This capstone project examines how K-12 art teachers are currently using technology as a tool to engage their students and foster a learning environment that connects student interests with contemporary art themes and curriculum. For my research I reviewed the current body of scholarly literature (2004-2014) pertaining to the subjects of student engagement, student-centered learning, and engagement through technology. Additionally, I interviewed eight art educators on their personal curriculum practices and how they use technology in their classrooms as a tool for student engagement. Through my research I found that the literature praises art educators for being one step ahead of other educators in terms of tackling how to teach 21st century students. The art educators I interviewed were motivated by technology even when faced with limited resources in their schools. All eight participants used technology as a means to engage their students in whatever manner they could and many of them were beginning to practice student-centered classrooms. From these interviews I have made an ISSU publication detailing each educator's pedagogy and technological practices (http://tinyurl.com/NWISSUU). My capstone paper describes my research process and findings. First, I discuss why there is a need for change in teaching practices to facilitate better learning for today's students. I then describe how current art educators are using technology in their classrooms to engage their students. Lastly, I conclude this capstone paper with final insights on the future direction of technology in the art classroom.

Successfully leverage technology to enhance classroom practices with this practical resource. The authors demonstrate the importance of educational technology, which is quickly becoming an essential component in effective teaching. Included are over 100 organized classroom strategies, vignettes that show each section’s strategies in action, and a glossary of classroom-relevant technology terms. Key research is summarized and translated into classroom recommendations.

Learn how to use digital technologies to provide a rich new entry-point for art students to make meaning, express their thoughts, and visualize their ideas. Through the lens of artistic development, this book offers a rich scope and sequence of over 50 technology-based art lessons. Each lesson plan includes the art activity, learning level, lesson objective, developmental rationale, list of materials, and suggested questions to motivate and engage students. The authors’ pedagogical approach begins with inquiry-based exploratory activities followed by more in-depth digital art lessons that relate to students’ interests and experiences. With knowledge of how technology can be used in educationally sound ways, educators are better equipped to advocate for the technological resources they need. By incorporating technology into the art classroom—as a stand-alone art medium or in conjunction with traditional studio materials—teachers and students remain on top of 21st-century learning with increased opportunities for innovation. Book Features: Guidance for technology use in the K–12 art curriculum, including specifics for adopting sequential strategies in each grade.Cost-effective strategies that place teachers and students in a position to explore and learn from one another.Developmental theories to help art teachers and curriculum designers successfully incorporate new media.Engaging digital art lessons that acknowledge the role technologies play in the lives of today’s young people.Novel approaches to art education, such as distance learning, animation, 3D printing, and virtual reality.

Now more than ever, youth are plugged in and connected through social media applications. These new technologies creatively engage with students in new ways and transform the manner in which they think, do, and learn. The research reported in this paper investigated ways social media impacts student learning in the art classroom, teachers’ perspectives on social media use as a learning tool, and suggests ways to implement social media in art education practice. Art educators have a unique opportunity to critically and visually engage students using social media applications and technologies in the classroom. By meeting and engaging students through the use of social media, we can harness the educational potential of such technologies to help strengthen the 21st-century skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, and practice the skills they will need to be successful digital citizens of tomorrow. However, with new technology integration comes challenges toward implementation. How do art educators approach the challenges that arise with the positive potential of social media technology integration? Based on topics discussed in the literature and through my research, my goal was to determine art teacher’s perspectives of social media technology use on student learning and whether or not they feel equipped or even motivated to integrate these technologies. In response, I plan to present my findings in an academic paper to be viewable through the Academia website. It is my hope that educators will find this research beneficial to their understanding of the current climate of social media technology use in today’s art classrooms across the country.

"The challenge of how to integrate art and technology in education faces educators all around the world. Approaches for addressing this challenge in ways that enhance the learner’s educational experience can be found in different cultures and in different disciplines. Embracing the idea of collaboration among art and technology educators and practitioners, was what Menano and Fidalgo proposed to the authors of the chapters in this book. This book presents ideas that help educators to re-evaluate and re-think how to approach art and technology in the educational setting and offers solutions to develop new experiences for students and communities.Each chapter presents teaching practices and successful activities that address the challenges facing art and technology education professionals. Along with descriptions of the learners, the settings, the schools and the communities in which they work, the authors share their thoughts and concerns about the changing educational landscape around them. The authors are respected and experienced instructors who are engaged with the use of art and technology and each chapter reflects the authors’ diverse practices, their students at different educational levels, and the different educational and socio-cultural contexts in which the learning and teaching takes place. The authors hope that the varied approaches presented in this book will motivate educators to connect beyond the classroom as well as to embrace new strategies and think more creatively and broadly about educational practices."

How are art teachers today utilizing computer technology in the classroom and what role do they feel it should serve in art education? The purpose of this study was to explore how elementary art educators in North Carolina schools are integrating computer technology into instructional delivery. The answers to these questions may provide art educators with more effective strategies for infusing computer technology into future classroom instruction. A total of eighty-six survey responses provided by elementary art teachers in the state of North Carolina comprised the data sample for this study. The study participants teach grades kindergarten through fifth in elementary schools across the state. The measuring instrument used to gather and tabulate data was the statistical software program Qualtrics. Surveys were made available to art teachers through online art education venues and emails. The data was analyzed and presented in graph and chart form in this thesis. It was hypothesized that as art teachers gain greater access to classroom based computer technologies they will both use those technologies more frequently and develop more favorable attitudes regarding computer technology usage in the classroom. The data did support the hypothesis. Results showed that greater access to computer technology correlates with increased technology integration and teachers having more favorable beliefs about technology usage in the classroom. Surveys demonstrated art teachers are frequently using computer technologies in their classrooms and many view computer technology favorably. The study outcomes give art teachers insight into how other art teachers are using computer technology in their classrooms and what types of use are most successful. Art teachers may have fewer opportunities for collaboration with one another since most schools only have one art teacher. This study offers art teachers the opportunity to see how other art educators are incorporating computer technologies in the classroom. This valuable insight into what types of computer technology usage are perceived as most useful can help others who may be uncertain how to incorporate computer technology in the classroom with useful integration strategies.

Personalized Learning: A Guide for Engaging Students with Technology is designed to help educators make sense of the shifting landscape in modern education. While changes may pose significant challenges, they also offer countless opportunities to engage students in meaningful ways to improve their learning outcomes. Personalized learning is the key to engaging students, as teachers are leading the way toward making learning as relevant, rigorous, and meaningful inside school as outside and what kids do outside school: connecting and sharing online, and engaging in virtual communities of their own Renowned author of the Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go series, Dale Basye, and award winning educator Peggy Grant, provide a go-to tool available to every teacher today—technology as a way to ‘personalize’ the education experience for every student, enabling students to learn at their various paces and in the way most appropriate to their learning styles.