Welcome to Art New Media 328 Orientation The purpose of the orientation is to make sure everyone understands the organization of the class and the use of the online portal Desire To Learn (D2L). We will also check the roster and add waitlisted students if space permits.

The course is structured very similarly too a traditional lecture/lab class. Obviously the big difference is that the lecture part is done a little differently and I may not be immediately available to answer your questions as is customary in a computer or studio environment. We have incorporated a collection of movies to demonstrate Photoshop skills..just as I would do in front of the class. I've also prepared a series of lectures on digital imagery principles that will be viewed online. The advantage of this style presentation is that you can watch them on your schedule and they can be repeated as often as necessary if you don't catch all the information the first time around. This seems to be a big plus for online education.

Objectives: The goal for our first week is to make sure you are enrolled and prepared for the class with the required materials. Since this is an online class, it's especially important that you can connect and communicate with me.

Do you have or have access to the minimum required equipment?
1)Photoshop CC (the latest version is 2017 but you can use earlier versions)
2)A scanner, camera or phone to scan or photograph images or sketces to submit for assignments.
3)Internet access to the class website and Desire To Learn (D2L)
4)An e-mail account.
5)Ability to work independently and meet deadlines.

Note: If you have questions about D2L, ARC e-mail accounts or any communications issues please refer first to our class handout or resource links in D2L. If you still have unresolved questions send me an e-mail.

Design Topics/Digital Imagery: Take a look at our schedule and you'll see that for most every week I will present a design or digitial imagery topic for you to study. This is an Art New Media class, it's important that you are exposed to design principles and the terminology that's used in the digital design world. When do I expect you to use this information? Most importantly you should try to incorporate these design concepts in your work. I also expcect you to use design terminolgy when you critique your fellow student's work. Finally, I will include questions about the most important information in our quizzes.

Projects: The series of projects increase in complexity as your skill with Photoshop increases. They are typical design challenges that a digital artist should be prepared for and Photoshop would be the software of choice to accomplish them. Be sure to carefully read the project requirements because some require concept drawings or thumbnails to be submitted for comments.

Finally: The keys to success in the online class are self motivation and communication. Please contact me if you have any quesitons about the week's topics or assignments. Also notify me if you see any errors or omissions in the website or BlackBoard portal. I will try to respond to your e-mails and message postings as soon as possible. I will establish online office hours where we can communicate in real time via the chat room. Welcome to the class and I wish you all great success!

Have Fun!
John