Education Leaders Program / Don Wass
Don Wass
Winsted, Connecticut
School affiliations
"All students can learn to think more creatively. Adobe offers the best tools to make that happen."
Don Wass has been teaching computer animation since 1986. He gives workshops around the country, inspiring teachers to develop animation curriculums and to help one another integrate technology into their classrooms. Wass is also the technology adviser for the Connecticut Art Education Association and a professional artist and animator, using Adobe® Illustrator® and Adobe Photoshop® software in addition to traditional media.
Wass believes students and instructors need to learn the highest level of professional software available, or they will be quickly passed by in the new digital world. Thus, Photoshop is his department's primary painting and texture mapping software. His school’s animation program continues to expand, and Wass continues to be excited by his students’ work, which has won many state, national, and international animation awards. He has created two instructional videos describing the animation program: “Art is …Computer Animation” and “Student Animation Showcase.”
Wass's paintings have been displayed in galleries in New York City and New England. He animated and illustrated "Dropping in on Matisse," a video and companion book that are part of a series for elementary school children.
Selected as Art Educator of the Year in Connecticut in 2000 for his work with technology in the classroom, Wass has been an Education Leader since 2003.
