El Camino High School's Digital Media Pathway is a series of career technical education (CTE) classes that focus on digital media arts. The program features graphic design (marketing and advertising through images that have been digitally produced and enhanced), and web design (production of online content aimed at selling or promoting products or services).

The sequence of courses forms what's called a "pathway" which, when completed, shows you how to become a freelance designer capable of starting your own business or working at a professional design agency. Either way, it has the potential to start you on a very successful and lucrative career.

Grading Policy

Each assignment has clear expectations and a defined due date. If the student does not turn in the assignment by that date, the highest possible grade that you could get on that assignment goes down one letter grade each business day. If a student has excused absences for days that we worked on the project in class, they have that many days to make up the assignment with no penalty.

For example: If something is due on a Thursday and you turn it in on a Monday, the best you can get on it is a "C" because it is two business days late (weekends don't count).

If you are missing an assignment and believe that you already completed it, it is your responsibility to contact me via email ([email protected]) to get that fixed.

Google classroom is a useful tool for organizing your classes, viewing your assignments, interacting with each other and the teacher and turning in your work digitally. The district gives you unlimited space on their Google Drive but that goes away after your senior year. At that time, you'll need to find a way to migrate your information to your own Google Drive if you want to keep it.

This is the process for working with Google Classroom:

  1. Make sure you're logged in to your school Google Drive.
  2. Click on the green Google Classroom to the left or click here
  3. Sign in, using your school email (your student ID plus "@oside.us")
  4. Your password is your eight-digit birthdate (for example, January 1st, 2022 would be 01012022)
  5. Sign up for classes using the codes I give you in class.
  6. Use this portal to view, complete and turn in assignments

Success tip: go to your student calendar (while logged in as a student) by clicking here and you'll see all your due dates for all your Classroom classes!

Note: If you don't plan on checking your district email ([email protected]), you should set it up so those emails forward to your personal account.

If your password is not working and you'd like me to reset it, please click on the button to the right and fill out the form. I'll get notified and I'll reset it to a default that you can then change. If it's not reset in 24 hours, send me a reminder email.

Schedule for Graphic Design:

(year-to-date schedule here, district schedule here, bell schedule here)

Portfolio: addresses here, form to submit your address here.

Links to your files: 1st, 5th, 6th

Short for the week: Big Buck Bunny

5/12: Start composite assignment by filling out this form: 1, 5, and 6. You're going to pick a random set of numbers and those will be your image and your topic. Read the directions carefully and follow them step by step. Set up your landscape or portrait canvas and start setting it up.

5/13: Work on example #1, importing and blending images. Tutorial on extracting from the background. Results from the form are here: 1, 5, and 6

5/14: Finish up example #1, tutorial on color blending and masking.

5/15: Spring Expo at El Corazón from 5-8pm. Not required but fun! Work on example #2, tutorial on advanced selection and blending modes

5/16: Finish up example #2, tutorial on lighting and shadows.

Schedule for the rest of the year:

6/3-6/5: mock interviews
6/7: projects physically delivered to fair (need to be mounted)
6/9-6/12: finals week (tutorials for extra credit)

Please note: anyone who finishes their assignment is required to continue working on something (a) productive and (b) relevant to web or graphic design. You will lose one point for every class period that you don't.

Resources:

  • Assignment folder here
  • Portfolio address/progress reports here
  • Graphic Design syllabus and outline
  • Elements of Design and Composition here
  • Slides templates for presentation
  • Pen tool learning resource here

Schedule for Web Design:

(year-to-date schedule here, district schedule here, bell schedule here)

Portfolio: addresses here, form to submit your address here.

Links to your files: 3rd, 4th

Link to Business Contact Tracker HERE

Short for the week: Big Buck Bunny

5/12: Go over revisions for portfolio, start working through them. Reminder about final website. Today, go through your portfolio pages and replace any default text or AI-sounding writing with your own voice. Focus especially on the homepage, services, and case study to make sure they reflect your real experiences.

5/13: Make sure every project page includes a working link to your live site and at least two screenshots that show your work. This helps your audience see that your projects are real and fully functional.

5/14: Revisit your HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WordPress pages and add specific terms that show what you actually used—like event listeners, flexbox, or plugins—instead of general phrases like “I added stuff.”

5/15: Check that all required pages are present, properly labeled, and easy to find in your menu. Use dropdowns where needed and remove any broken or duplicate links to clean things up. Spring Expo at El Corazón from 5-8pm. Look at this sheet and make sure to show up 5-10 minutes before your scheduled time. Dress nicely, in black.

5/16: Do a final polish by fixing grammar mistakes, resizing images, and reading your case study aloud to make sure it flows clearly. Submit your portfolio when everything looks professional and complete.

Schedule for the rest of the year:

5/29: present final website to class and client (extra credit)
6/3-6/5: mock interviews
6/9-6/12: finals week (tutorials for extra credit)

Please note: anyone who finishes their assignment is required to continue working on something (a) productive and (b) relevant to web or graphic design. You will lose one point for every class period that you don't.

Resources:

  • Assignment folder here
  • Business contact tracker here
  • Portfolio address/progress reports here
  • Web Design syllabus and outline
  • Click here if you need your work from previous years
  • Link to ECHS vector here
  • Link to WordPress site here

Revise your work:

In an actual studio, your work is not final until the customer is satisfied with its quality. When I grade items, my thinking is the same: if you produce work that is below the quality that I feel you're capable of, you have a chance to revise it and resubmit. Though the resubmitted work won't be worth the full amount of the original assignment, it will increase your grade significantly.

If you received a four, this is superior work. No need for revision. You've shown you understand the concept we're practicing and have even put some extra effort into making it perfect. You should be proud to show this off.

If you received a three, this work is adequate. You completed the assignment and though you didn't put obvious, extra effort into it, the finished product is "good".

If you received a two, this work is not as good as I know you're capable of. You may have misunderstood the assignment, chosen not to complete it, or rushed through it. The finished product is not something I would feel comfortable showing to others.

If you received a one, you have the option to re-do the assignment, incorporating my suggestions, one time. Though the resubmitted work will not get a perfect score (that would be unfair to those that turned it in on time), it will be rescored and the higher score will be put in the gradebook.

If you received a zero, you either didn't hand the assignment in or it was so far off the mark that it didn't function (in the case of a website) or it makes absolutely no sense (in the case of a print design). This is a complete do-over. Return to the instructions and re-do the assignment for a better score.

Web Design score weighting:

Graphic Design score weighting: