Teaching Technology

The best way to get students (or anyone else for that matter) to be able to use technology effectively is to walk them through the steps and then have them use it repeatedly so they become comfortable with the capabilities and limitations of the technology. A hands on experience is the best way to have someone learn about new or existing technology and put it to work. After becoming comfortable with the basics, letting students explore the technology on their own is how they become proficient.

When I was in pre-press, I would walk a trainee through the basic steps of whatever software we were using. They needed a basic framework of how the application worked before I could present them with advanced information. For example, in Photoshop, I need to show someone what each of the basic tools are and what they are designed to do before I can show tem how to alter pictures and do more creative or artistic things.

After I felt they understood the basics, I would give them projects to work on to help them develop their skill. For instance, I may give a trainee a picture of a tomato and ask tem to duplicate the tomato. Then I would have them change the color of the duplicated tomato to yellow. This gave the trainee hands on experience with the software while also getting them to think about how they were going to accomplish the task. If a trainee had questions I could ask them guiding questions like, “How are you going to select the image of the tomato?” Sometimes the trainee would make the leap and use a lasso tool. Other times they were blank and I knew I needed to go back and reinforce previous lessons.

Becoming comfortable with technology can only be achieved by using it a lot and consistently. For instance, I’m much more comfortable with layout programs like InDesign because most of my tme in pre-press was spent altering layouts. I wasn’t as strong in Photoshop because there wasn’t a huge demand for photo manipulation. When I was required to use it however, I really had to stop and think sometimes because it would be months between needing to use the application.

As far as the NET-S standards, the standard of modeling digital-age work and learning is the standard I’m most familiar with. As a trainer, it was my responsibility to be as familiar with the software and technology as possible. I was never certified by Adobe, but I knew the programs well enough that I oculd help new employees get out of the application what they needed to do their job effectively. I always encouraged trainees to “play around” with the applications when they had the chance. Chances are they would discover something new and maybe it oculd be useful in helping the rest of us do our jobs.