Valencia Graphics offers new and more flexible courses

This 2007 summer semester we will be offering a few new course offerings that might be of interest to students and professionals. In attempt to offer more flexibility with our course offerings, ALL of the following courses are being offered totally ONLINE. If you’re not sure if online classes are for you, you might want to review some of LTAD’s resources regarding online courses prior to registering:

• Are distance-learning courses for me?
• How to succeed in an online course?
• Skills Requirements
• Technology Requirements

INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
GRA 2930 – Selected topics
Prerequisites: None

Course Overview
In-depth study of various concepts, methods and techniques currently employed in graphic arts field. Explores state-of-the-art applications through research, experimentation, discussion and demonstration. May be repeated for credit and grade forgiveness cannot be applied.

Who should enroll in Introduction to Software for Graphic Designers?

• Any students or professionals who might have no experience with graphics software but are interested in learning Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Any students who may have struggled learning the software in Digital, Media, and Design will benefit from this course.
• Any students looking to refresh their skills if they have not taken the Digital, Media, & Design course in several semesters.

How is this different than the (GRA 1142) Digital, Media & Design course?

• This course focuses solely on the use of the Adobe Creative Suite software. In comparison to Digital, Media, and Design, which provides equal focus on use of software, design principles, and has more projects.
• Additionally, Introduction to Software for Graphic Designers is only 3 credits, where as Digital Media and Design is 5 credit hours.
• Introduction to Software for Graphic Designers is NOT counted for A.S. degree requirements in graphics.

What will I need to have in order to take this course?

• This course requires access to a personal computer, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, Adobe InDesign CS2 as well as the Adobe fonts that are installed with the software.
• Additionally, students must have access to the internet and high speed broadband connection is recommended.
• Students must purchase the required textbook (Adobe Creative Suite 2 Classroom in a Book) – available in the Valencia East campus Bookstore on-line or from any other sources of your choice.
• WebCT  will be used to deliver material from instructor, submit questions, discussion and submit assignments.

What will I learn in this course?

• This course is an introduction to the Adobe Creative Suite 2 software and design basics to include Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• This course will also involve the development of a final project from concept to production that incorporates usage of the entire Adobe Creative Suite 2 .

INTRODUCTION TO FLASH
GRA 2930 – Selected topics
Prerequisites: None

Course Overview
In-depth study of various concepts, methods and techniques currently employed in graphic arts field. Explores state-of-the-art applications through research, experimentation, discussion and demonstration. May be repeated for credit and grade forgiveness cannot be applied.

Who should enroll in Introduction to Flash?

• Any students or professionals who might have no experience with Flash but are interested in learning how to use the program.
• Any students who may have struggled learning the software in Interactive Design will benefit from this course.
• Any students looking to refresh their skills if they have not taken the Interactive Design course in several semesters.

How is this different than the (GRA 2131) Interactive Design course?

• This course focuses solely on the use of Flash 8. In comparison to Interactive Design, which provides equal focus on use of software, design principles, and has more projects.
• Introduction to Flash is NOT counted for A.S. degree requirements in graphics.

What will I need to have in order to take this course?

• This course requires access to a personal computer and Adobe Flash 8. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are recommended for creation of graphical elements.
• Additionally, students must have access to the internet and high speed broadband connection is recommended.
• Students will purchase the required textbook (Macromedia Flash 8 Revealed) – available in the Valencia East campus Bookstore on-line or from any other sources of your choice.
• WebCT  will be used to deliver material from instructor, submit questions, discussion and submit assignments.

What will I learn in this course?

• This course is an introduction to Flash where students will learn the fundamentals needed to create animations and interactivity for Flash movies. Implementation of sound, video, and actionscript will also be covered.
• This course will also involve the development of a final project from concept to production that incorporates the usage of Flash 8.

(GRA 1149) INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS & LOGICAL THINKING
Prerequisites: None

Provides instruction in methods of logical thought and critical thinking, and employs projects, demonstrations, and group activities designed to enhance students logical thought processes to build standards compliant web pages. Students become familiar with historical and modern tools used to employ critical thinking and basic web programming skills.

This course is a prerequisite for (GRA 2723) CSS Design and (GRA 2143) Advanced Web Design.

Who should enroll in Introduction to Computers & Logical Thinking?

• Any students or professionals who might have no experience with coding a web page using (X)HTML & CSS.
• ALL interactive design degree seeking students. This course DOES count as credit towards the Interactive Design specialization A.S. degree.
• Any students who may or may not have experience with Dreamweaver but are looking to boost their technical web design abilities by learning the power behind the code that builds web pages.

What will I need to have in order to take this course?

• This course requires access to a personal computer, a text editor such as Text Wrangler, BBedit, or Notepad, access to multiple internet browsers to include Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Adobe Photoshop CS2 is recommended for creation and optimization of imagery for the final project.
• Additionally, students must have access to the internet and high speed broadband connection is recommended.
• Students must purchase the required textbook (Head First HTML & CSS) – available in the Valencia East campus Bookstore on-line or from any other sources of your choice.
• WebCT  will be used to deliver material from instructor, submit questions, discussion and submit assignments.

What will I learn in this course?

• This course is an introduction to the logical thinking in regards to web projects where students will learn site planning & mapping, target audiences, usability, accessibility, and web standards. Additionally, students will learn the fundamentals of (X)HTML & CSS.
• This course focuses on the fundamentals needed to build a CSS Positioned layout (NO tables).
• This course will also involve the development of a final web site project from concept to production that incorporates usage of (X)HTML & CSS using a text editor.

Registration is open now for the summer semester. If you have questions feel free to post a comment or email Amanda Kern at akern@valenciacc.edu.