Contextual Background
As a digital fabrication technician in the Creative Tech Lab whereby all foundation students are able to book one-to-one sessions to discuss and aid them along in their individual projects. Each student might have different needs dependent on their projects, what course they’re on, ability, etc.
Evaluation
I assess students’ needs on a one to one basis, evaluating their familiarity with digital processes, ability and understanding of technical language. With a diverse cohort, students from art, design and communication pathways, it is dependent on their individual projects. It’s effective on a small/medium scale but not possible to see every student on the course. I also am aware of varying student socioeconomic backgrounds and promote the use of off-cut and waste materials within their work rather than buying large quantities of material that they might not use.
I’m also aware of students from different cultural backgrounds where English might not be their first language and try to limit technical jargon when explaining digital processes
Moving forwards
Working on the Foundation course puts me in a unique position as it’s such an important and transitional year, most students are coming straight from school, and it’s my role to prepare them for university and highlight resources they can access in their own time to aid in that transition.
Outside of the workshop students might not have access to certain resources, depending on what device/equipment they own so moving forward I will promote our online teaching tools, for example we have tools on our Moodle page where students can access further resources to develop their practice in their own time, along with LinkedIn learning which all students have access to. I will also promote free online tools I’ve found useful within my own artistic development, stressing the importance of self-directed learning outside of the workshop environment. ‘Is the studio more ‘a state of mind’ than a particular physical space?.’ (Orr et al, 2017) In my role it’s not possible to give every student an equal amount of contact so resources they can be directed to in their own time is very beneficial. This was stressed during my microteach where I utilised a phone app ‘Polycam’ to 3D scan objects, highlighting how everyday objects can be used to progress artistic development.
A bi-product of my role is the mass of off-cuts and ‘waste’ material that is produced. I promote these to students, and again show examples of outcomes using them to highlight their useability. One downfall of using off-cuts is the potential limitations of their shapes and sizes, however I believe it’s a useful tool for students who not might not be able to afford large quantities of material and also for highlighting issues surrounding sustainability, waste, etc. We sell larger quantities of material at an affordable rate and highlight the importance of cherishing a material and not wasting money. Moving forward I will stress the importance of these materials in student projects, for example highlighting how the material can be more than the sum of its parts depending on the context.
Bibliography
Orr, S, & Shreeve, A (2017) Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education : Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton.