EDTECH INTEGRATION

The rise of mobile phones and a Netbook Pilot project meant my students had access to computers and the internet in art lessons Technology access improved students' digital skills and taught them how to engage with the broader world via email, social media, and web links Suddenly, we could study beyond the confines of outdated textbooks. I could connect students with historical textiles and artefacts via Google Arts and Culture.

Video content further supported audio and visual learners and created a flipped classroom approach where students could easily revise content in their own time. Embedding the YouTube videos in Google Forms allowed students to test their knowledge New features coming to Google, such as YouTube Player, will make it easier to create interactive quizzes with YouTube content. I also created a fun video to welcome students to the course and provide an overview of the project

Through my parents' work and since becoming an EdTech leader, I have had many travel opportunities. Some of my most treasured memories are visiting museums and seeing famous artworks and artefacts in person The ability to access international museums from a classroom in the bottom of Africa significantly changed with street view technology embedded in the museum resources. My students could walk around the exhibits virtually Of course, a virtual experience is never quite the same ambiance as in person, but certainly was a more accessible affordable option. Gigapixel images allowed students to zoom and see the textures and colours of artworks up close, which is incredible in contrast to previously analysing black and white printed images.

I applied YouTube search filters to quickly find 4K or HD videos under four minutes to add multimedia content to the course.

I knew the power of tertiary education in improving students' work opportunities, and equipping students with digital skills opened doors to scholarships for university Firstly, I focused on access Adding digital content to a Google Site and Classroom meant students had easy ways to view and engage with learning material. This also assisted parents in supporting student learning and seeing the learning outcomes and support materials. I used additional site pages and hyperlinked docs to provide extension links and additional information for students considering furthering their arts education and pursuing an arts career. Hosting the content digitally meant students could work at different paces, and I gained more time to work individually with smaller groups Embedding Google Slides in Sites made it easier to create the website as no coding was required, and the Site automatically updated if the Slides were changed.

Over time, I added examples of student work that inspired new students taking the course in its second and third iterations. When the course was first created, rubrics for Google Classroom were not released, so I created all the assessment rubrics on Forms, allowing students to develop critical thinking and metacognition. I included students in the assessment process by creating some of the rubrics with them so they agreed on the evaluation criteria and understood the expectations

Creating Posters with Google Drawings to outline the productive process, as well as setting mini targets with Google Calendar, meant students had specific goals and feedback sessions. This helped students with time management and improved planning and organisation. I used mail merges to return digital grades and customise student feedback and learning resources. The Autocrat mail merge created digital records that were easy to share with parents and other stakeholders. Suddenly, my feedback wasn't on handwritten slips of paper that students kept losing. Collecting assignments via Google Classroom helped with tracking late submissions and viewing student progress at a glance

Students worked with Google Drawings to create their own scalable vector graphics and logo designs.

We used anonymous email addresses for students who created a store, and using Google Sites for an online shopfront meant we could lock the sites to domain-only shares. This gave students the opportunity to create digitally in a safe environment For the final iteration of the course, I worked with other subject teachers for a crosscurricular approach to learning. Digital submissions were easier to assess in a collaborative teaching context, as the final products were shared via Google Workspace with relevant teachers using the co-teacher feature on Google Classroom. At the end of the project, it was amazing to see students' confidence in seeing a product come to life and their ability to create a business from scratch in just a few weeks. I couldn't buy bread for everyone every day, but I hoped, in some small way, that I had given them a competitive advantage in a socio-economically challenging country.