Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Journal #10: "Fusing Art and Technology"

This article, although not as technological as the rest of our journals, still includes technological aspects that have been integrated into education for the purpose of interesting and inspiring students. In this article, Downey visits an art ‘gallery’ of the art of students from a nearby magnet school. These works of art were mostly created in a graphic arts class, although the entire magnet school focused on art in general as well. One piece that the author focused on was an Andy Warhol-inspired piece created by an African-American seventh grader.
The teacher had asked his students to create a four square Warhol piece with specific concepts for each section – the first square was of three images of the student in a white shirt, black shirt, and white again, all superimposed on a background of rainbows. The second square was the student superimposed on a background of a tropical, red sunset sky; the third was the student with angel wings and a halo; and the fourth was an entirely blue square with the students head superimposed on a body and wings drawn with a black line. The article shares information about the magnet school and the graphic arts class that teaches students how to use many different tools in Photoshop.

Q1. What can benefits can we gain from implementing classes such as graphic arts?
A1. The benefits we gain from classes like this one are that students are interested in what they’re doing, and are having fun while they learn. A graphic arts class is more related to a traditional class setting than say a music class, but students are still learning, and these types of classes give students an outlet free from all the studying and stress that their other classes may give them.

Q2. Can the skills students learn in classes such as this help them in the future?
A2. Of course! These skills can turn into a passion and a career, or they may just help the students create projects and work harder in future classes. If, for example, your English Literature professor in college asks you to create a flyer for a poetry reading of Walter Whitman as an assignment, you can use more than just words – you can use photos of Whitman superimposed on a photo of your school, and add some students to liven it up. These are skills that can last a lifetime and be useful in school and in the workforce.

Downey, Allison L. (2009 March/April). Fusing Art and Technology. Learning and Leading with Technology, Vol. 36, Retrieved 08 April 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/

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