Celebrate National Arts in Education Week with Technology

Today in celebration of National Arts in Education Week, Erin Henderson, Title IV-A Digital Learning Specialist, shares resources & inspiration for integrating technology into the five artistic disciplines: Music, Media Arts, Theater, and Visual Arts.

"Artists can share their work better than ever before by incorporating technology into performances and art and utilizing technology to market their skills and create a digital portfolio. Arts educators can introduce technology tools to streamline classes, create student portfolios, and communicate with students and their families. If you are looking for inspiration and ideas on how to integrate technology into your arts classroom and build your student’s digital literacy in the process, check out some of the resources compiled below. Take your arts classroom to the next level! Collaborate with technology and computer science teachers! "

Dance:  

Dance Choreography Improves Girls' Computational Skills- Clemson University studies how dance choreography can improve girls' computation skills and help them understand coding and programming. This is a way to increase representation of girls and women in STEM fields.   

danceLogic: This 14-week program teachers girls ages 13-18 how to dance and code, as well as teamwork, dedication, and focus. Watch the CBSNews coverage of this wonderful community program.   

Dance Party Code Tutorial from Code.org: Students learn to code their very own dance party in under one hour! Teachers can also utilize the Dance Party Unplugged lesson as an introduction the Hour of Code tutorial, or as a standalone activity if you do not have technology available.  

Extension Activity:  

•  Students can share their Dance Party Code video with the rest of the class, using a website like Padlet.   
• After they code their dance, they can perform their code live for the rest of the class.   

Media Arts:  

Media arts and technology go hand-in-hand. Students can use technology to take and edit photos, create films, code websites, apps, and video games, create interactive simulations and digital arts, and really, the possibilities are endless. New technologies are creating entirely new art fields and university programs.    

How Technology Continues to Change the Film Industry: Part of the "Every Job is a STEAM job" series from Ozobot, this blog describes how technology plays a vital and changing role in the film industry and why all film students should be learning technology.   

Music 

Composing Code: Why Musicians Make Great Software Developers: All the things that make musicians great, are the same things that make them excellent coders; they are analytical, logical, and methodical with the ability to recognize and manipulate patterns.  

How Technology is Changing Music Education: Tim Topham hosts Simon Rushby on his podcast that discusses how technology is changing music education, including the flipped classroom, making the best use of students’ smartphones, and the best apps to use in your classroom.  

Music Lesson Tips: Lauma Kazaka offers practical approaches and programs to integrate technology into your music classroom.  

Tech in the Music Classroom Creates Efficiencies, Improves Accessibility: Meghan Bogardus Cortez discusses how technology can be utilized in a meaningful way in music classrooms, from 3D printing custom musical instruments, apps to help students compose, and creating links between music, coding, and computational thinking.  

Theater:  

How Technology is Changing Theater Design: Part of the "Every Job is a STEAM job" series from Ozobot, this blog describes how technology is changing theater design and why all theater students should be using technology.  

Technology in the Theater Classroom: The Drama Teacher Podcast discusses tools, tips, and tricks to incorporate technology into the Theater classroom. Many of these tools can be utilized in other arts' classrooms as well.  

 The Top 25 BFA Theatre Design & Tech Programs: Technology is critical to Theater Design. Explore 25 college degree programs the integrate theater, design, and technology.  

Visual Arts:  

Bringing Technology into the Visual Arts Classroom- Watch Mr. Leichnitz utilize technology in his Graffiti Art project.   

The Visual Arts and Technology - Students are using technology in their everyday lives to create and produce art. This article briefly discusses how visual arts teachers can harness this interest in their classrooms.    

10 Ways Technology can Enhance the Art Room- Wynita Harmon guides readers through 10 ways teachers can utilize technology to enhance the traditional art room.   

What is the Perfect Balance of Technology in the Art Room?- Middle School art teacher Tracy Hare discusses the perfect balance of technology in the art room. Too little and your students miss out on the opportunity to develop the 4 C's (creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Too much and your students miss out on the benefits of a traditional arts classroom.   

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Email [email protected] with questions or requests for more information on how to build students' digital literacy in your arts classroom.