Blog #1 - Embracing Technology as a Drama Teacher

Greetings to all who have stumbled upon my very first Drama Teacher Life blog. I am looking forward to developing this blog into an educational and inspirational resource for drama teachers worldwide. 

But first, let me introduce myself to you! Hi! I'm Ivette Viñas, a high school drama teacher. Theatre and the performing arts have been my passion since I was a child. I've been a professional actress and singer for about 20 years. I am the mother of two dashingly handsome boys, Dante and Brando. I've taught private voice and acting classes out of my home studio since 2009. 

Two years ago, I decided to take the advice from a great friend, who happens to be a highly respected educator and leader in our school district here in Florida, to finally take the plunge and become a public school drama teacher. So here I am, two years into my high school teaching journey, feeling like it was probably the best decision I ever made. Am I stressed out most days? Sure? What drama teacher isn't, right? Would I change it for the world? Never! The positive transformation I have seen take place in my students because of my drama program, is truly inspiring. 

Through my experience so far, I have learned that as an educator, it's important to teach for the times we are living in. The way a teacher taught drama 20 years ago is a bit different than now. Long gone are the days in which you made countless copies of scripts and passed them out to each student. Nowadays, we have apps which allow actors to read, notate and share their script notes with the entire cast in a seamless and much more effective way.

Embracing technology or technological approaches in the drama classroom is key in 2023. Yes, I know that drama and technology are two words that don't really seem to go hand in hand, in fact, it can sound rather weird, at first, however, once your students see you are incorporating relevant and exciting tech tools, it will improve their learning, while increasing their focus and interest on the subject matter being taught. 

As stated by the ISTE educator standard 2.1a Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators set professional learning goal to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. (ISTE.org, 2023). 

An example of how I implement technology to reach all students, regardless of class size and individual needs, is by using a podcasting app, such as Anchor, for lessons that are centered around speech, dialects, monologues or articulation. Prior to using technology for these lessons, I found that assessing student knowledge would take a few days since my class size is between 40-50 students. My students now have the ability to easily record themselves, do retakes if they need to, and submit their work to me within minutes. It allows me the time to look through their submissions carefully while providing timely, meaningful and specific feedback to each student or groups.

Not too long ago, I admit to being one of those teachers who was a bit "old school" and didn't think technology was relevant to drama education. Boy was I wrong! I am now looking forward to learning about newer and more exciting technologies to incorporate into my classroom! It will undoubtedly develop student's creativity and encourage them to move forward throughout life as creative individuals.

I hope this blog post has inspired you to begin implementing technology in the drama classroom. As drama educators, we must embrace and take part in this phenomenal human experience! As Mark Gura beautifully states in "Make, Learn, Succeed-Building a Culture of Creativity in your School "The world is changing incredibly quickly, and breakthrough ideas are required to stay competitive...There is no one path to creative ideas, just as there isn’t one way to get from San Francisco to São Paulo. However, there are ways that are easier than others. We can make the pathways to innovation much smoother by teaching people specific tools and techniques.” (Gura, 2016.)