studio news

I Did It!

Back in January, I set a goal for myself to begin teaching. I thought about creating a Skillshare class or something else online; after all, that is what we surface designers do these days. But, as I assessed the landscape, I realized I didn’t really have a new spin on anything for a Skillshare class (yet) or a masterclass of some sort. I’m still working through what I want to do with all this curriculum design knowledge. I don’t know what that’s going to look like yet beyond this newsletter, so that wasn’t the way. But then, I received two booklets in the mail. They were both for local art schools about their summer programs. Both had digital art classes, but neither had pattern design classes. So, being me, I immediately pitched a pattern design class to the art school with which I had a pre-existing relationship. And they said yes!!!

So, beginning this Fall, I will be teaching pattern design here in Wichita!! I’m super excited. I’ve been designing a workbook and creating basic Procreate brushes and templates for my students to follow along with me so I keep them engaged.

And that, my friends, is exactly what we’ll be talking about this month because the “E” in L.E.A.R.N. is for engagement.

L.E.A.R.N.

E = Engagement

​Last month, we dove into memory and how to harness it to help your students learn. This month, we are taking it a step further and discussing why you should build activities into your courses.

Engaging learners in online classes is crucial. I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve lost count of the number of online classes I’ve taken where I checked out a few minutes in and began scrolling the Internet or spent the entire time just trying to stay awake. This is usually due to a lack of engagement. The most impactful way to counter zone-out is through the use of interactive activities.

In an online setting, these activities not only make learning more dynamic but also help maintain students’ attention, facilitate deeper understanding, and encourage active participation.

3 Reasons Why

1. Enhances Retention and Understanding: Activities in online classes transform passive learning into active learning, where students engage directly with the material. This leads to better retention and understanding of concepts. When students participate in online activities, such as interactive quizzes or discussion boards, they apply what they have learned, reinforcing the material and aiding in long-term retention.
2. Boosts Motivation and Interest: Traditional online lecture-based learning can often lead to disengagement and boredom. Interactive activities break the monotony and introduce variety, which can rekindle students’ interest and motivation. When learners are motivated and interested, they are more likely to invest effort in their studies and achieve better outcomes.
3. Addresses Different Learning Styles: Not all students learn in the same way. Some may be visual learners, others auditory, and some kinesthetic. Online activities can be designed to cater to various learning styles, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to engage with the material in a way that suits them best. This inclusivity can lead to a more equitable and effective learning environment.

So What?

What does all this mean for us as creatives who also teach? Simply put, give your students activities that reinforce the concepts you are teaching and then build on them. Bonnie Christine does a good job of this in her Immersion class. Every lesson has a “Take Action” section included in the accompanying narrative, allowing for hands-on experience with the content.

But let’s be a little more specific, shall we? Let’s say I want to teach students about text tools in Procreate. I’ll use my windowpane activity to break that down into the necessary 4 ± 2 steps. Let’s go with adding, formatting, and editing text. I’ll make sure that each one of those video lessons is 8-10 minutes long, and I’ll have a call to action for each lesson. Something like:

1. Open the wrench menu in Procreate and add the text “hello world” to your canvas.
2. Open the layers menu. Tap the layer with the inserted text and select edit text. Now, highlight “hello” and make it bold.

You get the idea. You could even add multiple activities for each lesson to address the different learning styles. In an online setting, can you guarantee the learner will do the activity? Nope, not even a little bit, but that shouldn’t prevent you from providing the best opportunity for your students to learn your material. If they don’t do the activities, that’s on them.

Long story short … online classes can be extremely boring if all you have is a teacher spewing information at you. As creatives, we are teaching concepts that are intrinsically active! Painting, drawing, and pattern-making are all activities in themselves. If you want your students to truly learn, break up your content into chunks (windowpaning) and give them a task for each concept you teach. Don’t be afraid to pause in the middle; even tell them to hit pause, go do something, and come back. They will. And if they don’t, they weren’t likely to finish anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️.

ARTY STUFF

My First Album Cover

Recently, I had the honor of being sought out to create an album cover for a local jazz guitarist. He even gave me complete creative freedom. The only guidance I had was that the album title was Night Owl. After much research on owls, I settled on the gorgeous and ethereal Kansas Barn Owl. I thought it appropriate that we put Kansas on the cover since he's from Wichita, too. I am quite pleased with the result!

Shareables

Sharing Is Caring

Here are just a few things I've come across that were too good to keep to myself:

• ​Austin Kleon's Show Your Work. This book offers a refreshing perspective on how to show your work online regardless of the size of your following. It’s definitely worth reading.
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• ​Mel Armstrong’s Notion for Pattern Designers Class - If you want a way to organize and keep track of your pattern collections (and singles), I highly recommend Notion for Pattern Designers. I’ll have a review of it coming out in a few months, but I’ve been using Mel’s system for a few months now, and I highly recommend it. You can use my affiliate link to get a free month on Skillshare.
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• ​Kate Burgener’s Interactive PDF service - Most of you lovely readers are artists and educators. Ms. Kate’s skill with interactive PDFs is astounding. If you want effective collateral for your business that's interactive, meaningful, and complements your content rather than just regurgitating it, get with her. Working with Kate is #GOALS for me.

FEATURED BLOG ARTICLE

Why I Wander Aimfully

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If so, choose one of these ways to let me know:

• Option 1: Send this to a fellow creative. Setting your students up for success is simple with the right information. If you know someone seeking to add course creation to their portfolio, send this their way!
• Option 2. Send me a sentence or two about what you enjoyed! I honestly want to hear from you. I don't want to type into the ether. Connect with me. That's more fun!