University of West Georgia

Shuntia Wallace
MEDT 7490
Research on Visual and Media Literacy
Using Visual and Media Literacy to Teach Art/ Art History: Incorporating Technology into the
Visual Art Classroom
Teaching visual literacy is a common practice in most Visual Arts classrooms, even though,
Visual art teachers do not realize they are teaching Visual literacy. However, it is a struggle to
use Media Literacy and technology to teach Visual arts, as it is with other subject areas. My
purpose for selecting and researching the subject of technology in the visual arts classroom is, to
discover how media literacy and technology is being incorporated into the art classroom, by
other Visual arts teachers- and hopefully, pick up a few ideas about incorporating media literacy
and technology into my Visual Arts curriculum. In this paper, we will discover how to use
tutorial videos to increase student achievement, how to incorporate Minecraft into the K-12 Art
classroom, and finally, we will explore creating a video game with secondary students.
Digitalizing the Easels, Student Perspective on Tutorial Videos in the Art Classroom
In this article, the author/researchers/ art teacher documented her students response to
using tutorial videos to learn art techniques. When all of the students in her school received
laptops, the author decided to use the technology in a hybrid design to help her students; her
hybrid design was a combination of the flipped and blended classroom model. Not only did
flipping and blending the art room help to incorporate media literacy and technology, but it also
helped the students learn how to draw their portraits, at their own pace. In this case study, the
technology served as a solution to a problem most art teachers face when teaching- performing
demonstrations. According to the article (and from my personal experience), when the teacher is
performing a, how to demonstration for students, usually the students have a hard time
following the demonstration (due to distractions and not being able to see). Also, after
performing the same demonstration throughout the week, the demonstration changes- Some
details may be left out or added, with different groups of students. To solve the problem of
repetitive (and sometimes ineffective demonstrations), the author created tutorial videos and
published them on YouTube for the students to use, instead of performing a live demonstration.
The author used (cited) the works of Mark Prensky, who advocates the inclusion of
videos, such as YouTube tutorials and technology into the classroom, to support and validate her
use of YouTube video tutorials to instruct her students. This was a qualitative case study which
relied on observations and student interviews, to collect data. The students and the teacher/
researcher were the participants and the research was conducted in the art room. During the case
study, the researcher discovered the students not only enjoyed learning from tutorial videos of art
lessons, but most of the students demonstrated significant improvement in their portraits, after
watching the tutorial videos. It was the play, pause and rewind function that really impacted
students learning and success. (Hopper, 2016) The students had control over the rate at which

they learned. For example, when the students had questions, they could pause the video or
rewind to review the content and answer their own questions. There was one student for whom,
the tutorial video was not enough She needed the teachers direct assistance with drawing
facial features. In this scenario, even though the technology was helpful, it remained a tool. In
my opinion, the research for this article was completed in an appropriate manner. The
observations and interviews were the great tools for gathering data about student learning and
student artistic growth. After reviewing this study, I have discovered an effective way to use
technology to empower students to learn, independently of the teacher. I am already making
plans to create some tutorial videos for my students.
Virtual Logos, Incorporating Minecraft into the Art Education Curriculum
This study starts by stating the importance of technology in the classroom and how the
visual arts comply with incorporating technology into the art classroom. Then the article goes on
to explain what Minecraft is, and how to play it, by describing the different modes and functions
of the game (adventure, creative and survival mode). Next, the article explains how gaming, in
particular, Minecraft, fits into the art education curriculum, because of the aesthetic choices
students make in the game (Overby & Jones, 2015) Also, the game provides a safe
environment for taking risks. (Overby & Jones, 2015) After providing data about the
participants, the article goes on to describe how each participant played Minecraft, and how
Minecraft can be used in the art classroom. Here are the suggestions:
1. Minecraft can provide basic skills for creating interactive and digital art by exposing
students to advance coding techniques that could lead to successful use of Photoshop,
Mya or other 3-D programming software (Overby & Jones, 2015)
2. Minecraft can teach students how to work collaboratively (Overby & Jones, 2015)
3. Students can learn how to make pixel art (Overby & Jones, 2015)
4. Minecraft can help the student shift their own identity to one of an architect or designer
(Overby & Jones, 2015)
5. Minecraft can serve as a sort of launch pad for student creativity with technology and 3-d
modeling (Overby & Jones, 2015)
The article closes by offering practical advice to teachers who would like to incorporate
Minecraft into their classrooms, such as checking with administrators to make sure Minecraft fits
into the schools or districts technology plan. Also, according to the article, it is a good idea to
team up with the technology specialist in your school.
This was a qualitative study. The data for the study was gathered from observations and
interviews. The participants for the study included/where a 5-year- old girl, two 9-year-old
girls, a 12-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy, two 18-year-old boys, and one 18-year-old girl.
(Overby & Jones, 2015) The participants were the family members of the author and most of the
interviews and observations took place inside of a home, with the exception of the 12year old
boy- his interview was completed via phone and email. (Overby & Jones, 2015) The results of
this study led to suggestions (stated earlier) of how Minecraft can be used in the classroom.
Personally, I do not trust the suggested use of Minecraft, put forth in this study because the study
was not conducted in an educational setting with an actual class of twenty plus students. This

study was conducted in an ideal setting (a home), for playing Minecraft. If I were conducting
this study, it still would be a qualitative study, but the research would have been done in a less
than ideal, educational setting. If the study had been conducted in a school, with computers or
laptops, slow internet, and chatty students, then the suggestions made in the study would seem
valid. Although I did not agree with the way the study was conducted, I am more knowledgeable
about Minecraft and how to incorporate it into the art classroom.
Gaming Worlds
The article, Gaming Worlds describes a case study where fourteen (14) high school
students were given an opportunity to create a video game in the SEED (Strategies, Events,
Episodes, and Devices) program at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). The article
summarizes the steps for teaching students how to create a video game, from concept to the end
product. The author opens the article by declaring the study to be based on the social
constructivist model, framework where interaction and collaboration are forefronted, and
content must relate to students prior experiences and knowledge to deepen the connection with
new knowledge. It is clear, that the authors of the article were heavily influenced by the works
of, educational philosopher, John Dewey by statements such as, the goal of the study was to
ensure that students were active participants in their own learning. This was a quantitative case
study where data was gathered through observation. The participants were fourteen (14),
secondary students (high school students), with an interest in visual arts, who were selected to
participate in the summer SEED program at UTA. The study was conducted on the campus of
UTA. As a result of the study, the participants learned how to create a video game from the
beginning to the end. The participants also learned how to collaborate with a group to create/
complete a project. The participants gained experiences from engaging, communicating and
collaborating with each other and becoming an active learner. The participants also learned how
to use gaming software, such as Mya and Photoshop and how to turn a 2-D drawing into a 3-D
animation.
The research in this study was done in an appropriate manner. This was a qualitative
study in which the data was gathered from direct observation of the participants as they created
the video game. Although the study was successful, the article and maybe the study would have
benefited from participant interviews as well as observations. I would have loved to review the
opinions of the students in the study What they thought worked well, and what did not. I
believe their opinion would be helpful to me, as an art teacher, when I teach video game design
to my students. One awesome strategy and plan I can take away from this study are how to
create a video game. The authors provided step by step instructions on how to create a video
game and suggest books, tutorials, and websites for more information. Before reading this
article, I was skeptical about incorporating game design into my lessons; after reading this
article, I am curious about implementing game design and plan on trying towards the end of the
school year.

Final Remarks:

Researching Visual and Media Technology use in Visual Arts has been a beneficial experience. I
have discovered new and exciting ways to incorporate Media and technology into my art class,
as a result of seeing what other art teachers are doing (what is work and what is not working).
Also, as a result of this class, I will intentionally teach visual literacy to my students so that they
will be able to use Visual and media literacy to create (not just consume) content.

References:
Overby, A. & Jones. (2015) Virtual Logos: Incorporating Minecraft into the Art Education
Curriculum. Art Education, Volume 68 Issue 1. 2015. Pages 21-27. Retrieved from:
http://articles.westga.edu:2103/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=cf25bcfa-9506-42cc-8c39e30216517604%40sessionmgr106&vid=17&hid=117
Alexander, A. & Ho, T. (2015) Gaming Worlds. Art Education, Volume 68 Issue 1. Pages 2836. Retrieved from: http://articles.westga.edu:2103/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=cf25bcfa-950642cc-8c39-e30216517604%40sessionmgr106&vid=17&hid=117
Hopper, J (2016) Digitalizing the Easels, Student Perspective on Tutorial Videos in the Art
Classroom. Art Education, Volume 69, Issue 4. Pages 23-28. Retrieved from:
http://articles.westga.edu:2103/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=13&sid=cf25bcfa-9506-42cc8c39-e30216517604%40sessionmgr106&hid=117