Teacher Info:

Mrs. Oakes
Email: oakesj@odysseycharterschool.com
YouTube Channel: J-Oakes Digital Art Teacher

This is my 6th year teaching Commercial Art at Odyssey. I truly love the subject and students. I work here only in the mornings (Periods 1-3) and in the afternoons I work at my own business as a graphic designer. I have been a Commercial Art professional for 25 years, so I have plenty of real-world experience to share with you. Visit my website at www.decographics.com to see samples of my work.

I like to keep my classes fun, creative, and positive. I look forward to seeing your ideas, talent, and knowledge grow this year. Please feel free to contact me anytime you need. 😊

Class Info:

The main goals of our class are:

1) Learn the Adobe software to a level of being able to pass the certification exam.

  • Commercial Art 1 - Adobe Photoshop (Photo Editing)

  • Commercial Art 4 - Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects (Video Production)

2) Create projects to display in local art shows.

3) Build the Odyssey Yearbook


Pre-Requisites:
1) You must have completed a DIT (general computers) class BEFORE starting Commercial Art 1. Please see me if you have not.

2) You must have completed Commercial Art 1 (Photoshop) before taking any of the higher levels of Commercial Art 2, 3, or 4. You can take the others in any order after that.


Assignments:

  • INSTRUCTIONS - Assignments will be posted on this website AND Canvas every week. Occasionally we have longer assignments but usually they start on Mondays and are due on Fridays. There are slides & videos to show you how to do them. This way you can work at your own pace and are able to jump back in if you are absent.

  • PORTFOLIO SITE - All students will make a website in Google Sites to post their work. Click HERE to see a sample. This will be your first assignment. Each time you complete an assignment and put the JPG’s on your site, you will copy and paste the link on Canvas to notify me you’re ready to be graded. You will also post any photos you use in your projects in a separate area on your webpages.

  • SCREEN SHOTS - Occasionally I will ask the class to stop working and take a screen shot of their screen. You will post these in your website along with the final project. This will help if you accidentally lose your work and to show me that you’re staying on task.

  • PEER REVIEWS - Your websites will be viewable by the class so that we can do occasional peer reviews. It’s very important to see other work and provide constructive critiques.

  • BACK UP FILES - It’s your responsibility to keep back-ups of your work files! I suggest using Google Drive since you will be using Google Sites. You can’t always rely on the school computers to save your work and if it gets deleted it’s your loss since you didn’t make copies elsewhere. BE ORGANIZED!

  • YEARBOOK - When you finish an assignment early, please ask to make graphics for the yearbook. This is an long on-going project (more details to come).



Quizzes / Tests:

  • QUIZZES - We will have small review quizzes about once per month. They will be "open book" and you can use the Assignment Slides to locate answers.

  • CERTIFICATION EXAM - The only big test we have will be the Adobe certification exam later in the year. This year your grade on it will be counted. We will be taking many practice exams to prepare you for the Adobe certification exams.


Supplies:

  • Headphones to listen to my instructional videos

  • Google Account to make your website and back up your files


Grading:

  • SELF GRADE RUBRIC - This year we have a new grading rubric that you must fill out after each assignment. You will grade yourself in categories like effort, time-management, creativity, skills, and neatness. I will not grade your assignment until you give me this valuable self-critique.

  • GRADE REPORTING - I will grade your assignment after your weblink is posted in Canvas under the assignments tab. All of your grades will be updated regularly in Canvas, so you will be aware of your grade average by checking there. I do not post grades on Focus until Interims and Report Cards.

  • EFFORT MATTERS- Reminder - part of your grade will reflect your effort. If you only work part of the week on a project, don't expect a very high grade.

  • LATE WORK- Assignments are due according to the due dates posted. I will always take any late work (unless it’s the end of a grading period), but any work turned in a week late or more will get 10 points off.


Class Rules:

  • CHEATING - Turning in work that is not your own creation will result in an F. Trust me, I can tell. It will be your responsibility to prove that you did the work by keeping copies of all the photos you use to create your artwork. You’ll turn in screen shots of your progress along w/ the photos you use so I can see the transformation.

  • I'M WATCHING YOUR SCREEN - I watch all of your computer screens on my computer w/ LanSchool. Playing games, watching YouTube (other than assignment instructions), and doing other homework is prohibited. I will remotely shut your computer off if this is a problem. Always ASK for permission to use the computer for ANYTHING other than our assignments. (Reminder: This is part of your assignment grade too).

    School Rules that will be enforced this year are: Cell phone use is prohibited (teachers are instructed to take them and give them to the Dean anytime a student is caught using them); No Ear buds; No hoodies covering heads; Doors will remain locked and all tardy students must report to the Dean and get a pass; Students must use a signed planner and sign-out sheet to leave class and are only allowed 10 minutes after class starts and 10 minutes before the class ends.



Useful Links:


2022-2023 calendar