Trading Places/CR.E.A.T.E. Programme

New Media

Technology is ambivalent. It depends on us to determine its use.

"How is computer technology going to help my students develop those inner qualities, such as insight, creativity and good judgment, which education at its best has always sought to inspire? To put it another way, is there a way to harness the power of computer technology to serve my students' search for meaning in their learning and in their lives?"
Lowell Monke, Computers in Education: The Web and the Plow

Through this project we aim to bend technology to our will; to use it in creative ways to investigate a history which creates the identity for a local region: The History of Linen in Ireland. If technology is here to stay, it is up to us provide context for learning, give meaning to learning. Rather than a skills-based approach, which standard curricula my tend towards, we aim to provide examples of improvisation and creativity.

Using technology can be demoralising. You may master a piece of software this year, only to have it be changed the next. Instead, if we approach the use of technology from our ideas, our questions and experimentations, we can master what tools we need, and focus on the important aspects of learning: 'insight, creativity, good judgment'.

In this project, the History of Linen is the question, art is the approach and new media technology is one of the tools as a means to expression.

When the residencies start in September, we would like to share our experiments and improvisations in this area of the website 'New Media Learning'. We will ask questions, and share answers. If you have any ideas to share on this topic, please contact us.

To find out more about our approach please read: Why try new media?