In the past, I considered myself “anti-technology”. I felt
it was bringing us away from the “handmade” and into a cold detached state of
creating. Also, I was extremely intimidated by it. I simply didn’t understand
computers or digital technology and didn’t have the patience to learn or figure
it out. I came to SUNY New Paltz in 2010 at 28 years old… never having made a PowerPoint
presentation. I know!!!! Now, I have had a MAC and an iPhone for almost a year.
I learned how to use Photoshop 3 weeks ago by downloading a free trial and
watching a tutorial online. I took that program and created photographic decals
which have been applied to my ceramics for Thesis I. I’m constantly using a
flash drive and moving files around, and thanks to Aaron, submitting homework
electronically and oh yeah… blogging! I’m going into student teaching knowing
how to use a Smart Board, and I even helped my fieldwork teacher figure
something out on her computer… what is going on??!!
I am embracing technology! I know all these things I’ve been
learning sound silly and simple to most people, but I am not most people. These
are huge steps for me. Getting comfortable with digital technology has so many
benefits. First of all, as we have talked about in Theory and Practice and our
other Art Ed. Classes, our students live in a digital reality! If we are going
to be teaching kids who are technology savvy, we must embrace it as well! We
cannot stay in the past and ignore all the new programs and methods of teaching
that are available to us! Our students would be bored to death. We have to move
and change with the times, and with exposure and practice, this gets easier. I
was terrified of technology, and now I am making friends with it. It’s so
exciting to learn a program, get over the humps, then make it do what you want
it to. It’s this triumphant feeling, and it helps to know that the more I
learn, the more I can pass on to my students.
Some of my ceramic tiles with Photoshop images
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