It's strange to think that an article written less than ten years ago could be so completely outdated and useless. Technology advances at such a rate that it is intimidating for me when thinking about my own classroom. Even the ten years I've been in college (sad I know), education has drastically changed along with technology. I took a class two years ago in which I had to buy a Clicker from the MU bookstore, it was used for daily attendance and quizzes. I had never heard of Clickers because it had been several years since I had had a lecture class. I was irritated with having to spend so much money on it when there was no returning it or even selling it to another student for the next semester. One of the T.A.'s in the class had a quiz/pole he had us answer with our cell phones. The technology was awesome. We answered the questions by texting our responses and the information was instantly compiled and displayed on the website projected on the big screen in the front of the class. The T.A. informed up he was using the app for his students at the local high school where he taught. I didn't even have a cell phone the first two years of college.
M.V.L.E.'s for my future classes still seem at odds with what I envision my at room experience to be. Firstly, when I began my student teaching I had to de"friend" several students in the district. The state has had to adapt strict regulations concerning social media because of an abuse of power/position/privilege that some MO teachers have demonstrated. Many of the kids I de"friended" were babies or toddlers I babysat back in middle and high school. I like being able to see how these kids are growing up into young adults. While this makes me feel much older than I really am, I was rather off put to learn I was legally no longer allowed to be associated with them on Facebook. I mention this because quite honestly Facebook is the only online/virtual environment I am comfortable with. If I was to utilize an M.V.L.E. in my classroom I will need to do a lot of research and experimenting to find a forum I am comfortable with. Maybe that is something I need to do anyway. For a high school setting, possibly middle, the M.V.L.E. would be ideal for offering students more time to explore and discover contemporary and historically relevant Artist. In collegiate settings M.V.L.E.'s seem only natural now. I never once thought twice about emailing a teacher in order to stay connected with them and at the very least Blackboard or Blogging is a necessary component to all my classes.
Secondly, I just can't get past the need for a tactile experience in an art room regardless of the innumerable iPad Apps that are available. There are many ways to incorporate technology into the art room and that experience should be/needs to be blended with the tactile aspects of making art. There are as many different ways to create art as there are personalities creating it. Depending on your definition of multitasking, I have been incorporating technology into my own art making process for a decade and a half. By listening to music I find it easier to concentrate and focus on the project, and for as many years I have been sneaking my music into class in order to work. From my Discman to my android cell phone with Pandora streaming 24/7 music has been a necessity for me. I see no reason why my students can't do the same with their own working process. I would hope it'd encourage each one to be more focused on the project at hand.
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