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To promote and develop effective search skills and critical judgment when using the internet by:
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Although it is only one source of information for art and design among many, the internet is acknowledged to be a significant research tool for contextual studies: more widely accessible and cheaper than art books and catalogues, constantly updated, a gateway to the most contemporary practice as to the most established, to the least familiar as to the most documented, it opens the doors of galleries, museums, libraries, collections and artists' studios from any place and at any time. Yet teachers frequently express frustration because pupils indiscriminately cut and paste chunks of text from websites with no evidence that they have understood or even read the information. Effective internet research skills are instrumental to fostering independent, critical learners and thinkers in a technological age; but, as with other skills, they need to be actively taught. School art: what's in it? Exploring visual arts in secondary schools, by Dick Downing and Ruth Watson (NFER Nov 2004) commissioned by Arts Council England in association with Tate, scrutinized the content of the key stage 3 and 4 art curriculum, with particular reference to the inclusion of contemporary art practice. The report found that the creative use of ICT in art departments was limited, in contrast to the widespread use of the internet for contextual research. However, the report also suggested that pupils are not taught the skills they need to use the internet critically or effectively. Don't assume that they are learning these skills in other lessons: from the start make it a priority to help them develop key internet information skills and strategies relevant to art and design. |
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Brief
1: find the mystery painting
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For a project on self-portraits you have been asked to research a particular painting for homework. Unfortunately, you didn't make a note of the title and you can only remember a few details - the artist is Mexican and the painting is a double portrait. Can you work it out? You can only use the internet to find the information you need. |
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 Choose a suitable search
tool
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There are three main types of internet search tool:
Tip: make shortcuts to your preferred search engine or directory by Adding to Favorites (PC) or Bookmarking (Mac), so that you don't have to keep typing in the URL. To make it even easier you can download from some search engines like Google a dedicated search toolbar that always sits in your browser window.
Activity 1: Try typing in what you know about the painting (e.g. Mexican artist) into three different search engines and compare (a) the number of results you get and (b) the website that tops the list. What differences are there?
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 Refine
your search strategy
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To focus your search more and narrow down the results you should:
Tip: Read through the online Help section of your favourite search engine - different engines work in different ways e.g. Google doesn't recognise BOOLEAN operators; Altavista uses + - instead of AND, NOT Activity 2: Try using more advanced search criteria e.g. typing "double self-portrait" into a search engine with and without "" , then with other combinations of your key words. The worksheet gives you sleuthing practice with three search engines. If you think you have found the missing painting, you are almost ready to begin the web search.
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 Save
important links
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Art sleuths like other researchers must make a careful note of their sources, or where they found their evidence. Open a new document and when you find a useful site which you may need to get information from later, make a shortcut in your browser as at step 1, but also copy and paste the URL from the address bar into your new document. You may also want to make a brief note of why you think it could be useful. Save your document as project_references and keep adding web links to it until the project is finished. This will be the basis of a reference page for your e-portfolio. Tip: smart sleuths know that how easy it is to get lost when browsing from site to site - they either use their browser's Back button to find the way back, or they open each link in a new window. To do this right-click on the link (PC), or Control-click on it (Mac), and select Open in New Window from the context menu. Activity 3: Download a blank template to use for this project and begin adding useful links to it.
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 Judge
how reliable and useful the information is |
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Millions of new pages are published every day on the internet. The best thing about the web is that anyone can publish anything. The worst thing about the web is that anyone can publish anything ... Not all of the information is reliable or trustworthy; not all of it is up to date. How can you judge what to trust and what is relevant to you? What clues can you find to help? Before you trust the information on a site, ask yourself these eight questions:
Activity 4: Compare two websites using these criteria. Download a Word or PDF version by clicking on the relevant icon. Note that you can type directly into the Word document if you keep it open as you work, then save it to your e-portfolio.
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Have you found it yet? Click on the art sleuths graphic to see if you have found the missing painting. |
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| Practise your art sleuth skills with a web search to discover more about the mystery painting and the artist. Download a copy to print out or complete electronically for your e-portfolio. | |
 
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Websearch (with
extension question)
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Websearch - suggested
answers (guide only)
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Quick Virtual
Training Suite Albany
University Library, State of New York Brief 1 - find the missing painting: answer The missing painting is called 'The Two Fridas" or "Las Dos Fridas", a double self-portrait of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, painted in 1939. Did you find it? The photograph shows the artist in her studio at work on the almost finished painting.
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Flashpoints are my interactive Flash lesson starters based on a single artwork or theme. Try this Flashpoint about another of Frida's double self-portraits, Tree of Hope. |
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| Footnote
These two A1 size self-portraits by a part-time PRU student, a school refuser, were inspired by Kahlo and their shared love of animals, as she too had numerous exotic pets - the pastel drawing was made in Year 10 and the acrylic painting was her GCSE exam piece. She also made an elaborate relief frame for one of the portraits.
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