At Grand Valley State University I have had the pleasure of teaching within the Visual Studies Department. I have taught Making and Meaning, as well as a course that discusses Interactive, collaborative, and digital art.

I have instructed students within projects such as:

Word/Image designs – which teach the students how words or images can interchangeable alter the takeaway message from the viewer
Object / Ready Mades – Students have to create new objects from objects they have deconstructed. We go over theories such as ‘slippage’ that show how when objects lose their ‘function’ we have given it as a society, it can be given a new function.
Installation and group work – There is a huge benefit in learning how to work with other people. As we enter the work force we often have to collaborate or work with others [whether we are in business or in art]. This project also allows students to see the importance of space, lighting, and the importance of choosing the correct space for their design or concept so it can speak to what they intend.

Throughout all of my courses there is a bookmaking element since all bookmaking offers interactive qualities with a viewer and its’ designer. Within these projects students have to learn photoshop as well as InDesign, which is often used for creating marketing materials within the workforce for advertising, marketing, and business relations.

My interactive, collaborative and digital course has projects such as:

‘sending a message’ to strangers – building a physical installation that offers strangers to send ‘positive’ messages to one another physically [not digitally]. This may be within ‘scrolls’ that allow students to speak to one another on campus, or simplistically with post it notes that are responsive – but it has to be contained within some sort of built container.
Building either a ‘pop up’ book, or a book of choices. This is our first segway into site-maps that we will follow up later in the semester through the program of Dreamweaver.
Building GIFS and Videos with surprise endings through video premiere pro, and with GIPHY
Building a sitemap with dreamweaver that gives online viewers the illusion of choice.