FINAL BLOG POST

1. I really enjoyed Jackie's Maps and Street Art show and tell. I felt that it had a pretty big impact on me because of how it related to the concept of the project cluster in a way that was not just the same idea in a different setting. It really made me consider the importance of locality, which I think was a concept of the cluster that people might have forgotten was one of the main points (thinking more about apps, rather than the importance of place, and how where we are impacts our learning). Jackie's show and tell also helped me develop my lesson plan for the Our Space Your Place lesson plan. This really was something that I enjoyed and made me think about how to use this main idea, along with the idea of street art in a real classroom setting. The resources she provided were also extremely helpful in conceptualizing the idea into something that could be accessible for kids, and something kids would actually want to take part in. It's a really different idea, which made me really consider how to use it in a classroom. 

2. From the Bequette & Bequette 2012 reading : "Art, like engineering, is concerned with finding answers to problems and seeking visual solutions using the design process."

This quote really helped me understand the concept of STEAM curriculum and how it is relevant to this class as well as my future as an educator. Art and engineering are two completely separate worlds, and bringing together the opposite ends of the spectrum (not just these 2 but everything in STEAM) makes us able to view the world from more than one point of view. 

From Gill 2009 : "Surveys indicated that students were initially motivated to participate in the course because of their enjoyment of popular visual culture, including video games, movies, and TV"

This quote pretty much just sums up what I was really intrigued about with this reading, which was simply just how things that pop culture, video games, movies, and TV, things we usually tell kids not to spend too much time with, was a main motivation for children to learn in their class. It really spoke to me about the way kids are learning now, and will learn in the future. Digital culture is becoming more relevant each day. This reading really emphasized that for me and made me question things like, what teachers should be showing students for motivation? How to motivate kids in general as well as different types of learning we do not think of right away (such as via video games). I really liked this reading because it reminded me that the art classroom is not just about Van Gough and classic examples of art learning, but it is existing in everything happening around us right now.

3. I personally enjoyed the first project cluster (Video) and the last (Our place your space) the most. Maybe that's because I had a good group, though. But I really liked thinking about the local area as an important space for learning and focusing learning. I think that this lesson plan was the one I really wanted to do, and I was writing it and saying wow, this would be such a great project! I think these main ideas of the cluster spoke to me the most. As for the video cluster I think I just enjoyed making the videos the most. It was a medium that I was not fully familiar with, but really made me think about the choices I was making when filming, editing, and creating sound. This was definitely the project where I thought about my artistic decisions the most, which is something I am always pretty proud of. But as for thinking of pedagogy in the 21st century, definitely the 3rd cluster. I think it just gave me the most ideas from the perspective of a teacher, even though they're pretty simple and relevant to times that don't have to be right now (compared to things like 3D printing, which is something very "happening right now"). I think that this class as a whole though definitely gave me a new perspective on teaching in the 21st century, what I want my students to have to be prepared for the ever-changing art world, and how to feel prepared (more prepared) as a future teacher in a more digital time.