Chapters 27, 28 and 29

I want to take another printmaking class! When I was introduced to printmaking I focused entirely on the intaglio process, I remember metal plates, lots of elbow grease, and the acid bath. I love the glue line printing ideas and especially the aluminum foil print block relief, not because it "makes a great gift" but because then the students use the print block for another version of their image. I hate watching students toss the print block in the garbage at the end of a project. But I'm like that, I have a hard time throwing things away at first. Once a bit of time has passed I am able to part with my art products and byproducts.
The visual technology chapter surprised me by claiming that students can effectively learn computer skills in small groups. I would like to see that to believe it. One-to-one is obviously so much better, and in most schools the options are either securing the computer lab for an hour or using the 2-3 computers available in your classroom, which isn't enough for small groups.
Some middle schools have "laptop" carts with a class set that you can bring into the classroom, that is really slick. I have seen some of the tech classes in middle schools, mostly because the students kept roaming in small groups into the art room with their cameras. I would have liked to see some of their footage to get a better idea of what kind of creative process they are going through in that program. Are the students reviewing their work based on light, space, and action? I would like to find ways to use technology in artistic ways that also help students learn skills they can employ independently on a regular basis, rather than some new fangled gizmo-type process that they won't ever get to do again without a teacher's guidance.
A few comments about the sculpture chapter. If the students can't use the spray paint, why spray paint the project? The students are completely removed from that step of the process and it seems like it would be less meaningful for them. Oh, and check out the totems, kind of funny based on the conversations we had about multicultural art last week. This is definitely proof that mimicry is still practiced by art educators in the field. The copywright for the book is 2006 and if the authors had wanted to, they could have edited that section the last time a new edition was prepared.