ICT Training for Teachers|
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ICT and Secondary Art - Evaluating the impact of using ICT in Teaching Art
| Module 6 | Contents |
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Art teachers soon develop an intuition for knowing when to intervene and when to stand back and let the pupil or pupils get on with the task. When using ICT your job is more complex as you need to bear in mind not only the teaching and learning objectives but also the range of resources used and to what extent the pupil has used the resources to develop the work.
We need to consider the contribution that work in art contributes to the overall development of pupils' ICT capability and record how effectively pupils demonstrate their ability to communicate and handle information as part of their overall ICT profile. We have already given some general guidance on this in Module 5 of the Primary Core. Perhaps you should have another look at that section, before looking at what follows which is more specific to ICT in Art.
The effective teacher's role involves carrying out a number of tasks including:
- assessing the ICT for content and relevance, by understanding the computer processes involved and feeling confident in distinguishing computer effects from those purposefully and intentionally performed by the pupils;
- organising access to the technology in order to provide all pupils with their entitlement, giving them structures to build on previous experiences and to reflect on how ICT was used by the class as a whole and to make amendments and suggestions for development;
- having an understanding of the terminology associated with ICT;
- monitoring the integration of ICT into schemes of work and identifying ways in which improvements can be made;
- keeping up-to-date with developments in hardware and software to enable effective delivery across all key stages;
Other issues to take into consideration when evaluating the effectiveness of ICT in the art lesson:
- when assessing the pupils' understanding of basic and sophisticated software, avoid the notion that better images can be produced on more powerful computers or software;
- while one image may look more sophisticated than another, the process leading to its production may have been purely mechanical, merely combining the use of different special effects;
- where the computer is used as an intermediate stage in a design process the printouts need to be placed in context - in this sense they are no different from a pencil sketch or a rubbing and their inclusion should be judged on this basis;
- students should be able to demonstrate their understanding of a program, and any special effects should only be used for a purpose;
- in cases where the final outcome is a computer image, animated sequence or multimedia presentation, the question that needs to be asked is 'What control did the student have over the process?' and 'Does the outcome match the original intention?'
The focus of assessment of ICT in art must always be related to identified teaching objectives. In some respects this is no different from assessing works carried out for example in print or ceramics. Remember: we are assessing outcomes matched to aims, as expressed in the pupils' handling of the materials, and not assessing the software or hardware. We are assessing the art enabled by the ICT.
You should make judgements about the extent to which your pupils have met the teaching objectives, and report your findings in the subject as a whole.
You should understand the ways in which saving a series of stages of computer-generated work can inform the assessment process.
Additional demands
The increased accessibility of information which ICT allows leads to additional problems that we need to be aware of:
- pupils researching for personal studies should always identify the source of their information, because blocks of text 'grabbed' from the Internet or a CD-ROM could be used and passed off as their own work;
- similarly, when using images from the Internet or a CD-ROM for research purposes, pupils should indicate where the images have come from; if the images have been incorporated into their own art work, they should indicate how they have used the original image;
- individual contributions to collaborative work using e-mail and the world wide web should be acknowledged.
Finally, you should not forget to evaluate your own progress, and you may now wish to compare how you feel about your NOF Training with the Teacher Training Agency's Expected Outcomes for the NOF Training.
Task 6
- Formally evaluate an activity where you have used ICT in Art Learning or Teaching.
- Share your reflections on your own practice in an on-line discussion group.
Task 7
To complete your NOF Training you will finally need to submit an Action Plan and your Portfolio in order to receive your ICT Competency Certificate.
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