Technology inTechnology in Arts Education Arts Education

Ruth CurreyRuth CurreyARE 6666 – Arts AdvocacyARE 6666 – Arts Advocacy

“Art challenges technology and the technology inspires the art.”

The Motivation• As an art teacher who also teaches computer animation, I have seen the impact technology has had in the arts and how the arts audience has been expanded by the introduction of technology into the field.

• Unfortunately, I have also seen how technology integration can be misunderstood and ignored because of the lack of information and standards to support proper implementation

The Problem• There are no current policies that incorporate technology into the Pre K -20 curriculum

• Technology standards that exist accommodate the technology integration into core subjects such as language arts, mathematics, and the sciences

• When technology is added to arts standards, it typically replaces the word media and is never specifically defined

Promote excellence and equity in comprehensive visual arts education for all people, beginning with pre-K – 16 education, leading to career

opportunities as well as life-long learning in schools, colleges, universities, museums, and cultural and community activities.

ConsiderationsSECAC Mission Statement #1 (2004)

Sunshine State Standards

The word “technology” is not seen once within the standards set up for the arts

• All use of technology in the classroom is implied based on the standards• Teachers using technology have to try to make their curriculum fit into small ill-equipped frameworks designed with the tactile arts in mind

Adaptations have been made to the Sunshine State Standards to demonstratehow the standards imply the use of technology (UCF / ITRC)

These attempts are still vague and do not address the actual needs of thetechnology

Technology and the Florida Sunshine State StandardsInstructional Technology Resource Center (ITRC) @ UCF

The Arts• Understand the ways various media can be used to reinforce, enhance or alter a dance idea• Uses technology to enhance a movement study• Uses unified production concepts and techniques for various media• Uses scientific and technological advances to develop visual and aural staging elements that complement the interpretation of a text

Applied Technology Standards University of South Florida

• Applies planning methods to decision-making related to life and work roles.• Integrates academic and applied technology principles into the workplace.• Applies appropriate technology to an industry to solve technical and production problems.• Analyzes and communicates the impact that industry and the community have on each other and on the individual.• Employs management techniques to manage projects and enterprises related to work and life roles.

Providing ALL students the opportunity to express themselves creatively

“Many art teachers are stuck in the old-school curriculumof teaching the elements and principles of art via drawing, painting, and ceramics. They unintentionally discouragemany students who may not appear to be artistic– becausethey can only draw a stick figure– from taking art.”(Ash, 2008, p.1)

Artistic Equity - SECAC

According to the 2004 SECAC Policy Mission Statement:1.Promote excellence and equity in comprehensive visual arts education for all people

If we expect equity through a subject that embraces diversity, how can we ensurethat each student is getting an equal opportunity to express themselves?

If we limit the vehicles and types of art that students are exposed to, does that not hinder their right to have the opportunity to express themselves freely?

Can it be assumed that since students who create work solely by means of computers that they are not considered artists and therefore should not havethe same equitable time with their medium?

A brief survey was given to approximately 100 animation students asking them to discuss how they feel about technology and its relationship to art. Some of the questions provided include:

• Do you consider yourself an artist?• Using your abilities, do you feel you can draw equally well using traditional mediums?• If animation/graphic design we not available, what other classes would you take?• Do you feel your expressive needs are being met by these alternate classes?• Do you feel these classes will teach you the same skills as your technology based art classes?

Informal Research

Results indicated that approximately 72% of the students considered themselves tobe artists.

Of those 72%, 68% of them felt they would not be able to achieve equal successwith traditional mediums

Results also indicated that the majority of the students (approximately 83%) felt thatthey would take electives outside of the arts if technology based art programs were not available because they do not feel they would be successful in a traditional class

SECAC Adjustments1c. Encourage broad audience development through the visual and digital arts by comprehensive programs that incorporate contemporary and relevant issues in art, new technological advances in art, and by active collaboration between public and private organizations, including community based resources, museums, corporations, government agencies, and pre K – 20 schools.

2a. Strive for more collaborative policy involvement and initiatives between higher education institutions, recognizing that research in art education and technological innovation are vital links between the visual arts, humanities, social/natural sciences, and mathematics.

ImplementationArt Education faculty should have access and be encouraged to attend appropriate technology based trainings on arts integration and implementation in order to provide a more equitable environment in a contemporary setting.

Support systems, both live and virtual must be established and maintained in order to accommodate the needs of the technological considerations, but also the needs and concerns of educators

Dissemination3. Develop and maintain electronic means to share library and teacher resources and image databases at SECAC member institutions with public school students, either on-siteor electronically.

Proposed Sunshine State Standards for Technology Based Arts Education

Adjusted standards based on considerations from the following:• Current Visual Arts Sunshine State Standards• Education World National Technology Standards• University of Central Florida ITRC Technology Standards• University of South Florida Applied Technology Standards

Some standards are the same or similar to the original Sunshine State Standardsfor the Visual Arts because they maintain their integrity and relevance to includetechnology based arts as well as the visual arts.

The ultimate goal is to avoid the basic replacement of the word media with the wordtechnology and instead provide a starting point for the creation of a set of standards to integrate and implement technology into the art classroom.

Once adjustments are made to the SECAC Policy Statement that establish the necessity of technology, a set of Sunshine State Standards needs to be created

in order to accommodate technological needs within the art classroom

1. Uses static and kinetic two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, techniques, tools, and processes to communicate an idea or concept based on technology-based research, environment, personal experience, observation, media exposure, or imagination.

2. Demonstrates an understanding of the tools, media, processes, and techniques necessary to proficiently use technology in a safe and responsible manner.

3. Understands how the elements of art and the principles of design can be combined in order to solve specific graphic and kinetic visual problems in a three dimensional space.

4. Uses effective control of media, techniques, and tools when communicating an idea in both static graphic imagery and two-dimensional and three-dimensional kinetic works.

Operations, Skills, and Techniques

The student understands and applies techniques and processes to technology based media (DA.A.1.4)

Boxes with Fires: Wisely Integrating LearningTechnologies into the Art Classroom

By Diane C. GregoryArt Education, 62(3) 2009, pp. 47 – 54.

“Art teachers typically use established computer technologies as teaching orPresentation tools rather than facilitating students’ creative production and

Thinking, collaborative learning, problem-solving, and higher order thinking .” (Gregory, 2009, p. 48)

Educators understand the value of putting artmaking tools within the hands of eachStudent

• Technology is not always considered an artmaking tool and is ignored when considering artmaking options• Technology tends to be expensive, but can be reused by multiple students over the course of the day

Art educators wish to promote creative risk-taking ventures where students areallowed to experiment, practice, and in some cases fail in order to succeed

• Cost of materials increases to compensate for mistakes and remade work• Technology allows for more opportunities to practice skills without the fear of increased costs for supplies or having to start from scratch

1. Applies various subjects, symbols, and ideas in works of digital art.

2. Understands that static and kinetic media formats can communicate information and ideas effectively through the use of specific techniques and processes.

3. Understands the basic implications and intentions of print and kinetic media and the purposes within each particular work.

4. knows how the elements of art and principles of design can enhance productivity and promote creativity by solving static and kinetic graphic problems 

Productivity and Communication

The student creates and communicates a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas using knowledge of structures and processes

of technology-based arts. (DA.B.1.4)

Implications for Art Education in the Third Millennium: Art Technology Integration

By Sherry MayoArt Education, 60(3) 2007, pp. 45-51.

“Art educators have the unique opportunity to integrate studio practice withtechnology that can help lead the way in teaching with technology and crossingboundaries between real-world materials and digital media.” (Mayo, 2007, p. 50)

There are those who are afraid of computer art taking over the traditional forms all together if allowed to integrate into the art classrooms

Although the artists have the option to use traditional formats or digital formatsthe need for artists is growing in our modern society

The fact that the world is changing rapidly between moments, the arts need to embrace their advantages over the other content areas and utilize the technology at their disposal

Artists, both digital and traditional are similar to researchers in that they create newknowledge through studio practice

Article Proposes:

1. Understands and recognizes how visual arts have directly affected, or influenced necessary changes in technological advances

2. Understands how technology based art has inspired and furthered possibilities available to the visual arts through historical and contemporary collaboration.

3. Understands how social, cultural, ecological, economic, religious, and political conditions influence the function, meaning, and execution of works of digital arts, advertising, and animation.

4. Practices responsible and ethical use of technology based media, information, and software for research and productivity

Historical, Social, and Human Connections

The student understand the digital arts in relation to history and contemporary multicultural society (DA.C.1.4)

Art Education Aims in the Age of New Media:Moving Toward Global Civil Society

By Elizabeth M. DelacruzArt Education, 62(5) September 2009, pp. 13-18

“One only has to observe the media-savvy youth of today to be inspired to want tohelp shape young peoples’ understandings and uses of new digital technologies.”

(Delacruz, 2009, p. 16)

“Art education is an inconclusive and contested arena, with competing demandsand prescriptions for reform in the 21st century.” (Delacruz, 2009, p. 16)

Educators have long called for an art education curriculum that facilitatescontemporary understandings of the complexities of art and culture,democracy, multicultural and intercultural education, humanness, and civil society

New technologies facilitate and promote new forms of creative expression andinquiry about diverse art and other forms of creative cultural expression

Art Education finds a good fit with new digital media, particularly with our affinityfor art making, design, aesthetic inquiry, interpretation, and open-ended learningbecause of their eclectic nature and access to creative endeavors

1. Understands and determines the differences between the artist’s intent and public interpretation through evaluative criteria and judgment.

2. Understands critical and aesthetic statements in terms of historical reference while researching technological innovations and their implications to the visual arts.

3. Determines the difference between the intentions of artists in the creation of original works and the intentions of individuals and companies who appropriate and parody those works.

4. Uses technology to locate, collect and evaluate pertinent information regarding historical and contemporary issues in art efficiently

5. Uses technology to evaluate accuracy and credibility of contemporary sources of information and research data.

6. Researches new technological advances and their implications and processes in order to accurately evaluate productivity and effective use of technological innovations.

Aesthetic and Critical Research AnalysisThe student discusses, evaluates, and responds to the components

and implications of technology based artworks. (DA.D.1.4)

Strong need for research databases and digital infrastructures for researchand searchable media

• Digital resources should be considered on the same plane as textbooksEncourages a culture of innovation and appreciation of aesthetic theory

• Masterpieces of art should be considered from multiple perspectivesIntroduces students to aesthetic perception

• Pays systematic attention to sensory, formal, technical, and expressive properties

Enhances and encourages creative expression and personal reflection• Introducing digital work through humanities bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary perspectives• Maintains a level of relevancy is technology and art grow together rather than as separate entities• Demonstrates and encourages higher order thinking by supporting collaboration

Imaginative skills and creativity are as essential as cognitive skills

Expanding Arts Education in a Digital AgeBy Haeryun Choi and Joseph Piro

Arts Education Policy Review, 110(3), 2009, pp. 27-34

“Arts education policymakers who will shape twenty-first-century policy must keepan eye on trend lines and focus their efforts to recognize that the arts will be not

only desirable in helping us negotiate the digital age, but indispensible.” (Choi, 2009, p. 32)

1. Knows and participates in community-based technology based art experiences as an artist or observer.

2. Understands and identifies the skills that digital artists use in various careers to across multiple artistic platforms to promote creativity, fluency, flexibility, and collaboration within both the digital arts and visual arts.

3. Uses multiple facets of technology to connect and communicate with the public, the consumer, and the artistic community regarding aesthetic concerns and questions, entertainments potential and responsibility, research and resources accessibility and their impact on education requirements for potential career opportunities.

4. Uses technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions in regards to both static graphic arts and kinetic two and three dimensional digital works.

Real World Applications

The student makes direct connections between up-to-date technology, the visual arts, and their application to the real world. (DA.E.1.4)

Technology as Arts-Based Education:Does the Desktop Reflect the Arts?

By Peter GouzouasisArts Education Policy Review, 107(5) 2006, pp. 3-9.

Suggests that not all technology can be grouped into the same category• Some technology is designed for the sciences and business• Some technology is based on creative expression

Emphasis on Real-World Applications• Industry decision makers who hire designers for Web Designs do not just hire someone who can push a mouse, the mechanics are simply not good enough

Art and Technology are in a constant argument over which is more important• The arts struggle to achieve status as a core area of study while the technologies struggle to receive respect from the arts community

“Art is the queen of all sciences communicating knowledge toall of the generations of the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

(Gouzouasis, 2006, p. 8)

Problems Proposed

Since technology has different categories the language of policies should specify

Real world situations require knowledge of not only technological processes, butalso artistic understanding and aesthetic values

Digital media requires artistic viewpoints and legitimately belongs in an art based environment

Outside of arts education, the impact of technology on the arts has been monumental both in its impact on access to the arts and as an emergingmedium

The arts and technologies can work together and not against each other to achieve a sustainable and viable future in the realm of education

Considerations

Technology as Arts-Based Education: Does the Desktop Reflect the Arts?By Peter Gouzouasis

“In the same way as artists think of tools as extensions of the human mind, so shouldwe begin to think of digital media. When used artistically and to our advantage,

technologies are helpful.” (Gouzouasis, 2006, p. 8)

DisseminationFlyers, Brochures, and PDF filescan be sent out to inform the publicas well as policymakers, and educators about the benefits of creating new standards for theintegration of technology into theart classrooms

By exposing a large audience to the potential opportunities to be gainedthrough technology integration and by having a set of standards ready to be submitted for approval, thelikelihood of increasing supportincreases

Trainings need to be offered to educate and introduce educators tothe potential benefits of integration

ReferencesAsh, K. (2008). Digital Approach to Art Education Gains Momentum. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from Ed Week’s Digital Directions Website: http://www.edweek.org/dd/ articles/2008/06/05/04artsidebar_web.h01.html.

Brewer, T. (2005). Revising the SECAC Visual Arts Education Policy Statement: Putting Teeth Into It. Arts Education Policy Review, 106(5), pp. 21-27.

Choi, H. (2009). Expanding Arts Education in a Digital Age. Arts Education Policy Review, 110(3), pp. 27-34.

Delacruz, E. (2009). Art Education Aims in the Age of New Media: Moving Toward Global Civil Society. Art Education, 62(5), pp. 13-18.

Gouzouasis, P. (2006). Technology as Arts-Based Education: Does the Desktop Reflect the Arts? Arts Education Policy Review, 107(5), pp. 3-9.

Gregory, D. (2009). Boxes with Fires: Wisely Integrating Learning Technologies into the Art Classroom. Art Education, 62(3), pp. 47-54.

References

Mayo, S. (2007). Implications for Art Education in the Third Millennium: Art Technology Integration. Art Education, 60(3), pp. 45-51.

University of Central Florida. (2008). Technology and the Florida Sunshine StateStandards. Retrieved October 20, 2009 from Instructional Technology Resource CenterWebsite: http://www.paec.org/david/big/sssbr1.pdf.

University of South Florida. (2009). Applied Technology Standards. Retrieved November 1, 2009 from Standards and Software Webpage: http://etc.usf.edu/software/appliedTech.html.

University of South Florida. (1995). Visual Arts Sunshine State Standards. Retrieved September 28, 2009 from Standards Webpage: http://etc.usf.edu/flstandards/sss/pdf/ visarts9.pdf