A study of network-based art criticism in an online gallery: A synthetic approach to media literacy

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the students' pre-existing literacies and art criticism performance in different instructional. The online art gallery, Art Reflex, as main research site included art quests - entry point questions for three different art criticism approaches---discussion board, artist commentary, and reflection writing as application of art criticism theory and instructional strategies for self-promoted learning environment.; Utilizing four research questions to structure an examination of the relationships between the participants' pre-existing literacies, performance, and instructional settings, the researcher used an experimental design that incorporates different instructional settings as independent variables. To broaden the potential of the study, 138 participants were selected from different cultural and disciplinary backgrounds and participated in this online art criticism exercise during four weeks. The participants were divided into four groups in order to examine the effectiveness of the instructional strategies in each group.; The participants were asked to complete 2-3 reflection writings as part of art criticism exercise and 400 writings (postings) were collected. Participants in all four groups completed surveys on their pre-existing visual, technological, and multi-cultural literacy. 10 participants were participated in informal interviews.; The findings indicated significant relationships between the participants' level of pre-existing literacy (visual and technological literacy) and their art criticism performance. However, the researcher found more significant relationship between the participants' level of art criticism performance and instructional settings along with the group factor. Analysis of the qualitative data from reflection writings and interviews indicated the value of art quests as prompting tool for alternative art criticism approach and discussion board as collaborative learning environment which facilitates communal interpretations about art.; This study displayed the effectiveness of the communication activities and use of interactive multimedia in art criticism exercise for the students' with different kind/level of literacies. By showing that interactive multimedia can facilitate collaborative learning among the students equipped with different literacies, the study suggests more interdisciplinary research in the use of computer and communication technology in the field of literacy study.