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Real World Graphic Design Projects - Can Be Used For Portfolio Exhibits

Project Description: Create well-designed, attention-getting educational resources for teachers and students worldwide, and for ITLS 5500 pre-service teachers.
Organization: ITLSS 5500 Pre-Service Teachers Course
​Contact Person: Nathan Smith - course author and lead instructor
Contact Info: Nathan.Smith@usu.edu
Date Needed: On-going
​Details:
​Every semester, I have 200+ students enrolled in ITLS 5500 - Technology integration and innovation in teaching and learning. It is a required course they must take in order to graduate in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special Education. Here are particulars that I'm dealing with and trying to accomplish:
  • The students range from undergraduate students to graduate students in Masters and Doctoral programs.
  • These students have a broad range of curricular interests - preschool through college level, in over 60 different curricular areas that include every subject found in public and college courses.
  • My goal: get them to think outside of typical education think. They are not in my course to jump through a red tape hoop on their way to their degree. They are in my course to learn to become better teachers.
  • My goal: bless their lives every single day they are in my course with resources they can actually use to teach with, or to help them ease and simplify the daily tasks they'll face when teaching, or to help their students learn by doing and being engaged in their learning, or to help them connect with the good things in the world.
Picture
Algodoo, a great, free teacher and student resource. I created the layout in Photoshop. I then used LucidPress (free version) to add the interactive links and export it as a PDF file. Click the image to view or download it. Try it out!
What do I need, and how you can help me bless their lives and other educators the world over!
  • As you are so aware as college students, these students have a lot on their plate as they go through their university courses. They are overloaded with reading assignments, projects, lectures, and so on.
  • I want to meaningfully bless their lives with resources they can actually use. But first, I need to get their attention. It would be so helpful to give them well-designed, attractive (something that will catch their eyes and pull them in), and useful documents that they can file away for when they become actual public school teachers.
  • I keep compiling a list of resources to share with them, but a list doesn't grab their attention. It just overwhelms them more. I think focusing on and sharing just one or two resources at a time, describing what it is, how it would help them as a teacher, and linked to where they can access it, and maybe even tutorials on how to use it - that's what they need. Designed to grab their attention at least long enough that they think, "Hey, I could use that! I'd love to go check it out more when I have time!" And to have them go explore it, or file it away for future use.
​​Here is one example of what I'd like you to help me create for them. Here is another.. You are completely free to design something that you feel would grab their attention enough to have them stop and look at it! Then let's bless their lives with real, relevant, and meaningful resources! I want them to say, "Wow, I received a real treasure today!"

You can design it as a brochure, a flyer, an infographic, whatever! Be creative! These designs you create will be shared online with the entire world through my ITLS 5500 course website, my TeacherLINK website and TeacherLINK blog, and on Twitter.

Here is the list of teacher resources I am compiling for my students. Feel free to design something around any one of these that you feel would be relevant, meaningful, and helpful to teachers or their students. Or share one that you are aware of that is not on my list - and I will also add it to the listing! It could be about learning a particular topic. It could be step-by-step instructions for creating something. The whole world of learning is open to you! 

Below are four more examples of educational resources I've created for them. Click on any to try them out. They are all interactive. I did the visual layouts in Photoshop. Then I used inDesign, LucidPress, or Google Slides to add the active links, and then exported them as an interactive PDF file. 

So, any pertinent tool or application, any area of learning, any interest, any learning activity - it's all fair game for creating these kinds of resources! And there are teachers and students worldwide who will love you for creating them!

Thank you for helping me bless lives of educators and students the world over!
Project Description: Create well-designed, attention-getting motivational TV displays for 7th-12th grade students, for use at their schools in Utah and Nevada.
Organization: Utah State University GearUP Program
​Contact Person: Nathan Smith
Contact Info: Nathan.Smith@usu.edu
Date Needed: On-going
​Details:
Create a Motivational Digital Display: Client - USU Stars - Gear Up. (http://utahstars.usu.edu/​). Click the link to read about the Gear Up program.

We would like you to create a digital display that uses both text and an image that would motivate or encourage middle or high school students to reach for higher education, or to emphasize a particular skill that will help them be successful students. What follows are the requirements for the assignment:
  • The digital display must be 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels at 72 dots per inch in landscape mode. Open Photoshop and do a new file with these settings (make sure "Artboards" is unchecked):
It must incorporate one or more images that you have enhanced in Camera Raw or Photoshop. You may use your own photos or graphics, or use stock (but be sure to credit and link to them in your portfolio exhibit description). You can find links to fonts and stock images in the resources section of our class website.

It must include text that motivates, encourages, or explains skills necessary to succeed as a student or to reach out for higher education. The text should be readable on a typical school digital display, which are sometimes placed higher up on a wall out of student reach. Areas that are especially motivation-oriented include FAFSA, Paying for College, Learning to Love Learning, Succeed in Every Class, Enhance Your Reading Skills, and ACT Test Dates & Preparation.

No logos are needed. The GearUP shop will add those before sending them out to the schools.