This virtual space is an extension of AEAH 3770 Computer Art Applications and will be used to record class discussions and ongoing conservations relating to the course.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Do You Know of Any Barriers to Implementing Technology in a K-12 Art Classroom?
I think that the biggest barrier would be budget and getting money from the school district to implement technology into the classroom. Also I think there would be the issue of students respecting the equipment and stuff along those lines.
yes, there is always a danger of the children using technology in ways that are against the districts policies. Which is not necessarily a bad thing...
One major barrier would be finances. Many schools don't want to spend lots of money, if any on art programs. Another is what many people consider to be what falls under the definition of art. Many do not believe or consider that computer(technology) based art is truly art. Example of this is the AP art classes in TX.
I do not really know of any barriers to incorporating technology. With our society daily advancing technologically, it's good for students to learn and understand all the things technology has to offer. However, we still must recognize, not all students or lower income schools have access to computers or other technological advantages.
I think the biggest thing wold be having this knowledge in the first place. Without this class, I would have never heard of implementing art in the K-12 classroom. Another challenge might be the lack of computer support for the individual students in the classrooms i suppose. In my high school, each teacher had one computer at their desk and the only other computers were in designated labs.
As said already, one major barrier is funding. But, I taught in a school district with a lot of funding for technology and was shy to use it at first. Eventually I was doing claymation with my K-5 kids and some photoshop elements, but some teachers never felt comfortable enough to use it. So one major barrier is lack of knowledge and comfort for some art teachers.
I agree with Debbie on the funding and lack of knowledge of the technology for art teachers. I also think that the lack of knowledge of technology for the students is another problem especially in the low income schools. If we could implement technology for all ages in all schools I think it would be a huge benefit to the students future!
I feel that one big barrier for art classes is, especially at the middle school level, having to campaign for students to take their classes. Programs such as band (especially band), choir, and theater go to the elementary schools and basically sell their program and hand pick their students. This presents problems for classes like art, shop,etc.
As some people mentioned, one of major barriers is teachers' knowledge about technology. since tech. develops rapidly, even if to our teachers and us, there is a gap of knowledge too (i have seen many teachers who were trouble with typing too). To support teachers to catch up and to provide new equipment, finance must be another barrier to implement techonology.
I agree with everyone above, but especially with Kris. Besides putting the budget into the art program, there is also an issue with the students respecting the equipment. I remember only having one computer available in my high school art classroom, and the students were rarely allowed to use it. Obviously if there is only one computer there would be no use to incorporate technology into the lesson plan, therefore students aren't familiar with such programs. This leads to the issue of respecting the equipment, since students aren't familiar with these tools they do not know how to properly handle the equipment and they're limited to what they can learn. If there were enough computers for the student to explore they would respect the equipment more.
I agree with the above comments on the problems of finances provided for the art department at most schools. I went to the low SES high school of my district and I remember having very little physical materials at times and the existence of a computer in the classroom was only a dream. In fact, our computer labs didn’t even have Photoshop programs but outdated versions of PaintShopPro which I had learned to use for non-creative purposes in the BCSI class we were required to take. I had never actually gotten to use a Mac computer, which I hear are best for art, until I came to UNT. Aside from the lack of technology available there is also the problem of exposing children to unwanted things when you start to include the internet in any teaching which allows them free running on the web. Many sites today have filters and schools have blocks against certain material but these methods have some faults to them. The filters can be turned off by sometimes simply inputting a different birth year and clicking okay. The filter issue is mainly a problem for current sites like youtube.com which provide a lot of good things, but also can have very distracting and sometimes profane content. The blocking systems at most schools block a lot of sites that do not have profane content but to the untrained eye can make the child look like a pervert. They give blanket terms for what they are blocking the site for and then send message to a main program telling the child’s log in and if enough things send up flags the child can be punished. This is a BIG problem for art, which contains nudity, a 17 year old can handle seeing an artistic nude but these programs don’t take age into mind. They only provide for overall censoring of any material that would be unsuitable for children from age 6 and up.
As a high school student, I used technology a lot in class. My school district had a plentiful budget at the time. My biggest setback from learning at that time was the district's firewall blocking us from YouTube, flickr, deviantart, and various other resources for tutorials and reference/inspiration materials.
I feel that in a society that is technologically advanced and pretty much depends on technology it wouldn't be hard even if you were teaching with a low budge to incorporate technology into your classroom. If you only had one camera you could have the classroom come up with a short film as a whole and have everyone be apart of it i.e assign a director, make up artist, and so on. The main problem I think would be with the students, making sure you are keeping their interest, that you are not showing them things they already know and as a result they become bored. But making sure you meet your students where they are and develop the interest they already have with computers and cameras.
I think resources as far as funding and equipment could be barriers, but I also think that the fast pace of change in software and social media apparatuses could be a easy excuse to limit access. What I mean by that is if a teacher is trained or familiar with specific software, and they are not enthusiastic or don't have enough time to continue learning, they may be focused on software rather than concepts, approaches, or ideas and seem outdated and therefore easily overlooked. For some reason this seems whiny, but I think with budgets as constant political fodder, hiring a teacher that may ned new software regularly or updated computers is an easy cut. On the other hand, so many legislators are out of touch that they may think the word technology is a sure thing and fund that over more hands-on approaches. I like how you are teaching low-budget approaches than can meet both needs.
I completely agree with what alot of people said. I think it is a combination of funding, computer illiteracy by teachers, the lack of knowing technology could be used in art, and of course students abusing both their privileges and the hardware. I think these barriers can be resolved if they promote the classes and provide training to teachers.
One of the barriers I think that we will face with technology is that it is advancing faster than we might be able to get it into the school systems. By the time a school may have the money/space/people to have certain programs available, something new will have already become the need to know out in the real world.
At my high school we had a mac lab adjacent to the art room, and the main art teacher taught upper level art classes and computer design courses. Our school district had an average to good budget, but those classes and the materials we had only existed because of the initiative my Mrs. Hensler took. She sought out grants and money outside of the district's budget to provide materials for students.
My biggest barrier will be learning how to introduce technology to students at a level they can understand. I am highly technological and I am concerned I may move too fast and not be able to relate to my students who are less knowledgeable.
Barriers that could be associated with implementing technology would be of course funding. Especially when it comes to funding for art, which is often considered not as important as other subjects. Training can also be considered a barrier because many teachers may be reluctant to use technology; therefor training is needed to help implement technology in the classroom successfully.
I agree that the biggest barriers for implementing technology are lack of funding for the art program. Other barriers, as already stated, could be lack of computer-literacy in both teachers and students.
I think the biggest barriers in implementing technology in a classroom is funding/administration and intimidation. I think that many schools do not have the funding for efficient technology. If they do have they funding they don't put art classes as a high priority. I also think that schools that do have technologies the teachers are intimidated to implement them in a useful way.
I think barriers we face implementing technology in art classes are budget, intimidation, and i would also say a lack of willingness to change in the teachers. Some of the older more experienced teachers are set in their ways and believe their way of teaching is the way it should be taught.
The yearbook teacher in my high school was awesome though. He actually started a broadcast journalism class building it up over a couple years. My junior year students would make slideshows every week as advertisement for the yearbook. The year after i graduated they actually got a classroom with about 10 computers, so they could make videos, weekly updates about the sports teams and other organizations at our school. They even had several weekly tv series that the students wrote and directed. It wasn't necessarily an art class but they definitely had the technology.
I think that the biggest barrier would be budget and getting money from the school district to implement technology into the classroom. Also I think there would be the issue of students respecting the equipment and stuff along those lines.
ReplyDeleteyes, there is always a danger of the children using technology in ways that are against the districts policies. Which is not necessarily a bad thing...
ReplyDeleteOne major barrier would be finances. Many schools don't want to spend lots of money, if any on art programs. Another is what many people consider to be what falls under the definition of art. Many do not believe or consider that computer(technology) based art is truly art. Example of this is the AP art classes in TX.
ReplyDeleteI do not really know of any barriers to incorporating technology. With our society daily advancing technologically, it's good for students to learn and understand all the things technology has to offer. However, we still must recognize, not all students or lower income schools have access to computers or other technological advantages.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest thing wold be having this knowledge in the first place. Without this class, I would have never heard of implementing art in the K-12 classroom. Another challenge might be the lack of computer support for the individual students in the classrooms i suppose. In my high school, each teacher had one computer at their desk and the only other computers were in designated labs.
ReplyDeleteAs said already, one major barrier is funding. But, I taught in a school district with a lot of funding for technology and was shy to use it at first. Eventually I was doing claymation with my K-5 kids and some photoshop elements, but some teachers never felt comfortable enough to use it. So one major barrier is lack of knowledge and comfort for some art teachers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Debbie on the funding and lack of knowledge of the technology for art teachers. I also think that the lack of knowledge of technology for the students is another problem especially in the low income schools. If we could implement technology for all ages in all schools I think it would be a huge benefit to the students future!
ReplyDeleteI feel that one big barrier for art classes is, especially at the middle school level, having to campaign for students to take their classes. Programs such as band (especially band), choir, and theater go to the elementary schools and basically sell their program and hand pick their students. This presents problems for classes like art, shop,etc.
ReplyDeleteAs some people mentioned, one of major barriers is teachers' knowledge about technology. since tech. develops rapidly, even if to our teachers and us, there is a gap of knowledge too (i have seen many teachers who were trouble with typing too). To support teachers to catch up and to provide new equipment, finance must be another barrier to implement techonology.
ReplyDeleteP.S And I also agree with Rachel saying not many people accept computer based art as art... which leads to a question, then what is art?
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone above, but especially with Kris. Besides putting the budget into the art program, there is also an issue with the students respecting the equipment. I remember only having one computer available in my high school art classroom, and the students were rarely allowed to use it. Obviously if there is only one computer there would be no use to incorporate technology into the lesson plan, therefore students aren't familiar with such programs. This leads to the issue of respecting the equipment, since students aren't familiar with these tools they do not know how to properly handle the equipment and they're limited to what they can learn. If there were enough computers for the student to explore they would respect the equipment more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments on the problems of finances provided for the art department at most schools. I went to the low SES high school of my district and I remember having very little physical materials at times and the existence of a computer in the classroom was only a dream. In fact, our computer labs didn’t even have Photoshop programs but outdated versions of PaintShopPro which I had learned to use for non-creative purposes in the BCSI class we were required to take. I had never actually gotten to use a Mac computer, which I hear are best for art, until I came to UNT.
ReplyDeleteAside from the lack of technology available there is also the problem of exposing children to unwanted things when you start to include the internet in any teaching which allows them free running on the web. Many sites today have filters and schools have blocks against certain material but these methods have some faults to them. The filters can be turned off by sometimes simply inputting a different birth year and clicking okay. The filter issue is mainly a problem for current sites like youtube.com which provide a lot of good things, but also can have very distracting and sometimes profane content. The blocking systems at most schools block a lot of sites that do not have profane content but to the untrained eye can make the child look like a pervert. They give blanket terms for what they are blocking the site for and then send message to a main program telling the child’s log in and if enough things send up flags the child can be punished. This is a BIG problem for art, which contains nudity, a 17 year old can handle seeing an artistic nude but these programs don’t take age into mind. They only provide for overall censoring of any material that would be unsuitable for children from age 6 and up.
As a high school student, I used technology a lot in class. My school district had a plentiful budget at the time. My biggest setback from learning at that time was the district's firewall blocking us from YouTube, flickr, deviantart, and various other resources for tutorials and reference/inspiration materials.
ReplyDeleteI feel that in a society that is technologically advanced and pretty much depends on technology it wouldn't be hard even if you were teaching with a low budge to incorporate technology into your classroom. If you only had one camera you could have the classroom come up with a short film as a whole and have everyone be apart of it i.e assign a director, make up artist, and so on.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem I think would be with the students, making sure you are keeping their interest, that you are not showing them things they already know and as a result they become bored. But making sure you meet your students where they are and develop the interest they already have with computers and cameras.
I think resources as far as funding and equipment could be barriers, but I also think that the fast pace of change in software and social media apparatuses could be a easy excuse to limit access. What I mean by that is if a teacher is trained or familiar with specific software, and they are not enthusiastic or don't have enough time to continue learning, they may be focused on software rather than concepts, approaches, or ideas and seem outdated and therefore easily overlooked. For some reason this seems whiny, but I think with budgets as constant political fodder, hiring a teacher that may ned new software regularly or updated computers is an easy cut. On the other hand, so many legislators are out of touch that they may think the word technology is a sure thing and fund that over more hands-on approaches. I like how you are teaching low-budget approaches than can meet both needs.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME COMMENTS!
ReplyDeleteI agree what Cala said about the barriers...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what alot of people said. I think it is a combination of funding, computer illiteracy by teachers, the lack of knowing technology could be used in art, and of course students abusing both their privileges and the hardware. I think these barriers can be resolved if they promote the classes and provide training to teachers.
ReplyDeleteOne of the barriers I think that we will face with technology is that it is advancing faster than we might be able to get it into the school systems. By the time a school may have the money/space/people to have certain programs available, something new will have already become the need to know out in the real world.
ReplyDeleteAt my high school we had a mac lab adjacent to the art room, and the main art teacher taught upper level art classes and computer design courses. Our school district had an average to good budget, but those classes and the materials we had only existed because of the initiative my Mrs. Hensler took. She sought out grants and money outside of the district's budget to provide materials for students.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest barrier will be learning how to introduce technology to students at a level they can understand. I am highly technological and I am concerned I may move too fast and not be able to relate to my students who are less knowledgeable.
Barriers that could be associated with implementing technology would be of course funding. Especially when it comes to funding for art, which is often considered not as important as other subjects. Training can also be considered a barrier because many teachers may be reluctant to use technology; therefor training is needed to help implement technology in the classroom successfully.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the biggest barriers for implementing technology are lack of funding for the art program. Other barriers, as already stated, could be lack of computer-literacy in both teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest barriers in implementing technology in a classroom is funding/administration and intimidation. I think that many schools do not have the funding for efficient technology. If they do have they funding they don't put art classes as a high priority. I also think that schools that do have technologies the teachers are intimidated to implement them in a useful way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments about funding and intimidation being the biggest barriers to implementing art in the classroom
ReplyDeleteI think barriers we face implementing technology in art classes are budget, intimidation, and i would also say a lack of willingness to change in the teachers. Some of the older more experienced teachers are set in their ways and believe their way of teaching is the way it should be taught.
ReplyDeleteThe yearbook teacher in my high school was awesome though. He actually started a broadcast journalism class building it up over a couple years. My junior year students would make slideshows every week as advertisement for the yearbook. The year after i graduated they actually got a classroom with about 10 computers, so they could make videos, weekly updates about the sports teams and other organizations at our school. They even had several weekly tv series that the students wrote and directed. It wasn't necessarily an art class but they definitely had the technology.