Tweet Tweet

The first time I heard about Twitter and Tweeting was during a class at Dominican University when I was a grad student in the MLIS program in 2009.  It was briefly talked about and I didn’t really pay much attention to it. It was introduced as something that was more for just up to the minute news.

The next time Twitter came up for me was during the Maidan Revolution in late 2013 in Ukraine. Following closely the events happening in Ukraine on the Maidan in Kyiv there were many calls for Twitter storms to local and high profile politicians. My children insisted I get a Twitter account and participate in the Twitter storms.  I got an account, I think I Tweeted once or twice and my Tweeting ended before it even got off the ground.

Fast forwarded to the fall of 2015 and here I am at Dominican once again and Twitter is still here with me. It is quite different from what it was 6 years ago, at least in my mind, because now it seems that everyone and everything is Tweeting on Twitter.

So far I have 14 followers and am following 32 Tweeters! I’m overwhelmed by the amount of Tweets I have even from the time school starts to lunch and find it hard to keep up.  As I pick and choose what is most interesting to give a second look, I have come across some articles and information on different things happening in art rooms across the country. 

I participated in my first Twitter chat with #k12artchat.  This group has their chat every Thursday night, with a new host each time. They also have different activities to share for each day of the week. My first time was a learning experience and I wasn’t sure if I was doing everything right….apparently the others saw me and responded so I felt my first attempt wasn't a total failure! 

There were a few things I would have liked to participate in but unfortunately the meeting times were during school hours.  I’m hoping to find more Art Groups to participate with in the future.

(Both images are grabbed from Twitter)

Technology Integration

ACOT Stages of Technology Integration

www.slideshare.net

www.slideshare.net

*At the entry stage, teachers learn to master the new tools

themselves and begin to plan how to use them in their class rooms.

*At the adoption stage, teachers begin to blend technology into

their classroom practices, without making any significant changes to those practices.

*At the adaptation stage, the new technology becomes thoroughly

integrated into traditional classroom practices and teachers begin to see some real benefits in student learning and engagement.

* At the appropriation stage, the teachers understand technology,

uses it effortlessly in their own work and in the classroom, and

have difficulty imagining how they would function without it.

*At the invention stage, teachers experiment with new instructional

patterns and ways of relating to students and to other teachers

enabled by the technology, resulting in significant changes in their classroom practices and professional lives.        (http://www.appleton.u69.k12.me.us/2003-04/i)

I remember when we bought our first home computer, the whole family gathered as we set it up and plugged it in.  We all took turns trying to see what 'it does' and marveled at how fast we thought things happened on it.  My kids played "Oregon Trail" and "Amazon Trail" and I must admit, I enjoyed sneaking on and playing the games myself. It was all so new and exciting!!

When I started working as an art teacher in our district, I did not have a computer. Our district had not entered the 'technology age' yet.  Then one year, it ALL changed, we were getting laptops and suddenly we were going to be connected!!! We enjoyed computer classes in the summer, learning and then becoming teachers to the next groups passing on all that we had learned.  Tech had arrived and tech was fun! Our tech team was small yet helpful, patient and ALWAYS available. I still remember Sunday morning house calls and midnight questions being answered on IM by our friend and tech expert Terri.

Ten years ago when technology came to our district, we were all beginners at the entry stage. Technology wasn't coming into all of our classrooms yet, but we were starting to learn new things and experiment. I think as a district we went into the adoption stage together because at that point, things were moving at a manageable pace. Soon all classrooms were equipped with SmartBoards.  I was not entirely happy with this addition to my classroom! What was I going to do with a SmartBoard....that big thing that took up a third of my display space!!! I have to admit, I did not use it much at first and even though I have found ways to incorporate it into my lessons, it's not something I use everyday. I'm not sure I'm fully at the adaptation stage but I do see benefits of technology to student learning.  In the art room, because I'm a VERY hands on teacher, I don't use laptops or iPads with my students.  I do, however, use the Smart Board to enhance my lesson.  I feel that the children use these technology tools all day in their classrooms and I firmly believe that the few hands on activities they have are extremely important to their development. I'm not sure I will ever get to the appropriation stage in my classroom. I think the "inventive" stage can also be a beginner stage. From the very first day a computer or Smart Board or iPad was introduced into the classroom it resulted in significant changes in classroom practices. 

At the elementary level  I believe an art room can function without technology. I think the middle school and high school art room is where art and technology can really take off.  That said, I do believe that STEM should be STEAM because imagination and creativity are essential for innovation in all fields.....but that's a topic for another blog!

Image from Internet