Art in the Age of Networked Learning

Art in the Age of Networked Learning

“Media open and deliver to the “no-body’s land” between identiﬁable
coordinates on the grid. What they deliver are not merely meanings
made different by their arrival in unforeseen, incongruous contexts.
Media deliver difference itself…media give body to relationality as they
keep potentiality and difference in circulation and motion…Media thus
are imbued with the potential for catalyzing new forms of corporeality,
new embodiments, new ways of knowing and being human.”

– Elizabeth Ellsworth (2005). Places of Learning: Media, Architecture,
Pedagogy.

Heidi May / mayh@ecuad.ca / www.ecuad.ca/~mayh
Instructor, Foundation and Visual Art, Emily Carr University of Art and Design
PhD student, Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy (Art Education)
Canadian e-Learning Conference, UBC, June 17, 2009

Sunday, June 21, 2009

OVERVIEW:
art educators and new pedagogical possibilities when working with digital technology


OVERVIEW:

using online technologies to foster meaningful dialogue and imagery in studio art
courses at Emily Carr University of Art and Design


OVERVIEW:


these courses are not about using the computer to make art, but rather about
understanding visual principles and conceptual themes


OVERVIEW:



often use traditional media and then document the work for online presentation


OVERVIEW:



often use traditional media and then document the work for online presentation

there are obvious challenges, however, experience has revealed success in quality of
work, active participation, and critical thinking


OBJECTIVE OF SESSION
> to share examples of how art educators are embracing networked learning and to
possibly spark new ideas in other areas of education
> through group discussion at the end of the session, I hope to create dialogue between
practitioners from different areas regarding innovation and creativity in networked learning

Questions to revisit > Are we that different from other educators?
What can we learn from each other?



FIRST, SOME THEORY...

... making connections between curriculum theory
and ideas related to networked learning



THEORY
Networked Learning theory > Reconfiguring the Exchange of Knowledge

“When it is told, it is, to the one to whom it is told, another given
fact, not an idea. The communication may stimulate the other
person to realize the question for himself and to think out a like
idea, or it may smother his intellectual interest and suppress his
dawning effort at thought. But what he directly gets cannot be an
idea. Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at ﬁrst
hand, seeking and ﬁnding his own way out, does he think. In
such shared activity, the teacher is a learner, and the learner is,
without knowing it, a teacher -- and upon the whole, the less
consciousness there is, on either side, of either giving or
receiving instruction, the better.”

– John Dewey (1916). Democracy and Education.



THEORY



open communication



THEORY



open communication

decentralizing the control



THEORY



open communication

decentralizing the control

active learners as opposed to passive participants



THEORY
Networked Learning theory > Complexity Thinking

shift to collaborative and non-linear approach to learning



THEORY


act of learning is one part of a complex system



THEORY


act of learning is one part of a complex system

emerging knowledge



THEORY
These diagrams illustrate the difference between the
traditional classroom experience with the teacher at the
centre in red (centralized network) and that of a teaching
and learning experience that encompasses a complexity
approach (decentralized network).

From: Davis, B., Sumara, D, & Luce-Kapler, R. (2008) Engaging Minds:
Changing Teaching in Complex Times (2nd Ed.), New York: Routledge.



THEORY

Networked Learning theory > Rhizomean Curricular Landscape

rhizome: a continuously
growing horizontal
underground stem that
puts out lateral shoots and
adventitious roots at
intervals



THEORY


live(d) curriculum: something in opposition to planned
curriculum

growing horizontal
intervals



THEORY


curriculum

it is about what happens ‘between’ the teacher and
students - the exchanges of communication

growing horizontal
intervals



THEORY


curriculum

it is about what happens ‘between’ the teacher and
students - the exchanges of communication

the rhizome form is divergent, extending in all directions

growing horizontal
intervals



THEORY

Aoki calls for a curriculum that is between, in dwelling,
layered...wherein the teacher is asked to embrace the tension of
working in a space between planned and live(d) curriculum,
leading out to new possibilities as opposed to mere survival.

From: Aoki, T. T, Pinar, W., & Irwin, R. (2005). Curriculum in a new
key: The collected works of Ted T. Aoki. Studies in curriculum theory.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.



THEORY
Reconfiguring the Exchange of Knowledge

Networked Learning Complexity Thinking

Rhizomean Curricular Landscape



THEORY
Reconfiguring the Exchange of Knowledge

Networked Learning Complexity Thinking

Rhizomean Curricular Landscape

Collaborative and Active Learning

Art and Design
+ Peer Interaction and Accessibility
Networked Learning

Conversation and Dialogue



THEORY
Networked Learning
Art + Design Collaborative and Active Learning

"Design education should integrate design concepts and skills
with practical and theoretical knowledge through collaborative
learning. Computer-mediated communication systems used in
web-based education systems are quite appropriate for this
principle by enabling global access to course materials as well
as allowing interaction of participants at distributed learning
environments at anytime."

"... They can no longer be passive participants in the
studio...Moreover, they learn to improve themselves after their
graduation, because they learn to use computer mediated
communication technology."

- Sagun, Aysu et al. (2001) A Framework for the Design Studio in
Web-Based Education, Journal of Art and Design Education,
(JADE 20.3, NSEAD).



THEORY
Networked Learning
Art + Design Peer Interaction and Accessibility
"In the foundation art studio, these new technologies have
considerable potential for supporting a new classroom culture in
which students are challenged to become “active learners” and the
traditional role of the instructor has evolved to support a different
classroom dynamic. Social networking can be used to promote
better peer-to-peer interaction, to facilitate collaborative problem
solving, to provide an electronic record..."

- Collins, Dan et al. (2007) Social Networking for Learning
Communities: Using e-portfolios, blogs, wikis, pod casts, and other
Internet based tools in the foundation art studio, FATE in Review
(Foundations in Art: Theory & Education), Volume 29.



THEORY
Networked Learning
Art + Design Conversation and Dialogue

Conversation within studio art courses is key to the learning
process. The critique situation often leads to original ideas and
it’s the type of experience that can not be planned ahead of time
- non-linear and decentralized. With the online format, there is
time to reﬂect, which allows for more insight from fellow
students.

"...Sometimes in face to face classes there is not enough actual
time to spend adequate time on each project so critiquing can
sometimes become very generalized and less speciﬁc to each
persons piece. Lots of time and effort goes into each piece that
students create and I feel that the time and effort spent critiquing
the piece should parallel this, the online environment achieved this
better then any face to face art/design class I have taken. Of course
all of that also depends on the instructor and students as well."

- Erica Hargreaves, Emily Carr online student, FNDT 109 Visual
Communication, Spring 2008



how can the theory actually be applied to art and design courses?



how can the theory be applied to art and design courses?

SELECTED TEACHING EXAMPLES:
- Working through process and dialogue > Moodle (CMS) Process Forums
- Tracking and recording development > E-Portfolios
- Teaching technical skills > Screenshot + Video Tutorials
- Global access to resources > Podcasts
- Conversation and group discussion > Chats (Text + Skype)
- Individual self-reﬂection > Student Webcams
- Collaboration, revision, and trust > Wikis



how can the theory be applied to art and design courses?

SELECTED TEACHING EXAMPLES:
- Working through process and dialogue > Moodle (CMS) Process Forums
- Tracking and recording development > E-Portfolios
- Teaching technical skills > Screenshot + Video Tutorials
- Global access to resources > Podcasts
- Conversation and group discussion > Chats (Text + Skype)
- Individual self-reﬂection > Student Webcams
- Collaboration, revision, and trust > Wikis

emphasized more within this particular presentation



MOODLE Working through process and archiving dialogue




PROCESS FORUMS




PROCESS FORUMS

Student Example #1 “Abstract Representation”

Assignment: Create an abstract representation of a speciﬁc
musical genre, with emphasis on basic visual elements - line,
shape, colour and texture. The challenge is to ﬁnd a place
between realism and pure abstraction.

Idea = Knitting




PROCESS FORUMS

Student Example #2 “Narrative Sequence”
Assignment: Create an interesting narrative sequence based on an
everyday activity, capturing the ‘rhythm’ of the event through
placement of forms and colour. The objective is to challenge
traditional narrative formats.

Idea = Feeding the ﬁsh




Posting the completed piece to the project Forum




CRITIQUE




CRITIQUE

Instructor ﬁnal comments




WRITTEN REVIEWS Peer Reviews > Strengthen writing skills and
teach students how to be critical about art work.




WRITTEN REVIEWS Peer Reviews > Strengthen writing skills and
teach students how to be critical about art work.

Casual Responses

Peer Review



PROCESS FORUMS + PEER REVIEWS

Instead of just showing how online forums can be used as a
pedagogical tool for creative process, which can be archived and
accessed indeﬁnitely, I also want to emphasize a much larger
purpose I see with these tools > meaningful dialogue with others
and with the self as a part of the teaching and learning process




“working through”




Freud coined the phrase “working through” as the point of therapy
when the subject realizes something relevant and feels a need to
replay and reanalyze things. I connect this to how one works through
the creative process - how one tests out ideas, edits concept and
form. Through this process, one actually learns more about why they
are doing what they are doing.




“working through” (Freud)

both knowledge and self emerge in student-centred environment
that embraces critical thinking






the self emerges within dialogue




Dialogue, according to literary theorist and philosophical thinker
Mikhail Bakhtin, can be external, between two different people, or
internet, between an earlier and later self (Bakhtin, 1981).






the self emerges within dialogue (Bakhtin)

“dialogue can be external, between two different people, or internal,
between an earlier and later self” (Bakhtin, 1981)








online learning can create personalized knowledge




Within the study of epistemology, there exists the desire to
distinguish between knowledge that is merely descriptive and
knowledge gained through acquaintance, termed “personal
knowledge” (Polanyi, 1958). For one to really know something
in relation to a concept, object or act, one needs to express an
understanding of meaning.








online learning can create personalized knowledge

online forums can be a place for working through knowledge,
personalizing it through a dialogical process




I propose that online forums, when incorporated into curriculum,
can function as a place for working through innovative concepts,
both textual and visual, and that this dialogical process lends
itself to contemplative self-reﬂection and critical discourse.



... other teaching examples >>


TEXT + SKYPE CHATS Conversation and group discussion

Moodle Chat



Multiple windows to view work and type comments simultaneously



Inserting archived chats into discussion forums for reference



Video chats allow for students to physically show work in progress



E-PORTFOLIOS Tracking and recording development
Example 1) ART EDUCATOR: Dan Collins, School of Art Core Program, Arizona State University
“The students are required to develop an e-portfolio to track their participation in the class.
These personal websites become sites for collaborative project development and "team
investigations" that provide the class and me with the "state of the art" in the areas of 3D
data capture, 3D modeling/visualization, and rapid prototyping or other 3D output.”

Student #1
personal
reﬂection

website



Student #2
screenshots
capture key
stages

website



Student #3
team
project
research

website


Example 2) ART EDUCATOR: Renee Van Halm, Foundation and Visual Art, Emily Carr University
“The portfolios were identified by students as very valuable in complying a coherent view of
the work done during the course...(this example) includes some peer reviews. The peer
review is perhaps the most significant difference from f2f classes. Replacing the critique
with text based responses in forums has two big advantages - everyone must reflect and
"speak" to the work of their peers, the silent student is just not an option in online courses.”

Excerpt from
student pdf
portfolio


SCREENSHOTS + VIDEO TUTORIALS Teaching technical skills


SCREENSHOTS + VIDEO TUTORIALS Teaching technical skills
ART EDUCATOR: Kyla Mallett, Foundation and Visual Art, Emily Carr University
On teaching “Digital Photo Essentials” course:
“Instead of using textbooks and straight lectures to deliver technical information, I choose to
integrate video textbooks like Lynda.com. Lynda.com is a database of online video tutorials that acts
as a constantly up-to-date ‘video-textbook’...This allows students to learn certain aspects of the
curriculum at their own pace, and addresses the different ways in which the ‘millennial’ generation
learns...
The biggest beneﬁt to me as a teacher is that I can focus my own attention (and my own voice) to the
discussions around content, creative production and criticality. If the technical exercises are covered
by this video textbook, then the time I spend either in the live or virtual classroom can be focused on
‘higher level’ discussions.”

Photoshop
Tutorial

www.lynda.com


PODCASTS Global access to resources


PODCASTS Global access to resources
ART EDUCATOR: Jody Baker, Media, Emily Carr University

Interview with
guest speaker

video conference screenshot


STUDENT WEBCAMS Individual self-reﬂection



10 second videos, audio muted



10 second videos,
audio muted


WIKIS Collaboration, revision, and trust



Wiki example > Group project involving the
theme of “collections” in which students choose
a speciﬁc topic to research and compose into a
visual format.


“There was little direction on my part. I built the basic wiki with the syllabus on the front page. I gave
students credit for posting pages on the week's topic. And did they ever...rather than do class presentations,
I had them post material on the wiki page for that week. They simply took off with it, adding youtubes, I
added bibliographies, they did reading summaries that the other students really appreciated...there was
often lively debate in the comment section of the wiki pages that continued long after the week was past. So
we created an internal knowledge base for the students to draw upon as they worked on their ﬁnal
projects...I think we owe it to students to get them working on wikis and learn the platform. As we used to
expect competence with typing, then wordprocessing, I now expect competence with wikis and blogs. ””

Week 4 from
Media course:
“The Politics
of ‘bad’ taste”

website

“There was little direction on my part. I built the basic wiki with the syllabus on the front page. I gave
students credit for posting pages on the week's topic. And did they ever...rather than do class presentations,
I had them post material on the wiki page for that week. They simply took off with it, adding youtubes, I
added bibliographies, they did reading summaries that the other students really appreciated...there was
often lively debate in the comment section of the wiki pages that continued long after the week was past. So
we created an internal knowledge base for the students to draw upon as they worked on their ﬁnal
projects...I think we owe it to students to get them working on wikis and learn the platform. As we used to
expect competence with typing, then wordprocessing, I now expect competence with wikis and blogs. ”

Week 4 from
Media course:
“The Politics
of ‘bad’ taste”

website


Discussion
Although web-based courses are increasing in numbers, research of what occurs within
these new curriculum spaces, in particular critical dialogue across multidirectional
conversations, is lacking. The internet can now be considered a tool in facilitating critical
dialogue within peer-centered learning but we need to know more about how students learn
in a networked society and how to ‘pedagogically re-engineer’ the curriculum.

are art educators using online technology any differently than other educators?

what can we learn from dialogue between different disciplines?

can you think of a creative use of online technology to share with others?


Art in the Age of Networked Learning

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