Graphic Design & the Classroom
"A designer considers the end user. An artist does not"
Teachers, you might not be aware of it, but you are in fact a designer. You design through selecting, planning and organizing how every single paper, lesson, test, quiz, and homework is going to look for your students. Over the years, we as teachers have gotten so good at cranking out tests and worksheets that it has become second nature. But with the 1:1 rollouts happening all across the country, we need to consider how we are going to transform those same elements digitally. Digital mediums offer much more variety, font styles, colors, and a plethora of options. So now more than ever we need to design with our students in mind!
Patricia Russac argued that "By taking typography into account, teachers can't help but help students. Whether filling in PowerPoint slides or typing up worksheets or writing unit tests, teachers can make purposeful decisions regarding letter families." Furthermore, Heather Dowd in a google summit presentation made a good argument that "We teach students to read and write from a young age and we spend time helping them develop those skills.But we don’t provide much support for communicating visually."
We as teachers must not only model the design principles of CARP which stand for Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity. But we also must teach our students about these design principles. With the implementation of the common core standards and the advance in technology, more and more students are utilizing the 4 C's of Education (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity). When we ask students to be creative and communicate we need to help them learn how to do this visually!
Below is an example of how I decided to try out Google Drawings and create my own poster utilizing the elements of designing!
Dowd, H. (n.d). Tell Me With a Graphic in a Google Slides Presentation [Google slides]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Y5LAxlRhRGgkqbFGKu9f5ZdZx2RwhlxZAC9eeJyUZ5Y/edit#slide=id.g22a979eea9_0_0
Russac, M. H. (n.d.). Why Teachers Should Care About Typography. Retrieved June 01, 2017, from http://theasideblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-teachers-should-care-about.html
I love your graphic! What a great poster for reference. I found it fun to create my own visual, so I would imagine students would find it engaging too. Also, I think it's a great way for students to show their mastery of content. They are responsible for communicating the information not only through visual appeal, but also in an accurate and meaningful way. I can't wait to have my students build something with Google Drawings.
ReplyDelete-Comment Posted by Melissa Madden
I am in complete agreement with Melissa and I too am a fan of the graphic you included. What a great way to emphasize using a simple tool to create learning that is more meaningful and to be honest, fun! I also liked your reminder about teachers already being "designers". I will be honest, I don't consider myself a creative person at all, but I have been creative in the past using traditional educational methods, so now I just need to do the same thing, but while putting technology at the forefront. I am hopeful that through continued practice and exposure to technology and available tools, I will begin to transfer my current knowledge to a technological medium. The world is changing and I am finally feeling like I can change with it. It will take time and have its challenges, but I'm ready to take it on! (Kelly Bachewicz)
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI like the colorful design of your title. I, too, never thought of myself as a designer. Now that I think about it, there are countless times, that I am trying to find just the right font and/or colors to make an activity more appealing to the eye. I agree that teaching the students the same design principles we are learning will model the 4 C's we are asking of them.
Hi Jen!
ReplyDeleteI also love your graphic on finding slope! Like Suzanne and Kelly stated, I have never really thought of myself as a designer until I read your blog post. I guess, in some ways, I am a designer. I choose the graphics and images I use in presentations and/or handouts deliberately, like other educators.
Hi Jen-
ReplyDeleteWOW! You did such a great job creating your graphic! There are so many pieces to it....it must have taken a lot of patience and hard work to get everything lined up. Way to go! This is something that other math teachers are going to want to use!
Hi Jen- I really loved that you made a graphic for math as well. It turned out great. I think that kids need to see more visuals when doing math. I agree with your quote as well by Heather Dowd"We teach students to read and write from a young age and we spend time helping them develop those skills.But we don’t provide much support for communicating visually." I think the same goes for creativity. I feel like more and more in education we don't allow students to how/make visuals of their own and use their creative side. This poster will be a great visual to pass on to others.
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