Innovations & Improvements 

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I was actively engaged in departmental initiatives to improve the classroom, student experience and the overall understanding of the Foundations department within the school. As the Digital Color Theory (FNDA150) co-SME, I worked with colleague Professor Rachael Gorchov in rewriting the course to meet Pinnacle project expectations. This included:

 

• scripting overview videos 

• rewriting/revising current lectures

• writing new lecture materials

• scripting and recording assignment overview videos

• scripting and recording Illustrator tutorial videos for each project

• video editing

 

In addition to my responsibilities as a co-SME, I completed the following Departmental initiatives:

• Developed a Faculty survey to accompany the annual Institutional Effectiveness report. 

• Developed a series of 6 informational videos (right) to include with the Faculty survey that give a broad overview of each course so faculty are more familiar with the scope of AFS courses. This included a complex slide presentation with classroom snapshots, project overviews, rubric breakdowns, and student examples. The result of this was improved faculty understanding that led to a more effective data set from the accompanying survey that could be used in planning future department initiatives. 

 

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I was heavily involved in the departmental initiatives to improve the classroom and student experience.  These improvements were focused on efforts to improve student retention, persistence and comprehension in addition to allowing for higher student enrollment with minimal impact on the faculty.  As the Color Theory (FND111/115 FNDA150) Subject Matter Expert, I led a team in improving lecture content, refining weekly assignments, developing better page layout to access readings, and developing the Help Center.  The course revision for Color Theory included:

 

• refining eleven projects

• creating seven exams

• designing multiple examples for each assignment

• redesigning templates for each weekly A2

• rewriting and developing numerous lecture pages

 

As a result of my efforts as the SME, the retention and persistence numbers for Color Theory students have had improved and was recognized departmentally and by our Dean.  

 

In addition to my responsibilities as the SME, I completed the following in 2014:

 

• Professor Rachael Gorchov and I developed a series of Design Templates for use in each weekly A3.  Professor Gorchov and myself vetted these templates in our own classroom and in Fall 2014, they were added to the courses.  The design templates help our students achieve better presentations that reflect the expectation of industry standards.  (example top right)

• Professor Gorchov and I also collaborated on a workshop for ground faculty who are transitioning to the new Digital Color Theory course (FNDA150).  This workshop was recorded and is used for training purposes within the Art Institutes.

• Developed fifteen new video tutorials to support the revised assignments and address weekly lecture content. (example bottom right)

• Developed a series of graphics that are now placed in my initial posts.  The goal was to encourage students to pay more attention to the important information included in the initial posts and establish a better branding for my classroom.  This, combined with the new function of embedding videos in the discussion thread, have helped to make my classroom more visually interesting. (example top right)