Soon I will be teaching online courses, starting with Photoshop 101.
This will be a course for beginners only.
UPDATE Jan 21, 2010…see bottom of message.
I have been teaching intro and intermediate college courses at a local private art college for a while now and most recently I presented three workshops at the Art Educators Forum on using more creative techniques in Photoshop, using CMS to create simple websites for the visual artist, and tips and tricks for the ultimate portfolio. I found that each situation other than my ‘intro’ college course, required students to have prior knowledge of the software. But the average knowledge level of Photoshop and digital art in all levels [college students and primary/secondary educators alike] was lower than needed for such courses. In every teaching setting I have had, I have been given only between 5 hours to 8 hours to ‘teach’ Photoshop. Nearly an impossible task if the students are to leave with any worthwhile skills or understanding.
I enjoy teaching Photoshop -a lot- I love seeing people struggle with their fears of the program and being ‘creative’ with a computer, overcoming such limitations and then watching them experience the moment where it all ‘clicks’. There’s nothing like helping someone become more creative, to understand something that has been eluding them, to make them more comfortable with the computer and to believe in themselves. I’m not saving the world, but some days I feel like I’ve done a really good deed; especially when their future or even current careers depend on Photoshop in some fashion.
So, I’ve decided to start teaching online Photoshop classes on my own. I decided to do an intro course because it is those that I feel I can help most, beginners. If you are already comfortable with the program you can find tons of tutorials and information for free online. There won’t be an ‘instructor’ of course, but honestly, once you’re comfortable inside Photoshop and are good with learning on your own, the rest is how far you are willing to push yourself and test out each of the tools/options. Depending on how things go and if there is demand for it, I may introduce a second course, but for now I just want to focus on the introductory course.
So, ever wish you could learn Photoshop but have been too intimidated to take a traditional class or not able to afford a course from local universities or local training facilities? Know someone in this situation? Course sizes will be kept small; there will be no ‘grading’ but there will be full critique and feedback on each project. In addition to learning Photoshop, there will be lessons on digital art theory and practices. The course will be designed for those with or without an “art” background and will run for 5 weeks.
Come back soon for additional details such as lesson topics, schedule, costs, materials provided and required, and most importantly how to sign up!
Update: Due to a few recent changes the course will not be offered latter this month as I had initially planned. I began taking business and investing classes in November and it has taken a great deal of my time. But the training is nearly over and I will be back on schedule soon. At this time a good deal of the course is ready BUT GOOD NEWS, I received CS4 over the holidays and will be updating the material to cover the CS4 material. Look for more information on the course in the Spring of 2010 and I will do a better job keeping this site updated with it’s progress. Thank you for your patience!
