saludo al mundo

Van Eck’s article on Digital Game-Based learning not only addresses issues which are raised by the use of digital games in the learning environment, it also talks about meaningful learning in a way which I found to be applicable in various KLA’s. Yes its true, I come from the KLA of Visual Arts, but I was working with a peer who specialises in the KLA of PDHPE who too agreed with Van Eck’s article and found many of the points raised to be extremely valid within his KLA.

This article encouraged me to further consider the use of digital games and /or digital media within the visual arts learning environment. As stated in Kap (n.d.) visual art students are moving from the critiquing of traditional and contemporary paintings, music and film to also critiquing video games.

In regards to Van Eck and Kap then, perhaps visual art teachers need to take on a constructivist approach which specifically incorporates the use of ICT within art education to enrich the contemporary visual arts???

Check out this article written by Li-Fen Lilly Lu on 3D virtual learning and  art education. You’ll have to sign up for a free trial to read the full article, but I think it’s worth it.

In the article Lu discusses the fact that art education needs to move with the emerging digital culture that our prospective students will most probably well immersed in. Lu explains that may be a challenge for many educators and in order to meet the demands of this challenge we educators need to get in touch with the emerging technologies and incorporate 3D learning environments into art education. The article also gives good references, explanations, strategies and examples of how 3D virtual learning is currently being used (i.e. Art Cafe).

Have a read and tell me what you think about the possibility of using an environment such as Art Cafe in your classroom.

Saludo,

nfrisch.

In a particular posting Steph wrote about the e-portfolio – an electronically based collection and/or documentation of students completed works. The Visual Arts Process Diary (VAPD) is the most common form of collection and documentation used within years 7-12 Visual Arts, although times are changing. Students and teachers are adopting to and utilizing e-portfolios and for many, the VAPD will soon become a thing of the past.

I liked the encouragement Steph gave with her philosophy on teachers having to find, explore and discover new ways of encouraging students to document their works. I agree, and believe teachers shouldn’t look at how over bearing the whole ICT experience may seem, rather they should keep their eyes on the prize! The Prize? In this context, the prize would be that which the students gain as a result of their teacher’s ability and willingness to explore, discover and pass on.

Amen sister!!

P.s. whats a reflective e-journal??

To be continued…

Listen up yo!!

Here’s an interview on the use of e-learning games within the classroom context.

Have a listen and tell me what you think

e-learning games interview

Saludo,

nfrisch.

Read on for an article which write about alternative youth programs meetin the needs of their students. It would have been great to do my prac at Hassela reform centre, what do you think?

Check it out, nfrisch’s first video art created during a peer teaching tutorial

I really appreciated reading Reneta Stadler’s post on Constructionism vs Instructionism and the implementation of ICT within the classroom because of her emphasis on there needing to be a balance between spending time on “instructing children and teaching them content, but then also give them time to partake in activities of self-discovery learning ” (renatastadler. 2008). I think if teachers are to use ICT within their classroom they need to be 100%, or making their way there, but also know when it is the best time to implement it within the term/unit of work. In having said that, teachers also need to know how to introduce the use of ICT, what outcomes and experiences they want their students to meet according to their needs, present experiences abilities and interests. As well as being conscious of the experiences they could be taking away from their students by placing a screen, keyboard and mouse in front of them – “Sure you can draw on a computer with a mouse in Photoshop but how do you compare that with getting your hands dirty using charcoal or paint?” (renatastadler, 2008).

This reminds me of a comment Maree made on the challenge of teaching becoming increasingly complex now also due to the contribution of ICT (docree, 2008).

While I’m here and your having a read I just thought I’d let you know about the story of stuff. It’s a website that helped me to further appreciate the use of the Internet in educating those about current social awareness, something that our comfort zones don’t like to know much about! It informs us of the things daily things we use, like ipods, tupperware, & shoes to name a few, where they come from and what happens to it when we chuck it all out. It also educates about the effects of these products on both people and the environment. Relating it back to the visual art syllabus I could use this when introducing Pop Art artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and Roy Lichtenstein who commented on the rise of consumerism. On that note I also found a super cool web site for images of Pop Art artists works.

Maree Skillen’s comment on the existence of terminology such as digital natives and digital immigrants used to “describe people, roles and interactions” (docree, 2008) made me realise from another perspective the social impact technology and the Internet are having within cultures across many parts of the world. Digital natives are what seems to be majority of people making up contemporary youth within western society and digital immigrants are those of older generations who aren’t in the loop of experienced technology and Internet users. The use of terms are useful when needing to research or gather a general idea although terms, labels and so forth also separate people and categorise them according to the definition of the term rather than the person. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I hope teachers, youth workers, parents etc focus less on their digital status and more on their ability to use and communicate with what they have, building on their knowledge and experience rather than taking away as a result of not understanding enough.

A brilliant article by Ackermann, n.d., describes the difference and similarities between Piaget’s Constructivism and Papert’s Constructivism. The relationship between the two theories strengthens the importance of one’s knowledge and concept of the world as being constructed and reconstructed through personal experience (Ackermann, n.d.). Papert’s contribution reminds us that “…being intelligent means being situated, connected, and sensitive to variations in the environment” (Ackermann, n.d., p.8). Ackermann mentions there needing to be a “…balance between… mobility and stability, change and invariance…” (Ackermann, n.d., p.10), and together Piaget and Papert use the concept of balance when defining intelligence, that it is the “ability to maintain a balance between stability and change” (Ackermann, n.d., p.7).

As I read this article, and focused on the later, I reflected on the contributions I’ll be able to make when educating my students on the relationships and resources that can be built between technology, the Internet and the Visual Arts. 

“Once built, the model gains a life of its own… a new cycle can begin, because as soon as the dialog gets started (between me and my artifact), the stage is set for new and deeper connectedness and understanding” (Ackermann, n.d., p.10) - Although Ackermann is referring to the relationship between a person and the experiences they learn from, this quote reminded me of the relationship that occurs between an artist and their artwork - forming a link between creating works, connections, the experiences of learning etc via technology and the Internet which, for me, related to the processes found in the Visual Arts.

Reference:

Ackermann, E. (n.d.). Piaget’s Constructivism, Papert’s Constructivism: What’s the difference? p.1-11.