Drawing and AI in the Classroom
Monroe Township
with
Young Audiences of New Jersey/Eastern PA
Teaching Artist and Visual Artist Triada Samaras
Senior Director of Education and Equity YANJ/EP Michelle Marigliano
Content Area Supervisor Monroe Township Public Schools Steven Carey
Above: Sanctuary in Blue Triada Samaras 2024 Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 48"
November 3, 2026
Overall Description (K-12)
This two-part workshop invites K-12 art teachers to draw by hand and then explore how AI tools,
starting with Gemini, can support their teaching. Teachers will look for the bridges between
hand-drawn work and AI that could be useful in their classrooms, and brainstorm ways to use
AI for lesson planning, art materials, art history, techniques, and critiques, with the teacher
guiding the technology and the drawing leading the way. No AI experience is needed.
Teachers will leave with practical, age-appropriate strategies and a shared language for
talking about art teaching and AI.
Teachers will learn
How hand drawing and AI can support each other teaching in a K-12 art classroom
Practical, age-appropriate drawing strategies for teachers of K-12 students
A shared language for K-12 art teaching pedagogy and AI
The connections between drawing, artists Roy Lichtenstien and Keith Haring, and teaching art pedagogy using AI
Teachers will do
Experiment with AI platforms, starting with Gemini Standalone
Discuss the bridges between hand-drawn work and AI
Brainstorm uses of AI for teaching pedagogy including lesson planning, materials,
art history, techniques, and critiques
Create an art lesson plan using drawing and AI
Draw by hand inspired by artists Roy Lichtenstien and Keith Haring
AI Resources for the Classroom
The 4 District-Approved AI Tools for Students
Monroe Township Public Schools permits student and staff integration using
four specific, district-approved platforms:
SchoolAI https://app.schoolai.com/
Art-Friendly Function: Allows teachers to build safe, interactive student "Spaces." In art classes,
this can be configured as a virtual art critic, an interactive historical art guide,
or a step-by-step self-reflection partner that chats with students while protecting their privacy.
MagicSchool https:www.magicschool.ai
Art-Friendly Function:Provides structured, pre-built templates and generators. Students can use it to
draft artist statements, organize project checklists, and structure written reflections on their
studio work.
Snorkl https://teacher.snorkl.app/
Art-Friendly Function:Primarily focused on step-by-step whiteboard explanations and verbal feedback, best suited
for analytical or technical problem-solving.
Gemini (via Google Workspace for Education and Google Search AI Mode)
Art-Friendly Function: Features robust multimodality (handling text, images, and code simultaneously) and
deep art history knowledge. It allows teachers and students to analyze visual compositions,
generate lesson prompts, and brainstorm creative concepts.
Standalone Gemini https://gemini.google.com/
Why We Do Our "Sandboxing" on Gemini
While platforms like SchoolAI and MagicStudent are fantastic for structured,
ready-to-launch student activities, Gemini is the ideal workspace for teacher
ideation and experimentation (sandboxing) for several key reasons:
The Open Creative Sandbox: SchoolAI and MagicStudent are built around structured templates, form fields,
and student-facing chat bounds. Gemini operates as an open, fluid canvas.
It doesn't lock you into rigid boxes when you are trying to brainstorm wild material combinations,
cross-disciplinary art history connections, or open-ended studio prompts.
Multimodal Freedom: Gemini effortlessly processes uploaded images (such as student work or reference photos),
color palettes, and text all in one prompt. This makes it an unmatched visual thought-partner
during the planning phase.
The "Idea-to-Platform" Bridge: You use Gemini to do the messy, creative heavy lifting—generating unique prompts,
differentiating lessons, and exploring art styles. Once you have a brilliant concept crafted
in Gemini, then you take that clean idea and drop it into SchoolAI to create a safe, interactive student space for your class.
Drawing Resources
Roy Lichtenstein: Like New | Whitney Museum of American Art
Hoyt Sherman and Drawing by Seeing
Tower Keith Haring: Decoding the Artist's Iconic Symbolism and Legacy – RedKalion
How to Draw Keith Haring’s Break Dancing Figures | Easy Art Tutorial - YouTube
Bettter Prompts
Subject: what is in it
Medium and materials: charcoal, acrylic markers, oil on linen, pastel on toned paper, gouache, linocut, watercolor on cold-press paper
Periods: Impressionism, Ukiyo-e, Byzantine icon, German Expressionism, Bauhaus,
Pop Art.
Styles: realism, pointillism, abstraction, surrealism, futurism
Elements of art: line quality, value range, color palette, texture, shape, space
Principles of design: asymmetrical balance, strong contrast, repetition with variation,
a clear focal point
Composition and viewpoint: bird’s-eye view, tight crop, low horizon line,
foreground/middle ground/background
Mood and light: raking afternoon light, overcast and quiet, high-key,
chiaroscuro
c. Triada Samaras 2026
Triada Samaras Art Education CV
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