By Karalee Serra

If we take a look at the everyday uses we make of all our electronic technology, it becomes more obvious why artists have taken up these technologies as tools for art making. A large portion of these everyday devices are involved in communication tasks (telephone, radio, video, cable TV, satellite, internet, CD and DVD recording, etc.), transferring various forms of information from a remote location with increasing speed and accuracy. These technologies are primarily dealing with the virtual giving of some remote event or object. It offers a perceptible presence in the immediate environment; therefore, it is not so difficult to understand why new media has intrigued a legion of artistsóboth young and old.

Will Computers Boost Academic And Artistic Achievement?

The World Wide Web is widely acknowledged as a resource that can bring endless amounts of useful information to students in schools. The rush to connect schools of all levels, but especially middle and high schools, has been an issue of focus. The influence that internet technology is having on commerce, industry, broadcast information, an education is staggering. The benefits of this technology can be made to outweigh the many drawbacks. Despite large amounts of cyberjunk, the internet can be a valuable research tool. More importantly; as schools rush to evolve their computer curricula, students can progress from being consumers of web pages to being authors/artists of web pages. This opportunity opens up a world of possibilities. Interesting avenues can be explored in student publishing that enrich studentsí use and understanding of the web, computer technology, and articulation.

Educators today face the challenge of utilizing and integrating computers and related technologies into their instruction in a manner that enhances student interest, learning and achievement. They are realizing that the computer is much more complex and much more capable than other media such as filmstips or overheads. Although, newer technologies such as authoring software and multimedia applications are not yet integrated into the curricula on a regular basis. Educators are equally challenged to explore these new technologies, develop appropriate uses within their specific discipline, and to share these new tools with tomorrowís educators and their students.

We have available to us a virtual library of millions of books, journals, magazines, proceedings, papers, and human resources. Again, this is not just textual information. There are virtually hundreds of galleries, museums, libraries, and collections that provide access to images and research, formal and informal writings and studies, and magazine and newspaper articles and reportsóand all of this is possible through the internet. But best of all, anyone with a connection can access.

Imagine giving students immediate access to images of art from all over the
world. There are high quality CD-ROMs and videodiscs featuring works from
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery, and the Louvre. Students can see not only an artistís painting, but also discover and learn about what inspired him or her. They can hear some of the artistís own thoughts, see the world he or she lived in, and even watch the artist at work. Letters, writings, interviews, and film footage of the artist at work enable the user to have a sense of actually being in the artistís world. All this available at their fingertips.

The technologies of the future are with us today. Yes, they will get smaller-faster-cheaper-more integrated; yes, they will alter our lives. The technologies seem to be in place, even if only in a primitive state. What seems to be less clear is the human factor, i.e., how we will use new technology and how fast we can adapt to change. When you think about all the technology weíve already incorporated in our day-to-day living, we should be somewhat reassured that this may not be as bad as it seems. Can we speculate then that the full integration of technology in the art room is only a matter of time? Perhaps. It is true that our newest art teachers will embrace technology because they have been raised with it. But even our newest teachers may not have been taught with computers, and we do tend to teach the way weíve been taught. The full effects of technology on education may take quite a while to achieve full impact; however, we do live in the information age. Failure to engage our students in meaningful activities related to networked information systems will have negative ramifications for our profession in the future.

Karalee Serra (kserra) is an MSAE candidate at Massachusetts College of Art

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