Teaching tertiary visual arts education in a purely on-line learning environment
One of the major new developments in higher education is the growth of virtual universities and eLearning. eLearning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching but typically requires students to access media and communication with the aide of a computer and the Internet. While this development has definite practical benefits, such as, freedom from constraints of time and geography, there are also disparities that arise between real world and virtual technology-led teaching. Some creative ICT solutions in different disciplines or domains have proved to be successful, however, tertiary visual arts educators still face significant challenges in this new learning environment. Removing face-to-face interaction has implications for creating spaces where pre-service teachers can develop their art practice and knowledge of art pedagogies. This paper explores the specific issues that relate to off campus e-learning in the visual arts domain and presents findings from a study that investigated the attitudes of a group of tertiary students (enrolled in a primary creative arts education undergraduate unit) towards e-learning.
The Experience of Teaching Visual Arts in a Purely Online Learning Environment
One of the major new developments in higher education is the growth of virtual universities and eLearning. While this development has definite practical benefits, such as, freedom from constraints of time and geography, there are also disparities that arise between real world and virtual technology-led teaching. Tertiary Visual Arts educators face significant challenges in this new learning environment because removing face-to-face interaction has implications for creating spaces where pre-service teachers can develop their Visual Arts practice and knowledge of pedagogies. This paper describes the experiences of a tertiary Visual Arts education academic and presents findings from a small scale study that investigated the attitudes of a group of tertiary students, enrolled in a primary undergraduate unit, towards e-learning.
Beyond the school gate: A study of arts engagement and employment in post-secondary school years
Creative industries are key drivers of modern economies; however, analysis has traditionally advanced a market-failure model of arts and culture (Potts, 2012). A negative socio-economic paradigm can have an adverse effect on post-secondary school students' career choices and continued engagement in the arts. This article reports on the findings from the first stage of a longitudinal study that tracks the life trajectories of a group of young people who at some time in their school years were winners and finalists in a university funded art prize. The participants, now in the early stages of their tertiary studies and careers, were surveyed in order to learn whether they had continued to engage in visual arts practice, continued on to further training in the arts or work in creative occupations. Participants in this study offered insights into their motivations to pursue arts-based careers as well as their understanding of the challenges that face those who desire a career in the Arts.