Teachers need to base technology lessons on design principles. When creating and selecting media for the classroom it is appropriate to follow some well thought out guidelines. Scott McCloud's 5 principles lend themselves well to media in the classroom.
2. Introduction
• As we introduce and use digital media in our
classrooms we need to pay attention to design
principles
• as we create media
• when we select media
• when we use media
• It is all about CLARITY.
3. Scott McCloud
• Scott McCloud is a comic artist
• He has written books to teach others how to
create successful comics
• He was the comic artist for Google when his
comics prepared the way for the new browser
Chrome.
• He believes good design comes down to 5
choices: Focus,Frame,Image, Word, Flow
4. Focus
• What exactly do you want to teach?
• What is the focus of the lesson, the image, the
text, the presentation?
• What do you want your students to know at
the end of the session? The presentation?
• Is your message clear at the start?
• What can you leave out?
5. Frame
• What is your angle?
• Are you focussing on detail and complexity or
is it a general overview and contextualisation?
• Is it inclusive?
• Where are the boundaries for today?
• Where does this lesson fit in with the rest of
your narrative?
6. Image
• Are your images inclusive?
• Do you want your images to teach a subtext?
• Are the images crystal clear?
• What kind of atmosphere are you setting?
• Are your images able to contribute to visual
literacy?
7. Word
• What register are you using and why?
• Are you using words which will convey
meaning to students?
• Do you need to include clarification of terms?
• Are you preventing misconceptions?
• Are you captioning when and where you can?
8. Flow
• Are you showing how one thing leads to
another?
• Are you showing how this connects to prior
knowledge, life, the world, other subjects?
• Have you explained which part of the picture
you are in at the moment and where that can
lead?
• Are you making connections with what you
have taught and what comes next?
10. Resources
• A photographer’s frame of mind
• Literacy Today
• A rhetoric of sequential art
• 30 graphic novels in 30 days