My teaching philosophy can be summed up with one word, adaptive.  In today’s world, where information and technology doubles every six months, I must be adaptive to be effective.  I attend conferences with the sole purpose of finding the next application to grab my students’ attention.  I then look for ways to adapt these applications into the curriculum, projects, school goals, and the students’ toolset. 

My goal is not to train a student on how to use an application but is to teach them how to use an application to reach their final goal.  All of my projects are complex, multi-phase projects.  We build on each project with the next project. 

Since I teach Graphic Arts in the middle school, I have a hard time finding programs that aren’t too technical for the students.  Twist solves this problem because it is so user friendly that the students really excel with using it. 

By introducing and utilizing Twist within my classroom this year, it has opened many new doors for the students and the projects that they have been assigned.  Students love to show their creative side, and Twist is a way that lets them showcase that. There are no right or wrong artistic visions within this product, just creative expression.  This really breaks down obstacles for some students. My Autistic students excel with Twist and love to put their imagination up on the screen.

One of the most successful projects that I have done with Twist is one that incorporates children’s books with technology.  The student brings their favorite book from childhood and then read and reread the book several times.  They re-illustrate the children’s book with their interpretation, using Twist to make the book “come to life” in their own vision.

At the end of the semester, the stories will be loaded onto DVDs to be utilized within the elementary schools within the county.  This way the students not only learn from each other, but they also get a preview of what is to come in their school career. 

Twist has become, in a very short amount of time, a vital tool within my classroom.  It has made the most challenging of students excited about learning and creating.