Application of ICT in Art Education: A Case Study of HIFA

Abstract. This paper intends to expound the application of information and communication technology （ict） in art education， making a case of study of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts （hifa）. Despite financial pressure， HIFA has invested heavily in the infrastructure. The classrooms at HIFA can be roughly divided into three kinds： studios， multimedia classrooms and computer labs with reference to ICT. There are three general approaches to the instructional use of the technology at HIFA， namely： learning about computers and the Internet； learning with computers and the Internet and learning through computers and the Internet. The utilization of ICT has shaped the art education model of HIFA considerably and has brought about a lot of changes and benefits to the faculty and students. However， its disadvantage may overweigh the advantage unless it is properly harnessed.

Key words： ICT， Application， HIFA， Art education.

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of information and communication technology （ICT）， tremendous changes have taken place and are taking place in education. Many a scholar has examined education informationization in detail from various angles. Nevertheless， there seems to have been little research into the technology in art education. Thus， this paper seeks to explore the application of ICT in art education， making a case of study of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts （HIFA） that epitomizes the Chinese art academies.

Founded in 1920， HIFA is one of the eight leading fine arts academies in China. By the end of 2012， the academy consists of 12 departments or schools， such as Department of Traditional Chinese Painting， Department of Oil Painting， Department of Design and Animation School， and has more than 500 faculty and staff members and an enrollment of over 7，000 students.

2. Application of ICT in art education

2.1 Infrastructure

As mentioned earlier， ICT stands for information and communication technology. It is can be defined as a “diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate， and to create， disseminate， store， and manage information.” [1]These technologies include computers， the Internet， broadcasting technologies （radio and television）， and telephony. ICT in this paper， however， refers mainly to computers， the Internet and other related technologies used to handle and communicate information for educational purpose.

Despite financial strains， HIFA has gone to great lengths to invest heavily in the infrastructure of ICT especially since the start of the new campus construction in 2008. At the new campus now， there are Internet access in every classroom， office and dormitory room. Wireless Wi-Fi Internet coverage has been also provided in some "inaccessible" or pivotal parts of the campus， such as the refectory， the playground， the library and the Gallery. Thus far， the institute has preliminarily implemented a campus-wide broadband Internet coverage.

For convenience's sake， we divide the classrooms at HIFA roughly into three kinds： studios， multimedia classrooms and computer labs with reference to ICT. Studios predominate in the classrooms at the art academy. There is no computer but Internet connection there. However， the teacher may bring a laptop computer and a data projector to the studio， "transforming" it into a multimedia classroom temporarily.

The multimedia classroom is installed with a desktop computer， a high definition projector， a screen， an amplifier and Internet connection. The classrooms， where such common courses as Art History and Computer Fundamentals are usually delivered， are very large and can accommodate 200 students. A few departments also have multimedia classrooms of their own.

The computer lab is a cluster of computers that usually are networked. It is also armed with a powerful projector， a screen and an amplifier. Some big computer labs like the Computer-Aided Design Laboratory and the Digital Imaging Laboratory are set up at the Experimental Teaching Center while some more specialized labs are established at certain departments and schools， such as the Cluster Rendering & Compositing Laboratory at the Animation School and the Building Information Modeling Technology Laboratory at the Department of Environmental Art Design.

2.2 Models of Teaching and Learning

As a prestigious art academy， HIFA has developed the eclectic teaching-learning model in its long historical evolution. With the advent of new philosophies and novel technologies， the institute has been actively incorporating fresh beneficial elements into its well-established pedagogical tradition.

We can describe the models of teaching and learning at HIFA in many aspects， such as their theoretical paradigms， instructional strategies， instructional methods and instructional time， ect. In this article， however， we intend to inquire into the educational model at HIFA from the angle of the utilization of ICT in teaching and learning. Let’s look at the potential and use of ICT first. According to Wadi D. Haddad and Alexandra Draxler， “there are at least five hierarchical levels at which technologies may be used： presentation， demonstration， drill and practice， interaction， and collaboration. If technology is to be used for representation and demonstration only， investment in computers and connectivity may not be justifiable. On the other hand， the potential for interactive and collaborative learning can best be achieved by networked computers and connectivity to the World Wide Web.”[2]

Ron Richmond has proposed three general approaches to or three stages of the instructional use of computers and the Internet， namely： 1） Learning about computers and the Internet， in which technological literary is the end goal； 2） Learning with computers and the Internet， in which the technology facilitates learning across the curriculum； and 3） Learning through computers and the Internet， integrating technological skills development with curriculum applications. [3] Stage One Learning about computers and the Internet focuses on developing technological literary. All the freshmen at HIFA are required to take Computer Fundamentals addressing computer literary.

Stage Two Learning with computers and the Internet means focusing on how the technology can be the means to learning ends across the curriculum. It includes presentation and demonstration； use of curriculum-specific applications types such as educational games， drill and practice， simulations， tutorials， visualizations and graphical representations of abstract concepts； use of information and resources on CD-ROM or online.Often， the teacher brings a laptop， a projector and an amplifier to the studio when conducting the specialized theoretical one， thus transforming the studio into a multimedia classroom temporarily. He utilizes the multimedia， viz. text， graphic， audio， video and animation， to deliver his lecture. After class， the students may be required to study online. Of course， some teachers from HIFA don’t use computers. Nevertheless， certain courses depend heavily on the computer， without which the teaching work cannot be accomplished and this leads to Stage Three.

Stage Three Learning through computers and the Internet combines learning about them with learning with them. It involves learning the technological skills “just in time” or when the learner needs to learn them as he engages in a curriculum-related activity. Certain disciplines or specialized courses like Animation Production， Digital Imaging Art and Graphic & Web Design are， so to speak， based on computers and have to be conducted at computer labs. It requires great effort to acquire certain skills far beyond computer literary before continuing to learn. The teacher instructs the students in certain software at the computer lab， sometimes with the help of multimedia teaching software. The course time for technology， however， is rather limited， since HIFA gives first priority to art and creativity. Most students have to learn the operative skills by themselves in dormitories after class， as there is a wealth of multimedia teaching programs online. The class usually has a QQ group and if anyone has trouble after school， he may search the solution online or consult the teacher or other students by QQ or cell phone. They usually work in teams， networked by the Internet.

2.3 Benefits

The utilization of ICT has shaped the art education model of HIFA in a great measure and has brought about a lot of changes and benefits to the faculty and students. First of all， ICT has far more affinity to the fine arts than any other means of reproduction. The fine arts are in essence the visual arts and must resort to the sense of sight. It is far more effective， more accurate and vivider to reproduce the picture， or rather， to convey the visual information by means of ICT.

As for the teachers at HIFA， ICT greatly facilitates their work. They can make ampler preparations for their lecture， introducing the frontiers of arts and updating the lecture notes. The multimedia approach to teaching renders the class much livelier and more interesting， thus inspiring and motivating the students. Above all， ICT enables the teachers to focus on imparting the learning methods rather than merely knowledge to the students.

Obviously， the students are the biggest beneficiaries of ICT. They have access to various remote learning resources anywhere and anytime. More and more students at HIFA even take advantage of iPads and iPhones to study online whenever and wherever possible. Making use of ICT also helps better prepare the students for the workplace where the technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous， as the use promotes the acquisition of such skills as digital age literacy， inventive thinking， high-order thinking and effective communication.

In addition， HIFA has introduced ICT into its management system， which benefits the faculty and students enormously. For example， the students can select certain courses， check their scores and evaluate the performance of their teachers on the campus network.

3. Issues in the use of ICT in art education

3.1 Institute authorities

However， a number of new issues or problems have also arisen from their utilization of the technology. Here we intend to treat these problems mainly from three perspectives： institute authorities， teachers and students. Showing great foresight， the HIFA authorities have attached much importance to the application of ICT in the teaching-learning process and have made great efforts to invest heavily in computers and the Internet. Nonetheless， the institute is faced with a spate of difficulties and the most challenging condition is lack of fund. As a provincial art academy， HIFA has limited sources of funding for education. The high cost of the technology and the high maintenance charge have placed an enormous strain on the institute’s finances especially since the enrollment expansion， because the computer needs constant maintenance and updating or replacement. Consequently， the per capita ICT resource at the academy is relatively inadequate. Fortunately， more and more students can afford a computer.

3.2 Teachers

Generally， the teachers at HIFA take a welcoming attitude to ICT， which immensely facilitates their work. However， they must envisage three challenges. Firstly， many teachers do not have clarity about how the technology can best be harnessed in different contexts for different purposes as well as the underpinning educational theories. Secondly， a few teachers may not have the required ICT skills and feel uncomfortable， nor do they have trainings needed to use the technology in their teaching. Last but not the least， the teachers at the academy must change their role in some way. With the introduction of ICT in college， the teacher’s role in the education becomes more critical. As education shifts from the “teacher-centered model” to a “learner-centered model”， the teacher becomes less the sole voice of authority and more the facilitator， mentor and coach――from “sage on stage” to “guide on the side”. After all， there is no right or wrong in art. The teacher’s primary task becomes to teach the students how to learn and the teacher should also learn along with the students.

3.3 Students

The students may also be the victim of the technology unless it is properly harnessed. A survey conducted by the HIFA Students Union in 2012 shows that there are mainly three problems with ICT use. First and foremost， over-reliance on ICT limits the students’ imagination， critical thinking and analytical skills as well as their hand painting skills. They often have only a superficial understanding of the information they download and tend to focus on superficial presentations and copying from the Internet. Secondly， quite a few students tend to misuse the technology for leisure time activities at the expense of their study. They may be easily distracted from their learning and may visit unwanted sites or even indulge in online games and chat rooms. A handful of students were even expelled from school for neglecting their studies due to indulging in online games. Thirdly， computer-based learning has negative physical or psychological side-effects such as vision problem and Internet addiction disorder. To bring ICT into full play needs the teacher’s strict intendance indeed.

4. Summary

ICT is making major differences in art education at HIFA， promoting changes in working conditions， handling and exchanging of information， teaching-learning approaches and so on. It facilitates active， collaborative， creative， integrative， and evaluative learning as an advantage over the traditional pedagogy. Nevertheless， its disadvantage may overweigh the advantage unless it is properly harnessed. The technology is no panacea for education and consideration must be given to the subject matter， the learning objectives and outcomes， the characteristics of the learners， and the learning context in order to arrive at the optimum results. The role of teachers as well as of students can never be overestimated.

References

[1] C. Blurton， New Directions of ICT-Use in Education， Available online http： // /education/educprog/lwf /dl/edict.pdf. Accessed 30 December 2012.

[2] W. Haddad and A. Drexler， The Dynamics of Technologies for Education， Technologies for Education： Potentials， Parameters， and Prospects， Academy for Educational Development and Paris： UNESCO， Washington DC， p9， 2002.

[3] R. Richmond， Integration of Technology in the Classroom： An Instructional Perspective， Available online http： // www. Saskschoolboards.ca / old / ResearchAndDevelopment / ResearchReports / Technology / 97-02. Htm. Accessed 3 January 2013.