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- Title of Abstract:
The Role of the Designer Educator in the Development of Digitally Created and Digitally Printed Textiles (Ref #190)
- Date:
- 25-10-2006 17:32:09
- Status:
-
Unsuccessful
- Rating:
- 4
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Details:
- The use of digital imaging technologies in the textile industry and by practitioners has led to new creative approaches, textiles with innovative visual qualities and the creation of new textile and textile related products. An ability to work with digital imaging technologies has become essential for the textile design graduate, so how has education responded? How are these technologies integrated into the curriculum? In this increasingly digital age, what is the value of traditional textile and making skills? How do educators responsible for teaching digital technologies develop and continue to develop their own understanding? How and what do educators learn from their own experience of ?practising? and how does this inform education?
The central aim of this paper is to provide insight into current PhD research, which straddles two separate but interlinking areas; textile design practice and textile design education. The research examines how these areas connect through an investigation into the role of the designer educator, seeking to answer the above questions from this perspective.
Adoption of the term designer educator has been necessary to articulate the phenomenon under investigation, meaning a practitioner working in design education whilst continuing to undertake his or her own creative practice. This dual position is a common feature of art and design higher education in the UK.
Motivation for the enquiry has derived from this researcher?s developing experiences as textile designer and textile design educator, responding to two inter-related issues; firstly, the problem of how to develop understanding of the potentialities and implications of working with digital textile technologies, whilst promoting the importance of learning traditional textile skills. Secondly, increased pressure on educators to undertake research whilst continuing to maintain and develop creative and teaching practice.
The enquiry encompasses a survey of UK textile educators and practitioners working on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and researchers involved in education and textile-related research. The survey data informs the selection of designer educators working with digital technologies as case study subjects. A practice-based methodology is used in a self-case study of this researcher?s developing designer educator practice.
The research will contribute to understanding by capturing the position of the textile designer educator and proposing effective models for approaching the dual role, whilst developing understanding into the utilisation of digital technologies. This paper focuses specifically on the findings from the designer educator case studies.
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