Darren Collier - On-Line

{talking type}

How do you offer a studio course online?

Even before the pandemic there was increasing demand to offer online versions of what was traditionally only on-ground studio courses. Professor Dennis Schmickle and I teamed up to tackle this challenge by developing a fully-online typography course. Each delivery format has pros and cons. One of the shortcomings of an online course is students not being physically with the professor and other classmates while they informally share their thoughts about the subject matter. A lot of learning happens in these moments. Thoughts are shared and values begin to form within the student. The videos below are part of an online typography course in which we sought to address this issue. The "talking type" video series attempts to add back in those informal moments where values are shared in a relaxed, conversational manner that traditional studio courses deliver so well.

We created this video series to provide online students with important intangibles that naturally occur in the studio format but would be missing in a run-of-the-mill online course. We hope these videos give insight to designers' values and their passion for the subject matter. We hope it shows personal perspectives about typography and about design in general. We encourage students to formulate their opinions and establish their beliefs and values regarding art and design.

Special thanks to Brandon Perkins for his awesome contributions to this video series. We could not have done it without you.

{talking type} Intro for Episode Four, Type Safari: The talking type crew sets out to find, document, and discuss public typography in and around St. Louis. (2 minutes)

{talking type} Episode 2, Fonts You Love to Hate: Brandon, Dennis, and Darren share their thoughts on the worst typefaces and how they taste in fonts has matured over time. (10 minutes 12 seconds)

{talking type} Episode 3, Just My Type: In this episode Brandon, Dennis, and Darren discuss their thoughts on favorite fonts and great typography and the design decisions that make it awesome. (7 minutes 14 seconds)

30 Second Tuts

Pilot episode of very quick software tutorials

30 Second Tuts was originally created to be part of a design program's social media content strategy. The concept also be utilized in an online course or as a supplement to an on-ground course. (38 seconds)

In March 2020, amid the onset of the pandemic, all of my courses were transitioned to fully online. I offered two sections of Motion Graphics and a section of Graphic Design Studio. All assignments were delivered through Canvas and interactions with students took place through Zoom meetings and emails. Each Zoom meeting, lecture, demonstration and critique was recorded and posted to Canvas.

I have significant experience with Canvas and Blackboard. I have used Canvas for all of my assignment handouts, grading, rubrics, and assignment resources. However, this was the first time I needed to deliver a course completely online.

A big challenge in abruptly switching to an online delivery format was to keep student engagement and the quality of work as high as an on-ground studio course. In some cases I needed to conduct individual Zoom meetings with a student to get them reengaged and answer their questions in a one-on-one format.

I realized my assignments and the delivery of those assignments needed to be broken down into smaller steps than if we were together in the studio. This made it more digestible for the student and provided linear, step-by-step instruction for the on-line learner.

I think anyone teaching during the pandemic learned a lot. I sure did. I prefer to be in the studio with students but there are some advantages to on-line learning. A thoughtfully designed and delivered hybrid approach may be a good option to retain the best of both delivery modalities.