Please work through the tasks below:

Please perform the tasks below. UEENEEE038B Participate in development and follow a personal competency development plan

Plan to achieve team outcomes –

Today I would like you to focus on how you can   identify, establish and document

  • the purpose of a team,
  • each team members roles,
  • their responsibilities,
  • the goals of the team,
  • plans and
  • objectives.

The overall purpose of this is the creation of a cohesive (unified and connected) team. Every team member should know what their role is and what he or she is working on.

Research the tools below that will help achieve team outcomes!

What is   an action plan and how does it differ from a to-do-list? (Online Resource: MindTools.com)
 
Are action plans suitable for small or large projects? (Online Resource: MindTools.com)
 
List the 3 steps in an action plan? (Online Resource: MindTools.com)
 
What does SCHEMES stand for? (Online Resource: MindTools.com)
 
Create an action plan for yourself and 2-3 other team   members! Pick a task that you need to do in real life, that involves some   planning and that requires you to work with others (eg family members). An example could be the renovation of a shed.

Make sure that you apply the 3 step approach and that   it clearly identifies the roles of each team member. Sub-divide the approach into the 3 steps and describe each in detail. (Duration 10 – 25mins)

 
Please e-mail me and keep a copy as proof of completion and upload the file to Moodle/ My Kangan.

 

 

Source: morgueFile, Photo by matei
Source: morgueFile, Photo by matei

Introduction

Welcome to your online class in Develop Strategies to Address Environmental & Sustainability Issues in the Energy Sector.

I know that is a catchy title and has quite a ring to it… and this is your class in Italian:

Sviluppare strategie per affrontare le questioni ambientali e di sostenibilità nel settore dell’energia. You see, it sounds like an opera by Giuseppe Verdi now! … and for the record: YES! I used Google Translate…

This class has a 1hour contact scheduled, so you will be able to discuss issues with me in person. Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

This is the unit of competency text: UEENEEK132A_Develop Strategies & Sustainability in Energy Sector

Our focus for this unit will be to create an understanding of sustainability and how it relates to ICT. You will need to perform the various tasks, that you will find in every part. The parts basically relate to the weeks and will be updated weekly.

The unit will cover 2 main assessments, and smaller weekly tasks to underpin key information needed to complete and comprehend this unit. The will be a discussion forum and you will need to check in there from Week 3 onwards.

Assessment Day 1 Task

Please download task 1, place your responses in the blue boxes, do not forget to type your name and student ID (it happens often) and upload to MyKangan where it says ‘Submit task 1 here!’:

Assessment Task Class 01

 

Thanks!

Hi guys and welcome to your first class!

He loves OHS! - Photo by Karpati Gabor on morgueFile
He loves OHS! – Photo by Karpati Gabor on morgueFile

We will cover these units online and will have 1 hour of contact every Monday.

Please open the attached units as we will read through them together. I would appreciate if you try not to snore if you fall asleep.

UEENEEE137A Document and Apply Measures to Control OHS Risks Associated With Electrotechnology Work

UEENEEK142A Apply Environmentally and Sustainable Procedures in the Energy sector

UEENEEE038B Participate in Development and Follow a Personal Competency Development Plan

UEENEEE101A Apply Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, Codes and Practices in the Workplace

After reading this interesting material please complete the attached document below and email it to me before the end of class.

Class 1 Assessment Task

Link to all Classes     Class 2     Class 3     Class 4      Class 5     Class 6

Today’s Class

  • Introduction to Delivery Format
    • Looking at RAE
    • Looking at MyKangan
  • Introduction to the Content
  • In-class Task

Introduction to Delivery Format

This class will be delivered in 2 hour schedules every Monday morning . The content will be posted on this blog as well as on MyKangan. Tasks, discussions and research will be conducted inside the 2 hour slot and at home.

You are expected to work towards goals independently and to be able to operate as part of a team. In a work place you will sometimes be lucky to work with people that you easily get along with, but unfortunately you might often have to work with people that you might not easily get along with. A professional looks beyond this and finds ways to function in a professional environment with a range of personalities.

Assessments:

Important: You need to submit all your assessments on MyKangan. It is your responsibility to follow up due dates and access to MyKangan.

  1. Day 1 Task – this task is a simple comprehension task to establish student participation. (due: after the first class)
  2. Assessment 1 – Portfolio of Work (Interactive PDF)
  3. Assessment 2

RAE – Research and Exploration or Class of Federico

This blog will be or main form of contact. It will be accessible from anywhere as long as you have internet access.

Make sure to explore the links when you have some free time. The best learning is done by yourself exploring and questioning.

MyKangan

MyKangan is Kangan’s content delivery platform for all classes. You will find all the content on MyKangan and as stated before: you will submit your assessments here.

To access MyKangan please open Kangan’s student portal and click on MyKangan. Next find the class by unit title. This can be a bit hard to see, so make sure to know the unit titles.

I will run you through this in person.

This is also where you will submit your assessments. You will find hyperlinks with names such as Submit Assessment  1 here.

You can send messages to your teacher and you can leave comments as well. I am always open to suggestions, so please feel free to forward ideas about content or software that you would like to cover.

Introduction to Content

These units will be covered:

Please click on the link to view the Unit of Competency Text. Please look over the text and at least read through the Elements to get an idea what you will learn in this class.

The CS5 Workspace (overview)

Please open this Link –CS5 Overview– of a 10 page PDF file (from Adobe Systems Incorporated 2010) in a new window.

On your screen find the application bar, the menu bar, the options bar, the document window, the tools panel as well as the other panels or palettes.

Source: Steve-hamlin.com

Source: Steve-hamlin.com

Activity:  Click on Window in the menu bar. (Here are all the panels and palettes that you can activate or deactivate.) Click on Navigator and see the palette becoming active. Next drag the Navigator palette to the very left of the  workspace or document window. Do the same with the Character Palette (this one is a bit harder to find and I leave it up to you to figure it out).
Next select New Workspace from the workspace switcher menu, name your workspace and tick the 2 boxes.

You have just created a new workspace for yourself. To get back to the standard workspace layout select Reset Essentials from the workspace switcher menu. Changing the workspace to suit your need can speed up your work and is more fun.

In-class Task

I would like to emphasise how useful the Adobe TV site is:

Please activate this link to a Adobe TV Tutorial: How To Get Started with Photoshop CS6 – 10 Things Beginners Want to Know How to Do  It will give you an introduction to Photoshop CS6 by introducing 10 functions. By the way: the shortcuts given are for Mac and if you want to use them on your PCs you need to use the Ctrl function instead of the twirly symbol.

Please do not expect to understand everything, it is an introduction. Try it out with any image that you have.

Your task: manipulate an image of your choice while viewing the video. E-mail me a copy (JPEG) of the original image and a copy of the image that you have manipulated. I do not expect any big changes, just have some fun with it and next week we will work on it together.

Thank you!

Feedback

Please leave your feedback in form of a comment. Your feedback and suggestions will help me to make this blog more user friendly. Thanks!

Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com
Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com

Link to all Classes     Class 1     Class 2     Class 3     Class 4     Class 5     Class 6

Today’s Class

  • Feedback on both Assessments
  • Assessment Files
  • Adding Meta-data to an Image in Photoshop
  • Inspirations

Feedback on Both Assessments

I will walk around and provide feedback on your work. Make sure that you consider the Visual Hierarchy of your work.

Create a layout of your work from basic outlines and place numbers against the different elements or pieces.

Is there one element that stands out the most? Are they all equal? Boring!!! You want to create a piece that is dynamic! For it to be dynamic it needs:

  • some movement
  • an entry point to the work (this is the first piece or element in your visual hierarchy)
  • a second, third, and other pieces in your Visual Hierarchy
  • A focal point – this can be achieved by an arrow pointing, a person pointing, a person looking at the focal point, the direction of text, etc
Example for Visual Hierarchy - based ‘Think small’ Advertisement for VW Beetle by Helmut Krone, 1960
Example for Visual Hierarchy – based ‘Think small’ Advertisement for VW Beetle by Helmut Krone, 1960

The image of the Beetle advertisement by iconic graphic designer Helmut Krone is a good example for a clear Visual Hierarchy.

  1.  Product image – due to position (we are trained to look at the top left first), high contrast (darkness of the beetle against the white background helps to make it stand out), generous use of white space (makes the image visually more important).
  2. Heading – due to position (it is positioned on the path to the next elements), bold and larger than body text, high contrast.
  3. Body textposition and size of text area. You could argue that the logo is visually as important.
  4. Logo – position, size (opposed to text) and white space around the logo.

The advertisement can be found at the AIGA Design Archives (and many other sites).

Scale – play with the size of things! Do not accept the first concept that you create. Rearrange it and change the scale of one element. How does the work look if one element is much larger?

Playing with the scale should be a lot of fun! In illustrator you might need to group some elements (Ctrl+G/Cmd+G) and select with V, the Selection Tool and drag to increase or decrease.

Assessment Files

Below are copies of both your assessments:

Assessment 1 – Student Diary Cover

Assessment 2 – Design a GUI

Adding Meta-data to an Image in Photoshop

The easiest way to integrate Meta-data into a file in Photoshop is to open the File Info Sheet: click File>File Info from the drop menu or use the short cut: Shift+Ctrl+Alt+I to open the window.

Next enter your information into the text fields. You want to add a title, name of author (creator), description, keywords and a copyright status.

Shift+Ctrl+Alt+I or File>File Info...
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+I or File>File Info…
Example of File Info being filled in.
Example of File Info being filled in.

PS Screenshot - File Info 02

Inspirations for Your Assessments

We were discussing different trends and inspirations in class. Here are some ideas and inspirations. Click on the images to activate a Google Image Search for the type of images in the thumbnails.

Retro Book Cover Illustrations 50s - Click the image for a Google Search
Retro Book Cover Illustrations 50s – Click the image for a Google Search
Retro Futurism - Click the image for a Google Search
Retro Futurism – Click the image for a Google Search
Vintage Book Illustration - Click the image for a Google Search
Vintage Book Illustration – Click the image for a Google Search

Based on photo by hotblack from morgueFile.com
Based on photo by hotblack from morgueFile.com

Link to all Classes     Class 1     Class 2     Class 3     Class 4     Class 5

Work on Assessments

Today you have a chance to work on your assessments in class and get my feedback on the work.

Assessment 1 – Research Assessment

Assessment 2 – Cert IV PGA – Operational Plan

Presentation by Manager Sangeeta Alex

Operational Plan 2013 – First in-class Presentation by Kangan Mangager

 

Inspired by photos by emlyn and clarita from morgueFile.com

Link to all Classes     Class 1     Class 2     Class 3     Class 4      Class 5

Today’s Class

  • Talking About Inspiration and Good Design
  • Reflection Tutorial – Photoshop Workshop (in class)

Talking About Inspiration and Good Design

Following up on last week’s conversation about inspiration: I was extremely pleased with some of the works seen by students for student diary entries as well as the GUI workshop. It is good to see that you are being inspired by works that I introduced in class and that you take feedback on board.

It is important to question your work, to seek feedback and to refine it. It is never easy to produce work that will satisfy your own standard. You are actually lucky if you set a high standard for yourself, I often teach students who do not set a high standard and therefore just aim for mediocrity. Their work is generic and looks like something they have found on Google.

You want to aim to first understand a question.You can do this by looking at the design problem and creating a clear project outline, including a design brief, a close look at the target audience and the overall technical details.

Next you look at providing an answer, that suits the brief and that covers all the points of the project outline. If the answer reflects your style or has your signature, that is an added bonus.

Illustration by Kate Miller, found on DzineBlog.com
Illustration by Kate Miller, found on DzineBlog.com

As stated before you will find some inspirations in the artwork and design work of current practitioners and past masters. I have selected an inspiring post from Dzineblog for today:  Some Amazing Retro Style Illustrations Part 2

It looks at retro style illustrations and I appreciate the amount of texture and depth that can be found in a lot of the works.

Gary Neill

Below are illustrations by Gary Neill. His illustrations are rich in texture and show depth in the use of colour, tone and pattern. All his works are simple in shape and visually engaging. I like to look at his work, it makes me feel something, may this be happiness or a sense of wanting to explore the work in more detail. The orange and blue illustration is such a strong statement, it makes me think of online chatting, online dating or any form of digital interaction.

Gary Neill has created illustrations for impressive publications, such as The Guardian, The New York Times, The Economist, Business Week, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Independent, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mens Health, Wired, Sunday Telegraph, National Geographic, The Washington Post and many others. Explore his work in more detail on Gary Neill’s SiteGary Neill’s Tumblr SiteGoogle Image Search

Illustration by Gary Neill found on Dzineblog.com - http://garyneill.com/  http://garyneill.tumblr.com/
Illustration by Gary Neill found on Dzineblog.com – http://garyneill.com/ http://garyneill.tumblr.com/

The illustration below is a more sinister and serious work by Neill. It was used by The Economist and has a focus on torture applied by a government. We have all heard the saying an image says a thousand words and this illustration is a powerful attempt at raising awareness of torture happening nowadays and how different Western countries view it. I like the simplicity of the image and the use of only black and red. Red is always a strong colour to represent emotion and it is used here symbolic for blood. This is a link to the article The Dark Pursuit of the Truth – Spies, Torture and Terrorism.

Illustration by Gary Neill found on P.A.P.-Blog - http://garyneill.com/  http://garyneill.tumblr.com/
Illustration by Gary Neill found on P.A.P.-Bloghttp://garyneill.com/ http://garyneill.tumblr.com/

Tavis Coburn

The illustrations below are works by Tavis Coburn. His works look very retro and represent a style and feel often found in book cover illustrations and comics of the 1940s and 50s. The style is often referred to as Pulp Fiction – see this Google link for examples for Pulp Fiction book covers.

I find his work very appealing, the stylised use of halftone patterns can look cool – even though it has been overused in recent years. The image of the newly-weds has depth – the back ground is blue and white and mostly flat (except of a few scratch marks above her head), the couple are very textured in an over exposed halftone pattern, the dotted line and suitcase with money sit above it all and suggest that the bride is focusing on the money. The work is a dynamic play on figure/ground relation or negative and positive space.

Here are two links to video tutorials on how to create halftone patterns:

The images he uses look friendly as in the advertisments of the late 40s and 50s, but placed in our time they seem to criticise and poke fun at the consumerism of the 50s.  Explore Tavis Coburn’s work in more detail: Tavis Coburn’s Site, Google Image Search

Illustration by Tavis Coburn found on DzineBlog.com
Illustration by Tavis Coburn found on DzineBlog.com

The second illustration by Coburn is from an article predicting the future of iOS in 2011. What appeals to me is the bright colour scheme, the icons representing the infographic nature of mobile app design. Yet, the image looks like a SciFi take from the 1940s or 50s if not even earlier. I feel reminded of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Again, it seems that Coburn looks at our time through a mirror of the past.

Illustration: Tavis Coburn - Illustration for for an article predicting trends in Apple's mobile strategy. Found on: TavisCoburn.com
Illustration: Tavis Coburn – Illustration for for an article predicting trends in Apple’s mobile strategy. Found on: TavisCoburn.com

Jessie Ford

The illustrations by Jessie Ford have an appealing softness to them. Her work is retro and yet very contemporary. Her work looks very vector-based, it is rich in overlaying textures. I like how she uses dirty looking textures to add to an otherwise plain background. Her generous use of white space and rich textures with her vector graphic or stamped shapes is very attractive. It has depth and I always feel like looking at her work longer and a second time to see what it actually is.

Find her works at: Jessie Ford’s Site, Google Image Search

Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com
Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com

The second illustration has that simple texture that I described as dirt above. It is like rolling a drying roller brush with black paint over a rendered wall. The texture that she has applied to her illustration makes it more interesting and gives it depth. Without it it would look more digital and clean, maybe flat and polished. The grittier look of her work is strong.

Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com
Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com

Reflection Tutorial – Photoshop Workshop

This tutorial was listed in previous classes and will be presented today. It is a Photoshop tutorial that shows several easy to follow steps that will allow you to create the illusion of a glossy finish and reflections. This is very suitable for creating a glossy interface, buttons or logo, as well as adding a fold line to your work to make it look more realistic (as if scanned of a poster).

I suggest some alternative shortcuts to the steps used in the tutorial by Tutorial9.

Tutorial9 - Glossy Reflection
Tutorial9 – Reflection Tutorial

Follow the in-class presentation of this tutorial The 5 Essential Photoshop Reflections or complete it yourself.

1- Upload PSD

Upload the PSD file for the tutorial or use a PSD of your choice. You will need a basic button against a dark background.

2 – Create Basic Surface Reflection

  • Select Group 2, the layer with the cloud in it. Duplicate the layer by pressing Ctrl+J (Cmd+J).
  • Press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T) to activate Free Transform. Right click on the selected cloud and select Flip Vertical. The cloud will have flipped over.
  • Drag the cloud down manually while holding shift (to keep it aligned) or use your arrow keys (with shift – to go in larger steps) to move the cloud down.
  • Complete the Free Transform by pressing Enter or double clicking on the cloud.
Image 1 - Add a Layer Mask
Image 1 – Add a Layer Mask
  • Add a layer mask (click the button for layer mask – see image 1)
  • Press D (to reset the standard foreground/background colours to White and Black)
Image 2 - Apply a Gradient Mask
Image 2 – Apply a Gradient Mask
  • Activate the gradient tool (press G) and drag (while still in the mask mode – the mask needs to be outlined) from point 1 to point 2 (see image 2). Your reflection should be partly invisible.
  •  Last steps: apply the layer mask(right click on the layer text and select apply layer mask) and change the layer opacity to suit (I chose 65%).
Image 3 - Change Layer Opacity
Image 3 – Change Layer Opacity

3 – Create Environment Reflection

The Environmental Reflection is white on top and gets lighter towards the bottom.
The Environmental Reflection is white on top and gets lighter towards the bottom.

This reflection works in 2 mayor steps:

Make the Selection

  • Select the cloud on the layer Group 2. The fastest way is to hold Ctrl while you click the layer thumbnail.
  • Make a round selection with the Elliptical Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M or Shift+M to toggle between Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee) and drag it over the top part of the selection of the cloud. Make sure to hold Shift+Alt (or pressing the Intersect with Selection button in the options panel) while dragging your round selection.
  • The result should be a top part selection of the cloud with a arch at the bottom.

Apply a Gradient Fill

  • Create a new layer on top of the cloud layer (Group 2). Call it Env Reflection.
  • Make sure to have white as foreground colour.
  • Fill the new layer with a white to transparent gradient. Select Gradient Tool (Shortcut: G) and choose the option: Foreground to Transparent (in options panel). Drag the cursor from above towards the selection. This will apply the white. Try it a few times until happy.

Adjustments

  • Reduce the Opacity setting in the Layers Panel to reduce the intensity of the gradient.
  • Save your file for the Web: as a PNG.

4 – Create Glossy Reflection

The Glossy Reflection is transparent on top and gets whiter towards the bottom.
The Glossy Reflection is transparent on top and gets whiter towards the bottom.

Do everything as in the steps for the Environmental Reflection, except: call the layer Glossy Reflection and apply the gradient fill from the bottom up. This will make the cloud shape look like a glossy object.

Save your file for the Web: as a PNG.

5 – Create a Fold Line

The Fold line is doubled up and the flare gives it a bit of depth. Look at the Tutorial9 link for the flare.
The Fold line is doubled up and the flare gives it a bit of depth. Look at the Tutorial9 link for the flare.

The fold line is a good way to create the illusion that your artwork is a poster that has been scanned in. The illusion of the fold looks like the shade in a photo or worn.

Make the Selection

  • Select the cloud on the layer Group 2. The fastest way is to hold Ctrl while you click the layer thumbnail.
  • Make a straight selection with the Rectangular Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M or Shift+M to toggle between Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee) and drag it over the lower half of the selection of the cloud. Make sure to hold Shift+Alt (or pressing the Intersect with Selection button in the options panel) while dragging your selection.
  • The result should be a lower half selection of the cloud.

Apply the Darkness

  • Create a new layer on top of the cloud layer (Group 2). Call it Fold Line.
  • Make sure to have black as foreground colour (or simply press D).
  • Select the Brush Tool (Shortcut: B) and a size of 170 or more with a hardness of 0% (this can be found in the Options Panel under the brush tip (called brush preset picker).
  • The next bit is important: Do NOT draw inside your selection but a bit above it. The thickness and softness of the brush will still provide a hint of black.

Adjustments

  • Reduce the Opacity setting in the Layers Panel to reduce the intensity of the colour.
  • Copy and move that layer to get a more natural and slightly overlapping or blurred fold.
  • Save your file for the Web: as a PNG.

Feedback

I hope that you have enjoyed the tutorial. Please leave me your feedback in form of a comment. If the tutorial did not make sense to you, I would like to find out about that, so that it can be made clearer. Thanks!

Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com
Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com

Link to all EDSS classes     Class 1     Class2     Class3     Class 4     Class 5

EDSS is a combination of Create an Extensible Document (ICPMM491D) and Create an Extensible Style Sheet (ICPMM492D). This class is a cluster of the two units, that will be delivered together.

Overview

  • XML Summary
  • Creating a Style Sheet
  • Including Meta-Data in a Website
  • Internal DTD Declaration
  • Assessment

XML Summary (>W3Schools)

XML can be used to exchange, share, and store  data.

XML documents form a tree structure that starts at  “the root” and branches to “the leaves”.

XML has very simple syntax rules. XML with  correct syntax is “Well Formed”. Valid XML also validates against a DTD.

XSLT is used to transform XML into other formats  like HTML.

All modern browsers have a built-in XML parser  that can read and manipulate XML.

The DOM (Document Object Model) defines a standard  way for accessing XML.

The XML examples on W3Schools also represent a summary of this XML tutorial.

Creating a Style Sheet

Look at the style sheet used in the example of this XML/XSLT editor on W3Schools. It uses XSLT. Change aspects of it, replacing style elements. Change the colour, the border…

Including Meta-Data in a Website

Including meta-data in a website is best done in the HTML code. Use the head section to include your meta-data. Look at this link to see how to include it: Head Element With Meta Tags in HTML.

Examples:

  • Define keywords for search engines: <meta name=”keywords” content=”HTML, CSS, XML, XHTML, JavaScript”>
  • Define a description of your web page: <meta name=”description” content=”Free Web tutorials on HTML and CSS”>
  • Define the author of a page: <meta name=”author” content=”Hege Refsnes”>
  • Refresh document every 30 seconds: <meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”30″>

Internal DTD Declaration

The internal DTD declaration is placed inside the XML document. See example on W3Schools.

Assessment Task

You will use the  XML/XSLT online editor on W3Schools to create an XML document with internal DTD declaration as well as a XLST document with integrated Meta-data.

Task:

Create two price lists with the help of two well formed and valid XML and XSLT files. Use the W3School online editor (as per last link above) and save the xml file as menu.xml and the xslt as menu.xslt.

Price List 1 is supposed to be for a cafe menu. Include a column for 8 or more food item and one for the price and description. You will need to make the descriptions and cost up.

Include an internal DTD in the XML document. You need to rename the individual parent and child elements. Do not use the elements in the example!

Incorporate the meta data into the HTML part of the XSLT document. The meta data needs to include: keywords, description and author.

Price List 2 is supposed to be for a purpose of your choice (eg a book catalog or supermarket stock). Apply the same principle and save as xml and xslt.

Submit the 2 xml and 2 xslt files on MyKangan.

Due Date: 19/7

Note: Your comments and feedback are as always welcome. Please leave additional information for other users. Thanks!