The Role of Technology in the 21st Century Art Room

Abstract

How are art teachers today utilizing computer technology in the classroom and what role do they feel it should serve in art education? The purpose of this study was to explore how elementary art educators in North Carolina schools are integrating computer technology into instructional delivery. The answers to these questions may provide art educators with more effective strategies for infusing computer technology into future classroom instruction. A total of eighty-six survey responses provided by elementary art teachers in the state of North Carolina comprised the data sample for this study. The study participants teach grades kindergarten through fifth in elementary schools across the state. The measuring instrument used to gather and tabulate data was the statistical software program Qualtrics. Surveys were made available to art teachers through online art education venues and emails. The data was analyzed and presented in graph and chart form in this thesis. It was hypothesized that as art teachers gain greater access to classroom based computer technologies they will both use those technologies more frequently and develop more favorable attitudes regarding computer technology usage in the classroom. The data did support the hypothesis. Results showed that greater access to computer technology correlates with increased technology integration and teachers having more favorable beliefs about technology usage in the classroom. Surveys demonstrated art teachers are frequently using computer technologies in their classrooms and many view computer technology favorably. The study outcomes give art teachers insight into how other art teachers are using computer technology in their classrooms and what types of use are most successful. Art teachers may have fewer opportunities for collaboration with one another since most schools only have one art teacher. This study offers art teachers the opportunity to see how other art educators are incorporating computer technologies in the classroom. This valuable insight into what types of computer technology usage are perceived as most useful can help others who may be uncertain how to incorporate computer technology in the classroom with useful integration strategies.