The upsurge of new media and technologies that learners use in their everyday lives can be exploited in creative and innovative ways and can contribute greatly  to formal and informal learning. ICT and new digital media have enabled new and more efficient ways of doing things and provides new tools that facilitate students' learning, yet studies show that digital media use in the formal classroom, particularly by students remains limited. Therefore, developing understanding of how and why digital media is used and not used continues to be of interest. While much has been written about ICT and technology in education and in the classroom, far less has been written in the visual arts classroom context.The rationale for this study is grounded in the researchers’ engagement as visual arts teacher and Erasmus+ coordinator in an Irish post-primary school.  This research sets out to discover how and to what extent new media and technology is integrated in a selection of post primary visual art classrooms right across Europe. Technology is changing the way visual art is created and shared by young people, challenging school art programs to remain current and relevant. With all this technological capacity at our fingertips, how is the visual art classroom adapting to this new world? This study looks at who is doing what and who is doing what best?

The underpinning questions in this study are

• How are the aspects of digital technology and new media practice evident in   

  each location?

• What aspects of digital technology and new media do teachers discuss and attribute their instructional decisions to when analysing their interactions with students during the teaching and learning of visual art?

• What aspects of digital technology and new media are identified as having an impact on teaching and learning in visual art?

The Objectives of the study are to:

• Discover the methods that teachers of visual art use of digital technology and new media in teaching and learning in the visual art classroom.

• Expose which digital technology materials and new forms of new media, if any, teachers commonly use in the teaching of visual art.

• Disclose teacher and students experiences and conceptualisations of digital technology and new media in the visual art classroom.

 • Discover the approaches to integrating digital technology and new media into the teaching and learning experience to ensure students are at the heart of the experience rather than being spectators in a post primary classroom environment.

This study enables a positive relationship between educational research and teaching knowledge and practice, and aims to contribute to policy, practice and theory. It

• Discloses how visual art syllabus has transformed in this, the digital era.
• The conclusions offer policymakers the opportunity to consider the opportunities and constraints in post primary education that can improve the relationship between technology and visual art. 

This study supports the:

• Exchange of good practices while reporting on the benefits, challenges and the motivations of visual art teachers to enhance the quality of teaching through technology and digital media.
• Analyses teacher experience and expectation, supports the use of digital technologies to create artworks, improve pedagogies and assessment methods.
• Supports transnational teacher training and strengthening cooperation between European teachers and education institutions.
• Explores and examines the varying access to educational opportunity in visual art classrooms across Europe.
• Clarifies why certain education policies in have come into being and how they affect all those involved in visual art education.
• Explains why aspects of technology in educational practice in visual art education are problematic or successful.

The population identified for this research were post-primary or secondary school teachers of visual art and an invite was extended to visual art teachers across several European and European + sites who liaise with the Eramsus+ and eTwinning platform. This study follows a constructivist design with a grounded theory approach as developed by Charmaz. It looks at the experiences to develop a more objective understanding of the subject of the study. This design emphasises the views, values, and feelings of the people rather than the process and there are several features of this definition by Cohen et al., (2007) that makes this approach fitting for this study: • Theory is emergent rather than predefined and tested. • Theory emerges from the data rather than vice versa. • Theory generation is a consequence of, and partner to, systematic data collection and analysis. • Patterns and theories are implicit in data, waiting to be discovered. A Qualitative method has been employed in this research, through the implementation of comprehensive online interviews and focus groups with teachers of visual art. The data collected from the sample allows for further elaboration on the subject for analysis and comparison within an Irish and European capacity. Following the stance taken by Mills (2010) whereby research that involves some self-observation and reflexive investigation with an a/r/t/ographic perspective, the use of field notes and visual documentation are employed during the data collection phases to explore the interstitial space between the practice and documenting the practice.

Lengthy discussions regarding the experience and expectations when including technology in the art classroom with school management, Visual Art teachers and students in mind were observed in the interviews conducted to date. Some preliminary themes and concepts have appeared from initial engagement with the data in these early stages. Emergent Theme: Learning Spaces and Communities: Access and Infrastructure & Online Learning Platforms Emergent Theme: Expectations and Experience: Exam Focus and Language Emergent Theme: Support and Confidence: Unequal Conditions and Training and CPD. In its early stages emerging findings; -Confirm that some schools are ‘technology richer’, due to the funding available and schools’ individual programmes and policies. - It is apparent that no common standard of provision currently exists, even within each individual country there is variation between approaches. It is noted that changing the status and value of visual art and culture within our schools is a big issue, almost more so than curriculum design. - The teachers of visual art across Europe have had to employ various strategies to manage the existing challenges including continual practice, peer support, improvisation, lobbying for appropriate CPD, along with technical and financial support.

Charmaz, Kathy. (2009). Shifting the grounds: Grounded theory in the 21st century. Developing Grounded Theory: The Second Generation. Sage. p. 125-140. Charmaz, K (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis (second edition). London: Sage. Pg.213 Cohen, L., Manion, L., and Morrison, K., (2007), Research Methods in Education. Sixth Edition. London and New York, NY: Routledge Falmer. Department of Education and Skills, 2015 The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 p.37 Available online: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/#digital-strategy-for-schools-2015-2020) [Accessed 12/04/2021] Mills A.G., Durepos, G., & Wiebe E., (2010) Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. Sage. (p. 44-45) Van Den Beemt, A., Thurlings M., & Willems, M.,(2020)Towards an understanding of social media use in the classroom: a literature reviewTechnology, Pedagogy and Education,29:1,p. 35-40