Click "Read More" to see written reflection.
As an undergraduate art education student, I was curious about the concept of “media literacy” and the idea of technology integrated art education. My program at Miami University of Ohio stressed interdisciplinary practices, however, it did not stress technology in the classroom. I chose to minor in Interactive Media Studies, a program that complimented my art education degree in that I was able to take design classes that taught digital programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as game design programs like Maya and Zbrush. I wanted to learn tools that I could teach my students if they had a desire to enter digital art careers. This had me thinking about the influence of technology on youth today, and how important it is that art education informs students on critical practices of media consumption. At the 2017 National Art Education Association conference I presented a talk entitled Art Education Technology Integration. Looking back, I have learned so much more in just one year.
With this background, I was extremely excited to take this class, and learn more about the practices of media literacy through an art education lens. As art educators, we often need to defend ourselves and our field. We need to answer to the comments that claim schools are not funding the arts because they are not as important as core subjects. I feel that art education is most crucial now than it ever was, considering our media saturated world. I feel that one of the most useful exercises from this semester’s class was our practice of analyzing media messages. Our culture has increasing amounts of design-based visual stimuli, and much of it appears on screens. Not only is it useful to understand aesthetics and recurring patterns of design, it is vital to practice criticality when viewing media, especially consumer-based media. The need for a critical academic filter is vital because without knowing how to sort through and analyze excessive amounts of visual stimuli, youth will be overwhelmed and inefficient in daily life. It is important to introduce these ideas in an art education classroom because students must learn to be thoughtful, critical consumers of media. With that said, I will definitely utilize the practice of advertisement remixes with future students. It allows learners to be conscious of who ads are targeting, and how they may favor or even discriminate certain populations for the sake of commodity. I will use the resources you have provided, including the tools of persuasion, and key questions to ask when analyzing media. I also feel that Photoshop is a great platform to explore for this exercise. It provides basic tools for creating digital collages or alterations.
The second most influential project for me this semester was our Scratch coding remix. I have used Scratch before, but I felt particularly more comfortable after tackling a remix. In my opinion, this tool is meant to inspire youth to be curious about how technology works. Not every student may choose careers in computer engineering, however, it is useful to understand the foundational concepts of coding because so much of the technology we use is created through coding. Scratch is an accessible program that can be scaffolded to a wide variety of learners and ages. From moving a sprite, to creating a short animation, to designing an interactive game, there are many possibilities and opportunities to learn. I also love that we were introduced to critical or serious games. This adds another component to Scratch that could be an additional advancement for a project. Critical games introduce social issues into interactive platforms. Players are approached to consider issue at hand, and conjure up possible solutions.
Much of my life at the moment is designated to academics and work rather than artmaking, therefore my professional life is in direct comparison to my classes. In my current job at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, I am planning a new visual arts exhibit for the summer that highlights programs based on the mediums of paper, fiber, assemblage and technology. The exhibit is meant to inspire children with art and materials, as well as give them the agency to have a vision and voice for what they create. Because of this, most of the programs will be explorative. When first planning this exhibit, I felt that tangible media is easy to explore in comparison to technology. However, I have become more comfortable to the thought of having kids “explore” technology since taking this class. Technology, just like any other medium, allows for failure. When thinking about the platforms we used, such as HTML & CSS, Scratch, IMovie, and Photoshop, there was much opportunity for play, frustration and yes, failure. What is wrong with a game that doesn’t work, or code that doesn’t run? The only downfall is the frustration that comes with it, and the lack of product in the end. This is no different from fine art. Just as kids play with fabric and cardboard, so too can they play with technological platforms. Ultimately, exploration builds literacy. Kids can learn through exploration with the support of educators, and be assisted when things go wrong.
Lastly, our NYU program highly focuses on critical pedagogy through social justice oriented art education. This means that as teachers, we are to encourage the construction of knowledge through dialogue, and enable critical thought around current social and political issues. This is easier said than done obviously, however, I feel that above all art provides a vehicle for students to share their voice. If us educators can spark the passion inside of our students, they are much more likely to be invested in their processes of making, and therefore will be engaged in knowledge construction. I have realized that the best place to start is to ask questions. By asking questions, we allow students to make connections to prior knowledge, and be involved in critical conversations around social issues. If students practice curiosity and using their own voice, they will be actively aware of media messages and visual culture, in comparison than passive consumers.
With this background, I was extremely excited to take this class, and learn more about the practices of media literacy through an art education lens. As art educators, we often need to defend ourselves and our field. We need to answer to the comments that claim schools are not funding the arts because they are not as important as core subjects. I feel that art education is most crucial now than it ever was, considering our media saturated world. I feel that one of the most useful exercises from this semester’s class was our practice of analyzing media messages. Our culture has increasing amounts of design-based visual stimuli, and much of it appears on screens. Not only is it useful to understand aesthetics and recurring patterns of design, it is vital to practice criticality when viewing media, especially consumer-based media. The need for a critical academic filter is vital because without knowing how to sort through and analyze excessive amounts of visual stimuli, youth will be overwhelmed and inefficient in daily life. It is important to introduce these ideas in an art education classroom because students must learn to be thoughtful, critical consumers of media. With that said, I will definitely utilize the practice of advertisement remixes with future students. It allows learners to be conscious of who ads are targeting, and how they may favor or even discriminate certain populations for the sake of commodity. I will use the resources you have provided, including the tools of persuasion, and key questions to ask when analyzing media. I also feel that Photoshop is a great platform to explore for this exercise. It provides basic tools for creating digital collages or alterations.
The second most influential project for me this semester was our Scratch coding remix. I have used Scratch before, but I felt particularly more comfortable after tackling a remix. In my opinion, this tool is meant to inspire youth to be curious about how technology works. Not every student may choose careers in computer engineering, however, it is useful to understand the foundational concepts of coding because so much of the technology we use is created through coding. Scratch is an accessible program that can be scaffolded to a wide variety of learners and ages. From moving a sprite, to creating a short animation, to designing an interactive game, there are many possibilities and opportunities to learn. I also love that we were introduced to critical or serious games. This adds another component to Scratch that could be an additional advancement for a project. Critical games introduce social issues into interactive platforms. Players are approached to consider issue at hand, and conjure up possible solutions.
Much of my life at the moment is designated to academics and work rather than artmaking, therefore my professional life is in direct comparison to my classes. In my current job at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, I am planning a new visual arts exhibit for the summer that highlights programs based on the mediums of paper, fiber, assemblage and technology. The exhibit is meant to inspire children with art and materials, as well as give them the agency to have a vision and voice for what they create. Because of this, most of the programs will be explorative. When first planning this exhibit, I felt that tangible media is easy to explore in comparison to technology. However, I have become more comfortable to the thought of having kids “explore” technology since taking this class. Technology, just like any other medium, allows for failure. When thinking about the platforms we used, such as HTML & CSS, Scratch, IMovie, and Photoshop, there was much opportunity for play, frustration and yes, failure. What is wrong with a game that doesn’t work, or code that doesn’t run? The only downfall is the frustration that comes with it, and the lack of product in the end. This is no different from fine art. Just as kids play with fabric and cardboard, so too can they play with technological platforms. Ultimately, exploration builds literacy. Kids can learn through exploration with the support of educators, and be assisted when things go wrong.
Lastly, our NYU program highly focuses on critical pedagogy through social justice oriented art education. This means that as teachers, we are to encourage the construction of knowledge through dialogue, and enable critical thought around current social and political issues. This is easier said than done obviously, however, I feel that above all art provides a vehicle for students to share their voice. If us educators can spark the passion inside of our students, they are much more likely to be invested in their processes of making, and therefore will be engaged in knowledge construction. I have realized that the best place to start is to ask questions. By asking questions, we allow students to make connections to prior knowledge, and be involved in critical conversations around social issues. If students practice curiosity and using their own voice, they will be actively aware of media messages and visual culture, in comparison than passive consumers.