KSTL - Kansas Student Technology Leaders

April 4, 2012

KSTL is a competition for Kansas students, grades 6-12, who are interested in technology, digital content, and social media. Students are invited to compete with other students across the state in the following categories: 

• Multimedia Presentation
• Social Media Innovation
• Video Production
• Video Production - Public Service Announcement
• Website Design

More information on the competition and each event can be found at: http://mace-ks.org/kstl/index.html

My hope is to fill the Kansas State Union with students that are excited about technology and the projects that they have created!

Illustrator

This week my Interactive Media class has moved on to using Illustrator - we start with learning about the tools that are different than Photoshop, and then we quickly move onto 3D text and text modification. The first big project the students do is the following tutorial - they learn how to add gradients for extra shadowing, create scatter brushes, and utilize the pen tool to create "vines."

Playful Yet Robust Tutorial

Helpful Resource: Good-Tutorials.com

My students, along with myself, use this website very frequently. It is amazing how many people are willing to share their talented computer skills by developing tutorials with the world. My advanced courses that learn Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc. no longer need a text book to learn in-depth techniques!