What do you think of Graphic Communication?
1:41 pm on the 26th of July, 2007I’ve had a post brewing for a while, I wanted to gauge opinion before I posted it though.
First of all, I really liked the course when I sat it, I enjoy teaching all of the aspects of it. All of the time though I have a nagging question eating at me: what is the point of Graphic Communication?
I have a few reservations about the course’s relevance to the people who sit it. I’d love to get involved in a discussion about its future, its validity in today’s world, the appropriateness of its content.
If you have any opinions about the course please get in touch. I’m going away for a week on Saturday so there won’t be much noise from me until after that but I’d still really like to know if there are any strong opinions out there.
Tags: Graphic-Communication, opinion
July 26th, 2007 at 6:48 pm on the 26th of July, 2007
Hi Stuart
We have decided not to teach Graphics.
The reasons for this are many fold but its mainly the fact that it is a skills based course rather than a design based course.
Skills a very relevent when your teaching for a specific, vocational, course but the SQA says Graphics i a non-vocational course.
Therefore what is t trying to achieve?
If it was a design based course in which pupils were predominately expected to produce to a brief then I would be very interested in the course.
I will be very interested in what others have to say
Ian
August 30th, 2007 at 11:24 am on the 30th of August, 2007
I have many issues with the current Graphic Communication course and its lack of relevance to the changing needs of work environments.
I think we have almost reached the point where manual board skills could be replaced by a more productive sketch and 3D model product design style course. This of course then leads to thoughts of merging the Product design course with graphic communication to form a design-driven graphics course….
There seems to be something missing from the course ethos at the moment- I can sketch and object, I can manually draw the object, I can produce schematics and advertising for it, and then what? I cant make it!! I can (if Im lucky) use my Inventor to make a fairly realistic 3D representation, but too few schools have got to this stage of hardware and software, mainly because the SQA does not demand this level of work.
Id love to tag a manufacture stage on to the end as an optional module…
September 1st, 2007 at 6:46 pm on the 1st of September, 2007
Thanks for taking the time to comment Stuart.
Interesting to me is that the idea of design forming a larger part of the course has come up again, it seems to be a common feeling among teachers.
I too would like to have some opportunity for realising the designs, one thing that is missing in Scottish schools compared to England is CAM. Yes it is expensive but it’s one way that a course could give a more holistic view of the design process, and it would teach manufacturing processes in a way that doesn’t overlap with existing craft courses.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:44 pm on the 26th of November, 2007
Hi
An interesting set of comments. If you would like to explore CAD/CAM from 3D modelling or 2D environments (and are in Scotland) further then contact me at Moray House , DT programme.
Kenny
Programme Coordinator - get my details on Moray House Staff details online
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