From Technical Skill to Creative Agency: Reframing Digital Media Art Education in Vocational Higher Education Under Generative AI

Abstract

This conceptual paper examined the transformative challenges and opportunities posed by generative artificial intelligence (AI) in vocational digital media art programs. It first reviewed the evolving relationship between AI and higher education, highlighting the pressures on curricula traditionally centered on technical skill mastery. The paper critiqued the limitations of a skills-only approach and proposes a pedagogical reframing that foregrounds human agency, purposeful revision, and ethical decision-making. Using a conceptual-argumentative methodology, the study synthesized literature on AI adoption, arts pedagogy, and institutional governance to construct a multilevel framework for vocational reform. The framework identified six interconnected layers for curriculum redesign: learning outcomes, module structure, pedagogy, industry linkage, program scaffolding, and teacher development. These layers collectively emphasize student capacity to direct human–AI workflows, document creative decisions, and maintain professional and ethical integrity. Assessment strategies were reconceptualized to prioritize process evidence over product output, incorporating prompt logs, rationale statements, and revision histories to make creative agency observable. The framework also advanced a model of relational authorship, where students act as “directors” of final outputs while AI functions as an assistive partner, shifting evaluation away from binary notions of human versus machine creation. By situating AI within a systemic, institution-wide approach rather than isolated classroom exercises, the study offers practical guidance for curricular design, faculty development, and policy formulation, ensuring that vocational programs remain relevant, ethically grounded, and responsive to the generative AI era.