Waking up this morning with iPads on my mind. Coffee in hand, I am putting the finishing touches on my Prezi about iPads in the artroom. (Side note: every time I type the word “artroom”, my auto correct jumps in and separates it out to two words. I believe that since the word “classroom” is legit, then the room where I spend my time should be called the artroom. Yup, it did it again. Ignore for now, contact Funk and Wagnall later). Back to my Prezi. I’m preparing it for the workshop I am facilitating at the Massachusetts Art Educators Association Conference which is being held today through Sunday in Salem, MA. I am very excited (and a little nervous) to present and am very happy to be seeing my art teacher friends from all around the state.

I was also happy to be part of the iPad initiative in our district last year. Through the process of learning how to use the iPad to teach and learn, I have stumbled upon many resources that will be included in my Prezi. I follow teachers from around the country who use iPads in their artrooms and post rich lessons on their blogs almost daily. My Google Reader follows 100+ blogs, many of them about iPads in the artroom. I have learned a tremendous amount through these blogs and websites, yet as always, there is still so much to learn!

Last year was the pilot year for our 7th grade iPad program, and as such, there was a big learning curve. Teachers and students had to learn how to use the iPad and how to teach/learn with them. In the artroom, we used iPads for photography, research, to explore art history, to gather images, to create collages, as well as for drawing and painting. I used them with my students to pilot the Digital Media Task that is being developed for the Connecticut/Massachusetts Common Arts Assessment. Here are images of some of the work created in my iPad classes last year:

I continue to use the iPad for my teaching. I use the WordPress app to post on this blog. I use the Artsonia app to post student work to our online gallery. I use the camera all the time. I photograph student work as well as the models I make for class projects. I can easily share photos through email and do so frequently to update families on the artwork being done in my after-school Enrichment classes. I just wrapped up a Multi-Media Enrichment class that I covered for a colleague. We used iPads to shoot videos, take photos, and then closed out the class yesterday by using this material to create Prezis. Lastly, I connect the iPad to my projector in the classroom to show and demonstrate all of the above. Phew…that’s a lot to cover at the MAEA Conference…I’d better have another cup of coffee and get back to work!

Quote of the Week (11): There’s an app for that!