Art teachers share lessons that use apps, smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, 3D printers, and more. Many of the lessons in this issue contain both a digital and hands-on component. Students sculpt clay figures and bring them to life using stop-motion animation, collaborate to create and animate posable cardboard monsters based on emotions, use a 3D modeling app and 3D printer to create geometric accessories, and more.
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Back in March of this year, no one could have predicted the challenges art educators are now facing in this time of remote teaching. Many teachers have had to prepare for face-to-face instruction with new protocols and social distancing measures in place.
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A boar runs across the rock walls of Altamira Cave in Spain, drawn by an artist 36,000 years ago. When I show this image to my students and ask them why the boar was drawn with eight legs, hands shoot up as they almost instinctively understand what the artist was attempting to do: create the illusion of movement.
In the book The Color Monster (Sterling, 2012) by Anna Llenas, a child helps a monster sort out its feelings. No feeling is judged or suppressed— they are all identified and acknowledged. I designed a lesson based on this social-emotional learning book to help students think about feelings, connect them to color, and learn to express emotions using technology and art.
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My elementary students love robots, especially if they light up on demand. I begin this lesson, which incorporates LED lights and paper circuits, with a slideshow presentation about robots that shows how they can be designed to do a specific job.
One of the most important objectives I have for students when they enter my classroom is to experience art beyond the base level of media manipulation. It is important that students have a fundamental understanding of traditional media such as drawing, painting, and ceramics; however, to limit students to only studying these tools or learning about artists who exclusively use these tools is to limit what is possible when creating art.
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Have you ever felt like your digital arts students are chained to the restricted motion of a keyboard and mouse? Do you miss the kinesthetic creative process that occurs in the traditional art room? Virtual reality not only revolutionizes how digital art is made in your classroom, it also provides students with groundbreaking experiences that captivate their imaginations.
Growing up, I was always drawn to the make-believe world of editorial photography, specifically fashion and pop-culture imagery. As an adult, I understand how this imagery is selling a fantasy. Although there are elements in this imagery I can find in the real world, such as a forest or domestic setting, I could never come close to the fantasy portrayed in editorial spreads.
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In every class, there are students who yearn to take things apart and see how they work, using their hands and a variety of tools in a vigorous way. In a class devoted to computer use, I look for ways to provide those active opportunities as much as possible for students who need relief from the screen.
This spring, art educators were obliged to trade in-person art shows for virtual art shows. We generally accept that seeing art in person is the best way to experience it, but are there some advantages to a virtual format? Might a parent who works evenings now be able to visit the art show?
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Jillian Mayer’s work explores how technology affects perceptions of self and relationships between human beings through video, sculpture, online experiences, photography, performances, and installations. Through this varied body of work, she examines the increasingly ragged boundaries between technology and the physical world, and if they even still exist.
