Online Conference on
Learning and Teaching with Technology
in Art Design and Communication
DeL Online March 2006: speakers: Martti Raevaara
Martti Raevaara
Developing course production and teaching practices of e-learning in art and design
The School of Art Education at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki has carried out a master degree e-learning programme Virt@ to provide qualification for art teachers. The first programme was implemented during the period 2001-2004 and the new one in the years 2004-2007. The Virt@ has also generated several interesting e-learning projects, some of which are also international.
The Virt@ studies are based on the students’ former artist or teacher education and art teaching experience. Most of the students are painters, but there are also designers, art and craft artists, media artists and so on, as well as secondary and high school teachers, art historians and museum lectures. Because the training is mostly organized in the form of web-based studies, it is able to carry out alongside one’s own artist and teacher work. The students are living around Finland and will complete the degree of Master of Arts in 3 years.
In my presentation I’ll share the best practices and results of the Virt@ programme and e-learning projects around it, and discuss the challenges of using VLEs in art and design education. I focus my study to a course production and a teacher’s new roles, also in international context.
The focus of a course production is not to produce learning objects but a creative process of teaching and learning. The basis is teachers’ expertise and ownership of teaching, and enthusiasm for rethinking one’s lessons. The course production should be a project of experiments and it is important to provide the foundation for encouraging, supporting and open-minded teamwork for that. Inspiring examples are valuable and even small steps can lead up to an innovative solution of great value.
There are several ways to do an excellent e-learning course and to use ICT and VLEs in art and design education. “The new learning environment” is made by interlinking different kinds of digital tools and real spaces, studio, workshop and classroom as well as students’ working spaces at home. The role of a teacher will contain new dimensions e.g. to interlink a student’s personal way of working and learning with the idea of collaborative working, to make the personal involvement and learning process of a student visible and to use several means to implement the study and professional community visible, vivid and inviting.
The use of VLEs is allowing the expansion of tools and methods to reshape educational setting, but the pedagogical questions of learning, such as how to support creativity, artistic process or visual knowledge building, still exist. The issues are more generally involved in the identity and characteristic of art and design education.
At its best the use of ICT and VLEs may also be an effective tool to renew and to develop the leadership and working culture of an educational institution, from individual work to collaborative, inspiring knowledge sharing and building. I will also open new creative ways of international cooperation in course production and teaching.
See more about Virt@ http://virta2.uiah.fi
Biography
Lic.A.
Martti Raevaara is the director of education and the head of MA eLearning
programme Virt@ at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. He has worked
at the university over 20 years in several jobs, as a lecturer of photography
and visual design, research assistant, professor and the dean at the School
of Art Education. His licentiate study was focus on critiques of fine art
courses in art and design university level education.
In addition to the Virt@ programme Martti Raevaara is involved in several national and international projects of e-learning in art and design.
Martti Raevaara
School of Art Education
University of Art and Design Helsinki
Hämeentie 135 C
00560 Helsinki
Finland
Mobile: +358 05 301 8692
Tel: +358 9 756 30259
Fax: +358 9 756 30250
Email: martti.raevaara@uiah.fi
Web: www.uiah.fi/
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