Writes & Responsibilities wrap-up

Posted on Aug 4, 2007 in Design, Life, Volunteering | 0 comments

I’m listening to my colleagues lead students in a Socratic seminar discussion about the heady topics of prior review, managing staff conflicts, and dealing with controversial topics (smoking, teen pregnancy, cheating, etc.). Anyone who thinks all teenagers are lazy, unintelligent slackers needs to spend a day or two with these young journalists.

The WJEA Writes & Responsibilities session at CWU is wrapping up and I must say I was glad to have been here. I had a few great teaching opportunities: Intermediate InDesign, where I shared a few great tips that will really save time and prevent headaches for editors. I also had a lackluster teaching experience: Design Basics, for which I was unprepared to teach and it showed.

But what I enjoyed most—and hope was the most useful—were the interactions with students during the scheduled work time. Rather than hang in the sun, these students came to me and asked for advice on their papers. The one-on-one (well, one-on-four in some cases) analysis of headline hierarchy, overuse of boxes and rules, inadequate and inconsistent spacing, low-resolution images, etc. really got me excited. It’s excellent to see them nod and get excited as they see what they can improve in their papers’ designs. And then to be able to show them exactly how those changes can be accomplished in InDesign is even more fun.

If I’m invited back next year, I hope to teach an InDesign major session where I can walk through the entire process, rather than just explaining a few tips. Oh, and I’d have time to prepare some materials!

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