The Beauty of Mobile Devices in Art Education

Some of the most effective technological devices that I have used in education are mobile devices. They increasingly offer a more flexible and personal approach to learning and support students at all levels(Allen,R)

Two examples I can share of my experience with mobile technology. On one occasion with Level 4 students I brought up a Lucian Freud portrait drawing on the classrooms computer monitor and asked the students to individually walk over to the screen and have a good look at the image, in an endeavour to help the student visually understand the drawing objective I was alluding for them to do. Not one student went over to look at the screen. The next question that I asked of them was to find out the date van Gough's was born and I asked them to use their own mobile phones to find the answer, the class erupted with enthusiasm every student engaged with this request and found the answer within seconds. This became a student led activity and when asked to engage with the use of a mobile device all go t involved.

My other example is the use of an I-Pad. Which I have found to be an invaluable tool when conducting one-to-one tutorials. Each student has their own personal agenda and concepts, this makes it vital to be flexible as a teacher and cater for individual needs and responses. Art student have their own unique ways of looking at the world and each student has their own perspectives about what art is. Art is subjective, this means that their aesthetic outcomes will all be completely different.

The I-Pad is firstly mobile and easy to carry around, its functions are easy to use and simple to navigate, it is excellent as regards speed of connection, consistency, battery life and longevity of use. Search engines as google give you the history of art at your fingertips, allowing for personal instruction and guidance according to the students needs at that given time. It also allows the student to become familiar with methods of searching for and learning about all sorts of artist and current trends in art practice. The I-Pad can be used effectively as a visual guide and an aesthetic tool to help the student progressively understanding art practice and deepen their knowledge and understanding of art practice and material processes. There are many online tutorials about processes and material developments that can be watched to suit each individual. It can also be used as a sketchpad itself with its built-in drawing and painting software facilities. 

Overall mobile devices are what is working for me in education and I strongly believe that mobile devices are in there infancy and are going to continue to impact on our lives to a greater degree as we move out of a post-modern society into one that I believe is more fluid and mobile. We are now living in very `Fluid Times`.

  Allen,R (2011) Can mobile devices transform education?

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