Hi and welcome all to my blog. My name is Martin Robert Reed I am currently training to be an art teacher. I decided to have a career change at the age of forty-six and enrolled on a Ba fine arts degree at Coleg Sir Gar Carmarthen. Having been in the construction industry for over twenty years it was a big change. It happened as simple as this, I did my last construction job on a Friday enrolled on the course on a Sunday and was in full time education on the Monday. I finished my degree in 2015 at present I have enrolled on a PGCE Teacher Training program in Swansea. There have been many challenges along the way but here I am blogging about ‘technology in contemporary art teaching practice’ who would of thought that a couple of eons ago,

So here I go: The world we live in today is fast paced. Technology and the information age has shrunk the world into what seems like a solitary neighbourhood. I recently had a video link with a customer in Santa Monica California USA, I could hear her children in the background of their kitchen talking and clinking cutlery together it seemed as if they were in my own home, I kept looking around to see where the noise was coming from. This confirms to me that technology is firmly imbedded into our culture and our everyday lives and it is unlikely that it will do a U-turn anytime soon.

Reflective writing and its benefits.



The Beauty of Mobile Devices in Art Education

Some of the most effective technological devices that I have used in education are mobile devices. They increasingly offer a more flexible and personal approach to learning and support students at all levels(Allen,R)

Two examples I can share of my experience with mobile technology. On one occasion with Level 4 students I brought up a Lucian Freud portrait drawing on the classrooms computer monitor and asked the students to individually walk over to the screen and have a good look at the image, in an endeavour to help the student visually understand the drawing objective I was alluding for them to do. Not one student went over to look at the screen. The next question that I asked of them was to find out the date van Gough's was born and I asked them to use their own mobile phones to find the answer, the class erupted with enthusiasm every student engaged with this request and found the answer within seconds. This became a student led activity and when asked to engage with the use of a mobile device all go t involved.

My other example is the use of an I-Pad. Which I have found to be an invaluable tool when conducting one-to-one tutorials. Each student has their own personal agenda and concepts, this makes it vital to be flexible as a teacher and cater for individual needs and responses. Art student have their own unique ways of looking at the world and each student has their own perspectives about what art is. Art is subjective, this means that their aesthetic outcomes will all be completely different.

The I-Pad is firstly mobile and easy to carry around, its functions are easy to use and simple to navigate, it is excellent as regards speed of connection, consistency, battery life and longevity of use. Search engines as google give you the history of art at your fingertips, allowing for personal instruction and guidance according to the students needs at that given time. It also allows the student to become familiar with methods of searching for and learning about all sorts of artist and current trends in art practice. The I-Pad can be used effectively as a visual guide and an aesthetic tool to help the student progressively understanding art practice and deepen their knowledge and understanding of art practice and material processes. There are many online tutorials about processes and material developments that can be watched to suit each individual. It can also be used as a sketchpad itself with its built-in drawing and painting software facilities. 

Overall mobile devices are what is working for me in education and I strongly believe that mobile devices are in there infancy and are going to continue to impact on our lives to a greater degree as we move out of a post-modern society into one that I believe is more fluid and mobile. We are now living in very `Fluid Times`.

  Allen,R (2011) Can mobile devices transform education?

http://fbisdhosted.com/iachieve/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Mobile-Devices-Transforming-Education.pdf

Barriers to the Effective use of Technology in Education.

One of the greatest barriers to the use of technology in education is `attitude` a resistance to change. When teachers focus on the negatives of technology and what is required of them personally, to make the changes when implementing technology in the classroom, this can create a resistant attitude to change. When summing up the value and benefits of technology introduces into a learning a `is it worth it` mentality can also detract from encouraging the teacher to make the change. It is easier to adopt an attitude that what has worked for so long is what I will stick with attitude. Time and effort to learn new technologies from the teacher point of view can also slow down the process of introducing technology into learning environments(S,Khat)(Hew & Brush, 2007)  

Many other barriers that effect the introduction of technology in education are; internet connectivity and its consistency, resources and enough computers for everyone, technical support, teaching software applications is time consuming, upgrades, technologies becoming outdated and replaced to frequently.

The criteria that is required for the learning environment are demanding technology would have to be tailored to the appropriate age and level of the student, is the type of media appropriate, is information accurate and current, can the technology be easily integrated into the classroom, is the technology relevant to classroom activities and is it easy to use?

There are as we have seen many barriers to the use of technology in the classroom. However possibly the biggest barrier is `attitude` a resistance to change, if by just changing our mind-set about technology in education adopting a more positive outlook of its potential who knows what benefits we might find for it use. We also have to consider that our children are computer literate and technology is deeply integrated into our society and culture, there is not going to be a U-turn any time soon, technology will without a doubt play an increasingly larger and more effective role in education. Maybe a fact that is better accepted now. 


khat,S(   ) Technology,! Why it is slow to be integrated into a classroom. 

http://tspoetter.weebly.com/uploads/9/5/8/7/9587563/khat_technology.pdf

  

How has Technology Changed the Way We Learn.

Possibly the greatest benefit of technology for the classroom is that learning has become a very individual matter, teachers are not stuck to worksheet without being able to be flexible to the individual. Technology allows for a much more investigative learning experience, a more student-led process as each learner have their own learning objectives, agendas and abilities and now the availability of a research library as the online resource of the internet(K,Facer 2011) 

I asked my art students to bring out there mobile phones and to find out when Van Gough was born, within seconds they all had the answer,(that I hope they want forget), what dawned on me was that sitting in their pockets is the `world of art history` that goes as far back as cave drawings, what a resource that is available to them. This has changed learning as students have much more options and these options can be accessed at home in the coffee shop, on the bus, boat, train and so on. Students have a different set of expectations, they can solve problems on the spot, they are no longer spectators but active members of the learning experience.

As an example the way we now have access to all sorts of arts facilities has prompted a new way of learning. At one time the only way to view the art collection at a museum was to visit. Now the availability of virtual tours that can be viewed through online channels as You Tube and online videos and provide us with a invaluable tool. This has made learning and information more accessible to everyone allowing all to learn and see an image of almost any works of art they wish and to learn valuable information about any artist they wish. 




Facer,K(2011) Education, technology and social change. Routledge, Taylor and Francis group, London and New York.

  

The Value of Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning.

There are considered to be six forces in education that are vital if effective learning is to be truly successful. They are activity, expectations, cooperation, interaction, diversity and responsibility(Chickering and Gamson 1987). 

Research shows that by implementing these powerful forces in education which is considered to be of good practice, the outcomes have proven that education and learning holds much more meaning for the learner. These forces are a robust tool in helping all do better in the classroom.

Addressing not what, but how we teach.

Does technology stand up to research and hold any value to learning and educational outcomes?

Surveys and investigations mapping the value of technologies within education have certainly identified the usefulness of technologies. One instance is the availability of online open learning courses. These have become accessible to all sorts of individuals and while they are normally conducted outside of the classroom they have become a useful in academic purpose affecting student experience.

Research has also identified the positive influence of technology as regards entrepreneurial potential and productivity and the ability to more readily integrate with modern life. There is no better starting point for this than the classroom. 

Research also shows that there has been a strong increase technology as the preferred method of learning. Student surveys clearly show that IT in education is a powerful tool and provides students with good opportunities to preform and improve in all aspects of learning(E, Sandler 2010). 

  

W, Chickering & Z F Gamson, (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduates. Washington Centre News.

E, Sandler, (2010). Teaching and Learning with Technology: IT as a value-Added component of Academic Life. American Educational Research Denver.

Elizabeth Gilbert

Your elusive Creative Genius

The magic of keeping going as a creative.

Making the choice to take a course as a creative person and to find a means to support ones-self in a creative vocation, can often be seen as a high risk choice to make.

Elizabeth Gilberts approach to coping with the pressures that come along with creative practice is innovative and inspirational.

"I think her main message is not to absorb negativities surrounding creative practice and comments toward creative practice personally".

If we can find away to detach ourselves from the pressures and high expectations that we often put on ourselves as artists through internal and external pressures, this can be to our benefit. Gilbert suggests this can help to elevate tension and help us focus on a continued creative practice. Gilberts suggestions are remarkable and help creative individuals focus away from personal egos and embrace a more shared experience of the creative process.

Inspiration is a gift given from external powers and not something we posses of ourselves. We do better to consider ourselves as mediators or custodians or simply that creativity is on loan to us.

Gilberts encouragement is for us to keep turning up on the job to do our part, that is what is important the rest may or may not happen from there. 

Resistance to technology is futile.

Have you ever heard the comment "We managed before we had mobile technology" I believe this to be the die hard comments of those who resist change. But, I believe that resistance is futile. 

Included in this was my-self, I made a contract with my-self to only embrace a small fraction of technology a mobile phone at most, that I could text and make calls on `you know in case of an emergenciy`. I was determined that I would only use what was to my benefit, I was going to be different and not to be sucked in to the chasm, the black hole that I believed technology to be and fall in to the hands of blood sucking businessmen, out to cream in and make themselves rich. Oh, yes and by the way social media, I think I was the last person ever to sign up to Facebook.

When asking my-self the question of how technology has benefitted me over the past ten years? I am staggered by the amount of benefits that have come way, because of technology and being specific, mobile technology in particular. It has benefited my family life, business life and benefits me as I train to teach others. When I think of the communication benefits of personal phone calls,texting and more recently picture messaging, it has enabled me to keep in touch with relatives and friend that with-out such devices I would have had little or no contact with for long periods of time. It has helped me to communicate with customers and help grow my business as an artist, and as images are paramount to me as an artist, I have recently messaged potential clients in Santa Monica California, all from the comfort of my armchair. 

The mobile device has become a research tool,I have used it as a dictionary, thesaurus and  have researched many artist, investigating and compiling information that relates to art history and how art has developed over the centuries into modernism and post-modernism. 

Oh yes and where would I be without my satnav? 

I think the problem lies not in technology itself but, in how you use it. An aeroplane can take people abroad on holiday or it can be used to drop bombs, we have a choice it is up to us. 

Technology used correctly is an amazing tool it can help the poor as much as the rich, it has no boundaries if used to the benefit of all.

I am not just Converted,I am its advocate.

  

   

The Way We Handle Technology in Education

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-02-10-technology-and-its-implementation-in-schools-is-widening-the-opportunity-gap


Everybody in the western world is connected to an increasing stream of information and apps that is now accepted as the norm. Wherever we go peoples heads are peering into a screen viewing images, text, shopping and socializing and lots more. 

But how acceptable is the use of personal mobile devices in education, within a classroom setting?

Is there an opportunity for each individuals mobile devices to be used in the classroom setting or is it to be viewed as, not the time and place?

I supposed the problem is that the device could be a distraction to students and used for personal use during valuable learning time. Maybe younger students are distracted more easily. Yet it provides a equalizing of the learning experience as all student generally have a personal hand held device (to the exception of a minority, if any).

Some students only access to the internet is through a mobile device. If rules were implemented so that the students understood the doo's and don'ts of mobile use within the classroom, a clear difference between personal use and an educational use, then this would provide students with guidelines and a positive mind set as to its advantages within a classroom setting. Or alternatively an app could be designed to switch on an educational use of a mobile only.

There are many benefits to consider, firstly the financial cost to schools and educational budgets. Every student has a personal mobile device which would cut down the cost of school and colleges purchasing technological devices that so frequently become out of date, in the blink of an eye. 

Changing the perspective of the mobile devices for a student from social to educational would also be beneficial. Mobile devices hold a wealth of educational material and if used correctly become a powerful research tool for students to learn from. If attitudes and perspectives were changed this would aid all learners to increase practical skills through (you tube tutorial videos) and
increase knowledge and understanding of more disadvantaged learners.    

The Benefits of Reflective Writing.

It is important as a teacher to consistently inform ourselves as to whether our teaching styles and strategies are effective for the learner. If we desire to be a good or even excellent teacher and would like to be an inspiration to others it will greatly depend on the amount of reflective thinking that we do as regards our teaching practice. Reflective writing can aid a teacher to identify areas for improvement to bring about a better teaching experience.

One of the main aims for a teacher is to develop skills within a learner, that contribute to an improvement of opportunities for the learner, as regards future employment and individual performance and development.

Reflective writing helps teachers to be self-critical and to identify the quality of the teaching they are providing. We can determine if our teaching is to a high standard, if we are motivating and inspiring the student to engage with the learning experience. We are able to ask ourselves what is working and what is not and make the necessary changes in our teaching. Are we consistently developing new skills and knowledge in the student, are their attitudes positive or negative to our teaching methods. Are our communication skills effective and contributing to effective learning or is our teaching style a barrier to learning outcomes.

Reflective writing is a necessity for teachers, it is vital for a teacher to continually and consistently improve their teaching quality and practice. Adapting our approaches to meet students needs is essential, reflective writing is a relevant diagnostic means for self-assessment and for teachers to recognize and identify strengths and weaknesses.