High School is Outfitted with New Media Lab

Medfield High School's Art department has been outfitted with a brand new Digital Medial Lab. The newly designed space has been set up with new computers with a much improved capability for image and video editing. The lab is overseen by Art instructor Mr. Chris Faust, who is excited by the possibilities that this new lab allows for. All students who are enrolled in one of the digital art courses have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. The Adobe CC has many apps including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Premiere Pro, which allows for professional editing capabilities.

Package design by Graphic Design Students

Mr. Faust teaches Graphic Design I and II, Video I and II, Illustration, and Photo II. He states that "Having this new technology  is a game-changer because it challenges our students on a professional level. My hope is that the students get a solid appreciation of what goes into digital image creation so they are more engaged in the process of creating digital work, not just the end result."

image by F. McCarthy

image by J. Woodard

The digital Art courses give students the opportunity to work both independently and collaboratively on a variety of problem solving scenarios that mirror real-world design and production projects. Currently, students in Graphic Design II are building upon their technology and design skills in Graphic Design I to create product and packaging design, an essential skill for business advertising and marketing. Video students are learning about camera operation, direction, and editing by using the software to reproduce well-known scenes from movies. Illustration students are re-interpreting fairy tales to bring them into a contemporary context. Mr. Faust acts as an art director to change parameters of assignments so that the students can practice on the software to make changes to their work according to his requests. Mr. Faust is just as excited as the students to teach in this brand-new space. He states: "The most important benefits of the having the current technology is the increased engagement and the significant quality of the work."

Sketchbook Initiative at Blake Middle School

Great news! The MCPE has generously donated the funds to provide hardcover sketchbooks to all students in the sixth grade. They will be distributed during Art classes the week of September 24th. 

Sketchbooks help to develop visual awareness and can be used across all disciplines to communicate ideas and make observations. Potentially, students could use them in all content areas-- MakerSpace,  Explorations, Art class, in Science labs, Math class, etc...

The Art department has written this grant with the goal for students to record, plan, reflect, and develop plans in a visual journal. This helps students to work independently to visually brainstorm ideas.

The intention is to provide a grade-free, judgement-free space for students to personalize their learning.

It is the hope that by using these sketchbooks students will:

• Brainstorm

• Document progress

• Experiment

• Reflect

• Articulate and incubate ideas

• Use as a personal learning space

• Make mistakes

• Plan out designs/rough drafts/ inventions/ design thinking

• Sharpen observational skills

• Visual evidence of student learning-- possible inclusion in student digital portfolio

HERE is an article about how drawing is the best way to learn, even if you don't consider yourself an artist.

Thank you MCPE for your donation to provide this important learning tool!