Education

This post was inspired after I read Scott Kelby's Guest Blogger Wednesday. Corey Barker is an amazing Creative Suites guru and addressed the issue of Photoshop education. Actually it was mostly self education.

Now I am no expert on the human mind and how the various neurons interconnect to form the cognitive being that we individually become, but I have observed many an individual gain knowledge. Instruction is either communicated verbally, visually, by the written word, or finally by simple trial and error. Addressing this from and aviation orientation, the trial and error method is frowned upon as it can become very costly. That leaves verbal, visual, and written.

There are a very few people that can pick up a technical manual and consume enough information without seeing the equipment, or even software, and proceed to operate said equipment or software in any realistic capacity. So basically that leaves us with the verbal and visual learner. I have found this to be fairly split down the middle but must be taught very differently or else you get the glassy eyed deer in the headlight look very quickly.

Once the basics have been covered it is time to sit and push buttons and see what they do. In aviation this is routinely done in a simulator or a cockpit procedures trainer. What I think Corey Barker was getting at is that once you have a slight feel for the Photoshop application, it is ok to spread your wings and bunch a few button or filters to see what they do.

There are many books on Photoshop that are simply read and do books. Some of the best are those that provide a file of the same photo the author is working on and allows you to follow along in the guidance of the work. Another fine instructional format is the Acme Educational guys such as Vincent Versace. Here they not only provide the original file, there is a DVD with video tutorial on the topic. This includes audible and visual learning which just connect more of those dangling neurons in the brain.

Take care and go out and learn something this week... Doug