Undoing “Banking” Education: Using Google Drawings to Strengthen Engagement

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Notes

¹ Pseudonyms are used here and throughout the article.

² We acknowledge the student/teacher binary created by the use of colored text to differentiate our memories and perspectives. This binary mimics the inherent hierarchical relationship between the students and a teacher in a classroom space. Rather than erasing the binary and hierarchy, we aim to work within and against the power differential that exists between our identities as student and teacher.

³ A Google Drawings canvas looks similar to a slide found in Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint, but is designed for drawing and editing purposes rather than presenting; although, in the context of the course, students used Drawings as a tool for drawing, editing, and presenting.

⁴ Students completed 10 collaborative Drawings with unique titles to complement the themes outlined in the syllabus, including but not limited to: traditional, modernist, blurred genres, crisis of representation, the posts, and the future (Denzin, 2010).

⁵ The ethnic demographic data of the students enrolled in “Theories in Art Education” mirrors that of the student population at California State University, Sacramento (Fall 2016 Sac State Students, 2016): Latino 29.4%, White 28.2%, Asian 20.1%, Multiracial 6.2%, Other 6.0%, African American 5.6%, Foreign 3.3%, Pacific Islander 0.7%, and American Indian 0.3%. The students at the university are also diverse in terms of socioeconomic status, gender identification, sexual orientation, and age. The statistics above are important to note but are excluded from the body of the article because the authors believe that educators can enact engaged pedagogy using Google Drawings in learning environments that might be more homogenous.

⁶ Google “Comments” is a function found in all Google Drive applications, including: Drawings, Docs, Slides, and so on. In this course, students addressed their peers' thinking by responding to at least one reflection a week in the form of a comment. Added comments appear in the right column of Google applications as text boxes and correspond with visual or written text found in the body of the Drawings, in this case. So, the purpose of a comment is to generate engagement about a reflection through correspondence. Amber also posted a comment to every student's reflection each week.

⁷ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpkjdbh7ALI

⁸ “Theories in Art Education” is classified as a lecture course. The students added reflections and comments to Drawings outside of class; however, it was important for them to be able to work in the application simultaneously. For example, it was common to find around three to five students posting or editing their work in Drawings at any given time. Of course, that number increased just before a reflection or comment was due.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amber Ward

Amber Ward is Assistant Professor of Art Education at California State University, Sacramento. E-mail: [email protected]

Margaret Blanchfield

Margaret Blanchfield is Graduate Student in Education and Teaching Credential Candidate in Art at Alliant International University. E-mail: [email protected]