The
origins of the South West Grid for Learning Digital Arts Resource were
in a small project run in Dorset. In 2000, three schools in the Bridport
area worked with an artist over the course of a term. Using digital
cameras, scanners and Adobe Photo Shop they created pictures based on
the theme of themselves. Using layers within the file they combined
and re-arranged images to illustrate this theme. It was an inspiring
site to enter a primary school art lesson in a small village school.
There you could see children painting and drawing, making collages with
various materials and then, dotted around the room pupils at computers
working on their images. The ICT resource was not something exceptional
or different, it was simply another medium for the children to use.
You
can see the website for this project at: http://www.dorset-lea.org.uk/projects/digitalarts/
However,
we felt that there is so much variety possible in this work that a wider
look at the possibilities was required. A look around many Secondary
school art departments will show that the computer is fast becoming
a regular tool of choice by students. And not just those interested
in commercial design. We felt that there must be many schools who would
like to know more about how ICT resources could be used in the field
of art. We want to inspire teachers into working with these resources
in their school. And that does not just mean making pictures. We wanted
to look at multimedia work involving sound and video as well as graphics
work.
The
aim of this website is to look at :
- Step
by Step how to do it
- Hardware/Software
advice
- Lesson
ideas
- Student
diaries
- An
Art Gallery that can 'grow'
- How
a professional digital artist works
- Links
to regional and national sources
- Links
with local organisations and galleries
This
website is intended as a teaching resource that can link classroom innovators
and be a source of inspiration and ideas. It is a source of lesson ideas
and materials that can be used by anyone. It should show the sort of
skills children can acquire to enable them to work in the field of digital
art. And the Gallery area shows some of these skills put into practice
from schools in Dorset. It also shows how schools can link with other
agencies to aid and promote the use of ICT resources in art.
The
South West is rich in sources of support and ideas and we provide links
to many of these. One element of the site is to show how a digital artist
works in a professional context and how we, in the classroom, can 'borrow'
ideas from them.
You
will also find constant links back to elements of the National Curriculum
in both ICT and art.
There
are many people to thank for their involvement in the creation of this
website. However in particular we would like to thank the schools for
their input. We must also thank the Poole Study Gallery, a recently
established facility for the South. They worked closely with a school
to provide access to artwork, resources and professional artists. Do
go and visit their website to see what they can offer.
We
would especially like to thank PVA
of Bridport. They took on the major work of creating and designing this
website. They also have made many of their project ideas available on
this site for schools to freely use. With many links to the world of
art and artists, they have their own website which we recommend you
look at.
We
do hope you enjoy this website and find it valuable. If you have any
comments you can e-mail this address: dsec@rmplc.co.uk
