In art, as in life at large, technology has changed everything – or, more precisely, almost everything.

In art classes at schools and universities today, new and emerging software is rendering art appreciation and even actual artistic production accessible to a far greater number of interested students and aspiring artists than ever before.

In the classic approach, talented apprentices toil under the tutelage of a highly skilled master to perfect their skills and learn the fundamentals of their art. That approach works well for the talented few but not so well for those who lack dogged desire or raw native talent. It also imposes strict limits on the number of individuals permitted to benefit from the wisdom, skill, and experience of the master.

To a remarkable degree, technology in the service of art and art education is changing all that. 

With the rise of technology in art education, some might fear that traditional media, such as charcoal drawing and oil painting, are being shunted aside in favor of software-based creations, but the art educators who spoke with eSchool News said certain software programs and emerging web-based collaborations are helping establish a strong base of conceptual understanding--regardless of raw manual or technical talent. This enables a far wider range of students to appreciate art. It also encourages and facilitates the acquisition of more advanced, traditional techniques and skills by far more talented beginners.

Consider Stephanie Reese, a technology teacher at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. For the past 12 years, she, has been using Corel Painter, software designed to mimic traditional painting.

"I use art in the classroom to teach everything from communication and desktop publishing to web design and in yearbook classes," she said. "We're using it for students to be able to tell a story, and this allows them to do it visually. Whether they use video or artwork, they still manipulate the medium and create something that's a story."

Reese uses Painter software to teach different concepts--including 3D animation modeling, 3D figures for geometry, and sculpting for anatomy classes--and also to teach color theory.

Although Reese currently teaches students in grades 9-12, she has taught classes ranging from the elementary-school level up through undergraduate college courses.

"It doesn't matter the age; these kids are so technology adept that all you have to do is show them the basics and they just take off," she said. "I think [technology] can replace some of the traditional forms of art instruction, but I think there's a need for the tactile feel of clay and paint, and getting dirty--it's a real need. Until some of the software has a more haptic feel to it, that need is going to continue to be there--and I can take clay and teach something that I can't teach with a computer program."