Combining Craft and Digital Tools in Design Education for the General Public

Abstract

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the Art and crafts subject in general education in Norway is examined through a survey and qualitative interviews with teachers. Both the survey and the interviews reveal that teachers prioritise traditional crafts over ICT. Several teachers view youngsters as digital natives who will master the digital tools anyway, while they fear that material knowledge, motor skills and craftsmanship will be lost. The writings of Vetlesen (2015) and Sennett (2008) on the relationship between craft and technology are used to shed light on the teachers’ priorities. The term digital natives is discussed against Nordkvelle and Fritze’s term medialized, which suggests that mastery of ICT does not apply to a whole generation. This leads to the conclusion that the Art and crafts subject should include both ICT and craft. In this article, we introduce practical studio work that combines crafts and digital tools, and we discuss if such a combination can meet future challenges in the education of youngsters.