Project Overview

It is the intention of this project to be exploratory in nature. I intend to facilitate this exploration through exposure to the world of Cyberspace as a new and unique environment for human interaction and communication through art and art criticism. Students in the Art Technologies 1201 course are learning to view art both as a tool to communicate and as a reflection of themselves and others as members of specific cultures and subcultures. Through the Internet, I wish to have them share their art with and be exposed to the art of their global peers as well as participate in a shared criticism of this work. This can take many forms. The resulting images can, for example, be posted on a student virtual gallery, e-mailed directly to found partners or posted on the web as virtual postcards with invitations for response. Student art in traditional media can be scanned or photographed and downloaded using the digital camera and computer generated images can be sent and received directly. Students will not only learn the processes involved but be exposed to a unique understanding of how various societies communicate and respond differently through their art and how this art is expanded and altered through the use of new technologies.

   Curriculum Connections

Nothing, and certainly no school course, exists in a vacuum. It is my belief that all courses are and should be interrelated. While this is specifically an art education project, it relates directly but is not limited to technology education and social studies.

This project incorporates existing computer technologies into the curriculum. It is my understanding that Clarenville High is moving away from how-to courses in computer usage toward a more natural integration of computers as tools to further the educational experience. People learn through doing. This project will give students the opportunity to expand their grasp of the outcomes addressed through exploration of art and use of art technologies.

Art Technologies 1201 provides the opportunity for students to learn about the process by which images are perceived, created and evaluated including study of how perception, technology and image making are related. This project relates to the entire course but notably to the third and final section titled: Perception, Culture, Technology. This section explores and familiarizes students with the impact and effect of perception and technology on the culture of groups, communities, nations and societies. Specifically, this project addresses aesthetic expression, citizenship, communication and technological competence as well as problem solving and moral development. It requires students to not only express themselves through art but to critically analyze their art and the art of their peers with sensitivity to social, moral, cultural, economic, and environmental circumstances. The process will also require effective communication skills in order to relate to partner schools and share information and ideas. This will be achieved through the employment of the technologies available to us and necessitate an understanding and appropriate use of technologies for communication and problem solving. A list of specific curriculum outcomes is listed below under the subheading, evaluation.

   Resource Connections

The Stellar Schools Internet connection will provide access to other schools (teachers and students) in order to make the initial connections and ongoing communications necessary for this project to succeed.

The art room at Clarenville High has recently been connected to the Internet. A computer, printer, scanner and digital pen, purchased last year through fund-raising projects, will enable us to make this project possible. In addition, we hope to borrow use of the digital camera belonging to the science department.

   Evaluation

Specific Curriculum Outcomes directly addressed through this project include:

The Artistic Process:

• demonstrate facility in working with a variety of technologies in image/object creation
  
• demonstrate facility in evaluating the degree of success of an outcome in relation to the student's intention
  
• use analytical skills to creatively assess their own work and the work of others
  
• conduct a comparative analysis of intention versus outcome
  

Visual Communication:

• demonstrate an increased ability to distill thoughts and ideas into succinct visual messages
  
• demonstrate the ability to make decisions about the appropriateness of a technique in achieving their creative/communicative/expressive intentions
  
• create visual structures that communicate intentions
  
• assess/speculate on the impact a new technology might have on art and on society
  
• create images that explore the relationship among perception, culture and technology
  

Cultural Role:

• evaluate the context of images
  
• explain and demonstrate an understanding of the concept of cultural bias
  
• demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural bias when creating and evaluating images
  
• understand the role of cultural bias in the depiction of space
  
• create images that explore the relationship between perception and cultural bias
  
• create images that explore the issues surrounding cultures and subcultures
  
• create images that explore the issues surrounding art and the Internet
  

Personal Growth:

• show empathy toward other people's ways of seeing
  
• examine both internal and external influences on the creation of visual images
  
• conduct both formal and informal art evaluation
  

Perception and Response:

• describe and illustrate the relationship between art, representation and the perception of truth as it is influenced by technology
  
• demonstrate an understanding of the differences and relationships between the concepts of cultures and subcultures
  
• demonstrate an understanding of and explain the concept of Cyberspace and the Internet
  
• Explore the relationship between traditional art exhibition spaces and virtual exhibition spaces
  
• discuss the differences between art on the Net and art in the gallery
  
• explore a new definition for art in Cyberspace
  

The true impact of such a project, if it is a success, cannot be fully evaluated in checklist form. Receiving and giving personal criticism on this scale will have a profound impact and influence. This will have to be satisfied through the personal observations of all involved, particularly student observations, and the anecdotal records I take. I hope to have students keep, in their portfolios, records of all criticisms given and received, their original art work and printed copies of student work of the partner school/s. This will make it possible to periodically get an overview of student progress.