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K
kerris5211152
Inspiring
April 18, 2018
Answered

What is the reading level of Adobe Digital Art Products?

  • April 18, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1519 views

I am an educator that teaches Digital Art at in high school (grades 9-12). I mainly use Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere. I am wondering what grade level reading proficiency a student would need to be successful using these adobe products. For instance a newspaper is written for a 6th grade reading level. Any help would be very appreciated.- K

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    Correct answer kerris5211152

    I am looking for a reading level of the text in apps. Thanks, this helped me define my problem more clearly.

    2 replies

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    April 19, 2018

    Hmm, if we’re talking about the reading level of the text in the apps, those words have a level. But how about kern, matte, or dodge. These are specific technical usages that nobody would expect a well educated adult to know unless they were working in a profession that used the language. In the same way, for example, “histogram” need not be understood in advance or actually at all, except as a label for a function.... reading level is not so much about vocabulary (it seems to me) as about taking meaning from increasingly complex expressions. No caption in an app is going to be like trying to read a contract, medical textbook, or theological treatise. 

    K
    kerris5211152Author
    Inspiring
    April 19, 2018

    Point taken-"histogram" may not been a good example. I teach the technical concepts-kern, leading, dodge and burn, tone, contrast, layers, layer masks... and I expect to teach those. If I ask a student, "go to the TOP PULL DOWN-IMAGE-ADJUSTMENTS" and the word "adjustment" is something they can't read/spell I have a dilemma...

    K
    kerris5211152AuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    April 19, 2018

    I am looking for a reading level of the text in apps. Thanks, this helped me define my problem more clearly.

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    April 18, 2018

    These are not apps you can pick up like a newspaper, or poke at like Microsoft Word. Each one is a professional tool, and effective use requires training in its both its use and its context. But I imagine you know that, and are looking for something to put on an official form. That's a tricky one: I don't think there is a lower age limit for being able to learn to use them. Really, you might as well ask the reading level of a set of carpentry tools.

    K
    kerris5211152Author
    Inspiring
    April 18, 2018

    Thanks for the response-this one is really tricky for me! My thinking is there is a reading level for vocabulary such as; invert, isolate, adjustments, adaptive, histogram, measurement, extensions...I just don't know the level. And yes, I am looking for something for an official form. I can differentiate instruction using the visual icons but that only gets me to a singular point before the reading becomes a necessity.

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 19, 2018

    The Adobe Classroom in a Book series are as close to an official source of documentation for the Adobe apps as we can get nowadays.  By the nature of their titles, I am wondering if the Classroom in a Book series might even have a guide as to a reading proficiency level requirement?

    It's probably not the easiest of things to search for, but Amazon is a favourite source of such information because of the very high number of user reviews it tends to have.  The very fist comment in this Photoshop CC 2017 CIAB contains the sentence:

    Except for the unrealistic time estimates, the books were obviously written by people with real experience in pedagogy, with one lesson building on the next, no missing steps, and lots of little forays into advanced topics so you know what you might want to explore further. DON'T buy this book if you aren't going to download the lesson files and do the lessons, because the book is about those files and those lessons.

    I confess that I had to look up the word pedagogy although the context above makes it reasonably clear.   As for the actual applications, there are bound to be a number of unavoidable technical terms, but I am sure you could find or produce a glossary to demystify them.  We have several trainers among our regular posters like jane-e  and BarbBinder and I expect they will be happy to share their experience regarding their trainee's grasp of Adobe-Speak. 

    On a less positive note, I have run Photoshop workshops at  several Photographic Society of New Zealand National Conventions, and I found trying to cover a subject in the two hour time slot a bit of a nightmare. In two instances, the organisers insisted on a hands on approach with each attendee sitting in front of a computer, and this slowed down the class to the lowest common denominator.  Some people had ignored the advice and recommended requirements and turned up as complete beginners.  My preferred approach is to provide handouts to the class, so they can work through at their own pace afterwards, and contact me if they get stuck.  It can come down to knowing what the possibilities are — you wouldn't know to search for a tutorial on Content Aware Fill for instance, if you didn't know it existed. 

    I don't know if that helps?

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