Getting to know me....

 A bit about me… 

 My name is Kristen Hilton. I am an art educator, I have just started my 15th year of teaching. I am currently teaching Elementary Art (Grades K-5)  in Algonquin, IL.   I just love watching and seeing what my little artists will create! The stuff they make can be so stinking cute and blows my mind away. I am a wife to my best friend, Dr. Hilton, for 13 years. I am a mom of 2 rambunctious toddlers (Miss. M. 5 and Mr. P.J. 3), a fur baby momma to our energetic 5 month old Bichon Frise puppy named Tucker. When not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, painting, photography, graphic art, figure/synchronized skating and glamping in our camper. 

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My Education…. 

My passion for art started at a young age. In elementary school it was always my favorite special to attend. My passion for creating works of art only grew as I got older and became my main focus of study in high school and college. My family has several educators but the most influential one is my mom. She was an English teacher for 30+ years. She helped me value education and see the positive influence teachers have inside and outside the classroom and was one of the people who inspired me to become an educator.  To follow my passion to become an art educator, I attended Western Michigan University and received a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Art Education. While pursuing my desire to become a teacher, I met my husband and found lifetime friends through my sorority Delta Gamma. I am currently pursuing my Masters in Education and Technology endorsement at Dominican University. 

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My Teaching Experience…. 

I have been blessed with being able to do what I love to do ….which is TEACH ART! I have taught a variety of grade levels, schools and states in my 15 yrs. I have been able to share my talents and love for learning and creating with kids in grades K-12. There are bits and pieces I LOVE about each grade group. In my career I have done some hopping around grade levels, districts and states.  My first 2 years of teaching I taught high school Art in the Northwest Suburbs of IL. I then had the pleasure of teaching Middle School Art in both IL and MI ( which I didn’t think I was going to like at first but found that I really liked this age group and found them fun to teach.) Before moving into my current role, which I have been in for the last 6 yrs as an K-5 Elementary Art Teacher in Algonquin, IL I went back to teaching High School Art for 2 years. The cool thing is I got to teach at my alma mater in Algonquin, IL. (which was cool and weird at the same time) 

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Technology Evolution in My Teaching Experience…. 

Technology has evolved a lot in education over the last 15 yrs.  When I entered the world of teaching in 2006, classrooms lacked technology and I didn’t use it much within my own classroom. Schools were still using the same tech that I used when I was in school. I had a white board, 1 computer for my personal use and saving of documents was done on a jump drive. (I don’t even think the school district had a universal drive on which to save documents.) All grades put into the system had to be done onsite; it wasn’t able to be accessed from home.  Students were not 1 to 1, to access computers, classes or students visited computer labs. 

 In 2006 my project presentations consisted of me showing/hanging premade or past student examples on the board then having them gather around a table for an in person demonstration. Fast forward to 2017, my classroom and the way I teach is very different, EVERYTHING is presented on my smart board, and in my district, all students K-12  have Chrome books.  All my lessons start with a google slide presentation. This incorporates pictures of artists and their work or even a linked video to learn about them,  or sometimes a story we are using for inspiration as well as examples of the project. I love adding animated stories and cartoons about artists into my lessons and so do the kids.   All my demonstrations are projected up on the smart board through my document camera. I LOVE this tech tool!! This tool allows ALL my students to see my example up close; this is drastically different to gathering/scrunching around a table where they would fight to all see. Rooms have been equipped with this technology for a while now, so it is funny when technology isn’t working right or needs repairs and I say, “Well, my amazing artists, we are going old school today”.   They don’t even know what I am talking about….and then man do I feel old. 

  

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One of the biggest growths in technology that I believe has evolved for the better for the most part is the ability to access school information both at school and home. In my district we utilize Google drive and use the web platform Schoology to communicate material to students and parents. While I do believe having a home and work balance is important, I have found it valuable to be able to access tools, information and resources at home when making sub plans or even to just finish a task I didn’t have time for at school, because let’s be honest… as educators we often bring “work” home. Also this access and ability to access educational content  anywhere allows college programs like I am enrolled in at Dominican University to be possible and make furthering one's knowledge and education possible. 

Technology in Teaching 2006/2007

Technology in  Teaching  2022

Classrooms only have white boards Classroom had 1 computer in the room for students to use. To have all students access a computer, classes would go to a computer lab.   Teacher was supplied one desktop  computer to use for attendance, grading, email etc.  (These programs were only accessible from the school’s server on site and not able to be accessed from home) Parents didn’t have access to the child's grades from home, only notified by the teacher through phone call or note home.  Report cards were sent home through mail.

Classrooms have white boards and SMART boards Each student is supplied a Chromebook to use at school and home.  Teacher is supplied a laptop to use at school and home for attendance, grading, and email.  Schools have given teachers the ability to access these programs on a cloud server.  Parents have access to students grade online and report cards and posted online.

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At first I was a little uneasy with all the gadgets, programs and tech that began to pop up in education, I think partly due to the delay in my rooms getting access to it due to my subject area. So I missed out on some of the training and was often learning how it worked as I used it.  

But with more use and practice I have become more confident with it and want to learn more and how to utilize it in my own teaching.  COVID  also played a pivotal role in my wanting to learn more and incorporate it  into my classroom routine. In the blink of an eye, we went from creating artwork in person to having to create pieces of work online. Being more technology literate helps me present material in a diverse way to my students. 

My Relationship with Technology …… 

In my family I am not the most tech savvy person ;that are my brothers. Both work in the computer field. One is a computer programmer; the other works for IT in the same school district I teach.  However, I wouldn’t consider myself  technology illiterate. Over the years my skills have improved as well as my interest in it and how to better utilize it in my work and personal life. I think growing up with technology as it itself grew exponentially has allowed me to accept it as a part of my daily life and routine.  For example, my first cell phone only dialed and did nothing else, where my phone now is a mini handheld computer completely equipped to take photos, text and access the internet. Television is another area that has changed a lot. When I was little, we were only able to rewind a tv show if it had been set on the VCR to record.  Now we have the luxury to be able to rewind exactly what we are watching and are able to watch episodes that we missed by just streaming them off the app. While I wasn’t on the bandwagon at first to join social platforms, I now use them everyday. I use them to stay in contact with family, friends, and colleagues. I use Pinterest and Instagram to share and gather ideas for lessons, parties, house ideas, you name it. 

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Technology has changed so much in my life already, and it is crazy to think of where it will go in the next 10yrs. Technology is such a big part of our lives now because it runs lots of devices on which we rely on, but I wonder how much is too much. Have we become too dependent on technology?  In this blog I plan to share my exploration with you and it is my hope that this exploration not only helps me enhance my curriculum, teaching and learning but also fellow educators, family and friends. 

Cited Sources: 

Michigan Football Kalamazoo GIF by WMU Alumni (Digital Image) (8/10/2020) retrieved from: alumniassociation-western-wmu-broncos-Spo3nYZu737xrb3WRe

Studying School Book GIF by Anna (Digital Image) (02/05/2018) retrieved from: https://giphy.com/gifs/space-retro-kids-26DNeMNwIpXDoXZoQ