Introduction/Research Question

          When looking at how to incorporate 21^st century technology into a typical, middle-school-aged art classroom, it is easy to start dreaming quite largely about having a full digital photography studio, or purchasing an iPad or digital camera for every student. While these ideas are somewhat grand but not completely out of reach – the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio actually supplies an iPad to every freshman for their tenure (Kulkin, 2013)– there are more innovative ways to use digital media in an art classroom these days. For instance, one could have students create an online, digital portfolio of their from complete from creating the works of art, to documenting their artwork with cameras and video cameras, through creating a portfolio either on a blog or a website. This would be an incredible tool and resource for a high school classroom but would involve a lot of money to facilitate all of the technology and, truly, a lot of commitment from the instructor and students to complete not only quality works of art but also to spend time documenting, designing and archiving the works of art. All of this to say, there are many places technology can, and will, be used in the art classroom, however not all are reasonable and accessible to the middle-school classroom.

Middle School students are, by nature, unsure of who they are and where they are going in life. They often have not even begun to think about the future, do not think past what is happening that weekend, and are completely sensitive to their opinions of those around them. As well, middle school students (6^th-8^th grade for the purposes of this research) are in a period of change as they are in the first couple years of puberty, which means they are changing physically, emotionally and mentally. On occasion a student comes into middle school as one type of student and leaves as another; perhaps they began middle school as a driven, high achieving student and graduate 8^th grade as a C average student who spends more time with friends than doing homework. More specifically, a student may enter middle school as a really talented artist and leave middle school looking to stop taking art because their friends – who are not naturally talented – have decided it is “not cool” to take art. Due to the many different changes that occur during middle school, the art room needs to change and grow with students to keep them engaged. This is one reason why changing and developing curriculum to include the use of iPads is an important concept to take a look at. Utilizing new, 21^st century technology as a way to teach art could be the difference in art class enrollment in the next 10-15 years.

In addition to the changes middle school students go through and experience, the art room is a place where nearly every student in the school is taught including those who are gifted in art, and those students who have special needs. Due to the wide variety of students who are serviced by art curriculum, there needs to be a wide variety of materials and processes available to access every type of student. This is not to say that all students need to like every art project, but rather to say there need to be options available for every student to find a way to succeed in art. For instance, students who have been diagnosed with Aspergers or Autism sometimes have trouble with different textures and getting messy. These students sometimes refuse to work on an art project because it means touching materials that make them uncomfortable or getting messy when they prefer to be clean. Having access to creating art on an iPad could eliminate such issues and provide this type of student with a way to successfully create art without experiencing the limitations that their diagnosis brings with it. 

Literature Review

            Kyle Lambert has made himself a name as the premier digital painter through his extremely realistic portrait work done on an iPad. He was interviewed about his work at the Macworld conference in 2011 (Caldwell & Lambert, 2011), which was podcast, and he discussed the applications he uses to create his portraits, how he completes his work and the time it takes to complete a work as well as the advantages and limitations to creating artwork on an iPad. Lambert, who was initially a traditional oil painter was asked how he navigates the restrictions that come from completing a painting in a digital format; Lambert stated that “having restrictions as an artist makes you work a little bit harder.” For Lambert, the advantages highly outweigh the disadvantages. For instance, Lambert lists not having to wait for paint to dry, unlimited materials at your fingertips and looser decision making as great advantages for iPad painting. He expresses freedom that comes from not being committed to a decision you make on an iPad painting as the can always be reversed in comparison to the more concrete nature of paintings that are made using traditional oil paint. Lambert’s spends the majority of his time using the app Brushes as he feels it has a lot of flexibility, every tool necessary and allows for a wide variety of artworks to be created. Lastly, when questioned about the lack of precision that a finger on a screen makes in comparison to a very fine brush or pen tip, Lambert stated that the use of zooming in on different areas of the work makes that problem irrelevant (Caldwell & Lambert, 2011). One look at Lambert’s work is an incredible testament to the quality of work that can be completed using an iPad.

Kyle Lambert Morgan Freeman Painting
Kyle Lambert Macworld Interview

            In 2011, Dale Sheppard completed an iPad study in regards to using the iPads as eReaders within a classroom (Sheppard, 2011). The intent was to find out if using the eReaders would improve achievement scores in reading within a Primary school setting. While the study was not successful in proving the iPads to be helpful in raising reading scores, Sheppard mentioned multiple times that students were more engaged in the time spend reading on the iPads when compared to their traditional time reading. As well, Sheppard stated that the 6^th grade students read frequently online and engaged in email, online chat and messages, and used search on a regular basis, all of which were done in using the iPads. This fact only enhances the understanding that the iPad is attractive to students and that it can be used for a multitude of different tools for students (Sheppard, 2011).

            Earlier this year, Wilma Clark and Rosemary Luckin published a report completed in the UK which demonstrates the ways the iPad can be used to “support collaborative learning, to provide personalised learning experiences, …to augment and enhance deep learning, as…. connected learning tools. We also discuss the ways in which iPads can contribute to Digitally Enhanced Monitoring and Assessment (Clark & Luckin, 2013). One of the great points Clark and Luckin make in support of the iPad in the classroom is the way it can act as a support structure to the learning that is already taking place. They state that the ease with which a learner can switch between the iPad and the traditional learning tools allows learners to take control of their own learning. There is an incredible point to be made here in relation to my research in that the goal is not to replace traditional art media with the iPad permanently and completely, but to see the iPad as a support tool and a way to enhance student’s knowledge and understanding, as well as their practice of art. The iPad should be another tool in the student’s artist handbag. Clark and Luckin report many forms of support for the iPad in the classroom including teacher and parent enthusiasm. Parents have reported benefits such as “increased engagement and interest in learning, gains in knowledge and technology skills, more time spent on homework and more opportunity to make learning relevant and authentic” (Clark & Luckin, 2013). Teachers have reported being quite pleased with the ease of mobility and portability that comes through the use of iPads in the classroom. They eliminate the need for large bulky computers and take up much less room than a traditional laptop cart and have a wider variety of tools on hand in a smaller device. Teachers also stated that the implementation of the iPads has caused them to rethink their role of teacher into more of a facilitator and guide role as students have assumed more responsibility and control over their paths of learning (Clark and Luckin, 2013). In general, Clark & Luckin have hit the nail on the head as to how iPads can be seamlessly integrated into a classroom to raise it to a 21^st century level classroom.

         One of the most amazing things about the iPad as a legitimate art tool is the way it has transformed an extremely well known master artist from using traditional brushes to using the app Brushes. David Hockney is known as “Britian’s greatest living artist” and yet he is pushing the envelope as we speak as to what art has to be to be able to be categorized as good art (Lovell-Pank, 2012). Hockney hosted an exhibition last year at the Royal Academy that was strictly digital paintings he had done on the iPad. Hockey is world-renowned in the field of Pop Art and until the last few years has been recognized as a painter, yet at the age of 76, he is choosing to keep with the ever-growing 21^st century and transfer into working in the digital media. Hockney’s idea for showcasing his digital works was to take a tool widely used to mass-produce and use it to mass-create beautiful works of art. In addition to digital paintings, Hockney is keeping in tradition with his photo-realistic talents and creating photo collages using his iPad. It is the combination of the paintings, photo-collages and even videos that make Hockney a shining example of quality art being completed on a hand-held tablet (Lovell-Pank, 2012).

Hockney, Yosemite, 2011, iPad Drawing

            In June of 2012, a study was presented by Jonathan P. Rossing, Willie M. Miller, Amanda K. Cecil and Suzan E. Stamper that focused on student’s perceptions of learning on mobile tablets (Rossing, Miller, Cecil & Stamper, 2012). This article opens with a staggering statistic that mobile technology usage – such as smartphones - in college students has increased from 1.2% in 2005 to 62.7% in 2010. This fact alone is enough to suggest that educators should be taking a strong look at integrating mobile technology into the classroom. In this study, 209 Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) were exposed to the use of iPads in one of their classes and used them to complete in-class activities during 1 to 7 class periods. Students were surveyed using open-ended questions before, during and after iPad usage on various elements of iPad usage. The five themes that students commented on the most in regards to using the iPads were: “1) access and availability of information, 2) sharing and collaboration, 3) novelty, 4) learning styles and preferences, and 5) convenience and functionality” (Rossing, Miller, Cecil & Stamper, 2012). When referencing access and availability, students noted the ease of finding supplemental materials and not having to rely solely on their textbook, as well as finding examples of information that were relevant to topics covered in class. Sharing and collaboration was highly regarded by students as they expressed appreciating the ease of sharing information through email, social media and apps such as Dropbox. Naturally there is a novelty that comes from using new technology in a classroom, especially when a student is a part of a small group using said technology. In reference to learning styles and preferences, students commented that the devices “helped solidify the things we learned in class, and helped give us an alternative method of practicing those ideas and concepts.” (Rossing, Miller, Cecil & Stamper, 2012). The students also commented that the iPads allowed learners to go at their own pace and help solidify specific information that wouldn’t normally come from a standard lecture or group activity. Lastly, when speaking to convenience and functionality of the iPads, one student said “The iPad is a quick resource for students to use in the classroom. It creates a more productive class meeting” (Rossing, Miller, Cecil & Stamper, 2012).

            One of the biggest challenges to introducing new technology or methods into current education is pushback that can sometimes arise from parents. In 2012, Lindsay Duncan posted a study regarding parent and student perceptions of iPads in the classroom (Duncan, 2012). Students were part of a pilot one-to-one iPad program for various classes in grades 3-6 in the Emerald Union School District. Surveying students resulted in the summary that students perceive the iPad “as an essential tool, contributing to their motivation and learning in school (Duncan, 2012).” Parents agreed that the iPads were a motivating tool for their students however did not see the iPads as an essential to their students learning. With this being the case, the researcher suggested that parents needed an opportunity to gain education and insight into the educational benefits and opportunity of the iPad in the classroom (Duncan, 2012).

            While there are many champions in the corner of integrating digital media into classrooms, and art rooms, there are understandably those that are cautiously optimistic about the use of technology in the art education classroom. Wilks, Cutcher and Wilks published an article in 2012 about this exact issue. The main school of thought being that technology is only half of the educational tool and that students must create with their hands as well. Driving their pieces is the idea that “you cannot fully understand art without making art” (Wilks, Cutcher and Wilks, 2012). The idea is also pronounced that the mediums with which art is created have their own sets of histories, cultures, beliefs and values and changing the medium with which an artwork is made can ultimately change the feel and message of the piece. The flip side of this trepidation is the understanding that digital media and art can in fact form easy partnerships when digital media is used for a purpose and not just to explore digital media. In this article is a wide variety of digital activities suggested for education purposes such as “producing and manipulating digitized images, supporting graphic design, 3-D modeling and desktop publishing, virtual field trips to art museums, creating movies as an art form, using computerized kilns and sharing student’s creative and research works digitally” (Wilks, Cutcher and Wilks, 2012). The main idea to be gained from this study is that technology can be integrated into the art classroom as long as it is done for technology purposes and not to supplement what needs to be done with traditional art materials.

Methodology

            This project will be completed using mixed methods research and utilizing the numbers and data of quantitative research and the survey methods of qualitative research. Neither qualitative nor quantitative quite solves this problem and as such both methods are needed. Action Research has been deemed not quite accurate for this project because some testing and research will need to be done and completed to gain access to the iPads and then more research will be done. Thus, this project cannot be done with research being collected as it goes.

The qualitative methods that will be used will be survey of students involved in the project both before and after access and use of the iPads, survey of the administration in the school, and survey of various art teachers in the same district and in other districts. Students will be surveyed on their interest of art, interest in past grades when taking art, ways iPads can and should be used and level of interest in using them for art, and quality of work created through using the iPads. Quantitative methods will be used to study grades of students before, during and after iPad use in the classroom, attendance in art class calculated during prior, present and post iPad use, and quality of work produced based upon a point-system rubric. All of the above mentioned research will bring about a well-rounded project which points to the ways students can use iPads in the classroom, their impact on accessing different types of learners and their ability to gain better quality of work out of students.

Implementation of Project

In general, this project cannot happen without a classroom set of iPads which my school does not currently have. Grants would need to be written to receive enough money to purchase the iPads and then all of the applications would need to be loaded as well. Some of these applications cost money so there would be more funding necessary there. After receiving the appropriate amount of funds, purchasing and loading iPads and setting students up with individual ways to logon to the iPads, students would be able to begin work on them.

The second step of the project would be surveying all students to find out will find out who is already familiar with using iPads, their level of interest in the subject of art, whether or not they feel art can be done successfully as well as their level of interest in completing art on iPads and finally whether or not having the iPad to complete art would increase their interest.

After the survey, students would begin working through tutorials of the various applications both as a class using the application NearPod which would allow students to see what I am doing on my iPad directly on theirs, as well as using QR codes to look up specific tutorials students would be able to work on individually. Through these tutorials, students would complete small mini projects, which could be shared directly through the apps to my email for grading. These mini projects would be less about completing long projects and more about assessing the student’s level of understanding of the apps. Some apps that would be used would be Brushes, Auryn Ink, Sketchbook Pro, and Art Studio to name a few. Upon successful completion of the tutorials – success will be based upon a rubric – students will be presented with their first completely digital iPad portrait painting. Prior to beginning the iPads, students will have completed a traditional portrait painting that they will end up comparing to their iPad painting after completion. This will be the biggest assessment as to whether or not they will be able to complete quality artwork with the iPads.

In addition to the painting, students will complete projects related to Graphic Design and Photography using their iPads. These works of art will be graded on the typical grading rubric and assessed with the same degree of difficulty as traditional projects. Some students will perform differently – better or worse – than they would with traditional projects while some will perform as well as they normally would.

At the end of the semester, student’s grades will be compared with that of students grades in semesters previous. All projects will be graded with the same rubric to ensure they are being graded in the same manner and all projects will be developmentally appropriate to the grade level, and based upon state of Ohio Visual Art Content Standards (Ohio Department of Education, 2012) which will keep projects at the same degree of difficulty. As well, students will be resurveyed regarding their experience in a mixed digital/traditional art class. Students will be asked about their interest levels of each of the projects, interest levels of projects traditional verse iPad, difficulty of projects (individual and digital verse traditional) and whether or not they felt the iPad made any part of the art curriculum better for them or stayed the same.

Implications/Discussion/Conclusion

            The overarching theme that is resulting out of the research as to whether or not iPads can be used in an art education classroom is that yes, they most certainly can be used and can be used successfully, however they need to be used for specific iPad purposes and will not be implemented without some traditional pushback. Hockney has shown that traditional artists can continue to complete wonderful, technically talented works-of-art on iPads without losing their luster and can in fact gain the same recognition that traditional artists of past have by showing in a gallery. Kyle Lambert is slowly proving to the world that hyper-realistic portraiture painting is completely attainable with no more than a screen, your finger and some time. Multiple resources have explained that students are excited by the move to iPads and feel more energized toward their education through the use of the tablets. Countless surveys and research have shown the multitude of ways that iPads can be used in a classroom and those ways are neverending as new technology is being developed on a daily basis. The world of the iPad is growing as is every facet inside the iPad. The applications we have now to create, display and critique art will only be evolved in the years to come and will only learn to grow and do more.

The research is currently sparse as to what using iPads in an art specific classroom currently looks like beyond simply using them for google and it is research that needs to be done. iPads are turning into an incredible resource, full of nearly every digital tool imaginable and quite literally at our fingertips. If educators and administrators can begin the process now of integrating these tools into our classrooms, the changes will more likely be seamless, the pushback will be minimal and will subside quickly, and students will have a head start on becoming familiar with the technology. iPads and digital media tablets will eventually take over our education processes much the same way computers and SmartBoards have, and it is only a matter of time and technology advances.

The iPad is not going away, and Apple continues to show us that as it develops new iPad after new app after new technology. Our classrooms should be advancing along with that technology if we want to truly be preparing our students for the 21^st century education and workforce.

References

Caldwell, S. (Performer), & Lambert, K. (Performer) (2011, 02 05). Macworld 2011 : The ipad and creativity. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AbyLJaBc_U

Clark , W., & Luckin, R. (2013). ipads in the classroom. London Knowledge Lab, Retrieved from https://www.lkldev.ioe.ac.uk/lklinnovation/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-iPads-in-the-Classroom-v2.pdf

Duncan, L. (2012). Going paperless: Student and parent perceptions of ipads in the ii classroom. (Master's thesis), Available from CSUSM Scholar Works. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10211.8/233

Kulkin, B. (2013, December 02). Interview by A McLaughlin []. Cleveland institute of art interview.

Lovell-Pank, M. (2012). David hockney: The films, photo-collages and ipad works. Cv/Visual Arts Research, 104, 24-31. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.wa.opal-libraries.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0b0f8d05-b52a-46fd-82c9-ae35b2f6c2f5@sessionmgr198&vid=5&hid=107

Ohio Department of Education. (2012). 2012 visual art standards: Grades k-12. Retrieved from http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Academic-Content-Standards/Fine-Arts/2012-Revised-Fine-Arts-Standards/2012_Visual_Art_Standards_Final-1.pdf.aspx

Rossing, J. P., Miller, W. M., Cecil, A. K., & Stamper, S. E. (2012). ilearning: The future of higher education? student perceptions on learning with mobile tablets. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12(2), 1-26. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ978904.pdf

Sheppard, D. (2011). Reading with ipads – the difference makes a difference. Education Today, 3, 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.minnisjournals.com.au/articles/ipads et t3 11.pdf

Wilks, J., Cutcher, A., & Wilks, S. (2012). Digital technology in the visual arts classroom: An [un]easy partnership. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 54(1), 54-65. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.wa.opal-libraries.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6050e85b-97f1-4caa-b04f-cc34c00fa4ab@sessionmgr114&vid=4&hid=107