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Course Outline - example

Syllabus

Before the Course

Survey on the background of the participants, expertise and expectations on the course.

Week 1

First contact meeting. Self assessment questionnaire. Presentation of participants, and formation of teams.
The student will get their user accounts to the e-learning environment and discussion boards of the course. Creation of a strategy, electronic voting on the alternatives proposed by instructor and advanced students.
Explanations on the requirements of the course, including legal issues (copyrights) and types of subjects that are not to be covered (images of violent nature, for example); the facilitator can make a short seminar on why to work in pairs and how to use each person's abilities to the maximum extent possible. The lecturing part could be video recorded and posted for later viewing.

Options: Photo Challenge, an online common portfolio, a web-based contest, a virtual photo gallery, etc.
The groups will be able to create, additionally, their own photo portfolio/blog.

Homework: Get familiar with the e-learning environment. Take some nature/scene pictures and add those to the portfolio and link it to the common learning environment for later reviewing.
Add some notes on how the group will manage communication.

Week 2

Theory of photographing, layout design and exclusion, camera settings. Analyze and review the pictures that were posted earlier.

Homework: Take picture applying lesson’s ideas. Review and comment others' team images. Make a list of software that can be used, outline electronically your progress and post a link to the common learning environment to allow critique.

Week 3

Photo editing using graphic design tools, a workshop where the facilitator can monitor the way in which experienced learners can assist the novices and the other way around. Start exploring the availability of publishing possibilities (free software) and the feasibility of finding software that would allow the exhibit of the portfolios of the students at the end of the course. A virtual art gallery can be established in places such as Second Life.

Homework: Select or take image for editing and add both versions to portfolio.

Week 4

Camera settings, (e.g. lightning, white balance, timing, focusing, etc). Macro photography. Analyzing. Comparing different technologies for photo editing, and platforms: using cameras, tablets and other mobile technologies, such as limiting the format to a telephone camera of max. 3mpx. What can be done with such imagery?

Homework: Take images, review and analyze own and others portfolios. Get familiar with learning material in the e-learning environment. Start selecting the best images and brand them according to the editing process, the topic, innovative transformation of the images and authorship. The advanced learner can propose assignments to the novice of another pair and further review the results. This way the pairs can also interact.

Week 5

People and portrait photography. Layout design and exclusion, camera settings and utilization.
Storytelling mini-project: The teams created in week 1 tell a story by sharing/posting photos, writing text, etc. A blog will be created, separate from the portfolios.

Homework: Take portrait images, add to portfolio. Comment and review own and others shots. Write a short entry in the blog about the story your team has chosen. Get familiar with learning material in e-learning environment.

Week 6

Studio photography and adjusting (e.g. lightning setup tips and other conditions).

Homework: Add taken images to portfolio. Comment and discuss. Get familiar with learning material in e-learning environment.
Add images to the blog for the storytelling mini-project, comment on the other teams' stories.
The project must be close to completion and available for others to comment. The instructor must review each weblog/electronic journal and evaluate compliance with the plans that each pair formulated in the beginning of the course.

Week 7-8

Last face-to-face meeting.
Storytelling mini-project is evaluated.
Presentation of the virtual exhibition and revision of the picture selection by each group. Launching the web based gallery or projects. "Opening reception" and gathering with online guests (via net meetings, Skype and remote participations of other types).
The instructor will provide feedback (on content and procedural aspects) electronically, after evaluating also the success of the presentations.

Discuss & brainstorm