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Accessing and Using Digital Images in AP Art History
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by Yu Bong Ko
Tappan Zee High School
Orangeburg, New York
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This is the first of two articles on using digital images in the AP Art History classroom.
As AP Art History teachers, we are always scavenging for good images that we can use in our classrooms. What follows are my suggestions for finding such images as well as the hardware and software necessary to project them in the classroom. In a second article, I will discuss how to use Microsoft PowerPoint slides to integrate images into effective classroom presentations.
Finding and Creating Digital Images
Images on Compact Discs (CD-ROM)
Some people convert their mounted slide collections to digital format using an electronic scan converter. This is a daunting task. Instead, digital projection technology may be used to complement existing slides. Most teachers would say that teaching from traditional slides and teaching from digital projection technology are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I use both methods in my class.
Right now, almost every mainstream publisher of survey texts in art history is offering digital images on CD-ROM that correspond to the textbook. Developed in conjunction with a major provider of digital images to the art history community, the CD-ROM format provides high-quality digital images to accompany survey texts such as Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Teachers can access text-specific digital images to use in their lectures. These images are advertised as being of "projectable" quality. In addition, the CD-ROM provides lecture outlines to the text for teachers to customize their in-class presentations. Lectures can be assembled, edited, and presented using PowerPoint (discussed below).
A few publishers are also providing a companion CD-ROM for students as part of the textbook purchase. The CD-ROMs are made up of full images as well as alternate and detail views, and include caption information on artists. Embedded audio files assist students with pronunciation, while images can be used as flash cards for students to quiz themselves and compare works side by side. In addition to the digital images on CD-ROM, students have a variety of study aids, including chapter quizzes, interactive maps, timelines, and architectural information supplemented by animated graphics. Links to Internet activities provide another useful feature. The publishers of Janson's History of Art, Stokstad's Art History, and Gardner's Art Through the Ages all provide separate, content-rich Web sites for students and teachers.
The fact that digital images on the commercial CD-ROM can be customized to suit one's own presentation -- and that they can be incorporated into PowerPoint -- is a real plus. The drawback is that although there may be an ample number of quality images contained in the companion CD-ROM, no single collection is really enough, given the scope of the survey course.
More comprehensive and commercially available packages of images in digital format do exist, but they are quite expensive. Try the following Web sites to obtain information on purchasing traditional mounted slides and digital images on CD-ROM:
 Artslides.com
Davis Art Slides
Saskia Ltd. Cultural Documentation
In spite of the existence of these digital collections, the transition from mounted slides to digital images will take time. Sometimes there is no better substitute for a very good traditional mounted slide image. Although it does not compare with seeing an original work of art in person, a good traditional mounted slide reproduces faithfully the facsimile of the original work. However, slides fade with time.
In addition, to simulate conditions under which actual AP Examinations are taken, most teachers use traditional mounted slide images when reviewing past AP Examinations with students. I sense that the AP Examination is not yet ready to convert to digital and electronic formats. Moreover, for understandable reasons of equity among the diverse range of schools that administer the AP Exam, the images will be projected using traditional slides for the foreseeable future.
Recommended Web Sites
The proliferation of Web sites dealing with art history content on the Internet has provided a gold mine of digital images for teachers to grab, simply with a click of a button. By combining good Internet search skills, perseverance, and a bit of luck, you can find an abundance of quality digital images from literally thousands of Web sites floating in cyberspace.
I suggest starting with the following sites and building gradually from there. These sites are "portals" or "gateways" to hundreds of other related sites on the Internet. When you find a particularly good site, bookmark it and print the home page to add notes on it. Moreover, it is good practice to seek and stay with Web sites that belong to institutions of higher learning, museums, and libraries. These sites tend to be created, maintained, and updated by art historians with other art historians in mind. In addition, authors with credentials in a specific field are more likely to be trustworthy, accurate, and scholarly. Be certain that the author or the Webmaster includes email and phone numbers clearly identified on the home page.
- Art History Resources on the Web
Created and maintained by Professor Christopher Witcombe at Sweet Briar College, Virginia, it is one of the first Web sites of its kind. Arguably the best and most comprehensive compilation of art and art history content on the Internet, the site provides a massive gateway to just about everything that you need to get started, from general to specific topics. The site includes a section on art outside of the European tradition, as well as a very informative section on research resources in art history. You can spend months on this site alone and still not have turned over all of its stones. Professor Witcombe maintains a separate site that is a companion to Gardner's Art Through the Ages, and he writes extensively on infusing computer technology into art history.
Art History Resources on the Web
Also take a look at his short "Guide to Researching Art History on the Internet." It is a prerequisite to doing any type of research on the Internet.
Guide to Researching Art History on the Internet
- Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
In addition to the truly fine information about the museum, this site contains the Thinker ImageBase, a searchable image and text database of more than 110,000 objects. Their innovative storage system, coupled with breakthrough software, lets you see details of the art at high magnification. This is a wonderful site and always on the list of top art history resources on the Web.
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
- University of Delaware Library
This is a very nicely done guide to Internet resources in art history. The topics are well catalogued, extensive, and useful. I especially like the "Special Topics in Art History" section.
University of Delaware Library
- University at Albany Libraries
This site contains nine pages of every type of search engine imaginable with annotations. Visit "How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory," a list of search tools organized by features. The site will come in handy when searching for those hard-to-find images.
University at Albany Libraries
Using Digital Images in the Classroom
Hardware and Software for Multimedia Applications
Multimedia Computer: Most new computers now come with a multimedia platform, equipped with CD-ROM/CD-RW and DVD drives, built-in microphone, and speakers. Storage space in the range of 20-40 gigabytes and a separate memory of 1 gigabyte is plenty for our needs. (Tip: A CD drive with writing capabilities is essential, and if your computer does not have one, get one. They are easy to install and inexpensive. Additionally, since much time will be spent in front of the computer working with pictures, you might consider spending a bit extra for a good-quality monitor and additional video memory.)
Software: The computer needs to be loaded with Microsoft PowerPoint and Word. If possible, get the entire Microsoft Office Suite. A caution: Newer versions of PowerPoint have compatibility problems with older versions, but not vice versa. In other words, if you make a PowerPoint presentation using a Windows XP version, for example, you might not be able to see that presentation when viewing it with a 1997 version of PowerPoint. Yet presentations made with a 1997 version can be displayed in newer versions of the software.
In addition to PowerPoint, look for software applications such as QuickTime, Real Player, and Windows Media Player, which often come prepackaged and preloaded. They allow for video, animation, and music to be played through your computer, thus maximizing the multimedia nature of applications with great ease. These media players also can be downloaded from the Internet onto the computer.
Photo-editing software is preloaded on many PCs as well. Many programs do a fairly good job in editing digital images at the most basic level. But having access to Adobe Photoshop will allow you to edit images and enhance their quality to a much higher level.
Overhead Computer Projector: The LCD panel projection system is now obsolete in favor of digital projectors. These projectors are rated based on lumens (brightness), weight, resolution, contrast, compatibility, and dimension. The digital projector is going to determine, to a large extent, how well the digital image can be presented from the computer. Typically, a full screen can be projected across a classroom of 30 to 50 people with good clarity and without turning off all the lights. A bonus is that these projectors can be connected to a regular VCR and can project videotaped movies onto the large screen.
The projector is an expensive item. The school purchased one for my class in the year 2002 at a price of $2,500. It was a low-end model of a premier brand name. In addition, the projector's lamp has a fixed life span, and discovering the cost of a replacement lamp can be an eye-opening experience. Mine, for example will last from 1,100 to 1,400 hours, with a replacement lamp cost of about $400.
Digital Camera/Scanner: These two items are strictly optional. If you are lucky to have access to this equipment, then the possibility for adding digital images to your art history collection is greatly increased. If you have to choose between the two, go with the scanner, because you can always scan a regular photograph to get a digital version of it.
Copyright and Intellectual Property on the Internet
Finally, it is a sound practice to cite all information taken from sources on the Web. This includes the standard practice of a slide or slides at the end of a PowerPoint presentation to cite all sources. Ironically, more current and detailed information on copyright issues and the ways to cite electronic resources can be found on the Internet. Try this site for starters:
- The Columbia Guide to Online Style
Reproduction, sales, and distribution of film and digital images are strictly controlled by copyright law. Because of the changing nature of digital technology, these laws are subject to frequent change and differences in interpretation. Make sure that you understand the implications of copyright law for your own particular situation when you begin to make use of these resources.
The Columbia Guide to Online Style
For more detailed information, please look for my chapter contributions in the newly revised Teacher's Guide to AP Art History, published by the College Board, 2003.
Yu Bong Ko teaches AP Art History at Tappan Zee High School in Orangeburg, New York, and is an adjunct professor of education at New York Institute of Technology, where he teaches graduate courses in instructional technology. A frequent speaker and session leader at AP teacher conferences and summer institutes, Yu Bong continues to read AP Examinations and is a former member of the AP Art History Development Committee.
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