Article Review

Title: Creativity in Digital Art Education Teaching Practices

Volume & Issue: 64 & 5

Year: 2011

Page: 19-34

Prepared By: Fatin Athirah Binti Ismail (2013374739)

1. Overview

This article is about to study the digital application elementary visual art among the teachers. It

discussed on how are the teachers uses the technologies to teach their students.

The problems occurs when the teacher’s reluctances to apply the technology in their teaching.

As we know, students now are preparing their selves for the future. They should prepare their selves to

face the twenty first century era. It becomes a major problem when teachers were not practiced to use

technology or digital approach for their teaching and learning.

The researcher has mention about the teachers who are having the difficulties dealing with the

software; it also increased the stress level among the teachers while using the new software. It also

because of the heavier teaching loads, the time constraints from the teachers, lack of hardware and

software and also lack of teacher support and training. This research was conducted by two researchers

but my focus is on the second researcher.

In order to prepare the students with the appropriate learning process that suitable for twenty-first

century, the educators has to be fully trained with the software and the training of the digital visual arts

education.

2. A description of the methodology

The researcher, Joanna Black has conducted the longitudinal research from 2006-2009. It involves

the in-service teacher training in digital visual arts across the all stages of the student (early, middle and

high school). The research located in a central Canadian. The researcher wants to examine ways in which

teacher training can effectively teach art educators about the digital arts. Six schools involved in this

study, three board administrators in visual arts and technology education, six teachers, and close to 500

students. The objectives of this study are to examine the learning processes about digital visual arts

from the teachers through the ongoing workshop, second is to examine the difficulties that exist and the

successes that teacher experienced. In this part, teachers and students were involved.

The researcher used a repetitive cycle that include the tools of researching, observing, reflecting,

acting, evaluating and also modifying the research for over three year period. According to the

researcher, it is a social participation study and it needs dialectical process which means those who are

involved will work together to increase the teaching and learning process through the ongoing analysis

from the workshops and pedagogy in the classrooms. From this first study, the researcher found the

effectiveness in the service of workshops for the teachers and the students were contingent on the

creative process. From here, the researcher found that the development of the students’ creativity was

the main key to the digital art process.

The researcher tried to conduct the appropriate theme that suitable with the workshops so that the

teachers will be able to concentrate on the way how to use the technology to overcome the theme

given in the classes. The first year research project theme is “DigiClosets” where is the students should

be able to design the bedroom closets. They have to working with the software and make an animation

on the closets, create movements.

During the second year of research (2007-2008) the research was redesigned. The theme is

“Capturing Capricious Communities”. On this theme, it’s slightly different because it gives the open

ended description to the teachers so that the educators will get the diverse interpretation during the

lessons. In this second redesigned project, student used the variety educational approaches which are

traditional, integrated and also digital texts. Its shows the development of the creativity happens. It

carries different theme based on the education level in school; elementary, middle-school grades and

high-school grades.

Why the researcher redesigned the theme? It is because the technology was not acted like a driving

force, but the teachers were told to use any computer technology that was suitable for the project

given. They also were asked about the software that they wished to have or use for the in-service

workshops and they preferred to use video and photography training. In this project, the focus was

broader unlike the first project. The project not only focused on the learning technology but it has

discussed about the current new media artist in Canada such as John Hartman and Don Gill. With this

exposure, the final part for this project becomes an open discussion on variety topics from the teachers’

interest.

The final year of research, the researcher changed the theme to “Memories in Motion”. Like the

year before, the theme was broad, and training based on teachers’ interest. In this final project, the foci

not only on the teaching software but it also on the current contemporary new-media artist who work

with the notions of memory and it stimulate the teachers to think the idea in diverse ways.

The participants agreed that the second and the third years of the projects were a success. It is

because the teachers were able to interpret the theme easily to students, the theme offered students

the flexibility to discover their availability on the technology. The researcher found that the art teachers

not only thrived but they also give opportunity for the students to explore and shape creative digital arts

programs.

3. An Evaluation

The author has adequately shown the significance of the research questions by why there is no

application of digital arts in school and the lack of technology uses from the art teacher because

of the no training provided about the digital arts or software that related to art productions.

The data collected are based on the longitudinal method. The researched collected data on the

researching, observation, reflecting, evaluating and modifying. The finding was different on the

three project held, and it took a long period of time. But it gives the finding that appropriate for

the research questions.

The study’s conclusion is reasonable because it discover the development of the art teachers

based on the three projects given with their students. There is no data collection mentioned by

the researcher but she had mention about the repetitive cycle that included researching,

observing, reflecting, acting, evaluating and modifying research once again over the three years.

Yes there is methodological weaknesses which are the researcher has not mention about how

she get involved with the teachers and students to get the finding. There is no specific or details

method on the way how the researcher found the conclusions.

About the ethical concern, there is no ethical concerns appear in this study.

4. A discussion of implication

From this study I have learned about the finding that took a long period to be done. The researcher

conducted the research with a large of number of participants. Longitudinal method held by the

researcher helps the researcher to find the data by observing, evaluating and modifying based on the

projects. We can know the development and the process happens in the projects conducted. It has to be

the continuous research or study so that the problem appears can be solved. The findings are different

based on the different project but the findings successfully achieve the objectives.