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TRENDS 2026 	
	
PAGE
In my elementary art classroom, I am constantly 
navigating a tension that feels increasingly 
present in education: How do I embrace 
digital tools without losing the authenticity, 
struggle, and voice that make student artwork 
meaningful? As a first-generation Mexican 
American educator, my approach to teaching 
art is deeply rooted in identity, access, and 
expression. I want my students, many of 
whom are multilingual and come from diverse 
cultural backgrounds, to see themselves in 
their work and to feel that their voices matter. 
At the same time, I recognize that technology is 
already a part of their daily lives. The question 
is not whether to include technology, but how 
to use it intentionally.
This question came into focus during a recent 
self-portrait unit inspired by Jean-Michel 
Basquiat and elements of Neo-Expressionism. 
Traditionally, 
self-portrait 
projects 
in 
elementary classrooms can be intimidating. 
Students often equate success with realism, 
and many become discouraged when their 
drawings do not match what they see in the 
mirror. I have watched students disengage 
before they even begin, convinced they are 
not good at art because they cannot draw a 
perfect face. I wanted to disrupt that narrative.
Instructional Context and Approach
Rather than introducing a completely new tool, 
I built the lesson around resources students 
already had access to: classroom iPads. By 
incorporating styluses available in the art 
room, students photographed themselves 
and began the process of digitally editing their 
images. This initial step immediately lowered 
the barrier to entry. Students who might have 
struggled with proportion could now begin with 
an image that felt familiar and accurate.
The goal was never perfection, instead, 
the photograph became a starting point, a 
reference, and not the final product. From 
there, students layered digital marks, colors, 
and textures, and eventually incorporated 
hand-drawn elements inspired by Basquiat’s 
expressive 
style. 
Crowns, 
symbols, 
repeated lines, and words began to emerge, 
transforming what could have been a simple 
edited photo into something more personal 
and complex. What I observed was a shift not 
just in process, but in mindset.
Figure 1. Student Artwork, “Five Nights”

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