Technology in Art Education

Art education in today’s schools, as with nearly every other subject can now be expounded upon, taught and experimented with thanks to technology. There are numerous programs and ways to use technology in teaching students about different aspects and ideas about art. “ Using technology to demonstrate teaching and learning is the best way for educators to prove that they are using technology to enhance teaching and learning” (Olejarz). This is extremely true for art educators because the technology is not a ‘lazy’ way of doing art but is instead enhancing what they can teach their students and what the students will learn. For instance, according to Emphasis Art a great way to incorporate technology into teaching art is through, “using computers to learn about symmetry, scaling and proportion” (p. 118). On the National Council on teaching Mathematics web page, there is something called the ‘Patch Tool” which can be used to make quilt type designs. An art teacher could use this program to teach students about shapes as well as math using computers. A great way to teach students about 3 dimensional shapes as well as lines, colors and different architectural eras would be through the program Google SketchUp. With this program students use the computer program and can create numerous designs.  Another wonderful way to use technology in art education is with digital photography. Some schools will loan cameras out to the instructor or for students to use. By using digital photography, the students will also get to learn about photography techniques, how to edit pictures and about art critique. An activity like this for instance, would be great for fifth grade art students. It is age appropriate since most students this age already know how to use digital cameras and they are more likely to understand the use of the camera as well as to be careful with it. The art principles that could be taught to them could be the rule of thirds as well as how to create focal points in pieces of art. Another great piece of technology that could be used in art education is of course, the internet. There are countless programs on the web that can help teach color, shape, the color wheel, videos on how to use oil pastels or charcoal etc. Students, by watching videos can gain another perspective on how to do a certain technique while they can also do interactive art activities online. For instance, there are online activities where the students can practice putting together random shapes and colors to create a Matisse like product. The use of technology in art education is best stated in a quote by Stephanie Reese, “I don’t think technology is replacing traditional art instruction, but I think it’s a really good piece to use alongside it. …It’s really a skill they need to go on and be competitive with the rest of the world."

Clements, Robert D., and Frank Wachowiak. Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and Middle Schools. 9th ed. San Francisco: Allyn & Bacon, 2010. 52-56. Print.

Devaney, Laura. "Technology makes art education a bigger draw." eSchoolNews. N.p., 19 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2010. <http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/09/19/technology-makes-art-education-a-bigger-draw/>.

Olejarz, Harold. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2010. <http://www.olejarz.com/arted/>.