Technology is impacting all aspects of life including art and teaching. Art teachers are finding new ways to communicate, inspire and instruct their students using software and apps designed to stir the artist within. It is necessary to view technology as an acceptable medium in which people can create and express themselves. The iPad offers a unique interactive canvas to assist students in exploring their artistic talents. Here are four apps every art teacher can use:
1. Art Prompts: This visual aid has many applications to assist in inspiring and instructing students. You can find inspiration using a number of prompts from many different categories such as time periods, genres or even words. The app makes it easy for teachers or students to change prompts by simply shaking or swiping the device. It can provide hours of inspiration for teachers and students to stimulate creativity and get those juices flowing.
2. Drawp: This professional grade program is especially designed for kids. They will have access to hundreds of colours and textures to allow them to experiment and find their inner artist. Teachers can allow kids to discover their own talents and use their own imaginations with limitless possibilities. It provides a new medium for children to create their own artwork as well as store it for finished projects.
3. MoMA Art: Direct from New York, this app uses the modern art concept to promote creativity. Students can learn how artists use different aspects such as shapes, lines and colour to create their artwork. They can then apply their learning to create their own art, store them and share them. The app also assists in educating children about various artists from Matisse to Calder.
4. Touch Van Gogh: For art classes that explore art history and specific artists this app offers insight into the life and art of Van Gogh. The program allows students to call up specific works of art by Van Gogh and select any aspect of the painting to discover interesting tidbits of information about the work. This is a unique approach to interactive learning and allows students to explore aspects of Van Gogh’s work based on their own curiosity. The app includes up to date findings on the artist’s work as well as insight into his technique and art history.
Every art teacher can add a technological aspect to their curriculum with the use of these art apps. Children will gain a new appreciation for art and their own inherent creative talents.
