677- Module 4: Graphic Design
Hello Class,
I have always been not only a visual learner but a live my life through visuals. Because of this, and the fact that I teach biology which lends well to visual learning, I place a lot of time and effort into graphic design. I really care about how visually appealing the content I deliver is for the students, especially in today's tech heavy/visual heavy world. I also critique how visually appealing student's projects are, and often make it a significant aspect of their grade.
Whenever I make a new assignment, I spend a lot of time looking at it from the student perspective. Not just making sure it has clear and accurate instructions, or that it can be differentiated for different learners, but also to make sure it is visually appealing. In fact, I will admit that I am a bit of a graphic designer snob! When I use materials from other educators or sources online, I often need to "enhance" them with graphic design. This could include changing font, moving material around, or adding visuals. I know that I spend more time on this than it's benefits the students but I have always found making material visually appealing a top priority, especially in biology.
I have never been a big reader, and unfortunately have continued this trend into adulthood. I know that there are students, like me, that get more out of the visuals than the text itself. As I mentioned, these learners are easy to cater to because of how visually heavy my content area can be. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words and I believe that holds true. Some students might even suggest that our class is 80% bio and 20% art class. We use creative projects to teach a large majority of the content. Making the material visually appealing to the audience is a skill I try to model for my students so that they in turn focus on that aspect in their projects.
Future Project:
http://www.storyboardthat.com/
I decided to look for a new tech tool to incorporate more graphic design and technology into an already existing project. I came across this graphic novel maker called Storyboardthat.com. It really is a fun and engaging free website where students can write a comic or graphic novel choosing from 1,000's of backgrounds and characters. They can add blurbs or writing to their piece as well to tell a story.
I envision using this for our environmental concerns project. Students could detail an environmental concern we currently face and write about it using this graphic novel website. They could choose a storyline and characters, but also design how they want to present the issue to their audience. A student could detail a character or animal dealing with global climate change, or a farmer dealing with the impact of agriculture on our planet. Really the possibilities are endless and make me excited to try this in our ecology unit.
Thank you,
Jim
I have always been not only a visual learner but a live my life through visuals. Because of this, and the fact that I teach biology which lends well to visual learning, I place a lot of time and effort into graphic design. I really care about how visually appealing the content I deliver is for the students, especially in today's tech heavy/visual heavy world. I also critique how visually appealing student's projects are, and often make it a significant aspect of their grade.
Whenever I make a new assignment, I spend a lot of time looking at it from the student perspective. Not just making sure it has clear and accurate instructions, or that it can be differentiated for different learners, but also to make sure it is visually appealing. In fact, I will admit that I am a bit of a graphic designer snob! When I use materials from other educators or sources online, I often need to "enhance" them with graphic design. This could include changing font, moving material around, or adding visuals. I know that I spend more time on this than it's benefits the students but I have always found making material visually appealing a top priority, especially in biology.
I have never been a big reader, and unfortunately have continued this trend into adulthood. I know that there are students, like me, that get more out of the visuals than the text itself. As I mentioned, these learners are easy to cater to because of how visually heavy my content area can be. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words and I believe that holds true. Some students might even suggest that our class is 80% bio and 20% art class. We use creative projects to teach a large majority of the content. Making the material visually appealing to the audience is a skill I try to model for my students so that they in turn focus on that aspect in their projects.
Future Project:
http://www.storyboardthat.com/
I decided to look for a new tech tool to incorporate more graphic design and technology into an already existing project. I came across this graphic novel maker called Storyboardthat.com. It really is a fun and engaging free website where students can write a comic or graphic novel choosing from 1,000's of backgrounds and characters. They can add blurbs or writing to their piece as well to tell a story.
I envision using this for our environmental concerns project. Students could detail an environmental concern we currently face and write about it using this graphic novel website. They could choose a storyline and characters, but also design how they want to present the issue to their audience. A student could detail a character or animal dealing with global climate change, or a farmer dealing with the impact of agriculture on our planet. Really the possibilities are endless and make me excited to try this in our ecology unit.
Thank you,
Jim
Science has to be hands on to engage our students! So often I see students filling out workbooks and reading from the text:(! Art is certainly a way to bring science to life when you can't actually have it there. Hopefully your students appreciate the visual aspects you bring to the classroom!
ReplyDeleteAlso, what a great resource you provided! I'm always looking for ways to create stories that are not using the G - Suite options. I haven't found one I'm too happy with so I'm excited for a new options for students.
Hi Jim! Seeing assignments through our students' eyes is SO important. Having been in the classroom for a number of years, I am seeing how our student's needs and how they learn is changing. That being said, it is imperative that we attempt to see how we teach at their level. Once they become frustrated or turned off by unclear directives or text heavy documents, it is likely they will not be able to complete the desired assessment or they if they do, it won't be to the standards we wish. When I go back and look at my old assignments, I either pitch them because they are no longer relevant or I make tons of edits to be more student-friendly, which often times includes more graphics.
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of creating graphic novels is fantastic! Students will have so much fun creating while demonstrating what they are learning. As a parent of someone who is dyslexic, this would be a dream come true for my daughter, who often times gets nervous about having to write read/write bigger assignments. This would definitely satisfy the needs of some of your students who may struggle or who have learning disabilities.
Thanks for sharing!
Erin
Jim-I chuckled as I read your post, because I am a bit of font snob myself! Since I have discovered fun fonts, I cannot leave any of my old documents in good 'ole comic sans, I must change them all. I will spend ridiculous amounts of time on this, trying to make everything look as visually appealing as possible! Also, being a student who struggled in science (especially Biology), I feel that I would have really benefited from having a teacher like you. I needed every helping aide I could get, and visual representations of things would have really made me a better science student and I would have comprehended more for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that your students get the opportunity to create and be "artsy", but do you ever worry that some students would rather stick to the science and not do the art stuff? If you have a student who isn't as visual as others or as creatively talented, do you worry that they struggle with that aspect of your class?
Thanks for the storyboard suggestion-I will check that out for sure!
Shelby
Hi Jim.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the Story Board That resource with us. It looks like it would be a great tool to use across all content areas and grade levels. I think that it is a good idea to always develop lessons with students in mind; visuals are definitely ways to keep students interested in the subject matter. Maybe you can even incorporate graphic arts that your students create in your lessons. We have many "doodlers" in our classes and my co-teacher and I like to display their work in class.
Have a nice weekend,
Lisa