Studies |
"When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it."
– B. F. Skinner |
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Exploring the pedagogical promise of the digital pen display |
INTRODUCTION
Traditional art education involving observational drawing has been slow to adopt new technologies. This is, in part, because traditional methods have a long history and are easily accessible. However, the fairly recent arrival of on-screen drawing technology (known as digital pen displays) allows for a drawing experience that effectively mimics traditional means. Namely, whereas earlier digital drawing tablets were pen-sensitive surfaces that generated a corresponding mark on a separate computer monitor, pen displays now allow the user to draw directly on a screen. Consequently, the possibilities related to drawing instruction have expanded considerably.
As art and drawing instructors, Maycock and Reichertz are very excited about the pedagogical possibilities of this tool. For one, because it is possible to record a sequence of drawing actions digitally with a pen display, the evolution of a drawing can be played back mark-by-mark. This could be used by drawing instructors to create tailored, rather than generic, demonstrations for their students. Playing back a student's drawing, an instructor could, for instance, identify the exact part of a figure study where a mistake in proportion was made, and then trace its consequences through the rest of the drawing. This would allow instructors to provide effective guidance through timely and relevant intervention. For students, such demonstrations and routines may be developed as a kind of independent feedback loop for their own drawings. When both students and instructors can be virtually present for every second of a drawing's evolution, opportunities arise for real-time, collaborative learning that is virtually impossible using traditional tools and surfaces.
Another exciting aspect of digital drawing technology involves the influence that purely digital processes can have on analog image production. Most early digital drawing developments focused on imitating the kinds of mark-making variations that are expected of traditional media. Digital drawing tools were first limited to paint, pencil and eraser, then expanded to include more subtle effects like charcoal and pastel. Painterly variations such as washes, drybrush and airbrush were introduced, then photography-related options like pseudo-solarization and tonal gradation. As a result of these developments, digital toolboxes and pallets are now expansive. We hypothesize that encountering visual possibilities within a digital environment can in turn generate a broader spectrum of experimentation on paper or canvas.
The purpose of this explorative study will be to reveal how digital technologies can be fruitfully integrated into an instructional context. Our research will focus on student responses in the form of their drawing performance and verbal/written feedback on the experience of using the device in defined educational scenarios (see Methods). Through such responses, we hope to deepen our understanding of, and find new roles for, pen displays in the drawing or painting classroom.
Traditional art education involving observational drawing has been slow to adopt new technologies. This is, in part, because traditional methods have a long history and are easily accessible. However, the fairly recent arrival of on-screen drawing technology (known as digital pen displays) allows for a drawing experience that effectively mimics traditional means. Namely, whereas earlier digital drawing tablets were pen-sensitive surfaces that generated a corresponding mark on a separate computer monitor, pen displays now allow the user to draw directly on a screen. Consequently, the possibilities related to drawing instruction have expanded considerably.
As art and drawing instructors, Maycock and Reichertz are very excited about the pedagogical possibilities of this tool. For one, because it is possible to record a sequence of drawing actions digitally with a pen display, the evolution of a drawing can be played back mark-by-mark. This could be used by drawing instructors to create tailored, rather than generic, demonstrations for their students. Playing back a student's drawing, an instructor could, for instance, identify the exact part of a figure study where a mistake in proportion was made, and then trace its consequences through the rest of the drawing. This would allow instructors to provide effective guidance through timely and relevant intervention. For students, such demonstrations and routines may be developed as a kind of independent feedback loop for their own drawings. When both students and instructors can be virtually present for every second of a drawing's evolution, opportunities arise for real-time, collaborative learning that is virtually impossible using traditional tools and surfaces.
Another exciting aspect of digital drawing technology involves the influence that purely digital processes can have on analog image production. Most early digital drawing developments focused on imitating the kinds of mark-making variations that are expected of traditional media. Digital drawing tools were first limited to paint, pencil and eraser, then expanded to include more subtle effects like charcoal and pastel. Painterly variations such as washes, drybrush and airbrush were introduced, then photography-related options like pseudo-solarization and tonal gradation. As a result of these developments, digital toolboxes and pallets are now expansive. We hypothesize that encountering visual possibilities within a digital environment can in turn generate a broader spectrum of experimentation on paper or canvas.
The purpose of this explorative study will be to reveal how digital technologies can be fruitfully integrated into an instructional context. Our research will focus on student responses in the form of their drawing performance and verbal/written feedback on the experience of using the device in defined educational scenarios (see Methods). Through such responses, we hope to deepen our understanding of, and find new roles for, pen displays in the drawing or painting classroom.
METHODS
As an explorative study, we propose the following scenarios in which a Wacom Cintiq 22" or 27" digital pen display will be used in an instructional setting:
1) The Drawing Lab will arrange and facilitate figure drawing sessions at NSCAD University which are free to eligible members of the NSCAD University community. Sessions will be approximately 3 hours in length, in which a live model will take a series of poses for participants to draw. At these sessions, participants will be asked on a rotating basis to perform one or more drawing(s) using the digital pen display at a station set up for the purpose. When not using the pen display, the participant is free to draw in the medium and manner of their choosing.
2) The Drawing Lab will offer one-on-one tutoring services which are free to eligible members of the NSCAD University community seeking improvement in observational drawing. The sessions will be facilitated by researchers and staff instructors at the Lab. The instructor's demonstrations and the participant's exercises will take place on a pen display, and features of the pen display such as drawing playback will be utilized. Otherwise, the tutoring session(s) will proceed based on the needs of the participant, at sessions of up to 1.5 hours per week.
As an explorative study, we propose the following scenarios in which a Wacom Cintiq 22" or 27" digital pen display will be used in an instructional setting:
1) The Drawing Lab will arrange and facilitate figure drawing sessions at NSCAD University which are free to eligible members of the NSCAD University community. Sessions will be approximately 3 hours in length, in which a live model will take a series of poses for participants to draw. At these sessions, participants will be asked on a rotating basis to perform one or more drawing(s) using the digital pen display at a station set up for the purpose. When not using the pen display, the participant is free to draw in the medium and manner of their choosing.
2) The Drawing Lab will offer one-on-one tutoring services which are free to eligible members of the NSCAD University community seeking improvement in observational drawing. The sessions will be facilitated by researchers and staff instructors at the Lab. The instructor's demonstrations and the participant's exercises will take place on a pen display, and features of the pen display such as drawing playback will be utilized. Otherwise, the tutoring session(s) will proceed based on the needs of the participant, at sessions of up to 1.5 hours per week.
