Zoom Lessons Are Highly Valuable
If you’ve looked into taking art classes in the past year, you’ve likely seen plenty of options hosted on Zoom. You’ve probably wondered how they’d compare to in-person classes. Is an online art class as valuable as being in a studio with a teacher? Will you get enough out of it? The answer to these questions is a definite “Yes.”
When the pandemic started, I too had the same concerns, but with students clamoring for lessons from institutions that had closed, I was asked to start teaching online. I love teaching art and so I created Michelle Judith Art, uncertain of how online lessons would go. What I found was that as a method of teaching, it has been an unqualified success. Before the pandemic, I taught art classes for many years in college, in art schools, and in museums. I have taught children, young adults, and adults, each individual with a unique set of talents and goals. So I have a lot of experience to compare and a lot of reasons why online art classes are so great.
For starters, online art classes are more convenient. No one has to drive anywhere, carry equipment anywhere, or realize they left materials at home and lose out on parts of a lesson. Spending large amounts of time simply doing all these things to attend a class that is only an hour or two takes up time we might rather spend going on a walk, being with family, or, most importantly, painting. Furthermore, there’s no risk of COVID, and our carbon footprints shrink.
Second, the ability to digitally manipulate images and zoom in on artwork means that not only can I home in on critiques of students’ artwork with more ease, but all students attending the class can equally share in each critique, rather than be limited to their own canvasses. I can even utilize modern technology to draw right on top of the images of student artwork to demonstrate changes in values or missteps in the drawing. This use of technology to direct the lesson specifically enables us all to clearly see details that were often more difficult to understand from in-person learning.
Another concern people unfamiliar with online lessons wonder is, do we enjoy each others’ company online like we do in-person? Certainly. In the 21st century, when friendships, relationships, and significant parts of our social lives are online, this is just another avenue to make connections while appreciating our dual loves of art and learning.
Clearly students have done very well learning online and I am proud of their accomplishments. For their words on the matter, you can read what they have to say.