November 22-24, 2009
RIT Digital Publishing National Contest
As residents of the greater Rochester area, we are surrounded by leaders in the printing industry, both offset and digital; RIT, Xerox, Kodak, Nexpress and Colorcentric, to name a few. As Instructional technology educators, we are teaching in the middle of the fertile crescent of digital publishing with a rich pool of resources for our students right in our backyards.
Digital Publishing has become mainstream and RIT's School of Print Media is on the forefront of inventing, teaching, and training, while setting the printing standard for the rest of the world. The School of Print Media has several highly successful degree programs with an excellent rate of employment after
graduation. One way that they have chosen to draw attention to their program has been to invite secondary school students to compete in a new nation-wide contest; the Young Professionals in Publishing Competition. All entrants receive 25 printed copies of their submission. Winners receive the following:
Up to 10 finalists will be selected from the entries. Each finalist will receive 25 color copies of the publication, saddled-stitched, and mailed to your adviser’s address. Finalists will be notified and advisers will be asked to complete a publication release form.
I have been using PowerPoint and Word instead of high-end software to publish with my students, converting the final versions of their work to PDF files before sharing with the digital press. Digitally publishing books and magazines has been a uniquely rewarding experience for my students and teachers. When students (as young as 2nd grade) realize that their final product will be 'real', they transform, turning before my eyes into serious publishers who edit, conference, double-check their facts, and finally, stand proudly with their publication. It is hard to convey with a few sentences, the power that creating an authentic product has over the writing process and attitudes of students, but the looks on their faces and the pride in their voices speak volumes.
Is anyone else out there interested in looking into digital publishing? I would love to hear if you have worked on any projects or if you have thoughts and ideas of how you would use this in the classroom!
the power that creating an authentic product
There is definitely a lot to be said about the printing industry in Rochester. Up until my friend took a job at one of the print shops locally did I even realize that this industry existed. I often wonder if I was just that oblivious when I was younger, or if no one ever mentioned that there was this opportunity in our area. The contest that is being held by RIT is a fantastic opportunity for students to place their work on display outside of their school community. I do, in someways, think that we often sell ourselves short by only focusing on High school students in these type of competitions. I have a feeling I know the underlying reason why, but I also think that creating opportunities for middle and elementary students is important as well.
The opportunity to have students engaged in the process of creating a print document can really allow them to explore the concepts of design. Design is often something that I think isn't addressed as part of our curriculum. There is a lot to be said for how beautiful, or shocking, something is to our senses. This can be seen in so many instances in our own world, but do our students experience similar audiences, or is production for a singular client alone?
I really think that the quote:
speaks to how projects can create true senses of ownership. Student projects are a powerful way for students to showcase their ideas and talents. Collaborative projects can also help student really build on one another's talents. The opportunity for out students to become involved in projects with our local colleges may also start to keep the talented minds we have in the area from moving to other areas of the world.
I hope that we see a local winner to this contest.
Judy, thanks for the heads up on this.