Here’s an interesting image that at first glance looks like a cheaply done neon ligted octopus. Or perhaps maybe some Photoshop hackery is going on. Well… you would be closer with guessing Photoshop on this one, but only because this image never really existed except on this picture. How was it done? Check out what it is and find out how you and your class could do it too.

You aren’t really seeing an octopus in the above image, what you are actually seeing is the path of a dot(led light in this case) as it travels through space. Check out this site to see a video of it in action. The incredible part about this is that it can be done easily with a digital camera and some LED lights. It’s done by leaving the shutter open long enough to record the entire path of the light to one image. The end result shows the entire path in one photo. It serves as the perfect example for teaching young students that the definition of a  line really is the path of a dot through space.

So while it may be neat to try this out with younger students to give them a hands on definition for a line, it would also be a great new medium for showing students how technology is expanding the world of art. The chances are that some students have already been photographing light trails of cars and city lights, but this expands the options quite a bit. Check out this gallery for examples of what some people are doing. How are you using techcnology in your art classroom? Let us know in comments.