Viewing YouTube culture as a creative, collaborative process similar to animal swarms can help art educators understand and embrace youth's digital practices. School-age youth are among the most prolific contributors to YouTube, not just as viewers, but also as producers. Even preschoolers now produce videos (McClure, 2010). So pervasive,…

Treasure quests in virtual worlds can help students develop multi-literacy communication skills and promote community, offering insights about art teaching and learning. As part of the new media literacy, students explore the offerings of Second Life (SL), a virtual world, as a series of quests. Multi-literacy involves communication. Through their…

In an era that is rife with aggression and hostility, most art educators hold close to their hearts the belief that they, and their students, can contribute to making the world a better place. Through their acts as teachers and the daily work of art education, they often strive toward creating a space of "non-violence." For K-12…

This article adds to the small collection of art education studies on video games (Parks, 2008; Patton, 2013; Sweeny, 2010) by critically examining the association between violent video games, the U.S. military, and mental disability--from a critical disability studies perspective. Derby overviews the controversies surrounding violent video games…

In this article, the author discusses some of the photographs and videos that her students produced, and shares how their artwork serves as one way that, when given freedom and choice, children will incorporate violent play into their artmaking activities. The author argues that these images are not evidence of inherently violent, dangerous, or…

A software tool is created with the hope of providing a journey into a connective, relevant, and meaningful way of knowing in and through the study of art. In this article, the author describes a research project that resulted from unfettered imagining and visualizing of what could be. The progress of this research is documented, along with the…

In this article, the potentially harmful effects of bullying toward LGBTQ students are demonstrated through personal narratives, encouraging tolerance and the freedom to create and express through art. As openly gay and lesbian arts educators, the authors have learned that it is vital for them not only to invite gay and lesbian lives into teaching…

For this Instructional Resource, the author interviewed contemporary sculptor Michael Beitz, who uses art to explore the role of designed objects in human communication and emotional experience. This column was written in response to calls for using Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2013; Stewart &…

Art educators can "critique" senseless violence--mistreatment, exclusion, intimidation, bullying, violation, abuse, corruption, murder, and war--by unleashing the power of students' creativity. In this article, the author, sharing her philosophical context, discusses how art is preventative medicine with the power to transform the…

Through Alternate Reality Games, students engage in narrative, play, cooperation, creativity, and joy by creating storylines focusing on one element of art. In 2008, the Luce Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum presented Ghosts of a Chance. The first Alternative Reality Game (ARG) to be hosted by a museum, it was designed to deepen and…

Steel is an incredibly strong alloy of iron and carbon. Due to its incredible strength and durability, this resilient material is commonly used for constructing buildings. The transitive verb "steeling" is defined in Miriam-Webster dictionary as "to fill with resolution or determination, as in, she 'steeled herself to face the…

This Instructional Resource relates the experiences of Native American artist Neal Ambrose-Smith, who views himself not only as an artist with a studio practice, but also as an "Arts Worker" who pursues learning new knowledge with his arts-related jobs. Painting, sculpting, and printmaking are only three areas of his studio practice. He…

In this visual essay, NAEA Women's Caucus members gather at the National Convention to create collages in an effort to brainstorm ways to end violence. The mission of the Women's Caucus of the National Art Education Association is a clear call for equity between men and women and a call for social justice in general. Discriminatory…

This article addresses concerns with museum spaces set aside for children to make interactive art, unconnected to the museum experience upstairs. Can the fun and excitement children have in making and exploring art through direct experiences in these alternative spaces take place in front of the works in the collection? The attraction of…

This article describes a studio assignment grounded in social learning theory and intersectionality completed by preservice teachers during their first art education class, enabling students to begin to develop nuanced understandings about categories of difference. A studio assignment combines experiences in museum, community, and school settings…