This qualitative study examined how students in a college introductory computer art class perceived the impact a digitalfolio had upon their learning and creative processes. A digitalfolio is similar to a traditional sketchbook in that it provides students with a place to practice techniques, try out ideas, and create visual images; however, a digitalfolio is kept entirely on the computer. Students had no restrictions placed on the content of the images they created in their digitalfolios, but they were required to create a minimum of forty images, both finished and unfinished, over the course of a semester.; A case study research design was used to provide careful description of the students' perceptions regarding the digitalfolio and how it affected their learning and creative experience. Six participants, three females and three males, were selected based on a criterion sampling strategy from two introductory computer art classes from Fall 1998 and Spring 1999. Data collection consisted of individual in-depth interviews, participant-observation on the part of the researcher, student profiles collected at the beginning of each semester, student journals, and the student digitalfolios. Data were inductively analyzed to identify major themes.; Students perceived the digitalfolio as an effective tool despite differences in art backgrounds, learning, and creative styles. Results indicated that the digitalfolio allowed students a way to gain technical skills, experiment without the risk of being graded, synthesize classroom instruction, and create studies for further works of art. The digitalfolio also facilitated creative expression among students who had polar opposite approaches, those that enjoyed and valued experimentation and those who preferred creating only highly finished works of art. This has implications for other introductory computer art classrooms, as the digitalfolio may serve as an effective instructional strategy for students of varying learning and creative styles.
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