As educators we are responsible for providing our students with the most updated curriculum, world events, most popular and desirable careers, and the latest technology, Right?! Although that is quite never the case, we should try our best to offer students with as much as we can provide.
And so, I wrote my research paper on Enhancing Art with Technology in the Elementary Art Room. Of course I wanted to choose a topic that was directly related to what I am currently doing in my teaching career and figured there was still a vast amount of information and technology I had yet to learn and become familiar with. Originally I had planned on writing about specific software, techniques and programs doing my best to explain what they were how they could be used and what professionals had to say about them. Yet the more I began to research the more specific themes began to pop out at me that led me to the framework I wrote about. I found that in the art room, technology aided in three broad ways; Differentiating Instruction, Creating Relationships (a Global Experience) and Preparing Students for the Future of Art. Even though the latter themes would have been useful, I’m glad it turned out the way it did. I feel now that others (not in the art ed. field) could read it and have it relate to what they’re specifically doing in their classrooms. It’s not just an art advocacy piece, but a technology/”catching up with the times” advocacy piece!
While doing the research I found many instances where technology was referenced as a “tool” for learning and educating. Just as a library, chalkboard or even pencil could be. We shouldn’t soley rely on it. Technology isn’t the only way we should bring information and learning experiences to our students, but it is beneficial when we do it in ways that enrich the curriculum, open doors to new experiences (gallery tours online) or prepare our students for future careers in the arts. Our students need to become more literate in technology and the possiblilites it provides.
