MIDAS

Learning Graphic Design & Illustration

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Core Code Alignment

CTE / Skilled & Technical Sciences
Precision Production Trades
40100013040: Digital Graphic Arts Intro CE

Recommendation

Reviewed, Not Recommended

Evaluation

This textbook is not recommended for high school use for the following reasons stated. ,See review for item 11802

Educators Using These Materials

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Rubric : Generic

Content

Item	3 - Extensive	2 - Adequate	1 - Inadequate	0 - None
Alignment	The content of this resource aligns with appropriate grade-level core standards and is current, well-researched and referenced from reliable sources.	The content of this resource aligns with most grade-level core standards but will need supplementary materials to ensure coverage of all the objectives for this course.	The content of this resource aligns with a few grade-level core standards for a portion of the course.	The content of this resource does not align with standards and objectives for this course.
Students that enroll in the Digital Arts course may or may not have prior learning in the visual arts and computer technology. This textbook briefly aligns with Utah State Graphic Arts Strands and Standards with the exception: Strand 2: Students will understand the design process: There is little to no instruction on good design practices and how the skills in each chapter apply to good design principles. The sample projects were poor design examples as well. It seems each chapter is written by a different author. There was a lack of understanding how each of the assignments were planned. There were only step-by-step instructions for specific Adobe skills. Strand 3: Students will understand principles of typography: There was no mention of typography or skills necessary in understanding the principles of typography when designing illustrations and type. Strand 7: Students will explore career opportunities and demonstrate an understanding of employability competencies: There is a little blurb about various professionals in the field. Some have a link to a blog (don’t like it because it takes kids on a rabbit hole). There should be a page with a brief description of why they chose this field. What classes did they take in high school, college? Where they work. Why do they enjoy it? It is not convenient in the classroom to search the blog and websites for the answers. We looked at a few websites and they were difficult to find.
Scaffolding	Scaffolding supports for these materials are complex and challenging, engage learners from various skill levels, assist all students in enhancing conceptual understanding, and offer opportunities for students to share evidence and research.	Scaffolding supports for these materials engage learners from various skill levels and assist students in enhancing conceptual understanding.	Scaffolding supports for these materials engage learners from various skill levels.	Scaffolding supports for these materials do not engage learners.
Students who enroll in high school digital arts courses may or may not have prior Art theory or Digital Art experience. There was no scaffolding between chapters. Each chapter is starting with a different skill in the Adobe Suite and uses only isolated skills from that chapter. However, a great opportunity to build on student learning and incorporating previously learned skills was lost. It also appears that each chapter was written by a different author. There was little to no collaboration or consistency with the learning and writing styles between chapters. Differentiation in the instructions is not present for students with various learning styles. All instructions are step-by-step, with limited visuals that are difficult to see. Most of the instructions are unnecessarily laborious. There are countless areas where there is a quicker and more efficient way to perform a step or function.
Navigation	Students can navigate the material independently. Instructions are clear and understandable.	The material contains instructions that are understandable and easy to navigate. Students may need educator support to navigate material.	The material may be used with direct educator support but lacks clear instructions.	The instructions in this material are unclear, and navigation is difficult.
The navigation was a bit confusing. Apparently, the directions for the various Adobe activities mentioned a “09Start folder” to retrieve photos to work on. We were not aware of/or able to access the folder.

Accessibility

Item	3 - Extensive	2 - Adequate	1 - Inadequate	0 - None
Physical Characteristics	The design of the material is ADA-compliant and can be utilized by all students. In physical terms, this material is durable, interactive, and provides high-quality audio-visual and tactile experiences for all users. The material contains modern, up-to-date, and relatable visuals, including diverse groups of people.	In physical terms, this material is durable, interactive, and provides high-quality audio-visual and tactile experiences for all users.	In physical terms, this material is fragile in construction, and provides limited tactile experiences for students.	In physical terms, this material is designed to be disposable and temporary.
Language used in the book is more geared to students that already have a background in art or graphic arts. It needs to use a basic language for art and graphic arts for those that are just begging and build upon each lesson to reinforce what is learned. It's an ebook.
Technical Standards	The material goes above and beyond meeting all the technical standards, ensures student data privacy is safeguarded, and can be easily installed or accessed without technical assistance. Licensing information is clearly stated in the description.	The material meets all the requirements of federal and state laws, along with the accepted technical standards (ISTE Standards and VPAT Compliance). Additional technical specifications and limitations, including hardware requirements, bandwidth demands, student data privacy, and software/ web access restrictions, are adequately noted in the description. The design of the material allows for error-free installation or access without purchasing additional components.	The material is limited by specifications requiring additional materials, technical assistance, hardware, software, or infrastructure. Student data privacy could be at risk. Resources within the material end after a trial period.	Student data privacy is at risk.
The curriculum was limited. The Adobe activities would jump right into the activities without mentioning “prior knowledge need to perform this activity”. In chapter 5, students are working with Adobe Photoshop. The directions told the students to open the file “09Start folder”. This file was inaccessible or did not accompany the ebook. It would be better to be more general in the design and use of the tools. Students should have more autonomy to try activities and learn tools.
Adaptability	The material is currently relevant and adaptable for teacher and student use in individualized or group instructional settings across multiple content areas. The material can be customized for the needs of diverse learners.	The material is currently adaptable for a teacher or student to use in a limited instructional setting across a few content areas. The material can be utilized by diverse learners (not customizable).	The material has some features adaptable for students in at least one content area. The material has limited options to address the needs of diverse learners.	The material is not adaptable or easily incorporated into various educational settings or with various diverse learners.
There were a lot of limitations to the instructional materials in this textbook. In a high school setting (grades 9-12) this textbook does not address the preferred learning style of a student. There is a need for differential learning such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and literacy. The student needs to be a competent reader and fluent in the English language to be successful in understanding the instructions. Many of our students are English Language Learners, at-risk, or lower socioeconomic status where literacy is challenged. Visual: The step-by-step instructions with the diagrams were blurry and hard to see. There was a limited amount of diagrams and examples. The section about the Compositional Elements in Graphic Design, would have been nice to have a visual example of each element. Literacy: The language style is not consistent from chapter to chapter. Seems as if each chapter was written by a different author. Having the vocabulary words highlighted in blue was helpful. However, there were a lot of words that high school students would not be able to understand that were not highlighted.

Pedagogy

Item	3 - Extensive	2 - Adequate	1 - Inadequate	0 - None
Instructional Support	The material provides multiple examples and strong support to educators of ways to deliver instruction. These may include: -Scaffolding Lesson Plans, Personalized/Differentiated Instruction, Experiential Learning, Concept Mapping, Questioning Techniques, or Family Involvement. Furthermore, this material has content that can be problem/project-based, with incorporated skills and concepts that are integrated with all disciplines equally to support student sense-making. (Transdisciplinary/ Interdisciplinary Content Integration)	The material provides some examples to educators of ways to deliver instruction. It contains a few of the following: Scaffolding Lesson Plans, Personalized/Differentiated Instruction, Experiential Learning, Concept Mapping, Questioning Techniques, or Family Involvement.	The material contains limited instructional support on using the material with diverse groups of students, various skill levels, and student needs.	The material does not provide instructional support or examples for the educator.
There was not a teacher edition to this textbook. Difficult to navigate for instruction with a textbook alone. There should have been additional materials as well, access to online folders to complete the various Adobe activities that require photos to manipulate.
Supplemental Resources	The material provides a wide variety of supplemental resources that are evidence-based and are linked to real-world circumstances and current events.	The material references numerous available supplemental resources.	The material references some available supplemental resources.	The material does not refer to any supplemental resources.
Only given some websites to visit for more information. If there was other supplemental materials we were not able to access those.
Assessments	The material contains a variety of formative and summative assessments aligned with Utah Core Standards, Personalized Competency-Based Learning, and Universal Design for Learning. It provides appropriate intervention strategies that lead to observable performance and real-world experiences for students. The assessments are ADA-compliant.	The material contains summative assessments aligned with Utah Core Standards with few interventions and is ADA-compliant.	The material contains a limited number of assessments without intervention strategies but is ADA-compliant.	The material does not provide assessment materials.
There was a limited amount of formative and summative assessments that are aligned with core objectives, provide appropriate intervention strategies, and lead to observable performance and real-world experience. There were end of chapter activities. The activities consist of reviewing open ended questions. We were having a difficult time answering the chapter review questions. Some questions are not related to what was actually taught in the chapter. It was very confusing.

Culture of Learning and Belonging

Item	3 - Extensive	2 - Adequate	1 - Inadequate	0 - None
Bias Free	This material is free from bias and is in compliance with all relevant federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, as listed in the next “2-Adequate” section for this item. Furthermore, this material focuses on shared identity and includes the unique characteristics & cultural differences of students in Utah. (53E-4-204.1) This material supports civic and character education. (53G-10-204)	This material is neutral and is in compliance with the laws, rules, and regulations below: -It can be used by all students regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or membership in any other protected class, such as ethnicity, or disability, as described in (R277-328). -This material supports educators to be in compliance with (53G-10-202.4), where they may not use their positions to endorse, promote, or disparage a particular religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic, or atheistic belief or viewpoint. -The material is free from discrimination and does not support stereotyping of character traits, including hard work ethic. (53G-10-206) -It is free from advertising, e-commerce, or political interest and is in compliance with the law and community standards.	This material may be interpreted as biased. Or promoting advertising, e-commerce, or political interest. Or maybe considered to regard or treat some groups unfairly.	This material does not comply with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. This material is biased and favors a point of view that may be distracting to the educational experience of students.
There is little diversity in this book. More diverse pictures are needed to represent all students' races or ethnicity. Most of the images are also of adults - not high school students.
Cultural Awareness	This item has not been graded.

Inclusive Components	This item has not been graded.

Shared Values and Character Traits	This item has not been graded.

UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

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Phone: 801.538.7807