During the 2002 Winter quarter, I was enrolled in an MLIS core course (LIS 560) on Instructional and Training Strategies for Information Professionals. I completed the term project, creating an Adobe Photoshop training module, which included background materials, a lesson plan, supplemental materials, and an in-class presentation. However, I wanted to extend my learning experience outside the classroom, so I teamed up with Dowell Eugenio, an iSchool staff member, to teach a series of introductory Photoshop workshops. Through the student chapter of ASIS&T, we offered 4 identical sessions at the iSchool: 2 in Winter 2002 and 2 in Winter 2003.

Process

In LIS 560, I selected Photoshop as a vehicle for teaching computer literacy, that is, to equip students with transferable knowledge and skills that will apply in many situations involving a computer, not just one program. I used Photoshop as a means to demonstrate the concepts behind digital graphics, computer architecture, and imaging devices. In developing the lesson plan for the workshops, I covered the theory behind graphics applications rather than simply listing the functions of Photoshop. The workshop activities I designed addressed multiple learning styles, ranging from a crayon coloring exercise (to convey the concepts of pixels & color palettes) to a team scavenger hunt (to de-mystify the user interface).

Using the materials I generated for LIS 560 as a guide, I created a PowerPoint presentation and an activity packet for the workshop. I also received feedback from Lorraine Bruce, my instructor for LIS 560, on the lesson plan. Dowell and I then split up the lesson plan by determining the parts with which we felt we had the most expertise.

The first set of workshops, which we taught in March 2002, were very well received by the workshop attendees. The ASIS&T student chapter asked us to repeat the workshop the following March as well, which were also successful.

Reflection

Through this experience, I learned many valuable and practical skills in teaching that I might not have attained through coursework alone. The workshops provided me with a laboratory in which to experiment with different teaching styles, activities, and methods. And most importantly, the feedback I received from students provided a valuable source of data that gave me a way to review and revise the workshops in real time.

One interesting example of this was a lesson for me on collaborative learning. In the first workshop, the attendees worked alone on the scavenger hunt. I gave them a list of different functions and tasked them with finding the associated command in Photoshop. By the end of the activity, many students were frustrated, but a few were not. I noticed that those who weren't had teamed up with the person next to them and had easily completed the scavenger hunt. In the following sessions, I asked the attendees to work through the exercise with a partner, and the response to the scavenger hunt improved markedly.

What's Next

As a result of these workshops, Dowell and I were approached by the instructors of the Fluency in Technology (FIT 100) distance course to record a segment on Digital Imaging for their NetPoint online videos. The video distilled some of the concepts from our workshops, and we are now reaching a wider audience than we ever expected. In the coming months, Dowell and I will be teaching a new series of workshops on advanced Photoshop skills at the Information School.

Artifacts

• Learner Identification & Needs Analysis
• Lesson Plan & Discussion
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Crayon coloring activity
  • Before
  • After
  • Showcase
• Activity Packet & Cheat Sheets
• A few workshop attendee evaluations