Multimedia's Role in Art Education Introdu

MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY AND ART EDUCATION

This paper presents an examination of multimedia's role in art education. The paper begins with a short definition and general discussion of multimedia technology; it then presents a review of literature related to the purposes and uses of these technologies in art education. This review is followed by some examples of multimedia art education programs. The final section discusses the reviewed literature in terms of its implications for multimedia use in art education programs in Qatar.

Definition of Multimedia Technology

According to Anderson (1985) multimedia technology consists, primarily, of the electronic media. Included among electronic media are computers, video recorders, interactive video discs including laser videodiscs, and two-way cable television.

Brouch (1994) states that the 1990s will see ever increasingly sophisticated interactive multimedia technologies leading to widespread employment of virtual reality in both public and educational settings. Regarding education, Brouch reports that the arts (visual, music, drama, dance, and creative writing) are intimately involved with instructional technology's future, and that the arts provide both adult (commercial) creators and contributors to the programs being developed for education. In other words, there is a reciprocal partnership between the arts and multimedia technology in that multimedia is not only employed for the purposes of art educatio

e achieved via the introduction of this technology are numerous. In this regard, Genin (1991) discusses graphic software that enables 1118 year old students explore the theory of color and develop a color sense by making judgments and comparisons. The software is specifically designed to develop aesthetic-artistic qualities in the user, as opposed to the intellectual-cognitive qualities usually associated with computer-assisted learning. Moreover, according to Genin (1991), research on graphic software in school classroom clearly shows that microcomputers provide a tool unique in terms of their ability to encourage and enhance the development of an art and art design students' sensibility regarding the interpretation and criticism of art. Multimedia technology can increase students' learning by making the subject matter more interesting, and more real. This point was noted by Guernsey (1997) in her discussion of an art history video created at the Columbia University (New York) Media Center for Art History. The video takes the art student on a computer-animated video tour of Amiens Cathedral (France). According to Guernsey, the video's chronology of the building's construction has, according to student viewers, made ar

Category: Science - M