Demonstrating Tools in Familiar Context

The course narration opens by explaining a common error students make when constructing a logo using tools in Illustrator. It then leads students through a smarter way of using the tools – one that creates a simpler file that avoids printing problems. I recorded myself using the tool to construct a logo. I use the designs of former students to show how the tool works in the very specific context of their current assignment (explained a few classes before they watch this tutorial). The star-shaped logo assignment is the first major assignment of the course, and I find that sometimes students get overwhelmed by the task. But they feel more at ease when I break down the construction of a logo, showing them that even sophisticated logos are built step-by-step from simple shapes.

Quizzes That Simulate Software

At the end of each tutorial, students are asked to practice what they learned through a software-simulation-style quiz. The slides show a screen shot of the Adobe environment. Student are instructed to click on the appropriate place on the screen to select the shapes, activate tools, and merge the shapes. I use the software demo feature of Adobe Captivate to create these click-able quizzes.