This is the information that was included in the brochures for the Bett show 2008


Exploring and Exploiting Digital Media in Art and Design Education

This seminar aims to introduce teachers to the potential of digital media in art education through a collage of examplar material that encompasses digital Image-manipulation, animation, film making, web design and interactive multimedia, from classroom projects with younger years, to individual A level work created by students who have gone on to study and practice digital art and design at degree level and as a profession. The session will end with a glimpse at current developments such as the use of mobile devices, blogging, vlogging, vle’s web 2.0 and the potential significance of Bebo.

Artists have always experimented with the latest technology - the lens, the press, photosensitive silver salts, magnetic tape, plastics – the students we now teach have grown up with computers, accepting digital technology as naturally as previous generations assimilated and accepted the television, the telephone, the camera, the printing press…

Everywhere we look there is evidence of computers being used to generate the visual material around us. The power of digital technology to facilitate communication is revolutionary. The computer may already be as much a part of the Art department as it has become a part of the workplace and the home.

Computers will not replace traditional artistic skills nor replace the tactile experience of working directly with materials, but the whole range of digital technology is a powerful addition to traditional tools and skills, both in the creative process and in the process of communication.

Art teachers need to understand the fundamental aims of teaching Art, and be a part of the process of assimilating emerging technologies in the light of these aims.

Digital technology is a very powerful tool for communication. Art has always been about communication.

Many art teachers turn their noses up at the prospect of computers in the artroom, not considering them to be 'hands on', 'tactile' 'real'.

Digital technology will not replace the pencil, paintbrush, scissors, plaster clay or stone, nor any of the other materials or processes that we use, from darkroom to happening, but it is a very powerful addition to these tools and materials.
Students should have as wide a range of experiences in the art room as possible, from working clay, to groups devising short films, from life drawing to the creation of computer games and virtual three dimensional worlds.


Ross is head of Art at Sidcot, a small independent school in Somerset.
Sidcot is a Quaker school, part day, part boarding, part international, with pupils ranging in age from 3 to 18.

With a background in fine art and printmaking, Ross became interested in the potential of digital technology in the art room from the late 80's and has pursued this interest though it’s rapid and remarkable development.

From animations in ‘Deluxe Paint’ on a floppy-booted Amiga 500 to machines with quadruple dual core processors and multiple gigabytes of ram which enable real-time video editing, interactive multimedia presentations and 3D modeling on industry standard software, Ross has been consistently exploring, exploiting and integrating this emerging technology into his teaching, department, and school.

Ross has played a key role in the development of an ongoing Hewlett Packard sponsored initiative called art exchange, the intention of which is to explore the use of digital technology through a sharing of creativity, “ using art as the language of communication, digital technology as the means, and the internet as the medium.” The project has already involved students and teachers from half a dozen European countries, and it is hoped that it will extent to schools across the globe in the near future.

Ross is an Apple Distinguished Educator and Adobe Education Leader, and has published an interactive CD Rom on digital media in the art room. He has also been in increasing demand to share his experience and expertise at conferences, seminars, and training sessions

Ross participated in ‘Creating Spaces’; the Arts Council research project on the use of digital media in schools, he was involved in the Becta awards as both short-listed contender and adjudicator, and he has presented at the Bett show for both Adobe and Apple as well as giving seminars on the Art Exchange project.