Welcome to Photoshop online. This class is offered through the Digital Media/Internet Services {DM/IS} Department at West Valley College. This class is designed to be a fully interactive learning experience. In this class there are written assignments, instructional videos, chats, homework, and lots of Photoshopping! To interact with this class you will need Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS2, and broadband internet connection. Please read all the information on this page and in the different sections of the class website to become acquainted with how the class works.

Click here for the syllabus.

Click here for the lessons and class information.


Important information on text and videos:

Which Version of Photoshop is covered in this class?
Photoshop CS 3 will be covered. The instructional videos produced for this class utilize Photoshop CS 3 but there are some archive videos that feature CS2 and CS. I recommend that you use Photoshop CS 3 but you may use older versions of Photoshop. Bear in mind, that it will be harder for me to troubleshoot problems with older versions of software.

How this class works?
1. This class uses streaming video technology. The streaming video files contain a video interface of Photoshop and my voice explaining steps inside the application. You will need several plug-ins to be able to view this online class. Please see the list below for all software/plug-ins.

2. There are weekly lessons and assignments. Please do the homework and lessons every week. Assignments are due on the prescribed date.

3. To be able to do the weekly lessons you must watch the videos in each lesson. Watch the entire video once and take a few notes and get an overview. Then minimize the browser window and open up Photoshop and work back and forth between the video lesson and Photoshop.

4. Please participate in the Chat times. It is very important to communicate with others in the class as well as the instructor.

5. Success in this class takes time. You should put at least 6 hours a week into this class.

6. Weekly homework is due on Wednesday {before midnight} of each week. You can email me your homework as an attachment or send me the url where it is located. New lessons will be posted each Tuesday, unless otherwise noted.

This class is divided in five sections:
i) Course: the entry page of the class with vital information
ii) Lessons: the list of lessons and syllabus for the class
iii) Community: chat section of class
iv) Instructor: information about instructor
v) Help: list of software and techniques to complete the course

Downloadable Software/Plugins:

Can I complete this class without the plugins? No. You will need to have these plugins to view the video lessons.

Email Assignments
Typically students send their homework and assignments as an email attachment. However, graphic files can be large so you will have to optimize your graphic and save in jpeg format which I will explain in lesson 3.

What if you have your own web space? Yes, you can use your own server for the class, just email me the url each week you do your weekly posting.

Blog
One of your assignments will be to make a blog where you will upload your graphic files and write a design log. I encourage you to use your blog to post weekly assignments but make sure you email me the blog link each week so I have a record of your homework. More on this later, but if you are interested in making a blog sooner there are some blog tutorials to get you started at:

www.jrmacks.com/blog

Free Web Server Space
Free web space is a server connected to the Internet that stores your files allowing others to see your web pages. Most free host providers place pop up ads on your web pages, but it's free. One of the best free host providers is www.angelfire.lycos.com because they allow FTP access.

www.angelfire.lycos.com.