Rebecca Shipe

10.37 Enhancing Digital and Visual Literacy in the Art Classroom: Practical Activities that Support Critical Thinking (Workshop)

Rebecca Shipe – Rhode Island College, USA

Abstract:

Participants will explore the value of visual, digital literacy and consider ways to support digital literacy skills in the visual art classroom. The presenter will share research highlighting the importance of teaching students how to critically evaluate the digital text and images they encounter online, and how to activate their curiosity when confronting information that conflicts with their current values or worldviews. Participants will then review activities that position students to critically examine the source and purpose of online content, investigate how media sources use images strategically, and recognize how viewers generate unique interpretations of online images. The session will close with a brief discussion on implications on visual art classroom practice.

The way that contemporary society receives information has shifted over the past two decades. According to Hobbs (2020), algorithms that track our digital presence intentionally curate the information and advertisements that appear in our online pursuits. Today, educators should prepare future generations to be productive contributors to a contemporary, democratic society rather than passive victims of profit and power-seeking forces that influence the way information is disseminated in the digital world. Visual art educators can contribute to this need by supporting students’ visual, digital literacy skills in the visual art and media classroom.

13.17 Visual Documentation of “Conflict Transformation” During International Travels (Artwork)

Rebecca Shipe – Rhode Island College, USA

Abstract:

This collection of artworks documents an ongoing investigation of how my experiences traveling abroad during a six-month sabbatical related to the broad concept of “conflict transformation.” While spending time in Japan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Thailand; I consistently reflected upon how my experiences related to this concept defined as: “Rather than passively avoiding conflicts, conflict transformation positions individuals to become more complex as they embrace the transformative benefits that result from working through conflicts” (Lederach, 2003).

This appeared in two significant ways. First, I focused on the architecture and physical artifacts that revealed how different (or conflicting) religious/political worldviews were represented in a single object or structure. Second, I reflected on the social interactions I experienced that exemplified conflict transformation. I selected specific photos from my travels that (to me) represented “conflict transformation” and created visual representations of these images while contemplating how they signified this theme. My artworks combine both images and words to communicate how these personal experiences exemplified “conflict transformation.” Finally, I invite the audience to reflect on how they experience conflict transformation in their daily lived experiences.

Rebecca Shipe – Visual Documentation of “Conflict Transformation” During International Travels (Artwork)