A Deep Dive into Media Arts Education, Holistic Learning and Techno-Embodiment.

This Deep Dive provides an overview of major themes and ideas presented in Dain Olsen’s book, Media Arts Education, Transforming Education Through Multimodal Cognition, Holistic Learning and Techno-Embodiment. These excerpts argue for a radical shift in educational philosophy and practice, positioning MAE as a central force in fostering holistic learning aligned with 21st-century realities.

Main Themes:

• Embodied Cognition: The foundation of MAE theory lies in the concept of embodied cognition, which asserts that the mind and body are inseparable in the learning process. Higher-order thinking emerges from our sensorimotor experiences, emotions, and aesthetic perceptions, challenging the traditional Cartesian view that prioritizes the mind over the body.
• "Embodied cognition argues that the neural systems that we use for higher-order conceptual thought, such as logic and reason, are thoroughly grounded in the same neural systems that we use for sensory perception, feeling, motivation, and action." - The Biological Foundations of Learning
• Media Arts as a Societal Techno-Sensorimotor System: Olsen posits that media arts, encompassing various forms of communication, design, and interactivity, function as our society's collective nervous system. Through media arts, we perceive, interpret, and respond to our environment, creating a shared understanding of the world.
• "Media arts is our society’s central nervous system. It is an extension of our sensorimotor systems, as a transparent, electrified aesthetic field, overlaying, interconnecting, and actualizing our collective consciousness and activity." - Media Arts Education Meta-Framework
• Holistic Learning through Aesthetic Synthesis: MAE facilitates holistic learning by engaging students in the creation and exploration of multimodal experiences. This approach fosters aesthetic empathy, enabling students to connect with content emotionally and conceptually, leading to deeper understanding and knowledge retention.
• "MAE facilitates direct access to and interaction with this system, which provides students with the optimal locus for creative learning across communications, design, and interactivity." - Media Arts Education Meta-Framework

Implications for Education:

Olsen's work suggests a need for significant changes in educational systems to embrace the principles of MAE:

• Curriculum redesign: Integrating media arts across subject areas, promoting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning experiences.
• Pedagogical shifts: Embracing constructivist approaches that empower student agency and creativity, encouraging embodied learning activities, and utilizing multimodal assessment methods.
• Technological infrastructure: Providing access to diverse media tools and technologies, creating flexible learning spaces that support creative exploration and networked connectivity, online supplementary resources, and AI systems coordinations and assessments.
• Transforming Traditional Education (TE): Olsen critiques the limitations of TE, highlighting its emphasis on standardized testing, content memorization, and a disembodied approach to learning. He proposes MAE as a transformative alternative that fosters student-centered, experiential learning environments aligned with contemporary learning science.
• "Our schools are, in a sense, factories in which the raw products (children) are to be shaped and fashioned into products to meet the various demands of life." (Cubberly,1916) - Remedying the Problems of Traditional Education