[12] Advocacy for Technology

This post developed from a connection I made, originating from my content area. In our methods course we learn about all aspects of teaching art and being an art teacher. One of the topics we debated about was advocacy for the Arts. How does one promote the Arts? In our class we had to develop a plan which enabled us to spread news of the Arts and their importance in education. It was an interesting activity because you need to think about money/budget (or a free promoting event), what points you want to communicate with the public (keeping it clear, comprehensible and precise can be tough), how your students will be involved (are we displaying their work, is it a fundraiser) and what extra information (a worksheet or pamphlet) can you provide to further educate the public on the topic (and what points do you include, or what points would encourage the public the most)?


The connection I made came about when I read an article on school budgets. I started to think about the lack of funding all the areas of the Arts department has, and how I would attempt to raise extra money or get students supplies they needed if our budget couldn't. I then connected advocating for the Arts to advocating for Technology. These two areas in the budget are similar- the Arts has a lack of funding and as of now Technology in most schools has a limit too. As an Art teacher is there a way I can advocate for both the Arts and Technology- at the same time and same event? Would it be a stronger message to hold two separate events? How would one go about advocating for Technology compared to the Arts? What proof could one provide at the event and what information would I want to include or exclude? There's a ton of questions that emerge from what I thought was a simple thought. But as a future teacher it is important to consider that the school I will be working at might not have a huge budget for technology. What technologies would I want to include, or in an extreme case (low income areas) what technologies, programs and devices would I want to spend the budget on so my students stay up-to-date and remain educated in the technological field (relating this back to Olivia's case).


One final thought that lingers (which I constantly create infinite answers for) is how can I use technology to benefit disabled and ESL students in an Art classroom?