What is Digital Media Arts? An elective taught by Mr. Vaughn that allows students to explore art using our laptops. This elective is good for students who are considering graphic designing as a future career choice.
This elective is interesting because it allows you to put down your creative ideas. We are shown how to work with different software that is used for digital art. An example of this is adobe Photoshop where students can edit or create their own photos.
Another fun skill students learn in Digital Media Arts is learning how to use tools on those platforms, when we use things like adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator we are introduced to special techniques to help us develop our images.
“The most enjoyable part was definitely learning how to use apps like Photoshop. I might not have always liked the assignment but it was definitely fun learning how to create and alter photos and digital art,” said Amaiya Barnes a student at New Hartford High School.
This elective helps students understand more about using digital art and develop a more broader knowledge about the history and hard work artists put in their graphic designs.
“I really enjoy helping students learn something totally new. In my Digital Media Arts class, we focus on two of the Adobe programs, Photoshop and Illustrator. Many of these students have some Photoshop background (or something similar) but almost no one has used Adobe Illustrator! That means we all get to learn something brand new together, and that’s always a fun thing for a teacher to experience. It is truly amazing how fast everyone picks it up and I am always impressed by the great design work they are able to create in such a short amount of time, ” said Mr. Vaughn art teacher at New Hartford High School.
Mr. Vaughn, an art teacher at New Hartford High School, does an amazing job with directing and teaching the students how to put their creative ideas on their screen. I believe that its very interesting looking at the artwork of different students especially when it’s the same assignment because it shows different artistic views.
“I’ve always loved art but this was definitely one of the classes that made me want to have a career in digital arts,” replied Amaiya Barnes.
Along with learning more about using electronic devices for art, this class also helps kids receive new knowledge about their digital devices. This helps students because we now use electronic devices on an everyday basis for school, careers, etc.
My favorite unit in digital media arts was our first unit: we learned how to make a cheeseburger using Photoshop. This was interesting to me because it was fun putting my creative ideas on a simple project and making it look unique.
“The technology changes constantly! Adobe is always releasing new tools and techniques; it’s really hard to keep up and try to teach the most up-to-date methods,” said Mr. Vaughn.
For students who enjoy the more artistic and creative side of learning, this class is for you. It’s also a great class for students who areconsidering a future career in graphic design.