Sanday Community School & Nursery, Orkney - Revelation Natural Art Case Study

Thanks to Helen Newman, Teacher

Why did you choose Revelation Natural Art?

I had seen a demonstration of Revelation Natural Art at SETT and was impressed by the functions the program contains which enable watercolours to blend together in a manner similar to the way the medium react in reality. As the class were investigating artwork based around the theme of “water” this software seemed the natural choice of electronic paint program for them to explore using.

What curriculum areas and objectives does Revelation Natural Art support in your school?

Revelation Natural Art is being used by 3–5 year old pupils in the pre school and nursery. They have been working on an art project based on the theme of water. During the project they explored:

ICT – we used the software together with an interactive whiteboard. This enabled the full participation of those children whose fine motor skills, when controlling a mouse, may have prevented them from gaining the most from the activity.

Knowledge of colour – children were restoring the colours into a grey scale image of “Water Lilies (The Clouds)” by Claude Monet which I had prepared by editing the image in Word, transferring it to Paint and then saving as a Revelation Natural Art compatible file.

Observation skills – the task required the children to observe closely the original painting, choose the most appropriate colours to match and then apply these appropriately.

Fine motor control – when applying the colour.

Gross motor skills - the interactive whiteboard is a large canvass for small children to navigate around.

Aesthetic appreciation of the world and artwork – the children commented how beautiful the colours were and related them to places in our local environment.

Communication and language/ social development – the children worked in small groups, discussed the task and worked together to create the finished picture.

Emotional development – the children were extremely proud of their work and received great praise from parents, staff and visitors to the school.

In your opinion, does Revelation Natural Art support the development of learners’ higher order skills such as thinking and problem solving skills?

Yes, even children as young as 3-5 years old quickly discovered how the paints blended enabling them to mix shades of colour, the gradual fading of the intensity of colour also provided a challenge which they were able to use to effect when necessary. Once they had experienced the “undo” facility they soon became bolder and more experimental in their approach - perhaps comforted that if it did not work they could “start again”.

Major successes resulting from Revelation Natural Art

What the pupils did?

We found that as we were using an interactive whiteboard some children were able to use paint brushes as their chosen tool for applying the “paint” (their idea) This seemed to create less drag on the surface of the board than the pens or fingers and thus enabled more fluid brush strokes.

What you did?

I prepared the image, set up the interactive whiteboard and assisted with choosing groups and was on hand to answer any questions the children had. The children had previous experience of using similar (but much simpler) art programs, so not a great deal of technical help was required.

What do pupils think about Revelation Natural Art?

The children have since requested the program be used again and have experimented with their own designs. It is incredible how remarkably quickly they learned, through trial and error, how to navigate their way through the various media and tools.

How has Revelation Natural Art supported your effective teaching?

Using this program has emphasised how important it is for adults not to underestimate the capabilities and potential that pupils have to understand and employ, with great effect, seemingly complex equipment.

How would you say Revelation Natural Art enhances learners’ experience?

One of the most noticeable things I found using Revelation Natural Art was that it appealed to ALL the children. We have children within our class who don’t like using traditional media as it can be messy, difficult to control and require a greater level of fine motor skills than some, of the very young children, have yet acquired. This program captured the imaginations and interest of the children enabling certain children to access areas of the curriculum which they were previously reluctant to explore.