response: Technology-Beast, Burden, or Blessing?

Technology: Beast, Burden, or Blessing? by - Jason Tselentis (response)

For the most part, I believe that the bulk of Jason'a message regarding the design student "persona" is accurate. I feel it runs with the basic principle of what you put into to something is what you will get. When any student, intern, or apprentice depends entirely on their tutor or professor it cripples the student from taking advantage of their opportunity to truly learn the material.

When talking about curriculum, the only suggestion I have on top of Jason's ideal progression of course work, is the issue of ability. At Metro State, we serve a very diverse population. That said, many students do not have the luxury of wealth at their fingertips. The forever updated software and hardware is extremely expensive. The problem I see with the common "graphic design" education is that you must have money and/or someone who can give you the money to stay in the game. I believe if organizations like Adobe were to come up with a student package laptop(similar in software-design to their current student editions) that was limited only for design software and the internet; furthermore, to then be able to check them out at the library or through the design department. This is an expensive solution, but one that I feel will allow more capacity for students to engage and work with the software outside of class.

Response: The Artist of the Future is a Technologist

"The other hurdle is mastering creative expression, so that art has something substantial to say," says Steven Holtzman (President and CEO of Perspecta - a company that develops search tools for navigating through 3-D visual information spaces.)

For me the above quote was the strongest statement in the article. There are so many studies and opinions on the "health" of our growing relationship with technology. While virtual community, discovery, knowledge, and creativity are faster and more readily available then ever...so is that of isolation, social insecurity, opinion as truth, and media manipulation. There are so many things that can be discussed as "bad" or "good". Simply, I rest with the individual's moral code or "worldview" as a starting point. Then, I feel I have a basis for judging the positive and negative outcomes.

Overall, I agree with the above statement. Mastering creative expression is key!

a new day.

"We must look for ways to be an active force in our own lives.
We must take charge of our own destinies, design a life of substance
and truly begin to live our dreams."

-Les Brown