Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

Art education in Australia sits at a cross-road of uncertainty. While our low student to teacher ratios are important for providing one-on-one advice in the studio we are often 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 instructional designers from the University of Newcastle tasked to deliver traditional drawing skills online while providing 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 the first practice-based short online course designed for a high number of students. The results of the first offering were positive and proved that alternate teaching methods can 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 is possible and blended learning might be a viable option for art education in the future.

Presenters

Bernadette Drabsch
Senior Lecturer, Visual Communication Design, The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Andrew Howells
Senior Lecturer, Visual Communication Design / Natural History Illustration, The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Clare Lloyd