The Big Question

How can I use technology to further enhance student interest, understanding and achievement in the art room? Involving the student in the pursuit of knowledge, specifically about art, and in the design of the lesson plan, would allow that student to feel empowered and in charge of his own education and goals. To take full advantage of the effects of technology, the student would have to have a hands-on approach to the lesson and not feel as though he were just 'watching'. The lesson plan would also have to have a process component, in which the student used the mediums of the art room; such as paint, clay, drawing materials, fibers and papers, and learned the processes of art; such as printmaking, painting, ceramics, weaving and sculpture. Having the lesson plan be 'project based' is natural for the art room, where a finished product is sometimes, but not always, the goal. Technology would be useful in stimulating a life-long appreciation of the cultures, ethnic groups and times that encouraged other artists to create; in approaching new processes and materials; and as integral parts of the curriculum, such as creating an on-line gallery. For those children who struggle in other classrooms, the art room is usually a haven of possibilities: to communicate, to allow themselves to be absorbed by the process of creating, to be a part of the community of artists that is the art room, without being judged in any way. Many of the children I teach cannot read or write (yet), so the introduction of technology that would use mostly slides, videos, or drawings would allow them to participate without struggle.