Managing the Art Room: Innovative Digital Teaching

Introducing traditional art materials with an understanding of artistic development is the foundation for art-making in any art classroom. However, technology provides its own uniqueness and value, which should be considered as one of many tools in a student’s repertoire of art-making.

Benefits of Digital Art-Making
Characteristics of digital art include speed of creation, the ability to rapidly revise an idea without losing intent, instant gratification, and a vast selection of tools to manipulate. It is a forgiving art medium that allows for reproduction as well as global communication. Unlike traditional materials, which are messy, digital media is clean yet complex and multilayered, providing interfaces that are unique to the process of artistic expression.

When students create a work of art, using traditional or digital media, it does not guarantee that they have acquired a significant art encounter. The art-making experience is more effective when it is an extension of the student’s knowledge of materials and processes. Therefore, an innovative art educator provides students with endless possibilities to create deeply personal works of art. Like traditional materials, digital media provides unique opportunities for students to express their thoughts and visualize ideas.

Digital Media Exploration
The process of introducing digital technologies into the art room begins the same way it does with traditional materials—with exploration. This allows students to understand what resources can do instead of what they are expected to do.

It is important to provide a classroom setting where both teachers and students are open to unexpected results through trial and error. This environment brings a level of learning that is both self-discovered and long-lasting.

When developing a scope and sequence of lessons, educators need to factor in exploration opportunities in ways that allow students to utilize their previous knowledge along with newly discovered materials as they implement more challenging activities. This scaffolding allows students to make informed decisions when choosing media in service of their ideas.

Exploration does not imply working without limitations. While exploratory lessons are open-ended, they are specific and focused with solid learning objectives. At the same time, when students are subjected to too many new tools, they can become overwhelmed and only achieve a superficial understanding of the media.

Whether they are working with a simple and free application such as Sketchbook at the primary level, or a complex program such as Adobe Photoshop at the secondary level, the goal of exploration is for students to gain a deeper grasp of the medium’s potentials and limitations. Teaching one to four tools at a time allows students to explore without inundating them with too many choices.

Engaging Student Agency
Once students have had opportunities to explore new digital tools, they have a collection of previous knowledge with which to move onto new and increasingly challenging projects. Some effective ways to engage students include inquiry-based learning, dialoguing with students, and making connections to students’ experiences. These strategies highlight students’ role in their own educational processes and promote curiosity that fosters an internal drive to become active and eager learners.

Overcoming Challenges
Technology can be expensive and challenging to obtain; however, there is free or inexpensive software and hardware out there, including SketchBook by Autodesk, I Can Animate Lite, Pencil 2D, Photopea, FireAlpaca, GIMP, and PIXLR.

When one-to-one technology is not available, you might consider reserving the school’s computer or mobile lab for your class. Another option is to utilize parent resources. For example, you could avoid the need to purchase expensive equipment by asking a volunteer to donate or construct resources, such as wooden iPad stands for use in creating animations.

Merging Traditional and Digital
Students who have had opportunities with a variety of art materials such as paint, drawing media, clay, and digital tools are more capable of discerning how traditional and new media might be combined to create a work of art. Introducing them to this rich breadth of possibilities gives students the chance to elaborate on and merge materials they already know with those they have recently acquired.

A painting can be digitally captured using a smartphone or a scanner, placed into a program like Sketchbook or Photoshop and digitally manipulated, or a digital image can be printed and worked on using traditional materials such as paint, oil pastels, or collage. Integrating digital art with an open mind helps educators keep up with 21st century art practices.