Investigating the Use of Computer Graphics in Secondary School Art Lessons

This dissertation, "Investigating the Use of Computer Graphics in Secondary School Art Lessons" by Yuk-ying, Winta, Li, 李玉英, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: ABSTRACT This study has been solely carried out by myself, an art teacher, using action research to investigate the effects of computer graphics with respect to creativity in art lessons. It was undertaken in a girls secondary school where I was the practitioner, researcher and participator of the study. I concerned as to how to improve students' learning through the effective and appropriate use of ICT. It was hoped that students would be motivated and interested in learning art with the use of ICT. This study employed forty-five Form Three secondary school students on the integration of ICT in task-based lessons. I created the spiral of the research - plan, act, observe and reflect, each turn of which provided an opportunity for me to test the interpretations and develop another plan in action. Students were taught to use an application software, Photoshop Elements for 8 consecutive lessons in the MMLC. They were requested to finish some simple tasks individually and complete a project in pairs. Various data-collection instruments were used to investigate and collect information on the students' attitudes, including students' diaries, questionnaires, video-taped lesson observations and audio-taped in-depth interviews. The findings were positive that ICT plays a crucial role in arousing students' interest by creating iian authentic learning environment. The results reveal that ICT is a catalyst for enhancing creativity and the critical in turn induce a certain kind of positive attitude towards art making. Other significant evidence shows that new technology eliminates most of the learning difficulties that confront students in a traditional learning environment. It provides a limitless sense of achievement for students and encourages them to go further into the world of creation. Further research is recommended, thus marking the beginning of the next action research cycle. iii DOI: 10.5353/th_b2981450 Subjects: Computer graphics Art - Computer-assisted instruction - China - Hong Kong