Digital media embedded in Swedish art education - A case study

In this case study a secondary school and its art education is studied. Pupils and the art teacher are interviewed and observations are made in school and out of school. The study is based on socio-cultural theory, media ecology and semiotics. In this school manual and digital media each share about 50 percent of the time available for art. It is shown that it is the teaching method – the change from a dialogic to a multivoiced method – that enables the embedded use of digital media. Arguments for digital media in art are that they are time-saving, promote aesthetic aspects and will put an end to the process of traditional education where the teacher is reduced to being a conveyor of information. The computer lab is no option for an embedded art education. On monitors and in exhibitions pupils are surrounded by other pupils´ works, which promotes a desire among them to improve their creativity, and a local art culture is developed in a cumulative process. Keywords: media ecology, semiotics, screen culture, multivoicedness (Published: 1 June 2013) Citation: Education Inquiry Vol. 4, No. 2, June 2013, pp. 355–373