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Week 1

My days off, early feedback on drafts, other notes...

Hi Class - Just a reminder:

I take a day off around day 3 and day 7. That means that if you posted A1 in the evening Day 2, I won't get to it until Day 4. And if you are posting ahead you might not get my feedback until the due date (when I always log in to go through the assignment threads)

My advice? Don't post too far ahead of the current assignment, spend quality time on the current assignments (don't wait until the last minute), and if you do post an early draft for an assignment later in the week then you may get early feedback from students, but perhaps not from me if I am working on providing comprehensive feedback for a previous assignment. Definitely do not work into the next week - I often won't set up an upcoming week until day 7 of the current week.

Keep in mind that you have until 3 AM day 7 to redo any assignments after receiving feedback from peers and myself. Sweet!

Grades for the week are usually entered by day 1 of the following week, later in the evening.

I do often take calls on my day off, and I check my email, so if something is urgent I am available pretty much anytime.

Thanks!

Jeff

Text formatting

Class,

You may have noticed that the classroom looks a little different from previous sessions.  In the enhanced classroom, we now have the ability to format the font, size, and color of our text in discussion posts.  

Please make sure you are posting in a legible font at a reasonable size. Posting text in large sizes simulates shouting. Please use either black or a dark color for all of your posts to maintain readability. Do not use color, as it quickly becomes decorative and hard to read. Do not use bold. I would recommend using a size 2 or 3 font, sans serif.

When in doubt, simply use the default settings for your text.

I reserve the right to request that you re-post any comments if the text formatting makes your post illegible or hard to read. You also now have the ability to post multiple attachments, however note that I require that multiple images be placed on ONE canvas (Instructions in the announcements) so we can see them all at once.

Let me know if you have any questions (:

Jeff

Top 6 things to know for this course

1. Read all the week one announcements - there are at least 10, and some of them are lengthy but oh-so-important. Among other things they cover due date policy, format requirements, assignment information, Jing, participation, grading, and written components for all assignments.

2. When you log in check the announcements for weekly overviews, information on workshops, etc.

3. When you start an assignment always read my post (usually the first one) under the assignment description. It always has examples and additional information on how I want the assignment completed.

4. Respond to people who post to you - and respond to me! I take the time to do video crits (Jing) for the design assignments (not the DQs) each week. I need to know you have listened to them and understood my feedback. Spread your participation around during the week, don’t so it on one day, and don’t wait until day 7 to participate. It will cost you points.

5. Communication: Let me know beforehand (when possible) if something will keep you from posting on time - there is a 25% point reduction for EACH DAY an assignment is late, and email me or call with burning issues, such as grade questions.  

6. You have until day 7 to redo and repost any assignments after getting feedback from myself and other students. I always grade the latest and greatest on day one of the following week.

The rest of my welcome message is in the announcements...I look forward to reading your bios in the next couple of days.

Thanks (:

Jeff

Welcome to FND 112

Greetings and welcome to fnd 112!

If you click on this link you will get a quick video/audio overview of the course: http://www.screencast.com

And here is the text version: 

My name is Jeff Prentice - I'm an artist/designer currently living in California, teaching here at the Art Institute. I look forward to working with you here as your facilitator. Everything goes smoothly if you go by the guidelines I post below and in the threads as we progress. Here is a summary of important points:

  1. The  AIPO late work policy is posted in Course Home, in the Educational Commitment Statement. Unexcused late work will be penalized -25% per day.
  2. Improperly formatted work receives no credit after the week 1 grace period (information on format is in the announcements). Improper labels usually cost around 2 points, no written requirement can cost 2 points as well.
  3. If the weekly word count is low you take a hit on points - Participation (initiating and responding to posts) is a big percentage of the grade. There are usually 1 to 2 participation posts req'd per assignment at 150 - 200 words each. Make sure you read each assignment carefully and understand the rubrics and requirements. For participation (and critiquing) what we are looking for is evidence of your looking at other work and being able to describe what you see in design terms.
  4. Check the announcements each time you log in.
  5. Make sure you have the text books, software (Photoshop and Illustrator) , scanner and other tech requirements listed under course home.

Log on to our course as soon as it opens and carefully read the course syllabus, objectives, and REQUIRED technology requirements. For example, if you do not have Photoshop or an equivalent image prep program you will need to get one before the class starts or you will lose points in image quality and image formatting. Navigate through the class subject headings. Post your bio assignment under the bio thread by the due date as it will be a big help to me and the other students in getting to know everyone. Also, please go into your profile and check that your current e-mail address is posted and that it shows up on the roster. E-mail will be an important mode of communication in the class. You can contact me on my cell phone for emergencies or for other important matters. Email me and we can set up a time.

My website jeffprentice.net has a lot of resource material in the course, tutorial and teaching sections (Note: I will be requesting release forms from some of you so I can show your work online in my student gallery). Visit it often - Student galleries and support for our course can be found on the site at onlinedesign.htm organized by week.

You are responsible for understanding the info in these announcements - your grade depends upon it. Please take a few minutes to read it and then sign off in the Please Read and Respond thread in the side menu..

I look forward to getting to know each of you and helping you achieve your goals - See you in the threads (:

Jeff Prentice

Important: Using Jing for critiques

I use Jing for critiquing your work - I open your image, and capture video and audio of my observations, and then I post the link for you to watch. It is very cool, the files are fairly small and stream quite well. Students like it a lot. If you do have any issues playing the video then go to http://www.adobe.com/downloads/ and download the latest Flash player. If your  computer meets the minimum requirements you won't have any problems.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the online environment, only I should use Jing for critiques. I need to process approximately 200 posts a week for grading, and if you start using video it will slow me down tremendously.
Let me know if you have any questions (:
Thanks!
J

Participation, presentation, feedback, labels, written requirements

Class,

  1. Reminder: post a written description  of process along with work -sometimes this is short, but includes your design process and thinking. It is worth 2 points.
  2. Try and respond to MY critiques by day 7 so I know you have seen them - I'm interested in YOUR feedback as well -
  3. Work without labels will require a repost or loss of 2 points - this is from week 1 announcements: LABELS: All work must be labeled with your name and assignment information (name, week etc) Some people put their description of process on the image as well. Labels must be OFF the image. Create your design, add some canvas at the bottom when done, and label. Labels are generally  placed at the bottom of the canvas, OFF the image, off to one side, small, and discreet, just as you would see in a magazine or catalog. Verdana or Helvetica are good choices, 10 or 12 pixel for size, dark gray is a good start as well.

Let me know if you have any questions (: J

More on participation, written requirement for every assignment

Hi Class (:

A couple of things  I need from you in this course:

A written response for every image posted; Don't just post "here is my assignment". Before I can critique/grade your work I need to know more about your intent - For example in Week 4 assignment 3, describe the space - describe the volume - is it volumetric space without an object? A flat space with a volumetric object? Let me know more of what is going on - clarify - Otherwise I am left on my own and my conclusions may not be the same as yours. For example, in week 4, What I am finding are what look like flat spaces (not deep) with flat or rather ambiguous objects that are open to interpretation...and if you don't let the audience know exactly what is happening then your work may be open to the incorrect conclusion. In your written description you may be able to convince me of something I am not seeing right away. So give it a shot - and do this for ALL the assignments. Don't just post "here is my assignment"....include description of process and intent. A few minutes can equate to a few more points!

Participation. Don't wait until day 7 to participate - sometimes ALL the crits and writing is done by a student on day 7, all within a few minutes (you can see the time stamp).What is wrong with Day 7 participation? Few will view it, or respond to it since they have moved on to the following week. How can that contribute to communication, participation, a conversation and learning experience? It will ultimately cost you points - I highly recommend commenting a day or two after the assignment is due, and frequently during the week so the class dynamic is maintained and people can appreciate your input! These can be easy points, taking only a few minutes, gaining you 10, 20 points a week. Re-read the reqs on this in the side menu under Description and Requirements, as it is the most frequent point loss. Use design terminology and although communiques should be friendly/collegial keep it professional and objective. My best friends in college were the ones who were honest with me about my work - so don't hesitate to provide a fresh set of eyes for someone's design. And "critical" is different than "negative" - Never be negative. Also - if you like something and don't have anything critical to say - then expand upon WHY you like it, or why it works so well as a design or artwork. Remember 'good job' and 'nice work' etc don't count as participation. I don't count words usually but I can 'eyeball' quantity and quality. Pretend you are a boss or friend or art director commenting on something being shown to you - it can be casual and friendly but should be insightful - show us you have looked at the work - discuss line shape form texture space scale form movement depth overlapping etc...why you like something, what works, and what could be improved. Onground I require two positive comments and two critical (not negative) comments.

Let me know if you have any questions (: J

Etiquette, disability, plagiarism

Always read what I post under an assignment before doing the assignment - I include previously executed student examples and specifics about format, links to tutorials, etc.    

Classroom etiquette and thread and general course management

  1. There are a lot of threads to read, a lot of posts to make, so a clean and easy-to-navigate online environment is extremely important.
  2. Please hit "respond" under the topic thread when posting your work. It can be easy to accidentally post under someone else's post if you don't hit this button.
  3. Use spell check. Grammar and spelling count! Follow the format instructions listed in the week one announcements.Participation means 'back and forth', not just posting and leaving. Please try and respond to others who post to you, and definitely respond to my posts, especially if I have made the effort to mark up an exercise.

There is a "Please read and respond" requirement by week. Go to the side menu on the left and "respond" under the Please Read And Respond thread that you have read the announcements and course description and understand your responsibilities. You won't get ANY points for week 1 without doing this!

Disability Information

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh/The Art Institute Online is committed to providing qualified students with a disability an equal opportunity to access the benefits, rights and privileges of college services, programs and activities in compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Art Institute provides accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. The Disability Services Office assists qualified students with disabilities in acquiring reasonable and appropriate accommodations and in supporting their success at The Art Institute.
Students who believe they are in need of accommodations should contact the Disability Services Office. Contact information is available from the Student Support Center (studentsupport@aii.edu or 1-877-872-8869).

The AiO Policy on Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. The official AiO policy on plagiarism is as follows: "The Institute reserves the right to suspend or terminate any student who copies or otherwise plagiarizes the artwork or assignments/projects of other students or professionals, or who otherwise displays conduct detrimental to his or her own academic progress or ultimate success in the field for which he or she is being educated." Plagiarism either deliberately or inadvertently:

Common Knowledge: You do not have to cite information that is common knowledge. Common knowledge means that the information is likely to be found in multiple sources and/or is known to many people. Example: Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April, 1865. When in doubt, however, cite your source.

Thanks! J

Important! Posting and image, document format requirements

Presentation COUNTS, here, and in life. And in the classroom, improperly posted work receives no credit!

The reasoning behind all of this? If your image is too big, we have to scroll to view it. If your image is too small, we can’t view it properly. PDFs and BMPs have to opened by another program such as Acrobat or Photoshop – this is time consuming. GIFs and JPGs are the established protocol for viewing images on the web. If your response is in a third party format such as Word, we have to download the file, and then open your response in the program. This takes time.

In your professional lives you will be communicating through email and send and receiving information, often with accompanying images. If your images are poorly prepped and sized, it will reflect badly on you. This isn't a Photoshop course, HOWEVER, learning just a few simple commands will give you some very powerful tools. I will post more on this in the threads.

There is a week grace period to work out posting kinks. After that, it seriously affects your grade. If you have any questions, then please post some test posts in the lounge to see whether you are doing this correctly. You have to get up to speed in scanning and prepping images in Photoshop immediately.

I put together a video tutorial on how to format at http://www.jeffprentice.net This is a streaming flash movie - it may stutter or jump until it loads completely - just let it load in the bg (background) and it will play. Have your volume turned up.
IMPORTANT: For projects with multiple images, for example, a group of thumbs and 3 roughs, please post as one image in a group - rather than multiple postings. Let's keep the thread/post overhead to a minimum. This also helps us see images in one viewing, which allows us to compare them more efficiently. Examples of stacked images can be seen at onlinesenior_projectg432.htm or onlineportfolio.htm
Stacking: Normally single images should be around 600 high x 800 wide for landscaep format, perhaps 500 wide and 700 high for portrait format. For an image with more information the rule is that the user should only have to scroll one way. If you are posting more than one image in one post, stack images so we only have to scroll up an down to view them. It is acceptable to have, for example, an 800 wide x 2500 high pixel image for posting stacks of images, thumbs, etc. With an image that size we only scroll one way, up and down.

Following are Photoshop steps for stacking, grouping thumbs and roughs, putting images together for one post:

  1. Create a canvas that is 800 wide, 3000 pixels high (to start), 72 dpi.
  2. Open your scans and images you want to group
  3. Using the move tool, drag them from their canvas onto the new canvas
  4. Use the transform tool (holding down the shift key to maintain proportions) to resize.
  5. Make sure there are equal margins between images
  6. Add a label to the bottom
  7. Crop
  8. File 'Save for Web' as a high quality jpg

Note: each image you have dragged onto the canvas will be on its own layer. And make sure the layers are flattened on the image you want to drag, or you may end up selecting only one part of the image.

FOR THOSE OF YOU USING DIGITAL CAMERAS

You still need to end up with an image described above. Be sure you have the camera at a 90 degree angle to the picture plane to eliminate parallax, have even, indirect natural light, or be prepared to adjust the tint and (painfully) remove shadows with the dodge tool.

Simple scan/format tips ( see my vid tutorial):

  1. Scan at 150 dpi - or 72 if the image is big enough - I like 150 dpi because it gives me more pixels to resize. For example, if I scan at 72, and then crop out unwanted binder rings or blank paper areas, I could end up with a tiny image.
  2. Open the image in photoshop
  3. Use the crop tool to crop unwanted scanner edges, spiral rings
  4. Use command "image/adjust/levels" to adjust the lights , midtones, and darks.
  5. Command "Image/image size"
  6. Uncheck the resample box
  7. Change the dpi to 72
  8. Recheck the resample box
  9. Change the pixel dimensions - making sure constrain proportions box i s checked . The highest dimension should be no more than 600 pixels. The widest, 800 pixels.
  10. Command = "save for web" as a jpg (check quality settings and compare quality and file size)

LABELS:

  1. All work must be labeled. I like using the gallery or publication formula of "title, name, year", like "Spring in Siberia" Jeff Prentice, 2009.Some people put their description of process on the image as well, however I recommend keeping it off and just placing it in the thread for us to read unless you have a handle on layout and fonts.
  2. Labels must be OFF the image. Create your design, add some canvas at the bottom when done, and label.
  3. Labels are generally placed at the bottom of the canvas, OFF the image, off to one side, small, and discreet, just as you would see in a magazine or catalog. Verdana or Helvetica are good choices, 10 or 12 pixel for size, dark gray is a good start as well.

Let me know if you have any questions (: J