The FRACTAL logo. The word "fractal" is spelled out in lowercase letters primarily in a vibrant purple with accents of blues, pinks, and yellows.

Furthering Rural Adoption of Computers and Technology through Artistic Lessons

 
 
An image of a table filled with colorful craft supplies. A bucket of colored pencils sits among shape punches and containers of paper stars and circles.

WHAT IS PROJECT FRACTAL?

In a series of five week-long expeditions, students complete art projects, learn computer science concepts and digital literacy skills, and practice art critique and presentation.

THE MOTIVATION

In a landscape that is being constantly shaped and reshaped by advancements in technology and AI, digital literacy is becoming increasingly important for students to understand in order to interpret the world around them and prepare themselves to join a tech-powered workforce. 

Self-expression is a powerful means to engage students and inspire experimentation. There are many connections between the visual arts and computer science—such as the overlap of process art and software algorithms—that can be leveraged to provide strong metaphors and improve student understanding in both subjects.

 

  • This expedition familiarizes students with computer hardware and encourages self expression through the assembly and artistic decoration of a desktop machine.

  • In this expedition, students use digital art software to create stunning art pieces.

  • This expedition exposes students to algorithmic thinking by enabling the creation of algorithmic art pieces through the use of block-based programming.

  • This expedition develops students’ AI literacy and understanding of AI ethics through text-to-image and image-to-image art generation and discussion.

 
An image of a student with headphones on facing away from the camera and working at a laptop.

OUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Project FRACTAL seeks to engage a wide array of students, particularly those in rural communities, where the prevalence and importance of agriculture can overshadow other fields—like computer science—that students might otherwise take interest in.

FRACTAL is designed for integration into 6th - 8th grade North Carolina arts curriculums.

 

FOLLOW THE PROJECT

FRACTAL is funded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) through the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant.

Currently, Katabasis and our partner WestEd are leading the development of the FRACTAL application and curriculum with support from our teacher partners in Jones, Granville, and Robeson counties. We have been hosting co-design sessions with teachers to collect teacher experiences and refine existing prototypes to seamlessly integrate into art classrooms.

To follow this project, feel free to visit our official project site and social media channels. We hope to see you there!

This project is made possible with support from the U.S. Department of Education.

Special thank you to our project partners:
WestEd and Empirical Education
Jones County, Granville County, and Robeson County