As the school year progresses, curriculum can build up, and unfortunately some sections and lessons aren't able to be focused on as much as others. Luckily for Tilton School, they can study all year round, and computer teacher Phillip Creighton thought it'd be a great idea for our students to learn the new skill of Graphic Design. "Many of our summer students have already completed the normal curriculum and I thought that they would really enjoy the chance to be creative with technology" said Phillip.

The graphic design section of the Computer Literacy and Digital Fluency course is much like any course, as students are introduced to the fundamentals, taught about copyright, and where to access and use royalty free/license free images. Then, through the tools that they have available they use a free web-based version of photoshop called Pixlr. Students begin by creating a simple composite image out of two images and gradually learn of new tools and techniques each class. They focus on learning these tools while they choose freely what to create.

Most of the works were drawn from the student's own ideas and inspirations. Some have been inspired by the social climate of the last year, some have been inspired by other images they have seen, and others have just found a cute animal and wanted to make something with it. The students have been very excited to see their work in print and a few have immediately found inspiration to make changes to the work; making another iteration at the next opportunity. Some students have had the opportunity to display their images in their homerooms and in the computer lab! Great job to all students that have learned a new skill!

"Many of the students have found out that they actually like technology and computers where they had previously been hesitant. They find that it's not about the hardware and the 'geeky' things but rather a new way to be creative and express themselves. The most gratifying thing in this was watching the students' own inspirations come to life and seeing their investment in what they were doing growing. The students become sad when class is over, and they still want to keep working on a piece." - Phillip Creighton