The Leonardo Education Forum (LEF, US) looks at responsive media art education for the 21st Century: What can be done to deal with the changing hybrid interaction spaces of everyday life, the focus on the role of research in the media arts as well as the changing educational institutions.
Arts, science, design, technology, computer science and communication studies are key disciplines brought together in contemporary media arts, however relevant technologies develop rapidly and often separately from educational institutions. Consequently, a gap exits between the technological developments and its application in formal education worldwide at academic institutions as well as at middle school level and in hybrid educational scenarios.
Networked micro computer systems are everywhere. They are mobile, smart and go on the Web. Locative media support trends like the tagging, mapping, and tracking of the world. Networked smart objects which are able to generate and disseminate data can be located via RFID tags. Under the umbrella of the open source software and Web 2 facilities, social aspects as well as informal forms of learning across the borders of formal structures have increased but are being ignored in formal education. Hybrid Mixed Reality interaction spaces are developed worldwide and get more and more integrated into everyday life. How can we support a culture of reflecting and shaping such media and technologies in education scenarios? Seven international LEF forums and expert meetings evaluating these topics were organized over the last year. As an outcome, a White Paper is being developed. Feedback from the “At the crossroads of media arts & science and technology” meetings is integrated in the document.
Abstract: a09.cgpublisher.com/proposals/37
Web site: artsinsociety.com/conference-2009/
Further information about upcoming LEF events will be published on Media Arts Education at daniela-reimann.de/media-arts-education