| This study describes an attempt to use the new interactive medium, CATI (Computer Assisted Televised Instruction), to teach techniques used in the visual arts. Specifically, it describes how a CATI program on sculpture, using plaster and related materials, was designed, executed, and evaluated.;CATI is a technological innovation which combines a visual component with the processing potential of a computer. Recently this medium has been applied to more scholarly artistic purposes, through image storage and retrieval for use in libraries.;In an effort to assess the effectiveness of this new medium for practical art instruction, the present study attempts to explore the following issues: (a) Feasibility of designing art-oriented CATI; (b) CATI's usefulness as a means of self-instruction for art-oriented tasks; (c) User's perception of the CATI package.;The process of developing this program provided first hand information concerning unique aspects of CATI as a medium. The most significant features are the medium's capacity to deliver high resolution pictures and to provide the user with interactive instruction.;Art making is concerned with intuitive models of cognition. Moreover, it is also concerned with the transformation of internal representation (ideas or images) into external expressions. This implies that technical skills and technique are inherent in any form of art. Thus, art making and computer technology are not necessarily mutually exclusive; they may complement each other. Until recently, computers have been thought to belong exclusively to the domain of science. It is possibly only a matter of time before their application in the field of art is exploited more fully.;The intent of this study was to determine CATI's applicability to the process of art making. The experience with the final program indicates that, taking the medium's present constraints into account, CATI presents considerable potential for art making instruction. |
