Photoshop 1 Monday 6974
Spring 2012 Syllabus

Welcome

Welcome to CS 70.11A, Adobe Photoshop 1! Once you have read this syllabus, check in through SRJC's CATE (Center for Advanced Technology in Education) system. Click on this link: check-in, scroll down to the Class Check-In section, and follow the instructions. You will need to remember your user name and password to take tests, upload homework to an inbox, view galleries, or check your grades. Check in only once. After checking in, click the Schedule link at the top of this page to access a weekly schedule of topics covered, reading assignments and homework assignments. Let me know if you have any questions.

Description of the course

This course covers the introductory features of Photoshop CS5, the premier software for creating and manipulating bitmapped graphics. Topics include the toolbox, basic layer techniques, Bridge, selecting, painting, image sources and copyright issues, resolution, printing, strokes & fills, color and tonal correction, image repair, some filters, some automation, and more. This course and CS 70.11B Photoshop 2 explore all the topics needed to pass the Adobe Certified Associate in Adobe Photoshop exam. Photoshop is essentially the same program whether running under Windows or Mac OS.

We assume that you already know the basic operations of a PC or Macintosh, how to email, and how to use the Internet. Also you need to be able to read and write English at high school level.

If you are a new student at SRJC, I recommend that you visit the SRJC Orientation page. Here is the official SRJC course outline for CS 70.11A.

Be aware of some important SRJC deadlines relevant to this section: the last day to opt for Pass/No Pass, to withdraw from the course, to get a refund, to have no record of attempting the course, or to receive a "W" for the course. View these dates by visiting our CATE section page and then clicking on Deadlines.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate competency in identifying Photoshop interface elements.
• Construct simple documents utilizing selections, layers and blending modes.
• Differentiate between simple graphic file formats and choose the appropriate usage for each.

Contact information

Instructor: Bruce Purcell

Office hours: M 3:00-5:00pm or by appointment. My office is located in room 2938, which is located on the third floor of Maggini Hall.

I also have an online office hour M 8:15-9:15pm. Although you can visit my office, call my office phone, or email me during this time, I will be giving priority to my online students since this is the only time that they can get interactive, real-time help from me.

Office phone number: 527-4216. Unanswered and busy calls are forwarded to the campus voice mail system so that you can leave me a message, but I will only check them on Mondays. I respond much more promptly to email.

Email address: bpurcell@santarosa.edu (checked daily unless I am out of town). It is important that you include your section number in the subject line of the email.

Course materials: www.santarosa.edu/~bpurcell

Computer Studies Department website:www.santarosa.edu/cs

Computer Studies Department phone: 527-4778

Texts and supplies

Required textbook

Practical Photoshop CS5, Level 1 by Heiman, Laird, Haverinen & Green. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9822931-2-6

We were unable to find a textbook that adequately covered all of the course topics, so several of the Photoshop instructors wrote our textbook specifically for this course. The book may be purchased from the SRJC bookstore at either Santa Rosa or Petaluma campus. You can also order the textbook online from the SRJC bookstore.

The book was printed in grayscale to keep the cost down. At the back of the book you will find a DVD that includes all the image files you will need to complete the tutorials in the book. The DVD also contains a file called color-images.pdf. This file shows the key images in color. You will want to refer to this file while working on your homework assignments.

The DVD also contains videos that demonstrate the key Photoshop and Bridge techniques covered in the textbook. Watching them is optional since they do not contain any additional information that is required for the course. However, many students learn better watching videos rather than reading a textbook, Some videos have not been updated from a previous version of Photoshop if the instruction has not substantially changed. The volume on some of these earlier videos can be very faint so you may need to turn your volume way up to hear them. For more information on the videos, visit Textbook Videos & Errata.

If you are delayed in getting your textbook, you can download the Table of Contents, first chapter, and the pumpkin image from the textbook website: Download Sample Chapter. There are no passworded materials available from the textbook website.

You need Adobe Reader (version 7 or higher) to open the many PDF files used in this course. If you don't already have this program, download it for free: Adobe Reader.

Recommended Text

Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual by Lesa Snider. 2010. O'Reilly Media/Pogue Press. Print ISBN: 978-1-4493-8168-4 | Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4493-8170-7

This book is a good reference, but no reading will be assigned from it for this class. It has a website for description and ordering and one for images and errata.

Other supplies

• A letter-sized folder with a pocket or a large envelope for turning in your homework assignments.
• A flash drive for storing your work during our third hour in the computer lab

Hardware / Software

The course textbook, homework, and exams use either Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop Extended CS5, released April 2010. Photoshop Extended CS5 contains some additional features such as 3D image manipulation and enhanced video editing that we are not covering in this course. Every Creative Suite 5.5 package includes Photoshop Extended CS5 except for Design Standard which includes Photoshop CS5.

If you have CS4, you can do almost all of the homework, but there are a few required features that will not be available, such as Content-Aware Fill. You may use our computer labs at either the Santa Rosa or Petaluma campuses or choose to take a deduction on the homework. I do not recommend that you try to use a version earlier than CS4. CS4 as well as CS5 videos are available on the textbook DVD.

You may purchase software at academic prices from the SRJC bookstore on either the Santa Rosa or Petaluma campus. Click on this link for further details or to purchase the software online: SRJC bookstore software. For example, you may purchase CS5.5 Design Premium for Windows or Macintosh at a relatively excellent price of $370. It contains Photoshop Extended, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash, and more. Photoshop Extended CS5 alone is $190. They also have CS5.5 Design Standard, which includes Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator for $199. The software may get backordered, but it is quickly restocked. College Buys is another source for lower-cost, academic versions of Adobe software. Adobe academic software is the same as the commercial version except that it is not licensed to be used for commercial purposes.

To get started, you may also choose to download a free 30 day trial version of Photoshop Extended CS5 from the Adobe website.

Check the hardware and software requirements before buying software. Photoshop does not run well or at all on older computers.

In order to view the movies that are part of the course, you will need a Quicktime Player. For Mac users, it is part of the Mac OS. For Windows users who don't already have it, you will need to get a free download: Quicktime Player for Windows.

You need to use the Internet to access our syllabus and schedule, download images, watch videos, upload homework files, and take exams. I use the email address that you provided when you registered at SRJC to send you homework and textbook updates, exam reminders, and class cancellation notifications (very rare). The sender is identified as GU.Weblink@santarosa.edu. Please check your email regularly and update any change to your email address using the SRJC Student Portal. When you email me, please include your section number in the subject line.

Understanding the navigation bar

Most page every page uses the same nav bar that has these items:

Home takes you to my instructor home page with links to other classes that I teach.

Syllabus takes you to the page that you are currently reading. It describes the course requirements.

Schedule gives a weekly schedule for the class with links to the homework assignments and exams. Use this page as the starting point for accessing the course materials; I recommend bookmarking this page.

FAQs answers frequently asked questions.

Forum takes you to our class discussion forum where we can discuss Photoshop and other related topics. Please note the following:

• Use the forum for Section 6974 for topics specific to our class and the General Photoshop Discussion for topics that would be of interest to all the Photoshop students.
• Before you can upload posts to the forum, you will need click the Register link at the top of the forum page. Please choose a user name that allows me to easily identify who is posting. The forum user name and password are distinct from those that you used for the class CATE check-in, but you may wish to use the same ones for both.
• The forum is a good place to ask questions, share information, or seek help with a problem.
• The forum is not password protected and is open to anyone on the Internet.
• Please be courteous to your classmates and use appropriate etiquette in your posts.
• Keep your comments positive - if you want to complain about something, please email your instructor.

Grades asks for your CATE user name and password and then lets you see your scores on homework assignments and exams.

Resources provides links to our hands-on exercises and other web pages that may be useful to you in this course.

Reading

The weekly reading assignments are listed in the Schedule (see link above). The reading should be done prior to the first class that covers that topic. By doing so, you will better understand each lecture and more fully participate in class discussions. You are responsible to know the reading material even if we don't have time to cover it in class. Don't fall behind!

When reading a chapter for the first time, I recommend that you just skim through the Guided Exercises. When working on the homework assignments, you will be asked to go back and complete each step in most of the Guided Exercises.

Grading

8 Homework assignments. 230 points (10 to 45 points each)
3 exams ........................... 120 points (40 points each)
Final exam ......................... 60 points
MTM evaluation ..................10 points
Total ................................ 420 points

Your course grade will be calculated by dividing the total points earned by the total points possible. Grades will be assigned according to the following percentages:

90-100% .... A
80-89.9% ... B
70-79.9% ... C
60-69.9% ... D
0-59.9% ..... F

Exams

The dates and chapters covered by the exams are listed in the Schedule (see link above). The first three exams will be taken online and are open book and untimed. The Photoshop program may also be referenced, but you may not get help from another person. The questions will be based on the lectures, textbook, lessons, review questions, and homework assignments.. Exams will consist of multiple-choice and true/false questions.

The online exam questions are randomly drawn from a testbank. Once you open a exam, you must take it. I will know if you open the exam more than once and will assess a 10% penalty for each extra time the exam is opened. If you feel that you have a good reason for having to open the exam more than once, email me your explanation and I may waive the penalty. After completing the exam, you will be able to review all of the questions, your answers, and the correct answers for any questions that you missed.

Unless you make prior arrangements with me, each exam must be taken within the week specified in our schedule. On the first three exams, if you miss the deadline, you will have another week in which to take the exam with a 25% penalty. If you miss this second opportunity, the exam will be recorded as a zero. Since I process and submit the course grades right after the final exam, it cannot be taken late. Technical problems with taking an exam do not constitute a valid excuse for missing the exam deadline. I strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last few hours to take an exam.

The final exam will be given in the classroom or a Maggini lab during finals week. If the exam is given in the classroom, the Photoshop program will not available for your use.

Homework assignments

The eight homework assignments are listed in the Schedule (see link above). Most students will need to spend a total of 3 to 5 hours per week to complete each homework assignment (not including other reading and studying time). As you work on the step-by-step tutorials, make sure you understand why each tool or command is used. A scanner is required for one assignment; you may use the ones in our lab. If you print your assignments at home, please be sure that your printer is working well; otherwise you may use the printers in our computer lab on the second floor of Maggini Hall. See the lab assistant for a color print card.

Turn in your assignments at the beginning of lecture using a pocketed folder or large envelope that has your name and my name on the front. Please don't include previously graded work. . Your folder will be graded and returned to you the next class.

Try to complete each homework assignment early so that if you run into any problems you will still have time to get help. Each assignment may only be submitted once; missing parts of an assignment may not be turned in at a later time. Unless you get my approval for extraordinary circumstances, a late assignment will be docked 20%; after one week late, it is docked 40%; after two weeks, it is docked 60%. Assignments will not be accepted more than three weeks late or after the final exam. Late homeworks may also be submitted to the CS office staff, but make sure my name is on it.

I encourage you to try to resolve problems with your assignments on your own since you will learn more and become more self-reliant. I recommend this strategy:

• Use the textbook, your lecture notes, Photoshop Help, and experimentation.
• Contact me. Email works well for simple questions. Remember to put your section number in the subject line. Otherwise, it is generally better to ask me in person when we can look at Photoshop together: during my office hours (see above) or our lab time.

Miscellaneous

Student conduct

Students who register in SRJC classes are required to abide by the SRJC Student Conduct Standards. Violation of the Standards is basis for referral to the Vice President of Student Services or dismissal from class or from the College. Department policy prohibits cell phones and beepers from being used in the classrooms or the lab. However, see me if you may have a potentially urgent situation. Laptops are welcome, but should only be used for taking notes or following along in Photoshop.

Students are expected to know and abide by the SRJC policy of academic integrity. Collaborating on or copying of tests or homework in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and result in a grade of 0 for that test or assignment. I encourage students to share information and ideas, but not their work.

Emergency evacuation plan

In the event of an emergency during class that requires evacuation of the building, please leave the class immediately, but calmly. Our class will meet in the northwestern corner of the tennis courts to make sure everyone has gotten out of the building safely and to receive further instructions. Make sure that you know the location of the closest stairs. If you are a student with a disability who may need assistance in an evacuation, please see me during my office hours as soon as possible so we can discuss an evacuation plan.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you need disability related accommodations for this class, such as a note taker, test taking services, special furniture, use of service animal, etc., please provide the Authorization for Academic Accommodations (AAA) letter from the Disability Resources Department (DRD) to me as soon as possible. You may also speak with me privately during office hours about your accommodations. If you have not received authorization from DRD, please contact them directly. DRD is located in Analy Village-C on the Santa Rosa campus (527-4278) and Jacobs Hall, Room 101, on the Petaluma Campus (778-2491). For more information visit the DRD webpage.

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