Real World Applications

Any individual person, not just those who are endeavored for learning, or for that of higher learning, are looking for purpose to the life that they are leading. We, as teachers/educators, have our wok cut out for us these days. Students are crying out for relevance to what they are learning and regurgitating to receive that final grade. When the material does not relate at all to the world they are living in, constantly battling, each day they quickly loose interest and become complacent, resorting to just going through the motions. So, it is our duty to incorporate as much of what they are engaged in outside of school, within the brick and mortar of our educational institutions. By tapping into the technology-laden society and incorporating tools that they can also use later on for other endeavors outside of the classroom, a.k.a. hybrid learning, teachers will find that their students will begin learning without knowing that they are learning. Art teachers have an opportunity that is more vast than the regular educator, in that their hands-on dimensional projects within the classroom can be aptly enhanced by incorporation of technology. Students are never bored with what they are learning, if they think that they are having fun, and enjoying what they are learning. The Arts provide this for many people, through enjoyment and satisfaction of producing something that comes naturally, that of expressing themselves. The inclusion, rather than expulsion of technology, whether through online discussions, reflections, or self testing of the material, relevant information that is related to the topic at hand will not only enhance but produce higher level, critically-thinking learners in an environment that a majority of students may know better than the instructors themselves, therefore providing an opportunity for growth on both sides of the learning spectrum.