In a world of technology, computers, and robots, it seems that it would be a simple task for any classroom educator to incorporate computers and technology into his or her classroom. However, this task is not quite so simple for the teacher of art. So the question is: How can an art teacher effectively incorporate technology into the classroom beyond photoshop and powerpoint? Is it even necessary for an art classroom to have all of the technological advancements of the modern age? Artists have been doing alright for hundreds of years without all of the computers, so what is the big deal?

Tags: art

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You have several terrific ideas. I am fairly timid in regards to the technology thing, but I have gotten an on-line gallery started for my classes the past 2 years. I have also had the students do a project that sounds like what you mentioned in #2. There are several wondeful ideas out there. It is a little intimidating to begin teaching a lesson that is driven by technology when my students are far more advanced than I am with computers. I suppose my main goal is to not be left behind and become a boring, outdated sort of art teacher and artist. When I came to Salina YEARS ago, I took over for a guy who loved macrame' and making yarn God's eyes, and that was all he would do with his kids; the kids were not interested in his art classes at all. The students I have now are excited about technology, and I need to find exciting ways to implement it more into my middle school classes.

You comment about cars...too funny!
We have an Art teacher here at my school which uses a Promethean Board much to his advantage apparently. And while perhaps photoshop and powerpoint might be ways to have students create work how about analyzing art work from those centuries of art you mentioned weren't created with out computers. How about figuring out how the technology that students have readily availible to them could be used to also make art (cell phone cameras, digital cameras, smart phones, ect.) once you take a look at the technology that surrounds these students you'll see that they're already trying to create and you're job just becomes about teaching them the fundamentals of art/design to understand why what they've created is good art!
Take a look at what the people at Glocal are up to. Their digital imaging software is completely open source, free, and downloadable. We did a pro-d with them and it was fascinating. --SueH
Have a look at this site:
My pupils love the different applets... :)
It also depends on what type of art we're talking about. If we're talking about the traditional paintings/sketches/etc., then I can see where you're coming from. But there are many new genres of art born from technology. Some will cross over into other subjects, but one could make a case for art class. Photography is certainly one, but creating and editing videos is something I'm exploring now with my middle school kids. Creating digital music is another way (GarageBand for Macs is an easy-to-use program). So depending on how we're defining art, there are more options than just Photoshop.
Claymation, iStopmotion, Flash animation, Google Sketchup, Adobe Illustrator, and a host of other (video editing, MIDI, etc.) programs are tools that artists use now. There is still a place for traditional skills (ceramics, drawing and painting, sculpture, etc.) BUT an art program that does not incorporate technology is doing a disservice to the students.
Try these:

bighugelabs.com
Digital Photography - techniques, tips
Photostory - Collaborate with another teacher - do a cross-curricular storytelling project
Claymation
Power Point animation
Kid Pix
I'm not sure if the right question is how to incorporate technology into the art class. (I strongly believe that technology for it's own sake is meaningless.) Instead, I would prefer to identify the objectives of teaching and learning and then consider the best available resources to enable students to fulfill these objectives.
If you truly know Photoshop you should understand that the possibilities are endless. I use Photoshop as a tool to teach the Elements and Principles of Design. I do not teach the program. I do not teach selection tools and masking tools. My students have made Henri Matisse cutouts with the selection tools. They have studied color theory with hand drawn still lifes. I also use Photoshop to help me with my own compositions because you can change things colors etc… very quickly. Would M C Esher not use a modern advancement?
Great approach, teach concepts and ideas NOT software tricks. I agree all the way. Mondrian would be animating in Flash, da Vinci in Maya and Picasso would use Pencil.
We have an extraordinary art teacher here in the Middle School who has her own computer lab inside of her art room. They do a lot more then just photoshop.

To follow her site click here... http://www.greendale.k12.wi.us/Teachers/lehtinen_nicole/lehtinen_ni...
We want to use a 2.0 tool to unite our elementary teachers out in the trenches. We have been exploring a few. The wiki seems to be the best shot. We want to get core lessons out to them, curriculum updates, important events, and have a way for them to post questions, concerns and other support. It would greatly help with the mentoring of new teachers. It was also important to find out where our teachers are in their technology knowledge. Survey Monkey helped with that.
Anyone out there with more ideas on tool choice, set-up and configuration? Or any other ideas on the subject.

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