the virtual art room...hmmm

I have to admit, I am a little bit on the fence with teaching art completely online. I know it could be done, but I still believe there are things students just need to "be there" for. Sure I could create a video for all my demonstrations (I already have over half of them taped already!) and put them on a wiki, webpage or virtual class hub. I could do live web chats with my students to "watch" them draw, paint, sculpt, but what about those times I just need to be there. For instance, when I am teaching value drawing, the students definitely benefit from hand over hand instruction when they are struggling. How could I do this via the internet? What about when i help them correct their pressure for painting, drawing, carving, and throwing on a potters wheel. I NEED to know how hard or soft they are pushing in order to give the correct, specific and timely feedback they need in order to learn. I do think there are a number of ways art can be taught online and in fact it would probably be a better learning environment for everyone involve (more independence, less classroom distractions, less peer pressure, etc), but still feels like not all art could be taught this way.

With that said, I am look forward to trying to make my room more of a blended learning environment. If I can begin to do this more frequently and it becomes part of my pedagogy, perhaps I will one day be able to see teaching art (ALL ART) online!