Contents Page

Page 01 Learning Outcome 01. Understand the purpose and use of resources in own specialist area. Pages 02-03 Learning Outcome 02. Be able to develop and use inclusive resources in own specialist area. Page 04 Learning Outcome 03. Understand how to organise and enable access to resources. Page 05 Learning Outcome 04. Understand legal requirements and responsibilities relating to the development and use of resources. Page 06 Learning Outcome 05. Be able to evaluate own practice in relation to development and use of resources in own specialist area. Pages 07-08 Bibliography.

1

Learning Outcome 01. A. The purpose of educational resources is to support the teaching, learning and assessment within any given specialist area. Resources are not explicitly defined, in that they do not have to typically be a physical object; they can take many forms, such as a new way of delivering a plenary to attending an educational study visit. However, within Art & Design, specifically within digital media subjects such as Graphic Design and Photography, the most valuable and widely used resource is the computer, more precisely, it is the specialist software packages. The most fundamental software resource is the Adobe Creative Cloud suite; this is a collection of various editing, developing, publishing and organisational applications aimed at creatives. For graphic design and photography learners, the most commonly used programs are Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. This computer dependent resource is not without its limitations and potential threats, as within most educational institutes the computers run on an internal server and are by their very nature reliant on electricity. For any one of these systems to fail would be detrimental to the learner’s progress. With the Adobe package, its primary limitation is its cost; educational institutes purchase bulk licences, which allows the software to be installed on all campus computers. Now historically, if learners wanted to access the same software on their home computers, they would have to purchase it. Currently the Adobe package is accessed via a paid monthly subscription, for an individual, the cost would be £49.94 per month1. This evidenced a social-economical divide, where learners from higher financial backgrounds, could get an advantage over their peers who were from lower income families. Most institutes now have extended licences, which allow their learners to access the Adobe package at home for free. Fareham college provides this, which is open to all learners2 and not just those within the creative industries. This clearly supports and evidences full inclusivity. B. Teaching learners how to use these applications can be approached a number of ways; for example, certain processes can be demonstrated where the task is to creatively interpret and adapt them for a specific task. This can evolve into a workshop, where a measurable outcome is provided, where the learners are expected to deconstruct it and experiment with emulating its visual appearance. However, the popularity of Adobe applications, such as Photoshop and Illustrator have led to a wealth of online video tutorials. As of 26/05/18, the YouTube search term ‘Photoshop Tutorials’ yielded approximately 8,720,000 results. These online tutorials provide full visual and audio instructions, which can further support a differentiated learning approach and evidence an effective and adaptable resource.

1 Adobe.com. (2018) Creative Cloud Pricing and Membership Plans 2 @farehamcollege. (2018) Untitled Twitter Feed – 4:31 AM - 18 Apr 2018

2

Learning Outcome 02. A. A resource that I have developed and tailored to meet my learner’s specific needs and requirements is my Scheme of Work. Traditionally, this document provided an overview of the term, highlighting unit start and end dates, key assessment points and perhaps a resource guide and it would only be viewed by the teachers delivering that course. I have constructed a more thorough document, where I have incorporated a lot of elements from a lesson plan, such as Learning Outcomes, Equality & Diversity, Homework and Directed Independent Study Tasks. A major development in my SOW has been its access, I now issue it to all learners so they are fully aware of the syllabus and what is expected. Part of this development, has been the language and readability, where the structure needs to be clear and logical. To support this, the learning outcomes incorporate Blooms ‘Higher Order Thinking’ verbs and there is a colour coding system to emphasise levels of importance. B. In my specialist area, learners engage in visual research to inform their work and practice. Predominantly, this is conducted online, where established practitioners, artists and craft makers are examined; whilst this is encouraged, it only evidences an overall secondary visual research approach. To further this and to encourage a fully immersive experience, taking the learners on study visits to museums and galleries is beneficial in supporting their needs and preferences in visual acquisition. C. To support the development and design of an inclusive curriculum, a focus group of learners can provide feedback on what resources are working. By selecting a diverse range of learners from different backgrounds, their input can be used to inform differentiated resource strategies. This can be strengthened by conducting learner feedback and questionnaires to ascertain the resources effectiveness. D. Another resource that I have developed and encourage all learners to adopt, is the use of online blogs to document their learning, research, experimentation and development. Within Art & Design, the use of ‘sketch books’ are typically used to contain this evidence; however, the cost and potential vulnerability of these physical artefacts were deemed unnecessary and illogical for learners whose work is predominantly digital. Using an online ‘learning log’ allows for wider inclusivity; for example, if a learner misplaced or forgot their ‘sketch book’, their work could be hampered, whereas an online learning log provides security, coupled with the ability to remote access their work anywhere where there is an internet connection. Cost and waste were other contributing factors; an A3 sketchbook is approximately £12 and dependent on how many are used, the financial impact could become an issue. Utilising a blogging service, such as Wordpress is free, thus freeing the learner from any further monetary worry, coupled with being environmentally friendly through eliminating unnecessary paper wastage.

3

As the learners have an established understanding of web-based products such as social media, their overall IT and internet literacy is of a good standard. When their blogs were created, they quickly established a network, where they started to follow each other and in some cases RSS feeds were initiated. One learner started to experiment with ‘speech-to-text’ software, which enabled them to directly input their dictation into a blog post. This was positive and evidenced how this resource could be adapted to cater for the individual needs and requirements. Blogging also provides a more efficient way of checking plagiarism; typically, teachers can detect when a learner has plagiarised, through noticing change in grammar and polysyllabic usage. However, with the work presented electronically, plagiarising testing systems, like ‘Turnitin’ can be used. Alternatively, a sample of the suspected text can be pasted into Google with “Smart Quotes”, which will then search for that exact sample. On the topic of copyright, I delivered a dedicated workshop on copyright protected imagery and the use of royalty free stock images, specifically the variances of the Creative Commons Licence. E. Aside from being an educational resource, study visits also serve as a marketing tool for perspective learners. In college and university prospectuses you can typically find oversea study visits being used as a lure; for example, in the current 2018-19 Fareham College Careers Manual (P34), it states for the L3 Diploma in Art & Design that ‘You will also be able to take part in a residential study visit – previous destinations have included Lisbon, Budapest, Berlin, Florence and St Ives.’3 A previous year did indeed take part in an exciting study visit to New York, where they attended the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) and other galleries. Whilst this is an amazing opportunity, what is not made clear is the cost to the learner. A trip to New York could be in the region of £1000; suddenly this exciting resource becomes a financial divide between learners and extinguishes any established inclusivity. To ensure that study visits are truly inclusive the financial resources of the learners need to be assessed. Through new emerging technologies, there could be an alternative to costly physical study visits; virtual reality systems such as Google’s Cardboard4 headset, in conjunction with Google Expeditions5 will allow the learners to take part in immersive virtual trips all over the world. F. A resource that I use frequently is an application called ‘Lanschool’, this is a ‘digital classroom management system’, that is installed on all of the classroom computers. This enables me to monitor, control, administer and perform other duties via the internal network. Primarily the application is used to monitor the learners as they work, which supports assessment methods. It also allows the learners to send live messages to me, which is ideal in fostering a stronger dialogue and supporting learners who may require discretion. 3 Fareham College: 2018-19 Careers Manual 4 VR.Google. (2018). Google Cardboard – Google VR 5 Google Play. (2018). Expeditions – Apps on Google Play

4

Learning Outcome 03. A. Such as those previously discussed, there are many different types of learning resources; as well as study visits, SOW’s and video tutorials, demonstrations, work-shop handouts, lectures, classroom posters, specialist technology and even the tutor all add to form a broad range of differentiated resources. The majority of which have been created on a computer, therefore have a digital presence and can be easily stored and archived. Located on internal servers within educational institutes, there will be centralised repositories in place, which allow files to be categorised and stored for access amongst staff. Typically, most resources such as lesson plan templates, SOW’s and other administrative forms, are accessible by all staff. Then within specialist areas, there may be shared drives containing resources pertinent to specific subjects, where access is only granted to certain staff. The main limitation to these internal servers/drives is that the data can only be accessed whilst on campus; this is dependent on the institutes access policy, where if in place, staff and students could remotely access their personal and shared drives via a Virtual Personal Network Connection (VPN). To supplement this, using Cloud based storage could promote wider access to staff that are working off-site. B. The distribution of these resources can take many forms, from physical handouts to emailing the data; increasing the accessibility of resource material is paramount in ensuring the data is easily accessed by all staff and learners. For my practical workshops, I prepare instructional based handouts for the learners. These handouts contain the learning objectives, requirements, specifications and overall instructions, coupled with a measurable visual target on the reverse. At the start of the lesson, the physical handouts are distributed to the learners, where the data is then presented and deconstructed. Then utilising ‘Lanschool’, I can then send a PDF version to each of the learner’s virtual drive for their own storage, this is further supported by a group email with the handout attached. This resource now has one physical and two digital locations, which allows for a near total access. An important system for sharing data and resources is an institutes Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), these are web-based platforms, which are primarily used to organise, archive and share material, provide an overview of the syllabus and in some cases can be used to access learner information, such as progress, targets and achievement. However, it has been noted that learners take the initiative and further disseminate this data and resources via social media. This has been accomplished via group Facebook pages, where they upload PDF documents, post discussions and engage in real-time communication. Even though a VLE can provide this, there is a reluctance for the learners to fully engage in another online system.

5

Learning Outcome 04. A. When developing resources, educators need to be aware of copyright law and dependent on the sector, possibly broadcasting law. When creating visual presentations, what images can you use? For example, if you are putting together a slide show about an artist, you can use their artwork, as long as they are clearly credited, which you would do anyway to contextualise the work. But, what about generic images of objects, landscapes or people to illustrate a presentation, can you just pluck some random image of the web? Well the answer is no, you most likely will be breaking copyright law where the author of the work has not given their permission, regardless if it is for non-profit educational purposes. To support the development of resources, institutes will most likely hold a number of licenses with various organisations, which permit them to use a range of materials for their resources needs. An example would be a company called ‘Shutterstock’6, which is a Royalty Free image library that allows members to browse, download and use a variety of images. As of 27/05/18, Shutterstock currently have 197,478,414 royalty-free stock images, which should cater for most educational needs. At the time of writing this essay, UK law surrounding data protection has just undergone a dramatic transformation. Up until the 25th May 2018, the governing legislation was known as the ‘Data Protection Act 1998’7. Its primary function was to protect personal data that was stored via analogue and digital systems, it also allowed individuals legal rights to control their personal data. This act has now been replaced with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As educators, this legislative reform, should not drastically alter our already established best practices for handling personal and sensitive data. We should already be safeguarding our learner’s data, specifically information of a sensitive nature, such as medical notes pertaining to mental or physical disabilities. However, part of this new legislation grants the ‘Data Subject’ (who the information is about) more power about how their data is stored and processed. Specifically, Chapter 3, Section 47 grants the Data Subject the ‘Right to erasure or restriction of processing’. If requested, all information pertaining to the subject will need to be accounted for and erased; so, any paper files, digital copies on flash drives, home computers or back-up drives will need to be checked and the subject’s data cleared. B. In terms of developing and creating resources, it is common practice for an educational employer to retain copyright of any material created by the employee. For example, lectures, handouts, SOW’s and in some cases, research and artwork can be withheld by the employer and used for marketing, training or dependent on the circumstances, even commercialisation. 6 Shutterstock.com. (2018) Stock Photos, Royalty Free Images and Vectors 7 Legislation.gov.uk. (2018) Data Protection Act 1998

6

Learning Outcome 05. A. As a creative educator and practitioner within the graphic arts, I am primarily concerned with visual aesthetics; the composition, typography, colour and overall readability of my resources is a priority. As stated in Learning Outcome 03, my workshop handouts contain the learning objectives, requirements, specifications, overall instructions and visual targets. The layout of these are clean and logical, each section is clearly identifiable and the language has been processed by a SMOG readability checker. These have been developed over two terms, where feedback from learners had been sought to ascertain their effectiveness. Learner feedback has also been utilised when structuring and interpreting UAL’s unit assignments; it was expressed by a number of learners that the ‘Assessment Criteria’ for each unit was sometimes confusing. To remedy this, I created an ‘evidence sheet’ which translates the ‘Assessment Criteria’ and proposes methods on how to evidence each criterion. B. An area for improvement would be my need for total creative control; part of best practice is to share resources amongst colleagues to promote and enhance the overall teaching experience. In the past, my resources have been adapted and used by colleagues, where their attentiveness to detail has not been on par with my own. This caused me irritation, where I wanted to advise them on how best to format the document to their requirements, whilst adhering to my visual design. Upon reflection, I know that my resource has been recognised and accepted as an ideal template, so I just need to overlook possible visual discrepancies. C. Reflecting on feedback from a recent observation, there are a few areas within my teaching practice that require improvement, it is mainly my approach to disciplinary procedures. Deconstructing my syllabus, I’ve noticed that it is solely concerned with the delivery of workshops and lecturers pertinent to the core subject. Now whilst it is encouraged that sub-topics such as Equality & Diversity, Prevent, Fundamental British Values etc. are embedded into every lesson, I propose that dedicated sessions are encouraged to focus solely on such topics. The relevance of this to my lack of enforcing discipline, is that I have recently signed-up to Barclays ‘Life Skills’8 program, it is envisioned that through delivering dedicated workshops, both learner and myself can develop and foster a stronger mutual respect. With lessons such as ‘Identifying workplace behaviours and values’ the potential for developing personal, communicative and life skills is great, coupled with enhancing employability skills, which would feed into the learners Work Experience ‘WEX’ programme. Moving forward, there are many opportunities to pursue in developing my personal skillset, both in my teaching and art practice. Short-term goals are to action the points from my lesson observations and to write a new SOW to incorporate the Barclays ‘Life Skills’ lessons, Long-term, I will still procrastinate about my aim of starting a PHD. 8 Barclayslifeskills.com. (2018). LifeSkills – Developing work and life skills

7

Bibliography

Specifications/Prospectus Fareham College: 2018-19 Careers Manual3 Websites @farehamcollege. (2018). Untitled Twitter Feed – 4:31 AM - 18 Apr 2018 https://twitter.com/FarehamCollege/status/986567979801473025 [Accessed 18 May. 2018]2 Adobe.com. (2018). Adobe Creative Cloud for Students and Teachers Available at: http://www.adobe-students.com/uk/creativecloud/buy/students.html [Accessed 12 May. 2018] Adobe.com. (2018). Creative Cloud Pricing and Membership Plans Available at: https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/plans.html [Accessed 12 May. 2018]1 Barclayslifeskills.com. (2018). LifeSkills – Developing work and life skills Available at: https://www.barclayslifeskills.com/ [Accessed 27 May. 2018]8 Google Play. (2018). Expeditions – Apps on Google Play Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.vr. expeditions [Accessed 18 May. 2018]5 GOV.UK. (2018). Data Protection Act 2018 Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/data-protection-act-2018 [Accessed 25 May. 2018] ICO. (2018). Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/ [Accessed 22 May. 2018] Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Data Protection Act 1998 Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents [Accessed 24 May. 2018]7 Out-Law.com. (2018). New Data Protection Act finalised in the UK Available at: https://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2018/may/new-data-protection-act-finalised-uk/ [Accessed 26 May. 2018]

8

Pexels.com. (2018). Free Stock Photos Available at: https://www.pexels.com/ [Accessed 17 May. 2018] Shutterstock.com. (2018). Stock Photos, Royalty Free Images and Vectors Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/home [Accessed 20 May. 2018]6 VR.Google. (2018). Google Cardboard – Google VR Available at: https://vr.google.com/cardboard/ [Accessed 19 May. 2018] 4 Warren, T. The Verge. (2017). Apple reveals Windows 10 is four times more popular than the Mac Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/4/15176766/apple-microsoft-windows-10-vs-mac-users-figures-stats [Accessed 22 May. 2018]