the week. The amount of assignments was fine but, after speaking with my peers most of us agreed that it was difficult to remember that assignments were due on days other than when we have class.

Also, some of the blog assignments that were useful for starting studio projects were assigned the Friday after we began the project at hand. I would have liked to have these blog assignments due the Friday before to assure that I had taken this information into consideration before starting my assignments.

What would you add?
I would have liked to have worked with some computer animation although, I don't know how applicable this would be in an art classroom.
I would have also liked to have more specific feed back, especially on the lesson plan.

5. Would you recommend this course to your peers?
Yes, I would. I think that this is a great course for those who have not had much exposure to computer programs that are very useful for the art classroom.

6. Please list any other comments you would like to share.
I was pleased to leave this class having created some artworks that I can use either in my portfolio or in the classroom. It was nice to create things that we can actually use outside of this class.

YOUR GROWTH

1. Describe the growth/development of your technology skills.
I saw this class as an opportunity to fine-tune my skills in computer programs. I think that one of the benefits (or weaknesses, for some) of this class is that you could do as much or as little with the tools we were provided with. In my case, I tried to do more than I was comfortable with. I think that I'm definitely coming out of this class with much more experience that I had before.

2. Describe the growth/development of your professional presentation and teaching skills.
For this class, I don't feel that the requirements for the presentations pushed me enough to fine-tune my presentations skills. As far as development is concerned, I feel that my understanding of internet resources available to me developed more than anything else.

3. How will you use technology in your art classroom?
I think my use of technology in my art classroom will vary--potentially I could somehow incorporate it into every lesson I create. Technology can be used for anything from creating handouts to presentations, to having students create projects using computers. One specific tool we learned about in the class that I believe is such an amazing thing is the ePals site--I will definitely be collaborating with other classrooms through this site.

4. Please list any other comments you would like to share.
I appreciated having examples of projects like the self-portrait and the resume on ANGEL. It really gave me some guidance when I didn't know where to start.

A Blog on Blogging

1. You have created a Blog and have been Blogging for 16 weeks. What is your opinion of "Blogging"?

I think that Blogging is a great way for us to organize and present our thoughts in a more polished and thoughtful way. We all have good ideas, and I don't think most of them are shared. Making something public forces us to reflect on our ideas and adjust them accordingly which, I believe is a lot like teaching. With each posting we must consider what our audience already knows, what they need to know, and what we can provide them with to get them where they need to go.

2. Did you find this to be a useful reflection / communication tool?

I found this to be more of a useful reflection tool than one for communication. The only communication I felt took place was when we were required to comment on each others' blogs, and even then, I felt the discussions were limited. Through this process, I definitely reflected a lot and in this sense, I think it was useful.

3. Would you use a Blog in your art classroom? If yes, how. If no, why not?

Whether or not I would use a Blog in my art classroom would be dependent on many different factors including the classroom environment, the setting of the school, parent involvment, student access to computers, the age of the students, etc. If anything, I can always use a blog just as an information center for members of the learning community to visit as needed. The blog could feature my teaching philosophy, what I will be covering in the classroom, my experience, and local art events.

Exploring ISTE

1. What educator resources would you be able to use in your art classroom?

I found the "planning and advice" portion of Tech Integration to be useful resource for my future art classroom. I think that the section on "equity" would also be very useful depending on the my location as an art teacher. I feel that as teachers, we should take as much advice as we can get from those who have experienced certain situations first hand. These sections of the website invites us to teach and learn which I believe is a huge part of being an art educator.

2. What NETS for Teachers 2008 would you be able to incorporate in your art classroom? (in Nets tab, under Teacher)

I really believe that I with the right resources available, I could incorporate all aspects of the 2008 standards. However, I think I also need to think realistically--not all schools will have the same technological resources available for student use. When we are faced with this sort of dilemma, I think it's only an opportunity/challenge for us to think creatively and use what's available to us in the most effective way.

3. What resources from ISTE would you be interested in using to further your development as a future art educator?

To further my development as a future art educator, I would be interested in participating in the Webinar series and the tools provided for assessment and technology training. I think that the Webinars would be either a hit or miss for me--it's a way of learning that I did not really grow up with but nonetheless is important for me as an art teacher to be familiar with. As far as assessment and technology training are concerned, assessment is one of the aspects of teaching that I am still not confident with, and I believe it will always be difficult task for me. Hopefully these trainings will present some solutions!

Portfolios: Using Adobe InDesign CS3

Through the Adobe InDesign CS3 video tutorials, I learned how to correct or, better manage a few things I was previously having trouble with. Through tutorial process I found that this program is a lot more approachable than I initially thought. Here are some things I learned from each video:

1) Working with Master Pages

• How to locally over-ride the master page elements on specific pages
• Using the specific lines to identify what kind of type of object I am working with, such as grouped objects, master page objects, etc.

2) Managing Pages

• Using the pages panel for convenience, including the fly-out menu and customizing it to your own personal preference
• How to add, duplicate and delete pages
  
• How to sort pages, whether I have only a few pages, which I would do manually, or a very long document, in which I would use the "Move Pages" option

3) Using Layers

• How to adjust the stacking order of objects
• Using the layers panel to more efficiently and conveniently organize layers and which objects I want on each layer
• How to organize elements on the master page by using separate layers, such as "headers" and "page numbers"
• Controlling which layers I want to print and how to identify these layers
  

Of these three videos, I am hard pressed to choose which will be most useful in creating my portfolio because I feel that they are all very relevant to creating this document. As a result of these tutorials, I plan to revisit how to locally over-ride master page elements, use the "Move Pages" option, and organize my objects and layers better. I find the keyboard shortcuts presented in these videos to be extremely useful, as well as the advice from professionals on which features in InDesign are most useful and accessible.