Put Down That Paintbrush, Use Your Mouse Instead!
In the article, Graphic Design Online, Jill M. Olthouse described the two-week summer program she created for her middle school students. Her aim was to give her students early exposure to the graphic design profession and the common tools used in the graphic designing "world." Unfortunately, purchasing programs like Photoshop and Fireworks was out of the picture for Olthouse because it would have been too costly to purchase and install these programs into the school's computer. Determined to provide her students with a worthwhile experience, Olthouse opted to use online web application. This option was much more cost effective because most of the web application were free of charge. Furthermore, unlike Photoshop and Fireworks, she did not have to worry about gaining administrator privileges and the hassle of downloading these web applications. All that was needed were computers with at least 56k Internet speed and tools that can support the web applications (Java and Flash). This two week program not only tapped into inner artist in her students, it also fulfilled the national arts and technology standards.
During the two-week summer program Olthouse introduced several art related applications that gave a glimpse into the various aspects of graphic design. First, she introduced her class to the National Art Gallery's NGA Kids Art Zone. Here her students explored the many uses of paint tools and were able to create abstract art, collages, kinetic art (art that contains movement or moving objects), and 3D objects. Next she had her students create cartoon characters on the HeroMachine application. This application made it easy for her students to create cartoons because the application already had all the the elements, the students just had to mix and match these elements to create personalized characters. In order to incorporate Language Arts into this activity, Olthouse had her students write a story about their character. The third web application that was introduced to her students was Fotoflexer. Like Picnik, Fotoflexer was a photo editing tool that allowed her students to manipulate and edit pictures from their MySpace and/or Facebook account. Lastly, Google Sketchup was a 3D program that was downloaded (i.e., this tool was not a web application). Google Sketchup not only allowed her students to create 3D art, it also allowed them to maniuplate 3D objects by changing its perspective and adding texture to it to make it look realistic. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time and because this program was introduced at the tail end of the program, the students were unable to explore all the ins and outs of the program.
Digital art would definitely be a necessary addition to my ciriculum. Art is a very important element in education because it is one of the only ways a student can communicate who they are, what they feel, and what they think with little standards and restrictions. Like technology, I will make an effort to nurture my students' artistic abilities while making it relevant to the lesson plans. Unlike Olthouse's summer program, I allow more time for my the students to feel comfortable with the various graphic design web applications. I think two weeks to explore all the applications is too limited of a time for students to gain a complete understanding of the purposes and functions of each tool. Maybe dedicating at least a week for each program would be more appropriate After each week I will "test" their knowledge by assigning them a mini project to ensure their understanding on that particular application. At the end of the semester I will ask my students to produce an artistic piece that will encompass all that they have learned from all the web applications.
The goal is not only to introduce my students to these tools, I also want them to eventually use these tools with little assistance from me. Furthermore, since this program is about bringing out the students' creative side, it is important that student are given enough time to artistically express themselves. I want their finished product to be something meaningful and one that is a true expression of themself.
During the two-week summer program Olthouse introduced several art related applications that gave a glimpse into the various aspects of graphic design. First, she introduced her class to the National Art Gallery's NGA Kids Art Zone. Here her students explored the many uses of paint tools and were able to create abstract art, collages, kinetic art (art that contains movement or moving objects), and 3D objects. Next she had her students create cartoon characters on the HeroMachine application. This application made it easy for her students to create cartoons because the application already had all the the elements, the students just had to mix and match these elements to create personalized characters. In order to incorporate Language Arts into this activity, Olthouse had her students write a story about their character. The third web application that was introduced to her students was Fotoflexer. Like Picnik, Fotoflexer was a photo editing tool that allowed her students to manipulate and edit pictures from their MySpace and/or Facebook account. Lastly, Google Sketchup was a 3D program that was downloaded (i.e., this tool was not a web application). Google Sketchup not only allowed her students to create 3D art, it also allowed them to maniuplate 3D objects by changing its perspective and adding texture to it to make it look realistic. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time and because this program was introduced at the tail end of the program, the students were unable to explore all the ins and outs of the program.
Digital art would definitely be a necessary addition to my ciriculum. Art is a very important element in education because it is one of the only ways a student can communicate who they are, what they feel, and what they think with little standards and restrictions. Like technology, I will make an effort to nurture my students' artistic abilities while making it relevant to the lesson plans. Unlike Olthouse's summer program, I allow more time for my the students to feel comfortable with the various graphic design web applications. I think two weeks to explore all the applications is too limited of a time for students to gain a complete understanding of the purposes and functions of each tool. Maybe dedicating at least a week for each program would be more appropriate After each week I will "test" their knowledge by assigning them a mini project to ensure their understanding on that particular application. At the end of the semester I will ask my students to produce an artistic piece that will encompass all that they have learned from all the web applications.
The goal is not only to introduce my students to these tools, I also want them to eventually use these tools with little assistance from me. Furthermore, since this program is about bringing out the students' creative side, it is important that student are given enough time to artistically express themselves. I want their finished product to be something meaningful and one that is a true expression of themself.
I would have loved to participate in something like this when I was in middle school or even high school. Jill Olthouse really understands the importance of having students get to know graphic designing tools and she took it upon herself to spread the knowledge. By doing a two-week program like this, some students can potentially find out that they would want to follow this graphic designing as a profession. It's important for students to know what lies outside of the classroom so that they can start thinking of what they would like to do in their future. I think that art is an essential part of any curriculum. Art gives students the ability to learn and express themselves in a fun way.
ReplyDeleteSince I minored in graphic design in college, I definitely love this idea. When I was in high school, I took as many art classes as I possibly could, but never realized that graphic design was a "real" art form. In fact, it actually has a lot of practical application and can help someone craft a personalized resume and design a variety of documents. Especially since we live in such a tech-savvy world and have kids that love computers and love to create, this a great idea. I also agree that Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are far too expensive and complicated for middle school students, and that free software would be a fantastic first step.
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