I am beginning my first semester in the Art and Art Education Ed.M. Program at Columbia University. I have created this blog to write about my experience in the Creative Technology Studio Course. I am pursuing a concentration in Creative Technology and am eager to see how I can connect what I learn in this class to my art education courses.
My Goals for This Class & Anticipated Challenges
My background is in fine art and am very used to speaking about creativity but I do not have serious experience in technology. I have a Bachelors of Fine Art Degree from Pratt Institute where I majored in painting and minored in sustainability studies. After graduating in 2018 I worked as an admissions counselor for Pratt Institute. I enjoyed attending National Portfolio Days, presenting for high school classrooms, and providing informational interviews for prospective students.
While speaking with students across the United States about Pratt Institute's programs I found that many students were increasingly interested in video game design. I do not play video games but my brother enjoys them and I have an appreciation for the artful aspect of some of the games I’ve seen him play. My goals for this class are to have a better understanding of video games, coding, and VR. I think that this will be a challenge because I don’t have experience in any of these subjects. I enjoy pushing myself out of my comfort zone and I am interested in this class because I think that it will help me to challenge myself and explore important tools.
Making a 15+ Zoom Class Successful
“If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's we rob them of tomorrow.” - John Dewey
Zoom is a great tool but I do think that it can feel impersonal. Students might be less likely to participate. One of my classes this semester begins by going around and answering a simple question inspired by the homework. This week we are all sharing our first memory of art. I think that simple open ended questions are an easy way to break tension and allow students to get to know each other.
Last week one of my classmates mentioned that it is unusual during an in person class for there to be very much eye contact between students. When we are using Zoom everyone is looking directly into the camera and it is almost as if we are all making eye contact with each other. I think that this is actually more intense than a usual in-person class. I often feel tired at the end of a Zoom meeting and I like the idea of taking short 5 minute breaks in the middle of class as we did last week.
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