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Thanks for the 2 cents worth matt, definitely the type of thought we all need to be hearing more of!</DIV>
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<DIV>Jane Fischer<BR>Education Programs Teacher<BR> <BR>lab.3000 - leading by design<BR>RMIT University</DIV>
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<DIV>Level 3, 257 Collins Street<BR>Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia <BR>Phone: +61 (0)3 9654 6970<BR>Mobile: +61 (0)412 649 993</DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://www.lab.3000.com.au">www.lab.3000.com.au</A> <BR> <BR>Subscribe to lab.3000's monthly e-newsletter <A href="http://www.lab.3000.com.au/subscribe">www.lab.3000.com.au/subscribe</A> <BR><BR>>>> "Matt Ward" <ezine@youthcentral.vic.gov.au> 15/11/2006 2:52 pm >>><BR></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I never had the chance to study multimedia in high school, nor am I a teacher teaching multimedia, so this years exam does not affect me personally, but I wanted to share my thoughts on some good points Peter raised. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I completed my adv diploma in interactive multimedia a couple of years ago at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Victoria</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. I commenced the course not having any prior knowledge of design or programming ability other than what I had taught myself over countless nights in front of the computer at home. What was surprising was the level of expectation of already acquired design skills elsewhere. The design part (all aspects of good design and visual aesthetics) was really not touched on throughout the entire course. Well, aspects were covered, but no where near enough that I felt qualified & confident enough to apply for a job afterward under the title of a designer. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Incidentally, I am now doing Computer Science at RMIT, because while I felt that my while my design skills weren’t bad, my programming was certainly my strength.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Design should never be under-estimated. It is an area that is essential to multimedia. Without design knowledge, you will always be stuck in the rut of producing run of the mill - ordinary work, regardless of how polished the back-end may be. I have seen it many times now, that the people who make excellent multimedia artists and those who have a solid understanding of design (coming from graphic/visual arts background) and can also adapt to the programmatic side as well.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">So to hear that only 1/5 of assessable material is design related is a bit disappointing. I not having any design theory on the exam is even more of a shame. It sends the message that design isn’t important, which is wrong.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">My 2 cents worth anyway<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Matt Ward<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Interactive Designer<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Youthcentral, Department for Victorian Government<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>_______________________________________________ <BR><A href="http://www.edulists.com.au/">http://www.edulists.com.au </A>- FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe <BR>VET Multimedia Mailing List kindly supported by <BR><A href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au </A>- Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and <BR><A href="http://www.vitta.org.au/">http://www.vitta.org.au </A>- VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc </BODY></HTML>