Graphic Design in High School

At Trinity High School in Ohio, they have such a great program for graphic design and three dimensional animation, starting in tenth grade. This program is funded by spirit services, and is targeted for poverty stricken areas. When I was in high school, I felt like the graphic design classes came no where near what this showcased school offers. The courses available to me gave a brief inside to how to use standard design programs, but it ended there. The best part of what this program offers in the video is the opportunity to work with real life clients. Students that excel in graphic design and art making will be facing several job opportunities and avenues, and without encouragement in high school, that message is weakly conveyed. The misconception of a "starving artist" prevents students in high school to take the risk of entering the competitive world of graphic design. If my high school offered something like this I would hop on the opportunity to get involved. As a teacher, it is a goal of mine to really have a knack with Photoshop and illustrator, as I know I will need to be prepared in the field for my students, so they can benefit the way these students seem to be benefiting. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruZGWkly9SI

Clickers outside of television use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0WzfitDBA

Clickers work wonders in supporting laziness on the couch, but can this technology make a smooth transition into the classroom? At Western Washington University they have been utilizing these interactive devices to help prompt a better comprehension during a lecture. I've never seen anything like it, but I must say if I had a device that required me to answer a question the professor could see at any point in time, I'd certainly pay closer attention in class. Will this ever make it to the mainstream? Thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5_vDykEPnk&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLD947AAE2CE980DB0

Perhaps Roy Lichtenstein's painting above was foreshadowing how artists would feel about the use of technology for art that exists in the present day. Popular devices such as iPad 2 hosts the application ART RAGE which I previously posted. I have to say, it is strange to see a student using an iPad as a canvas, but some schools feel this helps teach the fundamentals of art making to students while cutting the costs of supply, and concerning themselves on the quality of the material being used. I cant help but feel like this is just simple not art, but rather being able to become good at an application. I'm with the lady above^ where do you stand?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3XW1aez99k
This link offers details on how Mercy High School is integrating technology into the classroom. The teacher shown talks about an application called Art Rage. Basically whatever the student does by hand, whether it be drawing, or watercolor painting, they then make a digital version on this application. The application is designed specifically for art students, and it follows them throughout their high school studies. I think this is a great example of how useful technology can be. Mercy High School is on to something, what do you think?

INTERACTIVITY #5

For interactivity five, the assignment required me to interview a teacher using the adoption of the new NETS survey, to get a feel for what they had known about these technological standards. I had set up to interview a 4^th grade elementary school teacher in Midland Park, a part of the Bergen County School District. I knew this teacher very well, and on a personal level was aware that this particular teacher is young, very eager for new teaching strategies and technology integration, and would give great insight. It is no surprise that such standards would be written by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), considering that technology is such a dominant resource in our society. It is everywhere you turn, and has slowly, but gradually found its way into the classroom as very useful aids.

When I first began the interview over the phone with my teacher, I started with the most important question to get the ball rolling and that was if they were familiar with the NETS-S Standards or the NETS-T. They expressed to me that they had definitely heard of these standards but knew that they were not used by their particular school and district. Because the interview was over the phone, I provided an email with a link to the survey, and also the website address http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-for-students-2007-profiles.aspx. I decided that in order for this interview to be successful, they would need to see the standards themselves first hand. Their first reaction after reading over the pk-12 standards for the NETS-S was that of excitement and curiosity. They felt that the standards showed both positive and negative qualities, but could not deny the fact that they were certain that their curriculum would need to be revised in order to meet these new standards. They had stated that the standards listed all accurately pertained to the suggested age level, and how all standards addressed important implantations needed with all the new technologies available.  The interviewed teacher expressed to me that even though the school she taught at did not use these exact standards, the majority of what is listed is often times met when meeting the NJCCCS. In other words, creating lessons and methods to meet the NJCCCS, will often result in some of the NETS-S being covered as well. For example, this particular teacher discussed how they use Adobe Photoshop in class to manipulate photos, and also to create grids over photos, that students follow in drawing. The point of a grid is to break a large image down into several images so that proportion stays accurate. Using technologies like what they had stated is a great way of helping artists grow, but doesn’t remove them from the craft of art making itself, rather just aids them as comprehension tools.  The teacher liked the standards overall and advised me to learn them, as they would probably be mandated within the next few years. They also stated that with budget cuts and the poor economy being an issue, a lot of these standards are hard to fulfill without proper funding. I agreed with what they had said, and I anticipated them filling out the survey the way they did. We agreed that the survey was very broad, and if you didn’t know the standards, it was basically useless. As a future educator myself, I feel that perhaps workshops should be organized to help familiarize my colleagues and I on the NETS-S and NETS-T so that they can be implemented in the classroom. Technology is important, and being a younger teacher helps me see that. I grew up with it, therefore it is almost a responsibility of mine to get some of the older colleagues I work with to enter the new technological age. Not only will it allow them to keep their jobs, but their students will greatly benefit when entering the next level of schooling or life.

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuwDFjotc91HdG5iSXF3RW5IazhxcVZJWFFBUlJWMUE&pli=1#gid=0

The link above goes to my Goggle Doc, where I inserted the NETS-S standards.