In spite of National Curriculum mandates to integrate ICT’s across all KLA subjects, they have been slow to appear in Drama classrooms. Flintoff and other researchers have shown that Drama teachers are reluctant to incorporate ICT’s for a variety of reasons, including lack of training and skills in relevant technologies, concerns about accessibility to and reliability of materials and to some extent, a sense of an intrinsic incompatibility between ICTs and the practice of theatre. However, some rich digital technologies have been developed specifically for the Drama classroom that use fundamental elements of theatre and further, may expand what Drama can be and do for more students. It is important that Drama teachers be persuaded of the rationales behind using ICT in all classrooms, and encouraged as they adapt to the new technologies, even if progress is slow.
Fewer than half of the Drama teachers in Flintoff’s sample used ICT at all in their classrooms (Flintoff, 93); his initial proposition “that they do not value the introduction of such Technologies” (Flintoff, 16) was generally supported. Even Drama teachers who believe that ICTs are beneficial may not feel it’s their job to teach them, or may not know how. Meanwhile, students live in an increasingly digital world, which many of them are eager to participate in. As Anderson points out, “The irony apparent here is that while some teachers are unconvinced or resistant to the integration of ICT and drama, their students are engaging and consuming technology in ever increasing numbers. Much of this participation or immersion is actually in the very activities that take place in a performing arts classroom (e.g., role-based games)” (Anderson, 121).
The kinship between role-based games in digital and live settings is not automatic. Some efforts to find links between what kids like to do online and what we want them to do in the classroom seem contrived and tedious. To the extent that drama is the study of human interaction, it should largely take place in a context that allows vocal and physical communication. However, there is a lot of work going into using technology, including games, in education; it’s likely that it will offer some excellent learning opportunities to support Drama education. It is critical that digital content be of a high standard for quality teaching to be possible.
Access and reliability are major challenges, particularly in rural settings, where unreliable networks and limited resources and technical support are common obstacles. There is some cause for concern that as the use of technology expands where it exists, those who live where it doesn’t will be drastically marginalized. Even those with some access to technology may feel behind the curve: many teachers in Flintoff’s sample expressed strong concern about technology that doesn’t work the way it should, and their lack of skills to use it. Clearly, for ICTs to be practical in any classroom, these conditions are not ideal.
The conceit that ICTs and Drama are incongruous is tempting if you’re a teacher resistant to professional development--but they may not be such strange bedfellows after all: ICTs are widely integrated in professional theatre and in Drama classrooms. Multi-media theatre pieces like those famously developed by the Wooster Group in New York beginning in the 1970’s commonly integrate live performance with video; Melbourne’s Arena Theatre Company recently produced a show for young audiences using cameras, projectors and a “motion-tracking system” that linked the actors’ movements with sound and light effects (Anderson, 124). Camera, lighting and sound technologies are commonly used in classrooms. It may not be a huge leap for Drama teachers to meet ICT curriculum requirements. Ensuring digital literacy outcomes may sometimes be a case of making small tweaks to ensure that ICT content is explicit. Many teachers probably know more than they think they do, and may find that they’re able meaningfully to engage with ICTs without having to make time for a training program or sacrifice the quality pedagogy they already practice. In fact, some of the core outcomes of ICT education--collaboration, research, and experiential learning--are native to the practice of theatre.
Some applications of technology and digital resources can be easily connected to classic fundamentals of Drama education. In particular, CD-ROMs like the one described by Readman and Wise in “Aesthetic Pedagogy and Digital Resource Design” are rich and intellectually rigorous. Describing the online components of a Drama course, Nicholls and Philip observe technology enhancing collaboration, an integral theatre component: “In practical subjects like drama, team work is essential…This is incorporated into practical acting and theatre making tasks within the unit…due to the design of the online assessment task students could not avoid working collaboratively. In effect, students now work collaboratively in both the practical sessions and in the theoretical, written domain” (Nicholls and Philip, online). This technology is genuinely enriching the course content, and one imagines the opposite is also true; students engaging with technology in contexts they enjoy and understand will grasp the digital material better. Drama teachers might also like to approach ICTs in the industry by taking students to see professional productions. The Major Performing Arts Companies advised ACARA in 2010, “through a range of productions, interactive activities and workshops, pre and post show forums, and other interactions (live and on-line), the MPA theatre companies provide students with…access to the creative processes of this country’s finest artists” (MPA companies, online).
Drama teachers are required to incorporate ICTs, but we’re frustrated because we don’t know how. We’re afraid of technology being prioritized over the more traditional knowledge and skills we value so highly. ICTs seem to run counter to what we’re teaching in Drama--concentration, listening, attention on another person, and so on. If we’re to get on board with this and meet National Curriculum standards for ICT literacy outcomes, Drama teachers need support. Professional development is needed to expand our understanding of what ICTs can do and boost skills, confidence and enthusiasm.
There are many ways to practice and teach theatre. Focusing on equity will help bring ICTs to Drama classrooms by galvanizing many teachers who are unconvinced. ICTs help more students participate on their own terms; by using them, we are valuing democracy and access in our classrooms. Students must be active agents in their own learning, not passive observers. Augusto Boal wrote,
The poetics of the oppressed is essentially the poetics of liberation: the spectator no longer delegates power to the characters either to think or to act in his place. The spectator frees himself; he thinks and acts for himself! …Perhaps the theater is not revolutionary in itself; but have no doubts, it is a rehearsal of revolution. (Boal, 155)
If revolution isn’t inspiring, “arts teachers have a central role in preparing young people for a post-modern marketplace. Employment has changed significantly in recent years, with business calling for employees who are ‘flexible, ‘creative’, ‘innovative’ ‘transformational’ ‘team players’ and ‘life long learners” (Readman and Wise, 90). We have an ethical responsibility to train kids for a quality life, a duty of care to help them navigate the digital world safely and develop skills to participate meaningfully in the world—where better to learn these subtle and enormously valuable communication skills than Drama?
References:
Flintoff, K. (2005) Drama and Technology: Teacher Attitudes and Perceptions. Master of Education Thesis, Edith Cowan University.
Accessed 18-4-2011 at :
Anderson, Michael. New Stages: Challenges for Teaching the Aesthetics of Drama
Online. In The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Volume 39, Number 4, Winter
2005, pp. 119-131
Accessed 18 April 2011
Major Performing Arts Education Network, 2010.
Accessed on 18-4-2011 at:
Readman, K. and Wise, J. (2004). Aesthetic pedagogy and digital resource design: some considerations. In Change: Transformations in Education. Volume 7.2, November 2004
Accessed 18-4-2011
Nicholls, J. and Philip, R. (200). Drama Online. In Australian Journal of Educational Technology 2001, 17(2), 150-168.
Retrieved 18-4-11 at:
Boal, A. (1974). Theatre of the Oppressed. New York: Theatre Communications Group.
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