Online Conference on
Learning and Teaching with Technology
in Art Design and Communication
DeL Online March 2006: speakers: Andrew Stiff
Andrew Stiff
Enhancing Blended Presentations
MA Digital Arts at Camberwell College of Arts, runs in two modes, Online and Face to Face. The online course is a two year part time course, and the Face to Face course has a two year part time and one year full time course.
Having these two modes has raised some interesting situations in the delivery of the curriculum. Where possible I have tried to encourage collaboration between the modes. There are a couple of reasons for this. Digital Art covers a vast spectrum of working, and theoretical practices, but the computer is central to all of them. The students need to understand the implications of their tools, particularly the tools for communication, that the computer offers, so blended events address the important point of communication in the digital age. Secondly, because of the wide range of skills and ideas inherent in the digital arts arena, expanding the debate amongst students, enhances the experience and diverstity of the subject area.
One issue that has arisen from the last two collaborative presentations is the disengagement of the online students during the post presentation debates. This disengagement occurs during the verbal interaction between the face to face presenters and the audience [made up of MA peers]. The aim of my research was to explore different methods of presentation that would enable the online cohort to remain engaged within the debate post presentation.
There were a number of potential solutions, that could work. I wished to use the online cohort's 'online experience'; as much as possible rather than imposing a face to face solution. This also would give the students more control over how they receive and interact with blended presentations.
I used student chat sessions to get them to engage in a debate around possible solutions to the problem they had experienced. Initially there were lots of ideas for a solution, but these very much relied upon extending the online course into the face to face environment, by placing an online student physically within the face to face presentation to monitor the debate and relay the debate issues via the chat tools, or finding a face to face student willing to take on this role. This of course would have worked to some degree, but I felt that perhaps there could be a more fundamental shift. By looking at the protocols of debate, I felt we could shift the center of the debate into the online environment.
By using a lecture presented to first year undergraduate digital elective students, the online students could experiment with various modes of presentation and because there were no online presenters as well the pivot of the presentation and debate moved into the online environment. By using a 'roving' webcam and laptop access to the chat environment, face to face students could communicate via chat to the online students, as well as ask questions via the webcam.
The practicalities of an event like this, can always be played around with. The better supplied an institution the more sophisticated this kind of interaction can be. But even on the lowest of budgets and technical equipment a successful blended presentation can take place. But more importantly an exercise like this engages students in the technology of communication, an essential aspect of Digital Arts, but also gives a self confidence and sense of control to distance learning students.
Biography
Andrew Stiff was appointed to run the Digital Arts MA course at Camberwell College
of Arts in September 2003.The online version of the course started in September
2004. Prior to this appointment, Andrew worked with cltad for the University of Arts London, and held several short course teaching
posts, in digital media, at Camberwell College of Arts.
Outside of the college environment Andrew works as an independent digital artist, and has worked in collaboration the the co-operative D-Fuse, which focuses on web, video and DVD technology to produce installations and various live events.
Andrew Stiff
Course Head
MA Digital Arts
Camberwell College of Arts
Peckham Road
London
W1K SE5 8UF
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 6327
Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 6310
Email: a.stiff@camberwell.arts.ac.uk
Web: www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk
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