Ecology Art Education On-Line: A World Community of Old Trees"

"A World Community of Old Trees" is the research component of my recently completed doctoral dissertation, Ecology Art Education On-Line. To my knowledge, it is the first study in the discipline of art education to use the World Wide Web to transmit and receive data for doctoral research. First launched on the World Wide Web on February 9, 1996, the project is now almost two years old. It continues to serve as an open digital space to receive the input of hundreds of tree enthusiasts from all over the world. To date, the three major sections of the project, TREE GALLERY, TREE MUSEUM, and TREE TALK, include well over 100 separate Web pages with contributions of text, imagery, and digital multimedia from persons of all ages, from 21 states and 18 countries. My research objective was to examine the potential of the World Wide Web as a medium of communication and exchange for ecology art education. In the following links, I have included excerpts from the Introduction and Conclusion chapters of my dissertation.