Final Evaluation

Final Homework (5) Create a final observation/evaluation entry: Revisit the content of our class and blog about your learning. Include in your musing a sentence or two about: If you were to visit another new media class, what would you like to learn next?

I definitely learned a lot about new media in this class this semester, which I was not anticipating, only because my artistic background is in new media. After participating in the discussions, which I deemed the most valuable part of the class, I must admit that I am a proponent for the use of both traditional and new media in the art classroom. Yes it is important to understand traditional media such as clay, drawing, painting and collage, it is equally important to be exposed to photo, video, and the abundance of affordable applications available on the computer and on phones that can be used to create art. The new media techniques and programs are not only relevant, they provide a somewhat level playing field for children making art.

If I were to take part in a second new media class I would hope to explore more of the applications available online that could be useful in classrooms, although it was important to study video, scanning, photography, printing and audio, I think it would be additionally helpful to be made aware of media we have no idea exists. In this new age of technology so many sites and programs are being developed that could be infiltrated into the art curriculums in schools, I try to keep up, but it is almost impossible to be kept aware of everything, and for students in the class who do not have interests in new media, they have no idea of the extensive programs available to them and their current or future students.

As I have said in class I think that in future semesters the blogs should be open to the members of the class, regardless of the students being hesitant about sharing their work, so much time and effort is put into the blogs, and it is a shame that we are not able to use each others blogs as resources for learning more about new media and new media artists. Additionally if we could be free to peruse each others blogs, we would have more time in class to have discussions instead of summarizing our blog posts.

This class is so important for art educators and is extremely relevant to the future of art education because our generation is at the crux of this boom of internet and technology. If I had room to take a second installment of this class I definitely would.