Bodil Svaboe/Kirsten Klæbo: From material based teaching to an idea based Design method. A research in uses of ICT in Textile Design.
Oslo University College
Is the educational system able to keep up with the development within new technology? And what changes do new technologies offer the textile design subject? This paper will focus on two issues; one is the teaching method, were we discuss a material based teaching method compare with an idea-based method used in textile design. The other issue is how increased uses of Information and computer technology (ICT) in textile design have changed the visual expressions.
The research is performed as a collaborative work between Bodil Svaboe, an assistant professor in design and textile, and Kirsten Klæbo, an assistant professor in ICT in Art and Design, at the Faculty of Art, Design and Drama at OsloUniversityCollege. The goal for the educational research is to see how increased uses of ICT have changed the textile design process. We are doing the research in the third year of the Bachelor Program – Teacher Training in Art and Design, in the design period I and II, which is about six weeks each.
The students have worked according to an idea-based method; they have been given different workshops in order to learn and experiment with different techniques and materials, based on their idea towards a finished design product.
We have used action research method with a goal of changing the student’s attitudes, by trying out uses of more technology. To check out the result we have given the students questionnaires. We have also tried out an interactive image design portal, were the students have published their images with written comments. The students could comment on each others images.
In the research we realized that some students found it difficult to differentiate between an idea and a theme. If it was the idea which steered the process, the student had to use techniques and material which benefited the idea, not just make endless material experimenting which ended in beautiful material samples. We also saw that using an Idea based design method called for a larger emphasis on the design product.
According to uses of ICT the attitude has changed and we see that the printing possibilities are one link between textile expressions and digital imaging. The students are now working with more mixed multimedial techniques, and we see that the students have achieved greater variety in their expressions.
We have analyzed the design result in categories according to how much ICT the students have used and how the uses of ICT have influenced the aesthetical design results. We see now that we only are at the edge of the technologies possibilities. Technology has given us possibilities to print out artifacts in a larger scale on different output qualities. There are cutting machines which can cut any shape and design you want. You can even make electronic textiles, which changes color or image expressions. But these are so far, expensive solutions, and therefore we have started collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering to further our technology research.