MAKING IT WORK AND JOINING THE 21ST CENTURY
OR - MAKING A SILK PURSE OUT OF A SOW'S EAR (THE FIGHT FOR COMPUTER CLASSROOMS AND GRAPHIC DESIGN SOFTWARE)
OR - LET'S PUT ON A SHOW! MY DAD HAS A BARN (ADAPTING AN ART MAJOR WITH A GRAPHIC DESIGN COMPONENT INTO A PROGRAM THAT CAN GET STUDENTS UP TO COMPETITIVE SPEED USING ONE FACULTY MEMBER)
OR - THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK. IT'S DEER HUNTING SEASON. THERE IS NO MONEY. FROM ALL SIDES, THE COMFORTS AND BLOCKS OF FAMILIAR EXPERIENCE SLOW LEARNING AND CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
Diane Tarter, Associate Professor of Art in Graphic Design, Western Oregon University

Small rural universities have the disadvantage of being located far from metropolitan areas. Many of the students who choose such schools are more comfortable in a small town. They prefer the personal attention they get at a smaller university with its small town atmosphere. Working with this population has its own challenges, not the least of which is making these students aware that they have access to the same visual communications as people at bigger, richer schools. Is their visual literacy different? If so, why?

In addition to the sensibility of the students, the university can be slow to change. In my case, it started with adapting a traditional fine art program (with a struggling and under-supported graphic design component) to provide skill acquisition and practical training that allows students to become competitive.

At the educational summit I shared examples of student work from courses that, through necessity of limited course offerings and small faculty, combine training sessions with design theory and content development. I foresee changes in the structure of course offerings that will allow students more flexibility. This set of changes is in the proposal stage. If successful it will provide the next step for these students to live 21st Century possibilities and potential, rather than looking at them as a distant abstractions.

 

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