Abstract

Art education in Australia sits at a crossroads of uncertainty. While our low student-to-teacher ratios are important for providing one-on-one advice in the studio, we are sometimes accused of being indulgent and non-progressive. So how can we respond to these issues and survive in an increasingly hostile environment? This paper provides a reflective account from a small group of art educators and an educational designer from The University of Newcastle tasked with teaching traditional drawing skills online while endeavouring to provide a learning atmosphere similar to the conventional face-to-face studio classes. Developing and delivering the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101” was full of challenges, as it was one of the first practice-based short online courses designed for a high number of students. The results were positive and proved that alternative teaching methods could be successful in engaging a diverse group of learners. Although the online course was never intended to replace the on-campus classes, it demonstrated that teaching specialised skills-based techniques online was possible, and blended learning might be a viable option for art education in the future.