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.