ArtNet

Unione Europea

Project

Project's description

INTRODUCTION

In the last few years, two projects funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Socrates Programme ODL / Minerva Actions were aimed at promoting the knowledge of European art. The ARTE project focused on European contemporary art while the MultimediArt project concentrated on European art created through the use of New Technologies.

Art teachers involved in both projects worked together on common subjects and experimented the use of New Technologies in the teaching of art. Some of the teachers involved in both projects also started exchanging teaching material and this exchange allowed them to enrich their art teaching skills and methods and to compare different approaches, learning from each other.

The Art-Net project, which originated from the positive experiences described above, has as its aim the creation of network between art teachers in Europe, with the purpose of improving the quality of art teaching sources.

The Art-Net project is funded by the European Commission in the framework of the eLearning Programme. The objective of the eLearning Programme is to successfully integrate information and Communication technology in to teaching systems in Europe.

The start date of the Art-Net project is the 15th of January, 2004 and it will end on the 14th of January, 2006.

OBJECTIVE

The main aim of the Art-Net project is the creation of a virtual space for the sharing of different sources, practices and methodologies for the teaching of art.

TARGET GROUP

The ArtNet project is addressed to art teachers at all levels, who are willing to share materials and methodologies for the teaching of art with other European colleagues. Today, 40 schools in 7 European countries are participating in the project. Other interested schools can join the project at any stage during the project period.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

  • MAPPING OF THE SCHOOLS INVOLVED: Each participating schools will produce a detailed presentation of their institute in electronic format. The presentation will be supplied by the school in English and will be published in the schools database on the Art-Net Portal.
  • EVALUATION OF ELEARNING EXPERIENCES: each school is asked to evaluate the eLearning experiences in which the teachers have been involved. Examples of eLearning experiences can be, the use of a CD in a learning/teaching context; a self-learning training course via Internet; the participation in a thematic forum etc. The Art-Net partnership has devised a common evaluation model to be used by all the schools involved in the project at European level.
  • REVIEW OF ELEARNING MATERIAL: each school is asked to evaluate eLearning material for the teaching of art subjects. eLearning material can be, on-line courses on art subjects; CD-Rom; interactive games etc. What should unite all these teaching materials and methods is their eLearning characteristic: the possibility of using them electronically (eLearning: learning through electronic support). The Art-Net partnership has devised a common evaluation model to be used by all the schools involved in the project at European level.
  • CREATION OF MULTIMEDIA COURSES ON ARTISTI SUBJECTS: every school will be responsible for developing an eLearning course (to be used at distance) on an art topic of their choice, with the assistance of the expert partners of the Art-net project. The eLearning course will be a multimedia course created with the aid of pictures/images; audio; short films etc. The courses can be centred around theoretical contents (e.g. history of art ) or practical (e.g. painting).
  • TEACHER TRAINING: as support for the creation of the eLearnng courses, national workshops on the theme "creation of eLearning courses in artistic themes" will be organised by the experts from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera - Multimedia department and by the technical experts at Connectis S.r.l. The workshops will allow the teachers to develop their own multimedia course with constant support from experts. As an integration to the workshops, a virtual forum will be accessible where the teachers who are the authors of the courses can discuss and compare the courses with one another and with the technical experts from Academy of Fine Arts of Brera and Connectis S.r.l.
  • ORGANISATION OF MATERIAL PRODUCTS: the Art-net project partners will be responsible for checking and re-organising the material produced by the schools (i.e. the evaluation of eLearning experiences; review of material; eLearning courses) and of the loading of this material on the "Art-Net" internet portal (www.elearning-art.net).
  • COURSES FOR THE STUDNETS: during the second year of the project, thematic seminars will be organised on art subjects, using the multimedia courses produced by the teachers during the first year of the project. The thematic seminars will be carried out at distance at the same time in all the schools involved in the 7 European partner countries.
  • LOV'ART COMPETITION: the objective of the competition is the production of an artistic product which must be developed in collaboration (at distance) between two students of different nationalities. A judging panel made up of art experts in 7 different European countries will evaluate the artworks. The winning couple will be invited to the final conference which will take place in November, 2005 in Florence, where they will have the opportunity to meet each other and present their winning artwork..

EXPECTED RESULTS

The main output developed in the framework of the ArtNet project will be the project portal. It will be organized in 3 main sections:

  • DIDACTIS OF FINE ARTS: this section will collate the multimedia courses created by the teachers on the themes linked to the history of art and the material reviewed by these teachers. The section will be divided into three areas: ancient art, modern art and contemporary art.
  • LABORATORY: This section will contain the multimedia courses created by the teachers on the practice of art as well as the material reviewed by these teachers, This section will be divided in to several thematic areas; Design, Sculpture, computer art etc.
  • QUALITY: This section will contain a collection of teaching experiences on artistic themes based on the use of technology and eLearning methodologies.

BENEFITS FOR THE PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

The schools involved in the Art-net project will benefit in many ways. For example:

  • Active participation in a European network of schools where art subjects are taught.
  • Access to a database of electronic material for the teaching of art subjects, reviewed by teachers in Europe.
  • Acquisition of technical and methodological skills for the creation of multimedia courses and artistic subjects.
  • Publication of one's own electronic teaching material in a virtual 'mediateca' for art teachers in Europe.
  • Possibility of publishing the work of the students in the on-line art gallery.
  • Involvement of the students in courses on art materials created by art teachers in Europe.
  • Involvement of the students in an art competition, mediated by art teachers in Europe
  • Direct contacts with colleagues from European schools involved in the project
  • Improvement of knowledge of the English language.