There has recently been a call for case studies for Adobe
UK, and I plan to submit. I was thinking that I would have
something ready by now, but it will take longer - deciding
for a start what the case study should be, then arranging
an interview with the publicity company.
Two things that I do - one is to look for simple and fun
projects that work - building up a repertoire to use in my
teaching. The other is to explore possibilities in
interactive media - Interaction is one of the things that I
find most magical with digital media.
Why my work as a case study? I am not sure that I am any
'better' or more capable than many other art teachers using
digital media, in fact I am sure that there are many
younger than I who are very much more capable in certain
areas, perhaps through having worked in animation, design,
film or web. But I do think that I have a special niche,
partly through having worked with digital media for many
years, building a repertoire of projects that work, partly
due to my enthusiastic and on-going research into finding
ways of using and teaching digital media.
I was thinking as I listened to the talk by Paul Gough just
how important it is to become known - self advertising, but
more important perhaps to have others advertising for you.
Several years ago I tried without success to make contact
with the Adobe education team for the UK. Then a contact
from HP asked on my behalf, and they contacted me. I
started presenting for Adobe at Bett. My presentation was
seen by Adobe folk from the States, which I think was a
factor in me becoming an Adobe Education Leader. Last
summer at the Adobe Leaders conference I met Merlin John,
ICT journalist, who wrote a piece about my work on his
blog. From this contact I was asked to present at Bett this
year in my own right, and perhaps from that came an
interview with the Guardian. All links in a chain, and very
much to do with not who you know, but who knows you. It is
a chain that takes time and work to forge, but also
serendipity, and ideally the building up of symbiotic
relationships.