While schools are closed due to COVID-19, teachers everywhere are making a valiant effort to carry on with their lessons – and those who teach “specials” are no exception. When you teach a chiefly hands-on subject such as art, adapting to distance education can be especially intimidating. We’ve discovered ten fantastic resources for art teachers to help keep students’ creative minds stimulated during online instruction.
Canva for Education
Canva is a creative project-based tool that students can use to produce presentations, infographics, websites, reports, worksheets, posters, flyers, and signage. Free for teachers and students, Canva for Education includes full access to Canva Pro, plus tons of add-ons for the classroom. This easy-to-use, drag and drop platform works well with Google Classroom and is COPPA/FERPA compliant.
Furthermore, Canva for Education is providing templates for weekly schedules, posters, worksheets (K-12), planners, fact sheets, and more to support remote learning!
► Apply for a free Canva for Education account here.
Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture houses content from more than 2,000 museums and institutions around the world. This free digital resource enables users to visit top exhibits and browse through thousands of stories, photos, videos, and manuscripts. Through Google Arts & Culture, students become their own curators by building personalized collections with their favorite pieces and sharing them with the class.
► Access Google Arts & Culture through your Google account. If you don’t already have one, create a Google account here.
Incredible Art Department
The Incredible Art Department (IAD) hosts a variety of free art lessons, guides, and resources for art teachers. In addition to artistic activities for students of all ages, IAD features an Art Teacher Toolkit, which contains instructional strategies, rubrics, curriculum, and best practices. Additionally, users can share lessons, ideas, and advice with fellow teachers!
► Access Incredible Art Department content here.
#DrawWithRob
Children’s Book Illustrator Rob Biddulph is conducting a series of draw-along tutorial videos to keep kids busy while they’re stuck inside. Biddulph plans to share new drawing lessons every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:00 am GMT on his Twitter page (@RobBiddulph). Young artists can share their masterpieces using the hashtag #DrawWithRob and see how others interpreted the tutorial!
► Access existing #DrawWithRob tutorials here.
Adobe Creative Cloud
If your school currently subscribes to the Adobe Creative Cloud for lab use, the company is enabling temporary at-home access for students through May 31st, at no additional cost. The Creative Cloud features 20+ robust applications and services that subscribers can use for photography, graphic design, animation, video editing, web development, and more. Popular programs include Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Premiere Pro!
► Request access to Adobe Creative Cloud here.
TeacherVision
TeacherVision is an incredible resource for teachers of all subjects. The art section of this website provides an extensive list of free lesson plans, printables, activities, quizzes, and references that are perfect for K-12 art teachers. Complimentary access is available to all teachers, parents, and students during school closures.
► Create a free TeacherVision account here.
#MetKids
#MetKids is a kid-friendly virtual gateway to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The site features three main sections, allowing students to watch behind-the-scenes videos, discover fun facts about the museum, try creative projects at home, and travel through more than 5,000 years of art. This site is best suited for first through sixth-grade students.
► Access #MetKids content here.
MetPublications
MetPublications features a variety of art collections, galleries, and exhibitions published from 1964 to present. The public can access the Metropolitan Museum Journal, educator publications, full-text books, notable exhibition and collection catalogs, and recently published pieces free of charge. Students can indulge in the largest online art archive in the world by visiting this site.
► Access MetPublications content here.
KinderArt
KinderArt is an interactive experience through which users exchange ideas, find information, conduct research, and learn new things related to art! The site offers thousands of free art lessons categorized by medium and grade level from K-12. Additionally, users can find printable activity pages, educational links and articles, and early childhood education resources. The site encourages visitors to share their experiences, questions, comments, and ideas!
► Access KinderArt content here.
ESS Art Contest 2020
The 2nd Annual ESS Art Contest is drawing to an end, but there are still three days left for K-12 students across the United States to submit their masterpieces! We can’t wait to see the clever responses to this year’s topic, “What would it be like if animals could be teachers, principals, or school staff?” The deadline to submit is Friday, April 10th, at 8:00 pm EST.
The top five finalists from each grade group will be featured on our Facebook and Instagram pages from April 20th through the 24th. We will announce the winners on May 1st!
► Enter the ESS Art Contest and find more details here.
Art teachers are inherently creative people, and we believe in your ability to maintain meaningful instruction, even from a distance. We hope these resources help keep your students’ creative juices flowing! For additional online education resources, check out our recent blog posts: