What are some best practices for teaching environmental art online?

1 Choose your platform

Depending on your goals, audience, and resources, you may want to use different platforms to teach environmental art online. For example, you could use a video conferencing tool like Zoom or Skype to demonstrate live art-making, share feedback, and create a sense of community. You could also use a learning management system like Moodle or Canvas to upload pre-recorded videos, slides, quizzes, and assignments. Or you could use a social media platform like Instagram or Facebook to showcase student work, spark discussions, and reach a wider audience.

2 Adapt your activities

Online teaching requires some adjustments to your environmental art activities. For instance, you may need to simplify your instructions, reduce your materials, and shorten your time frame. You may also need to consider the accessibility and availability of natural elements for your students. For example, you could ask them to collect items from their backyard, balcony, or nearby park, or use recycled or household materials instead. Alternatively, you could focus on digital or conceptual forms of environmental art, such as photography, collage, or poetry.

3 Encourage creativity and experimentation

One of the benefits of environmental art is that it allows for multiple interpretations and expressions of the natural world. Therefore, you should encourage your students to be creative and experiment with different forms, materials, and techniques. You can do this by providing them with open-ended prompts, examples, and questions, rather than fixed rules or outcomes. You can also invite them to share their ideas, inspirations, and challenges with you and their peers, and to give and receive constructive feedback.

4 Connect with the environment

Even though you are teaching online, you should still try to connect your students with the environment as much as possible. You can do this by incorporating outdoor or sensory experiences into your lessons, such as observing, listening, smelling, or touching nature. You can also ask your students to reflect on their personal or cultural relationships with nature, and how their art expresses or influences them. Moreover, you can link your art activities to relevant environmental topics or issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, or waste management.

5 Assess your impact

Finally, you should assess the impact of your online environmental art lessons on your students and the environment. You can do this by using various methods, such as surveys, interviews, portfolios, or rubrics. You should aim to measure not only the quality and creativity of your students' art products, but also their learning outcomes and attitudes. For example, you could evaluate their knowledge, skills, and values related to environmental art and education. You could also ask them how their art has changed their awareness, appreciation, or action for the environment.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?