The Art of Teaching

Our company, High Concept Design & Media Services is the only Corel Training Partner in western Canada and a continuing education provider for the Architectural Institute of British Columbia.

What does that mean?

It means we position ourselves to provide technology training to our clients on the products that we specialize in using every day. It also means that we spend even more time taking training and applying that knowledge in on a daily basis.

Teaching can be difficult, no question, but it can be just as tough to be a student in a challenging classroom environment.

Everyone has their own favourite approach. I believe in a simple formula for assessing the value of training: a 20/30/50 ratio. At the end of the course, I would like to see the total time allocated as follows:

20% Telling
30% Showing
50% Doing

The instructor definitely has experience and information to impart to the students, but in my opinion nobody can learn a lot by being talked at. Knowledge is generally imparted by modeling/emulating; hence the need to show, but the real knowledge is learned by doing in an environment where it is safe, where there is someone to bail you out.

We learn from classes, online and DVD training, experimentation and even from our clients. The thing to remember when it comes to learning software, especially when you have used previous versions is that likely it still works the way you have done it before, but that does not necessarily mean it is the best practice.

Software companies invest millions of dollars on Research and Development – polling existing clients for most requested features, increasing efficiency and adding to ease of use. I often am left shaking my head when someone uses the new version of software and remarks that it is the same as when they last used it – because they can’t be bothered to investigate the power of the new tools and start applying them to their workflow.

No matter how you learn, investigate user groups, tutorials, online training or sign up for a course. You will likely realize there are powerful capabilities in the software you currently use and tasks you do every day that could unnecessarily be costing you hours.

A couple of online resources I recommend are www.lynda.com and VTC Online. They are both inexpensive and support a huge library of courses. Check out the free chapters they offer on all their courses – you could be smarter than you think you are.

Confessions of a Technology Junkie

I have to admit that I am a technology junkie – I love it. In my view, computers, software and electronics do things that even 50 years ago would have been considered magic.

I love finding software that does things better than I do it today, or solutions that save me time in my daily tasks or help me better communicate with my colleagues and clients.

Technology is also fun – networked PC games like Guild Wars, Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc. One of my favourite ways to blow off steam is to sit in front of my NHL 08 on my 360 and get schooled by some 12 year old half a world away.

Well, finally, I am leveraging my addiction to technology – for good (your benefit) rather than evil (blowing off an evening in front of Raving Rabbids).

High Concept Design & Media Services is hosting our first technology summit: On the Same Page (In a Paperless World)

www.events.highconceptmedia.com

This event will have a handful of guests and will showcase a number of technologies that are available today to help companies to communicate with their clients and colleagues in a more effective manner that they do today.

Topics highlighted will include note-taking and organizing tools, tools for creating traditional art in a digital age, online project management and communication, online meetings and conferencing, representing CAD design in a model environment, 2D and 3D designs to win more business and the efficiency of using digital standards and deliverables.

What we hope to do is showcase a number of products from a number of manufacturers to help architects and engineers to make informed decision about the solutions they can incorporate into their organization to make their lives easier.

At the end of the day, technology is supposed to make your life easier not make you swear at your computer like a drunken sailor.

If you are interested in attending take a look and register – we can show you what all this new fangled technology does and even help you create a plan to integrate it into your workflow.

Artwork - digital vs traditional

Welcome to 2008!

In reviewing my 2007 blogs I noticed a trend in my topics -- a lot of duality. Compare and contrast. Yin and yang.

Apparently, 2008 will be no different from me.

High Concept deals with a lot of architects and we get a lot of feedback about renderings -- the 2 schools, the traditional "Mike Brady" way and the high tech 3d visualization route.

We position ourselves as a 3D modelling company and there is a level of speed and accuracy that comes with that approach, no question about it.

However, a hand rendered piece presented on a nice watercolour paper has a sense of magic to it -- the soft lines and vague shapes invite the potential tenant to bring his or her imagination and dreams to the table to fill out the image.

As a company we are playing with ways to bring both to the table. I have mentioned in a previous blog, that Corel Painter has become my software of choice.

I miss the feel of paper under my fingers, the ink building up on my caloused hand and all those old smells that go with my well-used tools.

...but, I don't miss throwing away ruined art pages! I love how easy it is to experiment and simply "undo" or throw a layer away if it didn't take me closer to my destination.

So, I guess I am going with the best of both worlds -- I put a sheet of paper down on my Intuos tablet to create some friction/resistance for my stylus and choose a product which simulates traditional media perfectly. It also Allows me to incorporate images, patterns, vector shapes, and text while painting with oils/inks/watercolours/chalk on a textured surface.

I don't use masking tape to get a smooth line anymore - click, click, click - draw a mask and paint around that detail easily!

If you like to draw or paint I suggest you check out the free 30-day trial (there is one for both PC and Mac) -- you'll love it (and understand why I rave about it)!

Then when you are asked, digital or traditional -- you can choose both.

Get the trial: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ca/en/Product/1166553886612

Unleashing our thoughts on the inter-web...

Welcome - this will be a place to talk about all things good and wholesome - I am kidding. No, it is time to get creative, and that is why we are here!

High Concept Design & Media Services has created this space as forum to talk about our interests, likes and dislikes, share ideas and generally reach out to like-minded individuals.

We will make every effort to be helpful, funny, creative and as non-corporate in this forum as we can be without generating a lawsuit.

In August of 2007, there are 3 of us at High Concept and we have backgrounds that include comic books, make-up for film and tv, graphic design, professional marketing, physics, emergency medical skills, media development and business management. Our interests include comics, motorcycles, books, movies and tv, animals, Ayn Rand and freedom in a capitalist society.

I am sure we will talk at length about these and other topics - you can learn a little about us from our websites: http://www.highconcept.ca/ and http://www.artkings.ca/

Feel free to jump into the water, it isn't too cold and there are hardly any sharks...

From the crew at High Concept,

Dan, Katie and Jeff