September 8, 2019
ETEC 524
After looking at the many available blogs, I arrived at this definition of a blog. A blog is something that can be used for a variety of purposes and is usually blogged by an individual. Blogs can be used to promote a business, for travelers to share information, or just for people to share their personal life. There are so many different options for using a blog. They all seemed to have similar features like choice of background and themes, inserting pictures or videos, set up various pages with links, etc. Blogs can differ from vlogs because of its purpose. Blogs are more written with some videos added and a vlog is more live streaming videos and just videos. I looked at several blog sites from https://themeisle.com/blog/best-free-blogging-sites/ , which included Blogger (not “blog dummy” friendly), Penzu which is more of a private journal blog that is password locked. Weebly seemed to be similar to WIX, and Blogger through Google. I decided to go with Blogger because it seemed more “blog dummy” friendly and I do most all of my Master's assignments, work slides, lesson plans, etc. in Google. :)
As a teacher, through professional development, workshops, and taking classes, I am continuing to learn new things and the affordances of using a blog for learning can help my students reflect (as I am reflecting) on what they have learned. This also allows the students to use the skills they have been taught. For example, their writing and grammar, use of main idea (what assignment they are reflecting on), Netiquette behavior for positive learning, and so many more advantages. This would also allow their peers to respond and add comments that could open new doors of questioning which, would keep an ongoing higher thinking and learning environment.
Content:
For visual arts, CREATING (Create a sculpture, painting, collage, drawing, etc., What other styles can you create your piece of art?) is the major level of thinking on the Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid. As an art teacher, I might use blogs to support learning other levels of thinking. For example, by posting pictures of artwork and having the students EVALUATE (Does the art use complementary colors? Elements and Principles of Art), ANALYZING (What is the main message of the artist? Share your reflection on this painting.), APPLYING (If you could have an interview with the artist, what questions would you ask? Why?), and REMEMBERING (Who painted Starry Night? What techniques were used?). To continue the critical thinking, students would need to comment on a post/response and ask a question.
Pedagogy:
Based on my content idea, I attended a regional conference this summer. Part of the conference, the presenter demonstrated using visual literacy in the art room. Which she adapted based off “The Art of Seeing Art”. She had us write down our answers, but with a blog, the students could write their responses, ask a question regarding the artwork (based off Bloom's Taxonomy in content area) see other student’s thoughts, and respond to the question(s) the students were required to ask.
Technology:
Using technology can be beneficial in many ways. For instance, in the above content, students can receive a quick response from their peers and the teacher. Where as, if the students did this assignment on paper there would be a delay of receiving their responses because of the multiple papers and being able to decipher handwriting. I’m sure that the students will not read everyone’s responses and for that matter will not read and answer all of the questions, but they have the opportunity to read them and choose which one(s) they would like to give a response to as well as asking a question. Eventually, they will build up their stamina to respond to more students. I would love to use blogging, other platforms and/or programs to be able to share with the parents what the students are doing in art. To show them the students aren’t just coloring, but learning about the history of art and artist, the techniques they use, and other possibilities and careers for artists.
Obstacles:
I think some obstacles to using this tool or any other technology tool is time. I am an art teacher now, but I taught 3rd grade ELAR before teaching art (my heart’s desire). In the gen ed class, our day was basically planned out with teaching stations and getting the students ready for the STAAR test. I had time to use some technology in my class, but that was usually after the STAAR test was administered at the end of the year. We did use it for reading programs and MAAP testing, but not for enjoyable and fun learning. Now, as an art teacher, we do not have classroom access to technology, we go to the library to do our artist research, poem writing, Stop Motion, etc. In my opinion, it would be so beneficial for one of the Specials rotation (when teachers do their planning) to be a technology lab. This would help the students be familiar with the programs that can be used in their classrooms, without the teachers having to take the time out of instruction to teach them how to use the programs. As I mentioned above, because of the benefits of reflecting on what they have learned, this tool is worth using to help reinforce writing and grammar skills, use of main idea, and continuous learning.
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