Digital arts in the context of traditional and contemporary creative arts training and practices

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The first idea of "Art Education" came to my mind when I wrote M.A. thesis entitled:“ The Role of Art in Training and Teaching Children 6-11”, Ten years ago. I was eager to enhance my study to new planning methods of Art universities. The objective of this idea was to open up our cultural institutions to the wider community, to promote learning and to extend the reach of new technologies. So, as a PhD student I liked to work on the idea of values and the hope for development. I left all my past behind to enliven my ambition in the way of innovative art. In the world of communication and digital, I was looking for a way to connect human‟s intellectual values and global digital. I tried to perceive the reality of human‟s nature despite the extraordinary progress in computer and its components. Therefore, it is now appropriate to move our attention to what we might do as teachers in higher education to evaluate the quality of our own work, with the key aim of improving the quality of students learning. Because, a teacher has a unique role, requiring the integration of teaching skills and capability to take an active role in curriculum support, design and implementation. I had so many interviews with many digital artists around the world which made me to question myself: Where am I standing now? What do I intend my artwork to impart? As the global communication has brought artist to communicate globally they intend to suggest the new thinking and new form of art. It is no longer art for art but art for communication and conveys a meaning to observers. Regarding to Oliver Wedell who interprets the best of a book he found, can also be a good expression for me in art: "The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes of our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), American physician and writer. (Wendell Holmes). This thesis has set out to provide a review of progress in the British universities post 60s. There was historical evidence of this tendency going back into the 19th century, when colleges founded to serve the educational needs of the growing industrial cities turned into the technological universities. The intensity of the certain of new system in England was occurred after World War II. Following post war concern about the need for technical education, and deciding to establish some colleges linked to industry. Indeed, the evaluation of new industry and demanding for reformation, become one of the most important goals in England in those days. Academic atmosphere became institutionalised on policy for technical education in 1950s and 1960s. Appendix 1 contains the main intention to explore the progressive movement of higher education in England. However, It was not the aim to provide a comprehensive theory of the history of education but, in short, I have narrowed my attention to the history of art universities in England since 18th century up to now. So, appendix II, concentrates on the creation of the new system after the 60s and have explored how and why the process of improvement expanded during that period. Chapter 1 with the subject "Digital Art and Iranian Education" has addressed approaches to teaching for creativity in art and illustrates how they can provide rich opportunities for students to discover experience and develop their skills in creative area. The questions here: How can creativity be communicated through teaching? Do we have a specific language for creativity in art? How can we explain the importance of creativity in art? How can teachers make the teaching process itself more creative? would be an overview of teaching and learning process. As it can be an important factor for teachers to know and demonstrate “when”, “where” and “which” language can be matched by creative subject material to avoid creative problem. Actually, creative problem solving depends on using the right tools such as, text, graphics, picture, video, links, searching, random scanning, backtracking, multiple windows, with programmable access and control of other resources such as, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, CD-ROMs, video discs, audio discs, tricks, procedures or methods of analysis. In some cases new tools and methods of analysis must be developed from scratch by the inventor before a problem can be solved and in other cases special tools and procedures must be developed to take the final critical step of enabling successful commercial applications after a university education. Recent technological advances in the arts have created the possibility of new ways of teaching and learning. Identifying successful strategies and techniques for enabling universities to advance is a critical step towards making these goals a reality. This chapter analyse the following conceptual approaches as key issues: Restructuring curriculum and policy in Iranian arts faculties, promoting faculty development and students‟ learning in the context of global standards. More specific issues included: Is there a need for a standard model to deliver university goals? How can we adapt the curriculum? What do we want from creativity and how can we be more creative? Chapter 2 discusses the quality of teaching and learning, resulting in improvements throughout undergraduate education. Therefore, Iranian educational context needs to be considered. I have argued that to increase faculty members‟ effectiveness, the existing competitive, individualistic college structure needs to be transformed to provide a collaborative and innovative environment where the use of computers could emerge as a new practice area. Chapter 3 represents that creative use of computers in digital art is important in learning and teaching. This chapter gives an account of the author‟s experiences in digital printmaking, not just as pieces of art work, but also to develop teaching and learning strategies for Iranian art universities. Chapter 4 states that the development of a professional digital art practice has been an essential task faced by many creative professionals today. The application of digital technologies discussed in this chapter is: What is needed in order to identify a dynamic practice and critical debate relative to educational contexts? How can we visualize the practice and theory of digitalisation? In particular, what is the nature of the collaboration that explores new models of working and practice relevant to the discovery of new methods in future? Indeed, the intersection between digital paintings, the physical body, and multimedia in collaboration with music and video art is one that this chapter discusses as a challenging teaching exemplar in forming learning values. The result promotes a new fine art context that breaks the crossing between the arts. Chapter 5 reveals the world of modern physics and the reality of our mind and our conscious self. The study of quantum physics is the further aim to develop artists‟ consciousness and inner expression for the concept of body energy and interactivity in chapter 6. Chapter 6 considers the hidden values to learn how to focus well on mind throughout the physical body. The collaborative digital art practice has analysed the intellectual activity and produced an interactive visual arts. The study of human being fused my imagination to see and express body in a new form of art as my final project. Chapter 7 examines and explores the idea of using digital art as a form of multimedia project and the opportunity of developing new techniques in performance. These explorations need to develop new tools to facilitate the emerging concept of the higher spatial dimensions, human body and their relationship between art and technology. The intention of this chapter, as a closing chapter, was to suggest a developing a programme, as a short experiential artwork to model a virtual form of the body and to explore the nature of consciousness in the world of the imagination

Digital arts in the context of traditional and contemporary creative arts training and practices

The first idea of "Art Education" came to my mind when I wrote M.A. thesis entitled:“ The Role of Art in Training and Teaching Children 6-11”, Ten years ago. I was eager to enhance my study to new planning methods of Art universities. The objective of this idea was to open up our cultural institutions to the wider community, to promote learning and to extend the reach of new technologies. So, as a PhD student I liked to work on the idea of values and the hope for development. I left all my past behind to enliven my ambition in the way of innovative art. In the world of communication and digital, I was looking for a way to connect human‟s intellectual values and global digital. I tried to perceive the reality of human‟s nature despite the extraordinary progress in computer and its components. Therefore, it is now appropriate to move our attention to what we might do as teachers in higher education to evaluate the quality of our own work, with the key aim of improving the quality of students learning. Because, a teacher has a unique role, requiring the integration of teaching skills and capability to take an active role in curriculum support, design and implementation. I had so many interviews with many digital artists around the world which made me to question myself: Where am I standing now? What do I intend my artwork to impart? As the global communication has brought artist to communicate globally they intend to suggest the new thinking and new form of art. It is no longer art for art but art for communication and conveys a meaning to observers. Regarding to Oliver Wedell who interprets the best of a book he found, can also be a good expression for me in art: "The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes of our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), American physician and writer. (Wendell Holmes). This thesis has set out to provide a review of progress in the British universities post 60s. There was historical evidence of this tendency going back into the 19th century, when colleges founded to serve the educational needs of the growing industrial cities turned into the technological universities. The intensity of the certain of new system in England was occurred after World War II. Following post war concern about the need for technical education, and deciding to establish some colleges linked to industry. Indeed, the evaluation of new industry and demanding for reformation, become one of the most important goals in England in those days. Academic atmosphere became institutionalised on policy for technical education in 1950s and 1960s. Appendix 1 contains the main intention to explore the progressive movement of higher education in England. However, It was not the aim to provide a comprehensive theory of the history of education but, in short, I have narrowed my attention to the history of art universities in England since 18th century up to now. So, appendix II, concentrates on the creation of the new system after the 60s and have explored how and why the process of improvement expanded during that period. Chapter 1 with the subject "Digital Art and Iranian Education" has addressed approaches to teaching for creativity in art and illustrates how they can provide rich opportunities for students to discover experience and develop their skills in creative area. The questions here: How can creativity be communicated through teaching? Do we have a specific language for creativity in art? How can we explain the importance of creativity in art? How can teachers make the teaching process itself more creative? would be an overview of teaching and learning process. As it can be an important factor for teachers to know and demonstrate “when”, “where” and “which” language can be matched by creative subject material to avoid creative problem. Actually, creative problem solving depends on using the right tools such as, text, graphics, picture, video, links, searching, random scanning, backtracking, multiple windows, with programmable access and control of other resources such as, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, CD-ROMs, video discs, audio discs, tricks, procedures or methods of analysis. In some cases new tools and methods of analysis must be developed from scratch by the inventor before a problem can be solved and in other cases special tools and procedures must be developed to take the final critical step of enabling successful commercial applications after a university education. Recent technological advances in the arts have created the possibility of new ways of teaching and learning. Identifying successful strategies and techniques for enabling universities to advance is a critical step towards making these goals a reality. This chapter analyse the following conceptual approaches as key issues: Restructuring curriculum and policy in Iranian arts faculties, promoting faculty development and students‟ learning in the context of global standards. More specific issues included: Is there a need for a standard model to deliver university goals? How can we adapt the curriculum? What do we want from creativity and how can we be more creative? Chapter 2 discusses the quality of teaching and learning, resulting in improvements throughout undergraduate education. Therefore, Iranian educational context needs to be considered. I have argued that to increase faculty members‟ effectiveness, the existing competitive, individualistic college structure needs to be transformed to provide a collaborative and innovative environment where the use of computers could emerge as a new practice area. Chapter 3 represents that creative use of computers in digital art is important in learning and teaching. This chapter gives an account of the author‟s experiences in digital printmaking, not just as pieces of art work, but also to develop teaching and learning strategies for Iranian art universities. Chapter 4 states that the development of a professional digital art practice has been an essential task faced by many creative professionals today. The application of digital technologies discussed in this chapter is: What is needed in order to identify a dynamic practice and critical debate relative to educational contexts? How can we visualize the practice and theory of digitalisation? In particular, what is the nature of the collaboration that explores new models of working and practice relevant to the discovery of new methods in future? Indeed, the intersection between digital paintings, the physical body, and multimedia in collaboration with music and video art is one that this chapter discusses as a challenging teaching exemplar in forming learning values. The result promotes a new fine art context that breaks the crossing between the arts. Chapter 5 reveals the world of modern physics and the reality of our mind and our conscious self. The study of quantum physics is the further aim to develop artists‟ consciousness and inner expression for the concept of body energy and interactivity in chapter 6. Chapter 6 considers the hidden values to learn how to focus well on mind throughout the physical body. The collaborative digital art practice has analysed the intellectual activity and produced an interactive visual arts. The study of human being fused my imagination to see and express body in a new form of art as my final project. Chapter 7 examines and explores the idea of using digital art as a form of multimedia project and the opportunity of developing new techniques in performance. These explorations need to develop new tools to facilitate the emerging concept of the higher spatial dimensions, human body and their relationship between art and technology. The intention of this chapter, as a closing chapter, was to suggest a developing a programme, as a short experiential artwork to model a virtual form of the body and to explore the nature of consciousness in the world of the imagination.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A toolkit for educators and planners

Everyone remembers a good teacher. Good teachers are the key to educational expansion and improvement. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to expand the number of primary and secondary teachers. In all African countries, there is an equally important need to improve the quality of teaching. To achieve this, it is clear that new approaches to teacher education are essential. Existing institutions of teacher education will continue to play an important role, but, alone, they will not meet the goals of Education for All (EFA) by 2015. It is fortunate that, just as the twin needs to improve the quantity and quality of teachers become imperative, so new forms of education and training are becoming available. The world is witnessing a revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs), which can offer training and support of a type and at a cost hitherto impossible to consider, and thus, must be fully explored given the scale and urgency of demand. In doing so, however, it will be necessary to build on existing and well-tested strategies, including the best models of open and distance learning. This toolkit is the third in a series of recent publications by the Africa Region Human Development Department of the World Bank to share knowledge and experience on how distance education and ICTs can support education in Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasizes the rigorous process by which new forms of distance-education programs for teacher education can be planned and implemented. The best models of established programs are considered along with the potential for incorporating, as the means become available, new modes of communication. Most forms of teacher education, particularly those concerned with qualification upgrading and ongoing professional development, will have to be based in schools. The authors demonstrate how school-based programs, appropriately resourced and supported, have the potential not only to raise significantly the number and quality of teachers, but also to improve classroom practice and school organization, generally. The guidance and advice, which is drawn from many years of experience in design and implementation, and embraces a range of case studies from across the region, will be of considerable value to those preparing new policies and programs of teacher education and to those seeking to improve existing programs

Pre-service Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of the Potential of Virtual Reality for Teaching and Learning

In this thesis, three separate but closely connected studies were conducted. A scoping review employed a systematic approach to identify studies dealing with pre-service teachers’ ICT beliefs, revealed the crucial factors in terms of measuring pre-service teachers’ ICT beliefs, explored unresolved issues with the current literature of pre-service teachers’ beliefs of different technologies, and provided clear directions for the development of further educational research and practice. A systematic review sought to examine the ICT beliefs of pre-service teachers containing the variables of ICT beliefs measurement, ICT adaptation factors and ICT training needs. The findings from the scoping review and systematic review revealed the relevant research and provided insights into the possible ways to measure pre-service teachers’ ICT beliefs. A mixed method empirical study on pre-service teachers’ beliefs and training needs on the educational use of virtual reality was conducted to fill the research gap and move the literature forward, as the results of scoping review and systematic review have suggested that there is a lack of evidence about pre-service teachers’ beliefs on cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual reality technology. It was found that pre-service teachers have moderately positive attitude towards ICT and virtual reality technology in terms of openness to new ICT tools, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and technological complexity; however, they hold a relatively positive expectation for the future development of virtual reality technology in the educational field. The results also showed that pre-service teachers have moderately positive attitudes towards ICT training, and they have clear goals about their training needs to guide their implementation of virtual reality technology in classroom teaching and learning. It is suggested that pre-service teachers in China need to adapt to the recent and newest policies for their own development and for the advancement of society. Future research could be based on the relationship between pre-service teachers’ ICT beliefs and the practices of integration of technology in the classroom, as well as the changes in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of ICT and cutting-edge educational technologies before and after the Covid-19 pandemic for teaching practice

A novel Internet of Things-supported intelligent education management system implemented via collaboration of knowledge and data

The past decade has witnessed great progress in the Internet of Things (IoT), which can provide integrated platforms for data with various formats and to serve different parts of human society. Although IoT-supported education management systems have achieved some successful applications, most existing systems cannot perform intelligent information processing, such as autonomous planning and optimal scheduling. To remedy this gap, this work proposes a novel IoT-supported intelligent education management system that is implemented via collaboration of knowledge and data. First, the macroscopic architecture is designed according to field knowledge of education management, and a clustering-based data analysis algorithm is utilized to visualize real-time classroom characteristics. Then, statistics of learning status are generated, and personalized following plans are accordingly suggested to different specific users. Finally, the functions of the designed smart education management system are tested via computer simulation operations. The obtained results show that the proposal can work well under a real-time data stream and is expected to serve as a typical education management application in smart cities. Through verification, it is found that the integration of general education and professional courses is the ideal starting point for the design of the elements of an optimal course structure for engineering practice majors. In particular, we should strengthen the reform of the following course types: introduction to design, general education, concentrated practice, comprehensive design and peak courses

Strata Managers and Educational Mishaps

In Australia, educational qualifications are a prescribed requirement for licensing within various occupations and professions, and each state and territory has varying degrees of educational aims and objectives. This research paper examines the minimum standards of education and knowledge, which are imposed as a pre-requisite for the licensing of a Strata Manager. The paper traces the historical progression which occurred during the last century to the current decade, and includes an assessment of societies changing needs of the role within the profession. In this regard, it is argued that the educational requirements during the mid 1990s to the early 2000s best served the needs of the consumer in comparison to these last 10 years. The discussion is complemented with data from New South Wales, mapping the educational knowledge fields and comparing this information to the duties and responsibilities of a Strata Manager

Education and Training Report. Performance Report, FY 1997

During FY 97, 152 MUREP education and training projects were conducted at OMU institutions. The institutions conducted precollege and bridge programs, education partnerships with other universities and industry, NRTS, teacher training, and graduate and/or PI undergraduate programs. These programs reached a total of 23,748 participants, with the predominant number at the precollege level and achieved major goals of heightening students' interest and awareness of career opportunities in MSET fields, and exposing students to the NASA mission, research and advanced technology through role models, mentors, and participation in research and other educational activities. Also in FY 1997, NASA continued a very meaningful relationship with the Hispanic Association of Colleges students and Universities (HACU) through Proyecto Access, a consortium through which HACU links seven HSI's together to conduct 8-week summer programs. OMU Institutions reported 4,334 high school student in NASA programs and 3,404 of those students selected college preparatory MSET courses. Three hundred and forty-nine (349) graduated from high school, 343 enrolled in college, and 199 selected MSET majors. There were 130 high school graduates (bridge students) in NASA programs, 57 of whom successfully completed their freshman year. There were 307 teachers in teacher programs and 48 teachers received certificates. Of the 389 undergraduate students, 75 received under graduate degrees, and eight students are employed in a NASA-related field

The Bulletin, Undergraduate Catalog 2013-2014 (2013)

https://red.mnstate.edu/bulletins/1096/thumbnail.jp