An independent, small scale evaluation of the project was incorporated into the project proposal in order to:

• inform Lighthouse and South East Arts of the ways in which the initial aims of the project were met;
• describe the nature of the work;
• identify issues that arose during the project;
• make recommendations for key considerations in the design of similar projects in the future

1.2 Methodology and scope of the evaluation

The planning and conduct of the evaluation was presented to all participants at the beginning of the project before any interviews or discussions took place. After discussion with the teachers and artists during the first interviews, it was agreed that interviews between pupils and an unknown researcher might not be appropriate or present useful information about the nature of the pupils' experience of the project. The artists and teachers suggested that they would find a variety of ways of discussing the pupils' response to the project, from individual conversations to group discussions. There were some difficulties in making arrangements to interview one of the teachers during the times offered. This teacher did not participate in the evaluation procedures.

The evaluation is therefore presented as an analysis of the responses from five artists working in all four of the project schools and three teachers working in three of the project schools. The details of the participants are given in Appendix A. The outline of the conduct of the evaluation sent to participants is presented in Appendix B.

1.3 Initial project aims

The project proposal presented the following aims:

• Provide training opportunities and equipment to rural areas to develop the creative use of the Internet in those areas
• Place a subject specialist in school to bring new ideas into the classroom
• Generate new project ideas which support the delivery of the National Curriculum in Schools
• Foster new relationships between artists and educators

1.4 Summary

Themes arising from the evaluation	Section
The aims of the project were appropriated and developed The aims of the project were clarified for Lighthouse, the schools and the artists The aims of the project were met to differing degrees The use of the internet was not as extensive as planned	2.1 3.1
The roles and expectations of artists in residence were a significant aspect of the project as highlighted in the following issues: Cultures of arts practice and schools Pedagogy Relationships and interactions Models of residency	2.2 3.2 3.6
Digital technologies made a contribution to arts practice and the art curriculum through: Challenging students' perceptions of art Motivation and response to ICT use Co-ordination of development of appropriate ICT skills in school contexts Features of ICT in immediacy, provisionality, as a tool and as a medium	2.3 3.3 3.7
The planning and management of the project highlighted issues of: Timescale and priorities for preparation and follow up School timetables and arts practice Length of the residency Student phase and group size Role of the project co-ordinator	2.4 3.4
Identifying appropriate ICT resources raised the following issues: The political role of the project in the provision of resources within the context of NGfL allocations Models of provision and access appropriate to learning and teaching in art Links with home use of ICT	2.3 3.5
The project was perceived to provide a range of opportunities for participants: Sharing practitioners' experience and ways of working Extending student perceptions of art and ICT Evaluating the quality and range of student work Extending the range of interactions between participants and audiences Providing value for money	2.6 3.6 3.7

1.5 Issues for further consideration

Art on the Net was considered to be an ambitious, complex and innovative venture which was successful and valuable in many aspects for artists, teachers and students. The processes and finished work were presented to a range of audiences - students, teachers across departments and visitors to the final exhibitions and show. The commitment, flexibility and hard work of all participants is acknowledged.
The following issues are presented for further discussion of the key points which have been highlighted for detailed consideration in planning future proposals in order to learn from the experiences of the project.

1.5.1	The time allocated for negotiation with schools, preliminary planning and preparation, establishing appropriate equipment and working space and the final feedback and evaluation could represent a greater proportion of the project timescale.
1.5.2	Models of working as an artist in residence could reflect patterns of working and developing work-in-progress more realistically and flexibly.
1.5.3	The role of the project co-ordinator would have been more focused and supportive if it had been planned as a distinct role, rather than an additional responsibility for a participating artist. The range of needs for support - artistic, technical and diplomatic - was wide in such a complex project.
1.5.4	The age and size of the group were important factors in the development of the work in different schools. These issues could not have been predicted at the beginning of the project. Future proposals could learn from these experiences by incorporating more detailed planning of the learning expectations and roles and responsibilities of the team.
1.5.6	The involvement and feedback from Senior Management Teams in schools is valued and influential in promoting the development of the work in school after the artists have completed the project.
1.5.7	Procedures and processes for evaluating the student experiences and assessing the quality of their work were not clarified within this project. This would be worthwhile extension of the work in future proposals for collaboration between artists and teachers.
1.5.8	The wider dissemination of the project would inform practice and curriculum development in an area which is recognised as both challenging and relevant to learning and teaching in art education.

Section 2
Key issues for teachers

2.1 Aims of the project

2.1.1 The aims of the project were understood and shared after discussion at the preliminary planning meeting. They were commented upon, interpreted and appropriated by each school to reflect the needs of the specific context in which the artists would be working with the pupils. In the early stages of the project, therefore, there was a range of aims which developed the initial broad aims outlined in the project description.

2.1.2 For students, the concerns were to

• broaden their general experience,
• enable them to make connections between their art work and digital techniques and processes,
• develop ICT skills and experience
  
• use the Net to communicate with other schools
  
• produce a unit of GCSE or A Level work.

  2.1.3 The teachers were concerned to
  

• develop their links and collaborations with contemporary practitioners
• promote their personal and professional development of the use of ICT in art

  2.1.4 Comments were also made about the differences between the aims for the participants approaching the purpose and development of the project from different perspectives. Lighthouse, as the organisation initiating the bid, co-ordinating and supporting the artists, was seen to be promoting the use of digital technology in the arts through project development, dissemination and subsequent publication. Questions were asked about how critically the findings of the project would be analysed and presented and the extent to which the management in the schools had considered ways of perpetuating the ideas when the artist left and incorporating the findings with the curriculum within the art departments.

  2.1.5 At the end of the project, the initial broad aims of the project had been met, although the aims specific to each school had been met to different degrees - some exceeding expectations, some not being realised as first hoped. Many of the factors affecting the development of the project in particular directions were situated in the school context and are therefore not generalisable at a superficial level. It was recognised that the project had raised a number of issues for further consideration by all participants and that many things had been learned for future developments. The use of the Internet to support collaborations between the schools had not been as extensive as planned.

2.2 Working with artists in residence

2.2.1 None of the schools had experience of working with artists for such period of time or such a focus on digital technologies and art. Two of the three had worked with artists on short term, intensive projects, usually with younger children. The work had not been linked to examination course work and was often cross-curricular.

2.2.2 Key issues of working with artists in the school were the opportunities it provided for:

• collaborative team planning and teaching
  
• the new input of content and practice for staff development
  
• new relationships and roles to develop within the art departments
  
• students and artists to have a dialogue about the nature of art and art practice beyond the school environment, in college and in work

  2.2.3 At the end of the project two key issues were raised - pedagogy and relationships. Each of the teachers commented on pedagogy - the teaching strategies and relationships adopted and developed by the artists. The comments related to the ways in which the teachers felt they needed to play a role in supporting the artists in working with groups of different sizes and the ways in which the they were also able to reflect upon, and learn from, the approaches used by the artists.
  

  2.2.4 In one school, opportunities for the teachers and artists to work as a teaching team were limited as there were some behavioural difficulties in the class which was subsequently split into two groups, one being taken by the artists, the other by the art teacher. Some of the students in this group were challenged in their perceptions of 'art' by the nature of the artists' practice. It was felt that some of these negative attitudes and the size of the group presented particular difficulties for the artists who were not experienced teachers.

  2.2.5 In another school, the teacher commented on the ways in which conversations about pedagogy had developed between the teachers and the artist. Issues about the different approaches to teaching of skills with particular media - whether skills-based or context-bound - were discussed and contrasted with similar questions in teaching other media, techniques and processes. Questions were raised about whether these issues were specific to the use of ICT resources in art and how they could be reflected in training for professional development.

  2.2.6 In the third school, comments were made about the different approaches of the teacher and artist and how they complemented each other in the development of the students' experience. The teacher had observed that the teaching approach focused on providing a clear framework of learning intentions, demonstration and explanation, supporting resources and as much practical time as possible to enable the students to explore new processes and ideas. The artist, however, used more tutorial time to discuss and critique ideas and work in progress, encouraging the students to develop their practical work in non-contact time.

  2.2.7 A second key issue raised was that of relationship between the artists in residence and the students and teachers. The artists' knowledge and practice brought into the schools was acknowledged to be valuable, both to teacher development and to students' perceptions and understanding of contemporary art. Some students seemed to find this challenging and initially considered the practice to be marginal to their examination course work. The teachers felt that they played an important part in setting up the context for the artists and negotiating the development of appropriate and effective relationships and roles for the artists. There was a recognition of the impact of these roles within the culture of the school and the ways in which students perceived their schooling and the purpose and value of their examination studies.

2.3 The contribution of digital technologies to art in the curriculum

2.3.1 The discussion of the role of digital technologies in art as a curriculum subject overlapped with the perceptions of the impact of digital technologies on wider art practice and economic, social and cultural experiences. Comments such as 'It's happening out there and we have to do it' reflected a variety of feelings of interest and excitement at developments in wider society, as well as caution and resistance to the uncritical responses to notions of the 'Information Age', epitomised in government initiatives such as the National Grid for Learning.

2.3.2 The project was seen as providing opportunities for students to manipulate images in a range of ways and consider issues such as ownership, copyright, collaboration and audience whilst working with digital and communication technologies. It was also seen as useful in stimulating discussions of the differences between making art with digital technologies and using clip art and images from the Web. The opportunities to challenge and widen students' perceptions of art as a curriculum subject were welcomed and there was an awareness of the issues which might be raised relating to the evaluation of the quality of the students' work and experiences.

2.3.3 There were discussions of the ways in which the use of ICT seemed to be motivating for young people and questions were raised about the nature of changing literacies with developing communication technologies and the challenges that raised for teaching strategies in schools. One teacher commented that much of the teaching of art in school could often be behind 'closed doors' and the project gave the opportunity for students to take their work further, both by working with practitioners and new technologies and by being able to share their work with wider audiences.

2.3.4 The initial discussions had focused on issues of motivation, links with the use of ICT in the wider world and the contribution of digital technologies to the manipulation of images and visual ideas. In the second round of interviews, the comments focused on the observations of the processes in which the students had been engaged in learning to new techniques and the challenges they had faced in using them to express their ideas.

2.3.5 Learning to use the range of ICT techniques required within the different projects was quite problematic for many of the students. They found that working with ICT was not as immediate and intuitive as is commonly supposed and that time was needed to develop confidence and familiarity with new techniques. It was observed that similar responses had been noticed when students encountered other new media in art, but there were wider cultural perceptions associated with ICT used for games or office work, which seemed to affect their response. Some students felt that they had not been provided with the relevant experiences within previous ICT courses in school, which were seen as 'artificial' and not relating clearly to other areas of the curriculum. This was an issue which the schools had begun to address in conversations between IT Co-ordinators and the Art Departments. It was felt that there was a need to recognise the time that was required - by students and staff - to develop competence with ICT techniques and acknowledge that the quality of work might be affected in the short term.

2.3.6 Observing the students working with the digital media did offer the teachers the opportunity to reflect upon and discuss the contrasts and balances between techniques and processes in traditional and digital media. Some students expressed their dislike of using ICT and preferred to work with other processes, using ICT in more subtle ways towards the end of the project. Others were keen to exploit the features of ICT immediately and use it as a starting point in the development of their ideas with other media. It was felt that it was important to provide students with demonstrations of the potential of the digital technologies in order to enable them to make choices about the ways in which they developed their work. One teacher commented that the students were not only being presented with new working processes, but also provoked into new ways of looking at work and practice. It was felt that the depth of knowledge of the artists in embedding digital processes in their own practice was very valuable in supporting the students and teachers in this new field, particularly in helping to find a meaningful context and purpose for the development of new techniques.

2.4 The planning and management of the project

2.4.1 The planning of the project was perceived as being clear, but rather rushed within tight deadlines. The initial meeting of artists and teachers was considered to be very useful in providing opportunities to see the range of the artists' work and discuss practice and teaching with colleagues. It was suggested that the preliminary planning, in which the work of the artists was incorporated into the schools' curriculum frameworks for coursework, needed to have been done over a longer period, ideally during the preceding academic year. There was acknowledgement, however, that this might be difficult in the working patterns of the artists. It was also suggested that further collaboration between the teachers would have been useful.

2.4.2 A key planning constraint was reported in each school to be the need to manoeuvre through the structured timetable, although it was acknowledged that the project was a catalyst for discussions between curriculum departments about ways to approach flexibility in working across the timetable and curriculum. One school experienced difficulties with delays caused by 'red tape' in negotiating the purchase of resources after specific needs had been identified in the first weeks of the project.

2.4.3 In the second round of interviews, this aspect of the project was not highlighted. It was felt that the points made about the planning time needed at the beginning of the project were still valid. There were some comments made about the length of the residency and how that related to its purpose and impact on the students. It was suggested that the younger students might have benefited from a shorter, more intensive model of work with a visiting artist, although this would have implications for the level of competence with ICT resources which would be required of the students and staff before the project. It was also suggested that it would be useful to provide some continuity for A level examination groups after the summer break.

2.5 ICT Resources

2.5.1 The resources provided through the project were welcomed, not only as additions to the resources accessible to the Art departments, but also in playing a role in raising the profile of the department in the political discussions about the bidding for, and placing, of ICT resources within the school. This was seen as a key issue in the period of bidding for NGfL resources from LEA. The modes of access to ICT resources within the art curriculum were discussed in the light of different models of pedagogy that might be required and the nature of the training for teachers which might be needed to support these changes.

2.5.2 The provision and placing of resources in the project provoked discussion about a number of issues related to the ways in which schools provide students with access to ICT resources. Each school had an ICT suite, but the art teachers felt that there was a strong case for appropriate resources to be made available within, or near, the art department. These appropriate resources might include desktop machines with large monitors, digital cameras, scanners, dataprojectors and portables - all with software for image manipulation and multimedia authoring as well as Internet access and facilities to use reference materials on CD ROM.

2.5.3 The use of ICT resources within the art department would give clear messages about their role as a tool within art practice which had particular requirements of time and space, not always reflected in the timetable of a busy central ICT suite. There was also discussion of the opportunities that students had to use ICT facilities at home in order to develop their work. This raised issues of equity of access; ways in which the school might be able to provide equipment on loan and the assumptions that teachers might make about the ways in which students use computers to support their learning outside the classroom.

2.6 Perceived opportunities in the project for students and teachers

2.6.1 The project was seen to provide opportunities for the artists to bring their knowledge and practice into the art departments to enable the students to develop ideas and make links with their previous work. The dialogue between all the contributors was seen as valuable and it was recognised that all participants would be able to learn from the experience and from each other.

2.6.2 Two areas which the teachers felt to be a potentially rich, yet unpredictable at the beginning of the project were the development of students' attitudes to the artists and their contemporary work and the ways in which the artists might develop their relationships with the groups and their own teaching strategies.

2.6.3 It was felt that the students would have opportunities to:

• develop GCSE and A Level course work
  
• broaden their experience and views of contemporary art practice
  
• develop confidence in using new media
  
• experience new ways of working in the art curriculum
  
• challenge their perceptions of the uses and potential of ICT
  
• develop a valued interaction and relationship with the artist as a caring adult in a small group

  2.6.4 It was felt that the teachers would have opportunities to:

• explore the concept of residency and the presence of a practising artist from outside the institution of the school
• build a body of professional knowledge as art teachers
• develop an exploratory way of working in a new area
  
• develop ICT skills
  

  2.6.5 In the final interviews, each teacher expressed the opinion that the experience of the project had been valuable and worthwhile. There was some discussion of the quality of the working processes, the finished products of the students and the ways in which the interaction of many factors could be evaluated. One teacher felt that the quality of the work produced in the time was not as high as that produced with traditional methods. This discussion raised questions of the contributing factors of novelty, unfamiliarity with ICT, attitudes to new art forms and teaching strategies with mixed ability groups. Another teacher felt that the way in which the project had been initially introduced influenced the attitudes of the students but discussion of these responses within the group lead to the development of inventive and personal work of good quality. The third teacher felt that the experience had been valuable in opening up new ways of working and that the quality of the students' work could be evaluated in the same way as with more traditional media.

  2.6.6 Comments were made about the variety of interactions in which the students had been engaged during the project - with ICT techniques, with a range of source material, with artists, teachers and other students and with their previous experiences with other media. The importance of audience was also highlighted. Each of the groups of students were given the opportunity to display, exhibit and perform their work within the school - to peers, teachers, parents and visitors. This also gave them the opportunity to discuss and explain their work to each other and the artist. Further collaborations and sharing of work between the schools had not been developed very far, but it was expected that the work from the whole project would be exhibited at LIghthouse and on a Web site in the future.

  2.6.7 Two specific comments were made about the perception of 'value for money' within the project. One teacher felt that the money in the project needed to provide experiences for as many students as possible, although this presented some problems of access to ICT equipment and the teaching strategies required for the management of larger groups. This was also related to discussions of the length of the residency with one group of students in one school. The other comment highlighted the value for money expressed in the provision of digital resources which would be left in the art departments and provide a good basis for staff development and the incorporation of the ideas and experiences from the project into future curriculum planning and co-ordination with IT departments.

Section Three
Key issues for artists

The group of 5 artists contributed to the evaluation by

• participating in an initial group interview,
  
• submitting detailed interim reports
  
• giving individual interviews at the end of the project.

The evaluator also attended a group meeting half way through the project and viewed the final presentation and discussion of work at the end.

3.1 Aims of the project
The artists understood and shared the aims of the project as presented in the initial bid. They did, however, recognise that each participant and school had additional aims and agendas in working in the project and that there would be an element of negotiation between:

• Lighthouse, whose principle aim was to explore and promote networking and the digital arts
  
• Schools, whose aims focused on the students' production of work and teacher development
  
• Artists, whose aims included the development of relationships between artists, the development of artists in education, the exploration of working across disciplines and developing students' experience of art and media practices.

  3.2 Working as artists in residence
  All the artists had experience of working in schools and identified key issues which were also apparent during this project and required effort and time to address.

  3.2.1 Developing relationships with teachers and clarifying areas of responsibility within the project
  Clarity in the expectations of school, artists and Lighthouse was considered to be important as each school presented different issues and contexts. These ranged from the size and age of groups to the ways in which the project had been introduced to the students. Issues of the support of the Senior Management Team in the school and the extent to which the project was related to the delivery of the art curriculum were also raised. It was recognised that there needed to be flexibility in approaching these negotiations.

  3.2.2 Negotiating within different cultures of art practice and schools
  "Changes in practice of contemporary artists and the cultural industry as a whole are not reflected in the classroom". There was some tension in developing approaches to contemporary art practice in the culture of the school art curriculum as reflected in the requirements of schemes of work and timetables. Time was needed to negotiate and develop strategies for new ways of working, researching and approaching contemporary art, both in classroom work and teacher development.

  3.2.3 Models of timing of the residency
  The timing of this project raised issues of the models of residency. There were advantages in being placed in a school for a long period of time, which provided opportunities to develop relationships and discussions with teachers and students. This also gave time to identify specific resources and skills required to address the students' work in some depth. However, shorter and intensive blocks of time were felt to be more effective and beneficial to the making of work. Access to students within 1 hour timetable constraints was often problematic within the model of the project. Two artists were able to take small groups on a field trip outside the school and this was felt to be useful both as a stimulus for ideas and as an approach to different ways of working in the follow-up activities. It was noted, however, that the Special Needs Group in one school did benefit from shorter, regular sessions. These issues highlight the need to consider the range of factors which influence the learning intentions and contexts of the students and proposed activities.

  3.2.4 Planning time
  "The beginning and end of the project are the richest points - and the most problematic". In relation to their work as artists in residence, there could have been stronger emphasis on the ways in which artists work in the planning and selection process. Other issues of planning and management are addressed in section 3.4.

  
  3.2.5 Access to appropriate equipment in appropriate spaces
  The importance of time to establish working spaces appropriate to the artists' way of working was stressed. There needed to be space to move, work with other media, use the computers and peripherals, display work in progress and discuss within the groups.

  3.2.6 Artists' own work
  The artists were able to develop their own work to differing degrees, including a finished mixed media performance related to the theme of the students' work; collaboration between the artists and two students on the theme of rural life and a collection of starting points for pieces related to the project. Two of the artists commented on the difficulties in trying to develop creative work within the timings and pace of the school environment and suggested that it might be better to bring in work in progress for discussion with the students, rather than be physically 'resident' in the school.

  3.2.7 Range of roles
  An 'artist in residence' was presented as a person who needs to adopt a wide range of roles - artist, researcher, technician, teacher, trainer and negotiator. Whilst this was stimulating, this range often demanded extra work and effort from the artists in order to make the project successful and was described as ‘trying to go in and be different things rather than yourself'. The project co-ordinator was thought to be important in providing clarification and support in these roles, described vividly as 'a lot of hats, some of which were rather woolly!'

3.3 The contribution of digital technologies to art in the curriculum

3.3.1 The discussion was wide-ranging and there was not a shared view, although it was agreed that the issues were new and unresolved and that the debates about the nature of 'digital art' are presented at events such as ISEA. At the present moment it is difficult to ignore the 'sense of promise that is never quite there' and the 'lack of substance', although it was recognised that it would be possible to look back in ten years' time to see the movement in practice and thinking.

3.3.2 Digital technologies were seen by the artists as having the potential to be 'tools to think with', contrasting with other media and providing features which could reflect the complexity of the children's ideas. Two different approaches were discussed which focused on the use of digital technologies as a tool and as a new medium which provoked new ways of working. The 'tool' analogy identified the features of digital technologies, such as immediacy, provisionality and dynamic feedback, which could be used alongside and contrasted with a range of other media and techniques. The 'medium' analogy highlighted the opportunities for different ways of working:
"different conversations are made possible by working [dynamically] with image and text"
"there are opportunities for working across disciplines with multi-media"
"it changes the way I think about the world as well as the way I work with the technology"
" it's a battle to make [digital technologies] accessible and easy to use - the physical outcome doesn't reflect what's gone before"

3.3.3 It was felt that there were issues associated with the development of digital art in the school curriculum, particularly the fast-changing nature of the technologies and the contexts in which ICT skills were taught, which were not reflected in the policies for ICT resource provision and location.

3.3.4 Two further features were highlighted at the end of the project - the students' ICT skills and the potential 'revolution' in school art experience. The students had expressed disquiet about the lack of preparation for the creative use of digital technologies in their school-based ICT courses, particularly in the extent to which they were supported in developing an understanding of the questions that they could ask of the software applications. The high-quality material output of ICT was felt to be an important factor, which contrasted with many of ways in which art teachers often have to be inventive with cheap materials. This quality associated with the access in research to a range of contemporary work and practice was felt to have the potential to be 'revolutionary' in teacher development and the curriculum.

3.4 The planning and management of the project

3.4.1 The planning of the project was felt to be rushed within the timescale of the funding and a longer 'lead-in' time for negotiation and collaboration with all participants was felt to be useful. It was acknowledged, however, that this would have an impact on the artists' lives and the way in which they worked and sought funding from other sources. The meeting for artists and teachers was considered to be useful, but more time was needed to present an overview of the artists' work and discuss feedback and ideas for development.

3.4.2 The size of the groups, course and curriculum expectations and flexibility in access to students were considered to be important factors that could be discussed more explicitly at the start of the project. The situated nature of these factors was acknowledged, however.

3.4.3 The importance of the role of the co-ordinator in the planning and management was stressed, particularly in supporting the communication and exchange of ideas between the artists during the project. Mid-term planning meetings were held, but sometimes focused on practical details and problems rather than the sharing of creative work. The use of e-mail and conferencing could have been extended.

3.4.4 The length of the project was described as being too long and too short and issues associated with the models of residency have been addressed in section 3.2. The advantages and disadvantages of long-term and short-term models need to be discussed and related to the aims and needs of the project and school context.

3.5 ICT resources

3.5.1 Two key concerns were expressed - the setting up of appropriate resources within the project and the models of access to ICT resources and experiences within schools. Time was spent in identifying and ordering equipment appropriate to the project aims within each school context and it was felt that a longer 'lead-in' time was needed to ensure that all this would be in place before the start of work with students. It also took time to negotiate and organise physical space for the equipment and working areas for the students.

3.5.2 The model of access to ICT resources within the schools was felt to be problematic. ICT suites, a feature in many schools, are made accessible for specific ICT lessons, subject lessons and open access time for students. Priorities of security and technical maintenance often entail restriction of flexibility in timetabling, physical space, network privileges, access to 'chat' spaces and facilities for shared work. It was felt that the typical school network or suite is set up on a 'business' model. This is not helpful in the creative use of technologies in the context of an art 'space', nor in providing flexible access to facilities for research or sharing images over the networks and Internet. Strategies had to be developed to work with limited facilities to avoid the 'invisibility' of working with groups in an ICT suite away from the context of the art department.

3.6 Pedagogy and teacher development

3.6.1 This topic was not raised in early interviews, but highlighted at the end of the project. Some of the artists had discussed issues of pedagogy in some detail with the teachers in the school in response to particular events or reactions from the students. The difficulties of teaching ICT techniques embedded within a curriculum context were acknowledged, discussed but unresolved. Some of the students developed their ICT skills within their own support groups outside school. The project provided opportunities for a range of ways of working - whole class teaching, group work and independent work. Various strategies had been adopted to 'free up' new ways of working to promote student ownership, autonomy and experimentation. The use of tutorials and 'crit' sessions with the A level groups was considered to be important in relating the students' approach to teaching practices they might encounter in Further and Higher Education.

3.6.2 The opportunity for cross-curricular work was not realised to the extent hoped in initial planning. Despite the logistical and timetabling difficulties experienced in trying to work explicitly with different departments, there were more informal contacts made with teachers in English, media studies, music, IT, technology, drama and Special Needs Departments. These contacts were developed through conversation, short-term activities related to the project, focused training sessions with digital technologies and involvement in final exhibitions and performances.

3.7 Perceived opportunities in the project for participants

3.7.1 The project was perceived as providing opportunities for the students to:

• gain confidence in the potential of digital technologies
  
• play and enjoy themselves
  
• have lots of ideas which they can discuss and express freely
  
• extend the parameters of their experience of art
  
• engage in processes and different ways of thinking that might not be related to the curriculum
  
• feel empowered by being 'selected' for the project (for SEN students)
  
• engage in cross-curricular experiences
  
• manage their own brief, work out a process of working and develop strategies for overcoming difficulties (for A level students)

  3.7.2 The artists felt that they would have the opportunity to

• work towards a sense of completion with the students' work
  
• enjoy conversations with the students about their work and develop work in dialogue
  
• think about the connections between artists' own practice and the school context by bringing in work in progress for discussion
  
• make the artist and the process visible to the students
  
• resolve a range of negotiations, evaluations and complications
  
• reflect on how the artists and the outcomes are affected by the situation

  3.7.3 The project was seen to have recognised the importance of artists working as practitioners as well as facilitators for students' work in schools. The opportunity to work in a team with the other artists as well as with teachers within the context of a school was felt to be valuable.

  3.7.4 Issues of motivation and building up of self-confidence for students working with digital arts were not straightforward. Some of the A level students initially expressed resistance to the use of technology and new techniques and had to work hard to develop ICT skills with specific packages. The group of Special Needs students in one school were, however, able to have access to new ways of working, interacting and making work with technologies which could bypass or minimise their usual difficulties with reading and spelling - 'When using e-mail, equality depends on your modem speed, not your spelling skills'.

  3.7.5 Most of the work produced at the end of the project was evaluated by students, teachers and artists as being of good quality, arising from a stimulating and worthwhile learning process. In one school, both the teacher and the artists expressed disappointment with the standard of the final work, but acknowledged the interaction of a number of factors of planning and timescale which had contributed to the experience of the project.

  3.7.6 At the end of the project, it was agreed that most of the project aims had been met to different degrees within the school contexts. The use of the Internet to support communication and collaboration between schools had not been realised because of problems with access and connectivity within the schools and the scope of each project.

Appendix A
Acknowledgments

Thanks are given to the project co-ordinators, artists, teachers and school colleagues who participated so fully in the evaluation process, making valuable contributions to the development of the work.

Beacon Community College, Crowborough
Artist: Shona Illingworth
Teacher: Miles Jeffcoate

Chailey School
Artist: Terry Taylor
Teacher: Chris Bell

Ifield Community College
Artist: Malcolm Dick
Teacher: Tony Carroll

Lighthouse Co-ordinator
Jayne Hobin

Appendix B

Evaluation of Art on the Net Project

The purpose of the evaluation is to report on the development and achievement of the project's aims as experienced by the participants - artists, teachers and pupils. The report would be used to inform policy makers, funders, administrators, educators and artists of the issues raised and recommendations for developments in similar projects.

The data would be collected from project documentation, interviews with participants - artists, teachers and pupils, which would include discussion of work in progress and finished work.

The evaluation will be carried out by Avril Loveless, School of Education, University of Brighton in four phases:

• Initial documentation and planning, preliminary interviews with participants
  
• Discussion and documentation of work in progress
  
• Final interviews with participants
  
• Analysis and evaluation

Phase One: April 1999
Identification of the initial aims in the original bid for funding the project
Interview with Co-ordinator to identify development of aims and project implementation
Description of context - schools, resources, timetable, curriculum

• Interviews with teachers, artists to identify:
  
• Involvement with project - background, understanding of purpose of project aims
  
• Opinions and previous experience of artists in residence projects
  
• Opinions of the contribution of the digital to art practice and art curriculum
  
• Expectations of the project - hopes,di fficulties, learning, practice
  
• Practical issues and experiences in setting up the project
  
• Teaching issues - practical , strategies, challenges
  
• Relationship of project to experience of art/media/ICT in wider world
  
• Contribution of each participants to the project and each other
  
• General responses to issues raised by participation in the project

Phase Two: April - June 1999
Documentation of the process and project development - arising from discussion with co-ordinators and participants

Phase Three: June/July 1999
Final interviews with teachers, artists and pupils - illustrated with examples of finished work
Interviews will be designed to build upon the areas covered in the first interviews and issues arising from the responses from participants and work in progress

Phase Four: August 1999
Analysis, discussion and presentation of written report of evaluation

Conduct of the evaluation:
Documentation
The initial bid and administrative documentation throughout the project will be available to the evaluator

Interviews with participants

• Participants will be the co-ordinators of the project, teachers, artists and a sample of pupils
  
• Planned and agreed interview appointments - 30-40 minutes each
  
• Interviewees will be given an outline of the questions to be asked
  
• Recordings and/or notes will be made of the interviews with agreement of interviewees
  
• Recorded/notes - written up and shown to interviewees for comment and change if required
  
• Selection of pupils for final group discussion will be made in discussion with teachers and artists and criteria for selection noted

Participants' accounts
Artists and teachers will be invited to present their own accounts of their experiences if they wished to express their responses and ideas in ways additional to the interviews.
Permissions and acknowledgements
Permission to work with pupils and use their work for exhibition and evaluation will be arranged by the project participants.
The final written report will acknowledge the contributions made by named participants and will be made available to all participants.
Any subsequent work, such as presentations, exhibitions, articles or papers will also acknowledge named participants.

Constraints of the evaluation:
The constraints of the scope and resources of the evaluation within this project are acknowledged.
It is recognised that the relationship between researchers and researched is complex and problematic and the conduct of the evaluation will acknowledge these issues and reflect a commitment to keep participants informed and involved in the discussions of the data.
A CV of the research experience and publications of the researcher is attached.