This study by Sams (2016) used a focused case study method to explore the role of technical staff at University of the Arts London. It employed “photovoice” to visually depict technicians’ multifaceted role in art and design education, revealing three key themes: support, assistance, and instruction.
This study found that technicians share expertise in specialized equipment, with a shift towards a teaching-oriented role reported by students. This resonated with my experience teaching eye tracking. Recognizing the importance of specialized skills, I conducted a workshop on Tobii software and eye trackers. Despite the challenge of mastering new technology, I sought specialist training, completing an online interactive course. This training equipped me with skills in data collection, visualization, and analysis, including measuring eye movements and pupil diameter within image recordings(image 1, image 2).
In the realm of art and design education, instructors often encounter challenges related to both teaching quality and the availability of proper equipment. This has been a reflection of my own experiences, particularly when I was teaching eye tracking techniques. I noticed a significant deficit in specialized skills required for this task. Despite the presence of eye tracking equipment within various departments, there was a clear lack of technical expertise to effectively utilize it. This meant that departments lacking technical proficiency had to rely on specialist technicians to teach the equipment. This equipment, crucial for conducting psychology experiments, could precisely measure attention and specific human behaviors.
Moreover, this situation underscored the need for better coordination among different units and departments. For example, fields like media, technology, and psychology often intersect, necessitating a collaborative effort to foster shared values and promote entrepreneurship education (AdvanceHE, 2007). In fact , only ten per cent of specialists deliver entrepreneurship education in course curricula (Advance HE, 2007). This personal interaction illuminated the broader organizational obstacles surrounding resource distribution and interdisciplinary collaboration within the realm of art and design education, specifically highlighting the crucial role of specialists in aligning course content with real-world applications (AdvanceHE, 2007). In 2006, the Cox Review highlighted the mutual benefits and closer connections between universities and small businesses, stressing the vital role of specialists. Universities can leverage specialized expertise and research capabilities, while also accessing talent acquisition and prototyping facilities.
Sam’s 2016 study revealed that technicians voiced feeling undervalued for their artistic abilities. This underscores the significance of interdisciplinary communication. From my own perspective, this underscores the necessity of promoting collaboration between departments in educational environments to exchange creative knowledge. The viewpoints of technicians greatly shape their professional trajectories. Hence individuals engaged in creative education, should effectively convey to managers the necessity of departmental support for cultivating specialized expertise, as emphasized by Brown in 2015.
References
AdvanceHE (2007). Entrepreneurship Education for art, design and media students. The Higher Education Academy design Media Subject Centre and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. Available at: Creating Entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship education for the creative industries | Advance HE (advance-he.ac.uk) (Accessed 15 January 2024).
Brown, R. (2015) . Teaching quality in Art ,design and Media, in Ellis, R. and Hogard, E. (eds.) Handbook of Quality Assurance for University Teaching. 1st edn. London: Routledge Publisher .eBook ISBN9781315187518.
Creative Blog Staff (2006) The Cox Review , Computer Arts, 3 April. Available at : https://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/cox-review-4069771 (Accessed 15 January 2024).
Sams, C. (2016). How do art and design technicians conceive of their role in higher education?. Spark:UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Vol 1(2), pp. 62-69.