In Another Instant: Focus and Interaction in Creative Arts Learning

This paper will look at several aspects of the use of social media within contemporary Higher Education. It will consider projects and attitudes initiated by staff from the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire in which the already widespread technology of such media is employed, not just as a mere supplement to the use of orthodox classroom technology within teaching but as a productive resource in its own right. The use of the mobile phone as a teaching/learning device will be considered; the pros and cons of employing such technology in the classroom will be outlined and debated. In particular the instant sharing of photographic imagery will be looked at. Is this a way of opening up common debates or in fact little more than a distraction in the classroom? The use of dual-screen technology within the classroom will also be examined for its potential to expand the possibilities of learning, again considering the positive and negative features of this medium. The paper will also take into account, using a series of informal case studies, the perceptions and practical usage of such technology from the point of view of the student user. Is the user’s identity determined by their extensive use of this technology or does it merely play only a minor part in the forming of identity as such? Can the classroom use of such technology expand the possibilities for learning and teaching into new pedagogical domains, or does it simply enable already-established exchanges to be carried out by other means? How does student familiarity and ease with services such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook contribute to or effect their sense of self and the possibilities of its development and expansion? Student response and selfhood are complicated issues worthy of further examination