Given the prevalence of the use of the image for communication in modern society, along with the rapid evolution of electronic tools to create such images and communicate through visual channels, it is easy to understand the dramatic changes that have occurred in teaching and learning in the visual arts. Technologies have evolved not only to provide unprecedented access to global resources for art education but also to offer new tools for the creation of art—thus representing both the medium of instruction as well as the resulting visual message produced by the developing artist. The adoption of electronic technology in art making has had a profound influence on approaches to visual arts instruction; other factors also have converged to impact present-day educational trends in this discipline. To understand the origins of these factors, a brief review of the history of visual arts education is provided. Following the historical overview, contemporary instructional design and technology trends are examined in relation to the teaching and learning of visual arts, as well as recent developments in educational research focused within this area of interest.