TEC 958: Photoshop CS6 for Teachers

Course Description

This course will explore, in depth, the myriad of tools and techniques for artistic expression and visual communication afforded by Photoshop, the standard of graphics software. After completing the course, participants will have a firm grasp on Photoshop concepts that are applicable to almost every facet of the application including web design, preparing photographic images for printing, and illustration. Knowledge and skilled use of Photoshop will turn an educator into a 'graphics professional'. Hands-on projects maximize the learning experience while focusing on creating useful and meaningful teaching materials. Evidence of learning is tied directly to stated objectives and assessment is based on pre- and post surveys as well as successful completion of all required assignments.

Primary Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course participants shall:

• Demonstrate the operation and use of Photoshop CS6
• Define a sense of personal visual style
• Demonstrate creative expression of ideas in a variety of forms
• Evaluate the construction of digital images
• Effectively critique computer graphic images and techniques
• Organize ideas and images in relation to individual work
• Apply ISTE standards and how they relate to computer graphics

Standards Based Instruction

Assignments contained within this course meet several important proficiency guidelines as defined by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) in their NETS (National Educational Technology Standards).                 SEE MORE

Course Materials

Workbook: TEC 958: Photoshop CS6 for Teachers by Steve Young.

Text: Photoshop CS6 Digital Classroom, Smith, J. ISBN-10: 1118123891
(included with full materials, only - excluded with partial materials).␣

DVD: Containing demo versions of Photoshop for Windows and Mac, electronic manuals, and other resource materials.

Minimum System Requirements

Computer with a DVD-ROM drive, printer, Internet access, ability to burn a data CDROM.

Photoshop CS6 minimum requirements:

Windows
• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor; 2GHz or faster processor •
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3; or Windows 7
• 1GB of RAM
• 1GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and minimum 512MB of VRAM (Recommended - 1 GB)
• DVD-ROM drive

Mac OS
• Multicore Intel processor (64-bit processors only)
• Mac OS X 10.6.8, 10.7 or 10.8 (64-bit application only)
• 1GB of RAM
• 2GB of available hard-disk space for the files; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with qualified hardware accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and 512MB of VRAM (Recommended - 1 GB)
• DVD-ROM drive

Course Requirements

Assignments (totalling 100 points, maximum):
• Survey 1 - Pre-course Teacher Survey (1 point)
• Warm up Exercises - Complete all 5 (5 @ 4 pts each - 20 pts. max.)
• Textbook Exercises - Complete any 10 of the 14 (10 @ 5 pts each - 50 pts. max.)
• Final Exercises - Complete any 5 of the 10 (5 @ 5 pts each - 25 pts. max.)
• Standards Correlation Chart - (3 points)
• Survey 2 - Post-course Teacher Survey (1 point)
• Course Evaluation

Grading Scale

Letter grades, should one be requested, will be on the following scale:

90% -100% = A 80% - 89% = B or ‘Credit’ 79% or below = ‘No Credit’

Evidence of Learning

Students will be evaluated on the ability to follow directions as described in the workbook to complete all required projects. Written assignments should contain reflective responses applicable to their personal and/or professional experiences which indicate they have put thought and effort in to their replies.

Grading Rubric	Exemplary (A)	Passing (B or Credit)	Failing (No Credit)
Use of tools and techniques (T&T)	Directions followed concisely. Correct use of T&T evident. Additional flourishes added. Completed extra credit work.	Inconsistently followed directions. Shied away from using more complex T&T.	Directions not followed. Some steps omitted. Incorrect T&T(s) used.
Effort and Perseverance	Project continued until it was complete; effort set forth beyond that required; took pride in going beyond the basic requirements. Experimented freely and frequently.	With a bit more effort and dedication project could have improved; lacks finished quality; chose an easy project and did it indifferently.	Project not seen to completion; work inadequate. Seems hurried to "just get it done" and move to the next project.
Craftsmanship and Consistency	Project completely and patiently done with great attention to detail; it was as good as hard work could make it. Tools & techniques consistently and properly demonstrated throughout the project.	Average craftsmanship but not as good as possible with more care, time, effort and attention to detail. Quality varied from project to project.	Below average effort. Lack of pride in work. Inconsistent use of tools/techniques from project to project.
Written Assignments	Depth of thought with thorough, candid and reflective replies. Relates personal/ professional experiences, when appropriate. Few, if any, errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar. Neatness and pride evident throughout.	Replies vague, generic, superficial, abrupt. Strays from topic. Grammar, spelling, punctuation errors distracting. Word processing in order due to poor penmanship. Seems rushed. Not focused or engaged in topic.	Assignment(s) missing/incomplete. Failed to follow diretions as set forth in materials. "Yes"-"No" replies without further discussion justifying response.
Standards Correlation Chart	Aligned six assignments to ISTE NETS-T standards and performance indicators, demonstrating understanding of the principles of the standard(s).	Completed but did not chose applicable standard or performance indicator.	Failed to complete the assignment or align all six chosen assignments.

Instructor/Student Contact

FPU advises that some districts mandate a minimum of three student / instructor contacts (e-mail or phone) as part of the course requirements. If your district is one which requires this, please e-mail me for further instructions.

Schedule of Topics and Assignments

Section 1. Pre-course teacher survey
Section 2. Introduction to Photoshop
Section 3. Photoshop Tools
Section 4. Warm up Projects 1 ~ 5
Section 5. Textbook Projects 1 ~ 10
Section 6: Midcourse Instructor Contact
Section 7. Final Projects 1 ~ 5
Section 8. Post-course teacher survey
Section 9. Standards correlation chart.
Section 10. Course evaluation.

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