Art & Media Technology (AMT) Column: Summer 2023

Artificial Intelligence and Art Education

Column by: Tim Needles and ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world and disrupting a wide array of industries, and art and education are no exceptions. Art teachers should consider embracing AI to enhance their teaching practices, learning about the technology, and becoming able to empower students with knowledge for the future. As a technology specialist, I can share that, regardless of how you feel about using AI with students—there are many benefits and concerns—it is a powerful tool that will benefit your teaching. This is a technology that will be an important part of our future, so it is essential that educators work with it to understand the benefits and potential problems.

Here are compelling reasons why teachers should embrace AI:

Time-Saving and Administrative Support: This is currently one of the most powerful benefits for teachers. AI can automate routine administrative tasks, such as writing emails, lesson planning, and creating assessments. By offloading these time-consuming activities, teachers can allocate more time for working with students.

Let me provide an example. I used ChatGPT to help me create drawing prompts for students; here are the results:

User
Please share 3 unique drawing prompts for students that promote creative problem solving

ChatGPT
Certainly! Here are three unique drawing prompts that encourage creative problem solving in students:

“Invisible Connections”: Imagine a world where everything is interconnected but invisible to the naked eye. Create a drawing that represents these hidden connections between people, objects, or ideas. How can you visually depict the intricate web that binds everything together?

“Nature’s Inventions”: Nature has always been a source of inspiration for human inventions. Choose a plant, animal, or natural phenomenon and imagine how it could inspire a new invention or technological advancement. Create a drawing that showcases this innovative idea and how it could positively impact society.

“Cultural Fusion”: Combine elements from different cultures or historical periods to create a unique fusion of styles in your drawing. Explore how different artistic traditions, symbols, and motifs can blend together harmoniously or create unexpected contrasts. How can you celebrate diversity and create a visual representation of cultural exchange and integration?

These drawing prompts encourage students to think outside the box, explore unconventional ideas, and find creative solutions to visual challenges. By embracing these prompts, students can develop their problem-solving skills, expand their artistic boundaries, and cultivate their imagination in unique and exciting ways.

Personalized Learning: AI technology can analyze vast amounts of data to understand individual student needs, preferences, and learning styles. Teachers can create personalized learning experiences with AI to tailor content and assessments and optimize each student’s progress and engagement.

Professional Development: AI can support teachers’ professional development by providing access to educational resources, research, and best practices. AI-powered platforms offer personalized recommendations for teachers to stay updated with the latest trends and improve their teaching methodologies.

Data-Driven Insights: AI can analyze educational data, such as student performance and learning patterns, and provide valuable insights to teachers. As art educators, we don’t often use data to drive our decision making, but it has become much more accessible thanks to new technologies.

Augmented Teaching Tools: AI-powered tools can serve as valuable teaching aids—especially about AI itself. It can provide interactive simulations and virtual reality experiences, and it can extend or recolor images. If you have a new idea for a lesson, use AI to create examples and explore how it might work, or ask AI to create images for students to critique.

Inclusion and Accessibility: AI technology can address diverse learning needs by providing adaptive and accessible learning experiences. AI tools can support students with disabilities, offer language translation services, and provide personalized accommodations, ensuring that every student has equal opportunities to learn and succeed.

It is crucial for teachers to recognize the potential of AI, as well as the challenges it may bring in both education and the art world. It’s developing at an extraordinary pace and will impact us all, so firsthand experience is necessary because it will find its way into every art room in the near future. In order to be part of the conversation, art educators should have some experience with the tools; they have the potential to revolutionize education and the professional art world. By leveraging AI’s capabilities, teachers can gain valuable insights, utilize advanced teaching tools, address potential issues before they appear in class, and create inclusive learning environments.

[[image "An image created with Adobe’s Firefly AI of art teachers on the moon with paintbrushes and a colorful space station in the background."]]

Tim Needles, AMT Chair
Email: tneedles@smithtown.k12.ny.us