TEQUESTA, Fla. — The fall session of classes begins Monday, October 19 at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta.
While virtual learning environments have been a challenge to adapt to, some lessons learned have improved classes permanently at the school.
The center found students joined classes from 5 countries and 26 states at all hours of the day during the first months of the pandemic. Students appreciated the online close-ups during demonstrations that can be a challenge to see in a studio environment.
Director of Education, Maria Tritico, says the school plans to offer multi-media broadcast elements in classes, even post-pandemic.
“We’re finding kids that weren’t normally engaged in our youth classes are becoming more engaged because there’s less distraction. They’re just focusing on the hands and the tools and not everything else that’s going on in the classroom because everyone’s muted,” she explained.
Teacher Fernando Porras has been using Photoshop to digitally demonstrate changes to students’ work during critiques. He’s also now offering painting classes inspired by online mapping technology that allow the class to be virtually transported to paint destinations far away.
“We are learning things we cannot do without now,” Porras said.
