What if PrintED Competencies Were Free?

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6 Comments

Comment by Paul Foster on February 1, 2009 at 10:07am

Thanks for the consideration Brian . . . Is there a proposal on the table concerning what this section will look like on GCC? I would be happy to comment if such a proposal exists.

Comment by Brian Regan on January 30, 2009 at 10:11am

Paul,

This site will be rolled up into the new GCC site. If there are features you would like added let me know and I will see what can be done.

Brian

Comment by Paul Foster on January 29, 2009 at 9:10pm

Teachers are the most important assets the graphic communications educational community have, and the collective wisdom these people bring to bear can be a key differentiator. In order to fulfill the need to do more with less, teachers need to work smarter, not harder, by leveraging others to continuously improve curriculum. Typically, collaboration is done via e-mail, either one-to-one or across distribution lists, or over the telephone via conference calls, or at conferences. While e-mails can be shared and saved, the benefits of any interaction are primarily limited to the list of recipients for that given moment in time. Any opportunity to retain, leverage, and build upon what was learned is lost.

By leveraging the collective intelligence of the graphic communications educational community, teachers can foster previously untapped opportunities for collaboration and innovation. With this “network effect,” teachers are empowered to develop content that meet the changing needs of their programs and share these with the community. Social networks, ratings, reviews, and tags change the way communication flows across the community. Valuable information is shared by users of the community, not controlled by a centralized management authority.

New insight can be easily communicated with others, to be tagged, rated, and improved upon. For example, if a teacher finds a better way to satisfy a particular PrintED competency, that advantage can be shared and multiplied across the community. Linked by a common goal to connect, interact, and share, social applications get better the more people use them. And, they break down organizational, physical, and regional boundaries to encourage inter- and intra-state collaboration that is often missing with today’s graphic communications educational community.

With better collaboration, the graphic communications educational community can retain and build upon intellectual content, empowering all teachers with insight from the very best in their network and, in doing so, enhance the collective intelligence and productivity of the overall community.

PrintED could instantly increase its value proposition exponentially by facilitating such a community on GCC with little or no capital. It makes too much sense to ever happen. Maybe I should ask for $100,000 in funding to get it off the ground ☺ Anyone interested?

Comment by Paul Davis on January 6, 2009 at 7:04pm

Back in the day I assisted Jim Sprouse of PIAG in writing the advanced portion of PrintED as I came from the prepress industry. My school was one of three to achieve all 9 accreditations (back when there was camera and table stripping).
I was going to go through the process again recently until my program was closed due to budget cuts. While I am aware of the competencies I have also worked with GATF through their seminars and have worked closely with Taz Tally and others in the past.
All of my curriculum was developed by working with these organizations and local shops over 20 years. I had no intention of letting anyone claim copyright so I am perhaps glad that I did not finish the process.
Additionally, I have had feed back as to some ETLs being less than helpful.
It seems that the process has become more bureaucratic than educational, a trait I have sadly noticed over my teaching career.
It is perhaps this fact that has convinced me to share all this info.
I hope to share my experience with teachers to assist them in their jobs.

Best of luck!


Best of luck!

Comment by Paul Foster on December 8, 2008 at 7:27am

Thanks Paul! Wouldn't it be nice though to have ONE place that is recognized by industry to house all these things organized in a fashion (by PrintEd competency) that is easily accessible? Question . . . do you reference the PrintED competencies in the activities that you are putting out there? Do you have a copy of the PrintED competencies? Is your program PrintED accredited?

"My point is, it is one thing to suggest and comment on what should be done, it is another to roll up one's sleeves and help."

MY POINT is that I have activities organized by PrintED competencies that I CAN'T share because of the copyright restrictions placed on the competencies. I have been trying to share my stuff for years . . .

Comment by Paul Davis on December 7, 2008 at 5:29pm

I have prepared a Safety notebook that meets many if not all of the requirements for certification. It IS free and will most likely be distributed as things get organized. I am close to completing a 96 page booklet that is an improvement over my previous Math booklet (available on PDF). It will attend to most items of section 1 intro to print complete with labs. It too will be available for distribution on way of the other.
My point is, it is one thing to suggest and comment on what should be done, it is another to roll up one's sleeves and help.