Media Arts Debate in Phoenix
November 2, 2011Debating media arts
Rich Wells and Marcia McCaffrey
My colleague from NH, Marcia McCaffrey, is co-chairing the National Core Arts Standards work and today she did a marvelous job facilitating the conversation. With representatives from NAEA, NAfME, the dance, theater, and college board, along with my colleagues from 28 states a great deal was accomplished. Marcia was a master at keeping the day moving and it was a fascinating day. (Talk about trusting the process!)
Part of the morning was spent in debate about whether we should have “media arts” as a separate discipline or have media arts standards incorporated in the other 4 arts disciplines. Thanks to all of you who contributed your opinion on the topic.
Here’s a bit of the conversation which you can also follow, listen to on what was streamed from the all-day meeting today.You can access the archived stream at http://nccas.wikispaces.com/NCCAS+Phoenix+Meeting+11-1-2011. The presentations for the debate were well researched and in the end the state arts specialists had two votes. One for the state and the other for us personally. 32 voites were in favorite of a 5th and separate discipline along with standards for media arts embedded in the other four disciplines.
Jane’s opening statement
- it is premature to include media arts as a 5th discipline
- what is media arts, it needs to be defined – what’s constitute media arts in K12
- what makes it different – why not write them into the 4 disciplines
- media arts can write their own and then the 4 others can embed them into
- first and foremost needs to be taught from an arts aesthetic and not from the tools
- we’re already struggling with art and music to keep them in place in schools, let alone dance and theater
We w0uld have to deal with the following:
- licensure
- professional development systems
- support
- curriculum and assessments
- HQT
Amy’s opening statement
- when I started teaching I was deeply influenced by the national standards (that were just released) and the forward thinking of the writers
- 1895 – Lemure Brothers, film was presented of the train coming down the track. people ran out of the theater. The same thing was happening to my family this morning. Age 10, daughter, reading email, other daughter reading a book on line, husband reading his email, dog has a gps. They have the media but we need to provide students with opportunities to create and innovate. Americans view 60 films a year, tv, online, email combined – 4 months out of our year. It is shaping our lives, our cultures, our society. multi-disciplinary art form.
Need to look at two components:
time based media – movies, animation, theater, etc.
interactivity – video games, computational arts, etc.
- students can produce works of art that students need to have the opportunity to fully flesh out stand alone standards. Media arts – artform with expression, different than the other artform
- kids are already doing it so they need support systems to mirror what they are doing in their world
- have conversation in their global society
Mike’s opening statement
- Media arts need to be part of it.
- Narrow the definition – so we can get a handle on it. show what is necessary, to separate from the other arts. electronic arts intermix – leading resource – preservation of media arts
- Film institute from Great Brittain – media education in 1986, created a document – films, video, and television. came out with a bluepring for teaching and learning in the moving image – NYC. 5 strands
One important point: We can not have a media arts program in place and have them be in service to the other four disciplines – cross disciplinary works better for teachers!
So, there you have it in a nutshell from what I recorded. What’s next? The leadership team who is the governing group of the work, will make the final decision. I will keep you posted.
me arts ed 
“Interactivity”…..interesting…….I think…..I always thought of
these applications as time-based……and I see now the possibilities of breaking it down to passive and active (interactive)
Contributed by Hampden Academy art teacher Leah Olson:
YES!
it’s the future
kids love it
Steve Jobs would be proud!
NO!
It would require arts teachers to be certified in it
It might undervalue what arts teachers are already doing.
Legislators might groan………
Maybe it could be an offshoot of what we already do?
Contributed by theatre teacher from Ellsworth High School Rebecca Wright:
I think it is actually okay to add it because of the creativity and artistry involved. Also, so many of our disciplines are employing multi-media now I think it may have a valid place.
Contributed by USM professor Jeff Beaudry:
In either case, media arts is a good thing to bring into the arts, because it will include design and creativity as key components.
It is an opportunity but it is not without the practical arts implications.
Contributed by Sanford High School music teacher Matt Doiron:
I can see media arts as a stand alone discipline as it could include cinema, television, etc.
From dance educator MaryEllen Schaper from Bonny Eagle Middle School:
Stand alone media arts shows that we are 21st century. Media arts (I assume you mean film, computer generation, etc.) could be incorporated into each of the other 4 art forms, but the producers of media art don’t see it that way, and neither do most consumers, so there’s a strong argument for giving it it’s own discipline. The one caution is to have it clearly defined. Beware that “performance art” could be the next request, to which I’d say no to at this point.
From Richmond art educator Jeff Orth: I can see Media Arts being it’s own discipline that would include web design, movies, animation, possibly video games and digital photo.
More from Leah Olson on this topic:
Also thinking that you may find loop holes in the structure that would allow “non arts degrees” fit to be teaching media arts?
That is the underlying issue that people who are teaching media arts lack the art degree and that is a disservice to students.
Why can’t there be an “off shoot” that’s defined more clearly within the visual arts, music etc.?
Comment from Jen Nash, elementary music educator:
I think that there is so many things that you can do now with technology – media art, digital cameras…etc. It has come to a point where it should be identified as an art unto itself.
This comment is contributed by Nancy Marcotte from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School…
I have been teaching Media Arts more than twenty-five years, under various titles including “Film & Video”, Media Literacy and Film history. I find it is vital to a 21st Century education and falls very neatly into the State and National Art Standards. At OHCHs we are grading with the standards of Concepts & Elements of Art, Problem-Solving, Cultural Heritage, Creative Expression (creative thinking) and Criticisim & Aesthetics (critical thinking). We have written our Media Arts & Communication Arts (advanced media arts) curricula based on this. Though I participated a number of years ago on writing those art assessments that went…where?…I realize
I have been a bit jaded in discussing anyone’s curriculum except our own. We have worked a lot on ours. I have given advice to teachers at other schools wanting to start media classes but haven’t really volunteered any other information. Getting tired, I guess!
P.S. That was the Lumiere Brothers who filmed a train coming into a
station which blew the audience’s mind. They thought it was a real train. The mind, once expanded, can never go back to the old shape again, etc