STEAM

STEAM is adding art and design into the STEM initiative created by President Obama to encourage students to go into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. 3D Computer Animation students naturally cover all of those categories each day when working with Autodesk Maya. Classes have begun to use a wonderful resource by Autodesk to explore the principles and elements of art and design in a three-dimensional space. Throughout the year, I will focus on connecting the dots between art and STEM by showing students how 3D software is used by industrial designers, architects, and engineers.

Adobe Certification

As a Career and Technical Education teacher, it is very important to stay current in my field. An important part of that is technology. I attended 2 classes this summer in New York City at Noble Desktop. I took excellent courses with Dan Rodney in Advanced Photoshop and Creating eBooks with InDesign. The school is wonderful and the instructor top notch. I then took the Adobe Photoshop exam and became an Adobe Certified Associate. Being current and knowledgeable in software allows me to pass on valuable information to my students. Hunterdon County Polytech is a certified testing site. If interested in taking a certification exam, please contact me at tdiaz@hcpolytech.org

www.nobledesktop.com

Art Educators of New Jersey

Art Educators of New Jersey held its annual conference October 2, 3, 4 and I was a presenter this year. More than 1,100 art teachers for grades K-12 are part of this organization statewide. The conference is a wonderful event for us to get together and share lessons, ideas, and receive updated information in the field. My presentations were entitled Collaborative Projects in HS and Project Based Learning for HS Graphic Design Students. I spoke about my art students working with academic students at their high schools to complete design as part of collaborative projects. I also spoke about my students partnering with local Rotary clubs as part of Bridging the Gap. Students write marketing plans with the help of mentors and then participate in a job fair competing for paid freelance work. Today I was on the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce internet radio station talking about the program as well.