Art and the avatar: the kritical works in SL project

2013

Int J Art Design Ed

The dialectical relationship between social justice, active participation and the development of aesthetic sensibilities is re-emerging as a theme among art and design educators as concerns mount for the future of art and design education in the curriculum -particularly in the UK, but also internationally. This article explores the potential of virtual worlds to support the development of young people's voices using creative practices -photography, film-making and fashion -as the principal means of engaging young people in developing their understanding of active citizenship. The use of creative practices to support a range of wider educational aims in virtual worlds has not yet been investigated and, we contend, is an area of serious research endeavour. We report on the research of an EPSRC/ ESRC-funded project called 'Inter-Life' which examined how virtual worlds could be used to support the development and acquisition of life skills to enhance the management of important life transitions. The project investigated the extent to which young people's engagement in creative practices within these environments assisted with these processes. Some implications for future research are outlined.

Section: Virtual Worlds and Art And Design Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Voices: Exploring Creative Practices to Support Life Skills Development among Young People Working in a Virtual World Community

2013

Int J Art Design Ed

“…We called these islands Inter-Life Island 1 (ILI-1), where young people aged 18+ could work on school–university and within-university transitions, and Inter-Life Island 2 (ILI-2), where young people under the age of 18 (13–17+) could work on creative activities and skills development linked to the challenges of real-world transitions (Lally and Sclater, 2012: 481). Virtual worlds, such as Second Life ™ , in which these two islands were constructed, offer many possibilities for creative expression through engagement in creative practices (Doyle, 2008). Therefore, we conceived the Inter-Life islands as a ‘virtual youth centre’ – an integrated intercultural context (Lally and Sclater, 2012: 483) – within a creative, contemporary virtual world, in which young people could set their own agendas within the ethical parameters of the project and in discussion with the research team (Lally and Sclater, 2013: 330), and participate in authentic learning opportunities (Devlin et al, 2015: 405).…”

Section: A Tel Interdisciplinary Project – Inter-lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinarity and technology-enhanced learning: Reflections from art and design and educational perspectives

Research in Comparative and International Education

2018

The main focus of this article is our project of reimagining higher education for ourselves and our students using the central theme of technology-enhanced learning (TEL), which is inextricably linked to education in the present and in the future in many contexts. We argue that interdisciplinarity and interdisciplinary working are central and essential features of TEL and, yet, they are largely invisible in the TEL literature. TEL itself is still largely invisible in the sociology of education literature and, hence, suffers ‘dual invisibility’. We suggest that this may be connected to the crisis that has beset TEL research and pedagogy. We examine the power of theory in TEL work, citing the use of cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) in our own TEL work. A detailed account of an interdisciplinary, theory-informed TEL project is provided, and this is analysed to explore how the weave between disciplines, particularly art and design, and education, and interdisciplinary project working can be mutually beneficial in our project of reimagining higher education for work and study.

“…Virtual worlds such as Second Life offer many possibilities for creative approaches to learning, the development of creative practice and emotional literacy (Doyle, 2008; Gaimster, 2008). Early innovators in the field of creative expression in virtual worlds (Moser & MacLeod, 1996) provided the intellectual basis and impetus for the development of a range of artistic practices that were previously ‘impossible’ in ‘real life’.…”

Section: Creative Practices In Virtual Worldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is now a burgeoning range of artistic activity (Doyle, 2010; Magruder, 2011) occurring in these virtual spaces, including music and other performance arts, experimental work on sound and immersive experience, and installations that metamorphose as the participants’ avatars move through them. For example, Doyle's ‘Kritical Works in SL’ project (Doyle, 2008) argues that the Second Life space itself is performative for both the artist and for the audience. Using Kriti Island, a research island she created for the University of Wolverhampton on the Second Life grid, Doyle interrogates the art works, Ping Space, Remembrance and Remains, and the Autonomical Grid produced by the virtual artists Angrybeth Shortbread, Chingaling Bling and Kisa Naumova.…”

Section: Creative Practices In Virtual Worldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Inter-Life project: researching the potential of art, design and virtual worlds as a vehicle for assisting young people with key life changes and transitions

British Journal of Guidance & Counselling

2013

Careers work in the twenty-first century faces a key challenge in terms of digital technologies: to evaluate their potential for careers work in challenging settings. Given the rapidity of developments, technologies require evaluation in research innovations and naturalistic settings. Virtual worlds offer potential for careers and guidance work, and the therapeutic domain. To illustrate this, we present examples in which young people explore their feelings and ideas, plans and difficulties, while preparing for film-making. During this they develop important life transition skills. We argue that the power of virtual worlds – to support emotional and cognitive engagement – could be utilised in practice settings. We conclude that they are serious candidates as digital tools in the careers and guidance domain.We need intermediate runaway objects which are less spectacular and more inviting… bringing together the big and the small, the impossible and the possible, the future-oriented activity level vision and the here and now consequential action. (Engeström, 2009, p. 305 and p. 328)