(Rosenke, 2022)
(Penner, n.d.)
(ACARA, 2014)
As outlined in the Australian Curriculum, media arts are a multi-faceted subject area where students are encouraged to connect with audiences, create representations, explore new concepts, and tell stories through a variety of communication technologies. Highlighted as a modern art form, the media arts encourage learners to analyse “existing and emerging technologies” (ACARA, 2010) to explore technical elements such as sound, imagery, text, and their relevance to social, cultural, and historical media practices. The dynamic nature of this discipline provides opportunities for students to truly explore avenues of media that they have an interest in, including (but not limited to) Virtual Design, Sound Design, Multimedia, and Moving Image (Olsen, 2012).
Aligning with the important capability requirements highlighted in the Australian Curriculum, the media arts are profoundly constructive in supporting students in developing critical thinking skills and social/personal tools needed to flourish in community life.
Critical and creative thinking is a core skillset required in Media Arts practice, and by using reflective processes and imagination, students will naturally confront tasks and challenges where they are required to employ decisive skills to identify motivations and communications within a selection of media content (ACARA, 2011, p.23). To develop social and personal competence, students with regularly collaborate with peers, assess interests and challenges, and discuss feedback with peers and teachers to support social development (ACARA, 2011, p.24). The media arts are often a form of self-expression and can be used to empower the culture of diverse learners and facilitate intercultural understandings, bridging the gap between assumptive lenses and the inclusive education of diverse lifeways (Raphael and Hunter, 2017, p.60).
“Our task is to educate their whole being so they can face an ever-growing and changing future”
Media Arts Advocacy
Within 21st-century contexts, the need for young Australians to become digitally literate, develop media competencies, and understand the digital landscape is greater than ever (Goldsmith, 2014). Our everyday lives are increasingly becoming more digitised, and as a result, more emerging and existing professional avenues are requiring applicants to have a certain level of media engagement and understanding (Goldsmith, 2014).The saturation of digital content in everyday functions has supported young people in developing advanced technological capabilities, however, innate learning cannot teach students how to participate responsibly, ethically, and creatively in modern media culture. These “competencies, skills, and understandings need to be taught, learned, and practised” (Goldsmith, 2014) through integrated and purposeful engagements.
The media arts incorporate “a broad range of forms, tools, processes, and genres that are ever evolving” (Olsen, 2012) and challenging towards traditional and modern discourse. Much like other artistic fields, media arts are deeply characterised by their own cultural history and progressive work towards social development. Furthermore, it also “exists as a means of creative expression” (Olsen, 2012) and supports the development of compositional and technical skills that are a necessary asset for the contemporary world.
(Adem, 2021)
The Los Angeles Board of Education (as cited in Ewing, 2011, p.14) contend that studying within the arts is an “indispensable part of a comprehensive education”, asserting that involvement in creative sectors can foster student growth and their development as a global citizen. This engagement is said to enhance a student’s critical ability to problem solve and perform in other subject areas, as well as their capacity to work with confidence and express themselves (Ewing, 2011, p.17). Choosing to study within the arts supports the growth of visual literacy, an asset that Bamford (2003, p.1) believes is vital towards becoming an “effective communicator [who can] interpret, create and select images to convey a range of meanings”.
The media arts is an expansive discipline that accommodates a range of practical and active pedagogical approaches. In particular, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is understood to be successful within the field because of its ability to situate learning to real-life problems and encourage students to direct their own learning (Hmelo-Silver, 2004, p. 236). The teacher’s role in this case is not to provide knowledge but to facilitate learning and encourage students to become more active participants (Hmelo-Silver, 2004, p. 236). Collaborative spaces are a key successful feature of PBL as students can work together and build transferable knowledge (Hmelo-Silver, 2004, pp. 246-247). Lastly, the Australian Curriculum acknowledges the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students “[seeing] themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum” (Churchill et al., 2021) highlighting differentiation as an imperative pedagogical strategy within the arts as well as disability education.
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2014). Arts Participation and Students' Academic Outcomes [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ebEQpRJK14
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2010). Media Arts F-10 Curriculum. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/media-arts/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2011). Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. [report]. https://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_The_Arts_-_Compressed.pdf
Adem, A. (2021). New social media platform and other social media Instagram. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/@ademay
Bamford, A. (2003). The Visual Literacy White Paper. [report]. Adobe Systems Pty Ltd. Australia. https://aperture.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/visual-literacy-wp.pdf
Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., Mackay, J., McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M. C., Shaw, K., Ferguson, P., Nicholson, P., and Vick, M. (2021). Teaching: Making a Difference (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Incorporated, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/deakin/detail.action?docID=6729416
Ewing, R. (2011). The Arts and Australian Education: Realising potential. [report]. Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=aer
Goldsmith, B. (2014). Media arts should be at the core of the Australian Curriculum. [online article]. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/media-arts-should-be-at-the-core-of-the-australian-curriculum-33401
Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16(3), 235-266. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EDPR.0000034022.16470.f3
Olsen, D. (2012). The Inclusion of Media Arts in Next Generation Arts Standards. [report]. National Coalition for Core Art Standards (NCCAS). https://nationalartsstandards.org/sites/default/files/Media%20arts_resources/NCCAS_%26_Media_Arts_7-28-12%20FINAL.pdf
Penner, L. (n.d.). Video mounting setup. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/@libby_penner
Robinson, K. [Sir Ken Robinson]. (2006). Do schools kill creativity? [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity/discussion
Raphael, J., & Hunter, M. A. (2017). The arts and teaching for diversity. In C. Sinclair, N.
Jeanneret, & J. O'Toole (Eds.), Education in the Arts (Third edition ed., pp. 251-265).
Rosenke, G. (2022). Why Pentax Is Perfectly Suited to Bring Back the Era of the Film Camera. [Image]. Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/why-pentax-is-perfectly-suited-to-bring-back-the-era-of-the-film-camera-6979567