Art Education, Collaboration and the Internet

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Art Education, Collaboration and the Internet
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Craig Roland , Ed.D.
The University of Florida
March 2003

As the Internet finds its way into more and more art classrooms, many art teachers are left wondering how to make best use of its capabilities and resources in their curriculums. While there are a number of ways to use the Internet in teaching art (Greh, 2002; Prater, 2001; Heise and Grandgenett, 1996; Koos and Smith-Shank, 1996; Keifer-Boyd, 1996), some of the most powerful applications involve students taking part in online projects and classroom activities that foster interaction and collaboration within and across contexts. If you’re an art teacher who’s interested in pursuing student-centered, curriculum-based projects on the Internet, you’ll find that such opportunities abound. The only technology you need to get started is an email-program, a Web browser and a computer connected to the Internet. The following information will help you to develop appropriate strategies and to make good choices in achieving your curriculum goals.

Types of Online Projects
Online curriculum-based projects come in many different forms. They can be as simple as having teams of students in the same class search pre-selected online resources for answers to questions posed in a virtual treasure hunt or as complex as having students in different schools work on a social action project together and then publish their concerns, ideas and activities on a companion Web site. Although online curriculum-based projects may vary in design, focus and commitment, they tend to share certain features:

They are authentically driven, inquiry-based activities in which students are expected to make use of the Internet in some way to attain certain learning outcomes.
They usually require students to engage in collaborative work and research to achieve the desired outcomes.
They often are built around a specific idea or theme, typically occur during a set time period, and frequently result in a product of some kind.
They may focus on a specific subject area or integrate several subject areas.
Many involve communicating, sharing, and working in partnership with students and teachers from different geographical locations, backgrounds and cultures.

In her book, Virtual Architecture, Designing and Directing Curriculum-Based Telecomputing, Judi Harris (1998) suggests that curriculum-based projects involving online collaboration with distant partners or research using remote resources typically focus upon at least one of three primary learning processes: interpersonal exchange; information collection and analysis; or problem solving. Within each of three broad categories, she further identifies a number of different “activity structures” that teachers can use to design curriculum-based projects in which online tools and resources are used in educationally worthwhile ways. The following table describes these processes and structures:

Types of Online Curriculum-based Projects

Process	Description	Activity Structures	Supportive Tools
Interpersonal Exchange	Individuals talk electronically with other individuals, individuals talk with groups, or groups talk with other groups.	Keypals, global classrooms, electronic appearances, tele-mentoring, question-and-answer activities, impersonations.	E-mail, asynchronous group discussion tools, Web chat, audio or video-conferencing tools.
Information Collection and Analysis	Activities involving collecting, compiling, and comparing different types of interesting information.	Information exchanges, database creation, electronic publishing, telefieldtrips, and pooled data analysis.	E-mail, Web browser and authoring tools, video-conferencing tools, Web chat, digital camera, scanner.
Problem Solving	Activities that promote critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-based learning.	Information searches, peer feedback activities, parallel problem solving, sequential creations, telepresent problem solving, simulations, social action projects.	E-mail, Web browser and authoring tools, video-conferencing tools, Web chat, digital camera, scanner.

Harris points out that these categories are not mutually exclusive and that some of the more successful educational undertakings incorporate aspects of all three. She further states that although the structures identified within each category may be helpful in designing curriculum-based educational telecomputing activities, teachers must decide whether the use of Internet tools and resources in a particular situation is “worth it.” In making this determination, Harris suggests teachers consider two questions:

Will this use of the Internet enable students to do something they couldn’t do before?
Will this use of the Internet enable students to do something they could do before, but better?

If the answer to both of these questions is “no,” then here is no reason to use Internet tools and resources in this particular way. If students can achieve the desired outcomes just as well or better with traditional tools and approaches, it’s not worth the time and effort to use the new tools.

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