Abstract
Informed by Dufva and Dufva’s (2019) framework of digitalization awareness and empowerment, this paper explores how critical digital making and arts-based inquiry—framed through the theme of “Healing Machines”—supported teachers’ creative processes during a two-week professional development course. The study asks: How did the post-digital theme and Healing Machines prompt shape participants’ artistic engagement? What personal and communal meanings emerged through their artworks? Drawing on reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2019) within arts-based and narrative inquiry traditions, I analyze visual and verbal artifacts to identify situated patterns of meaning. The evolving analysis indicates that teachers not only designed artifacts embodying their own healing practices but also experienced the creative process itself as a healing modality, reconceiving art beyond representation toward growth and self‑discovery. Early insights suggest that combining post-digital themes with arts-based inquiry fosters empowerment with both emerging technologies and creative professional identity.
Presenters
Gretchen LarsenLecturer of Emerging Media Art, Johnny Carson Center of Emerging Media Art; College of Teacher Learning & Teacher Education, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
New Media, Technology and the Arts
KEYWORDS
Post-Digital, Arts-Based Inquiry, Critical Digital Making, Digital Empowerment, Emerging Media
