Net.art and Net.pedagogy: Introducing Internet Art to the Digital Art Curriculum

This exploratory case study investigates pedagogical strategies meant to encourage secondary level students to think critically about their perceptions and use of the Internet. This process included guiding them in analyzing works of Internet art and introducing them to web authoring in order to create works of art that could be viewed on a web browser. Contrary to my original expectations, students were initially unable to translate their knowledge about the Internet and other art forms into an ability to purposefully explore Internet art. In this article, I describe and reflect upon the adjustments I made in my instructional methods to demystify Internet art for the students. These adjustments enabled them to engage in art criticism and studio production, describe Internet art's aesthetics, and articulate how their attitudes toward Internet art evolved.