Overview:

This unit of work is designed in alignment with the Victorian Curriculum and covers a 5 week unit of work suitable for Visual Commiunication and Design (VCD) students studying Unit 1 Area of Study 2:
Design Elements and Design Principles.

This unit has been created as a sequence of work completed during 4 hours per week over 5 weeks (20 hours of class-time).

This unit focuses strongly on the Design Elements and Design Principles as they apply to the making and responding to Personal Branding.

Students experiment with the elements and principles of design using manual and digital drawing methods such as photography, digital photography, drawing and digital drawing. Students undertake the
design process stages of:

 Generation of ideas
 Development of concepts for a stated purpose
 Develop knowledge of how design elements and principles are used together.
 Students investigate the purpose behind creating particular visual communications
 Students consider the relationship between design elements and principles and how they relate to achieving the stated purpose.
 Students develop knowledge of their legal obligations regarding ownership of images and apply this knowledge when visually communicating ideas and concepts. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)

Key Knowledge will include:

 key features and functions of design elements such as point, line, shape, form, tone, texture, colour and type
 key features and functions of design principles such as figure-ground, balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, scale, proportion and pattern (repetition and alternation)
 aesthetic and functional factors that influence the selection and application of design elements and design principles
 purposes of visual communications such as to advertise, promote, depict, teach, inform, identify and guide
 design elements and design principles and their use in the generation of ideas and development of concepts in the design process
 drawing methods to visualise ideas and concepts
 different manual and digital drawing methods, media and materials for exploring and applying design elements and design principles
 presentation drawing methods for the purpose of refining conceptual designs using drawing methods, including manual and digital methods
 techniques for generating and reflecting on ideas
 copyright obligations when using the work of others in visual communications.

Key skills will include:

 apply techniques to generate alternative design possibilities

 use appropriate drawing methods to generate visible ideas and develop concepts
 select and apply different design elements and design principles when generating and developing alternative design options
 use selected manual and digital drawing methods, media and materials appropriate to visual communication purposes
 refine and present visual communications to meet their stated purposes
 apply practices that fulfil legal obligations in visual communications when using images belonging to others. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
 VCD Unit 1
Area of Study: 2
Formative Assessment
Folio of observational, visualisation and presentation drawings created using manual and/or
digital methods
Statement of Intention
Colour Worksheet
Key Questions:
 How are ideas generated?
 How are concepts developed to meed a stated purpose?
 What are the key features and functions of design elements such as point, line,
shape form, tone texture, colour and type?
 What are the key features and functions of design principles such as figure-
ground, balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, scale, proportion and pattern
(repetition and alternation)?
 What are the purposes of visual communication, such as to advertise, promote,
depict, teach, inform, identify and guide?
 What are the drawing methods to visualise ideas and concepts?
 How are different manual and digital drawing methods, media and materials used
for exploring and applying design elements and principles?
 How are design elements and principles used together to achieve a stated
purpose?
 What is the purpose of creating particular visual communications?
 What are the legal obligations regarding ownership of images and applying this
knowledge when visually communicating ideas and concepts?
 What are the techniques for generating and reflecting on ideas?
Summative Assessment - Key Assessment Task:
Creation of an avatar and a website with an appropriate name, avatar/logo, slogan and
gallery with sample pages from student portfolios.
Resources and why they were included:
 The Logo Board Game
Students will play this game to solidify in their minds just how recognisable logos, mottos and
names are. This is a fun way to introduce the concept of branding and to show students just
how powerful marketing and branding can be.
 27 Top Character Design Tips
This is a great resource where leading illustrators share their character design tips. This article
includes design tips such as: keeping it simple, clean lines, easily readable features,
exaggeration, ways to give a hint at background and depth and personality, using sketches to
capture dynamic movement and flow, stepping away from the reference material, research,
starting with a feeling you want to evoke, look at other things for inspirations such as ceramics,
textures, folk costumes, keep sight of the original idea, exaggeration to create strong
characters, audience, originality, clear silhouettes (gesture), line quality, simplicity, colour
palette, hair, accessories, expression, etc.
Students revisit this article and refine their sketches using different aspects of the design tips
mentioned in the article.
 How to draw…
This is a great resource for teaching students how to draw so much more than just dogs. There
are lessons in how to draw dogs, cats, horses, eyes, noses, faces, postures, birds, skeletons,
muscles, water, landscapes, roses, hands, hair…. Students can use this to learn to draw a
whole range of things and to propel them towards more realistic renditions. This is a great
resource for supporting students artistic skills in VCD. Students can practice doing these
tutorials at home before attempting to sketch their photograph/avatar.
  11 Best Video Character Designs

This is a good start for students looking for inspiration. The graphics are complex (mostly) but
the reason behind why they are iconic is useful for students to remember when creating their
avatars.

The work of Anna Mantzaris

Beautiful illustration of how mood boards, backgrounds and accessories can help develop
character as well as showing students what a consistent look can be like in a designer’s body
of work. Characters all have a similar ‘look’ but stand out through colour, posture, accessories,
background, expression. Etc.

Jo-Mei

A great resource for showing students how colour can impact the feel of graphics. As well as a
wonderful demonstration of how background, line and silhouette can be used effectively to add
to imagery. Student can use this site as inspiration to add to their avatar once they have come
up with the character.

Giphy.com
This is a great resource for students who are ahead. They can simply and easily create an
animated version of their avatar using this site. They can then tag it and use it to send to
people.
Parallel teeth
A good example of simple avatars being converted into dynamic attention grabbers by using
animated gifs to bring avatar to life.

‘Insider Advice from a Master Film Character Designer’ which gives great information on how
to take your character from being a stereotype to having a depth of character through their
appearance. As students hone their avatar, it is advice from this article, such as finding the
posture or revelling in small details that can make your avatar really ‘pop’.

Beginners Guide to Weebly

Weebly is great for beginners who want to create a website. It is simple and easy and
beginners can have a website up and running in about half an hour. The rest is just tinkering to
get all the information up and looking how you want it. The Weebly creation is intended to be a
guided lesson with the teacher, but for those students who may have had a bit of difficulty or
were away, this is a great place to consolidate the lesson from class.

Home Learning Schedule (approx. 4 hours per week): Reflect, Finish & Prepare
 Victorian Curriculum – VCD Unit 1 Area of Study 2
Design Elements and Design Principles
Create a personal marketing brand in the form of an avatar and website

Week 1 Focus: Introduction/Students investigate the purpose behind branding

2 Hours
Learning Intention: Resources:
Students investigate the purpose behind creating particular visual communications (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)  The Logo Board Game
Purposes of visual communications such as to advertise, promote, depict, teach, inform, identify and guide (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students will play this game to
solidify in their minds just how
Students look at the concept of branding. Students look at examples brands. Students explore what makes up a brand. recognisable logos, mottos and
Show logos and ask students to identify the brand. names are. This is a fun way to
Play a brand recognition game introduce the concept of branding
Look at the website of different brands. and to show students just how
Talk about what makes up different brands, for example name, logo, motto, product. powerful marketing and branding
Look at the school they are in. What is their brand? can be.
Talk about individuals such s Michael Jordan and show how they brand themselves.
Talk about how brands change over time such as Apple, KFC. Why do they change?
Introduce the topic of ‘Branding Myself’

Go over what the students will be doing in the course of the unit: they will be making their personal brand – a name, logo which will
be an avatar of themselves, motto and website, which will be used for this unit and any subsequent VCD units that they do to house
their work. This will be a portfolio to showcase their work to future employers or tertiary applications.

Talk to students about how they interact on social media at the moment. Ask them how they present themselves online. Ask
students to consider how they might want to portray themselves in future. Ask students to map up how they want their friends to see
them and how they might want future employers, colleagues, etc. to view them. Is there a difference? Why

2 Hours
Learning Intention: Resources:
Generation of ideas (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Article: 27 Top Character Design
Techniques for generating and reflecting on ideas (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Tips

Students map out what sort of things they are currently posting online. Students write out all the words they can think of, to sum up This is a great resource where
how they currently portray themselves online. leading illustrators share their
character design tips. This article
In a different colour, students write out all the words that sum up how they want others to see them in future (thinking about includes design tips such as:
themselves in the workforce and tertiary settings). Students discuss any overlap or any areas where they don’t overlap. keeping it simple, clean lines, easily
readable features, exaggeration,
Students write out a word cloud of all the things they aspire to be in the future. ways to give a hint at background
and depth and personality, using
These words will be the inspiration for the character they will create of themselves, i.e. their avatar. Students will decide what feeling sketches to capture dynamic
they want to evoke. movement and flow, stepping away
from the reference material,
Students begin researching for their character. research, starting with a feeling you
want to evoke, look at other things
Students read the article ’27 Top Character Design Tips’. for inspirations such as ceramics,
 After reading the article they should answer the following questions in their visual diary: textures, folk costumes, keep sight
of the original idea, exaggeration to
1. After reading the article ‘27 Top Character Design Tips’, what are the 5 things that you think are important things to think create strong characters, audience,
about when designing a character. (For example, clean lines, exaggeration, clear silhouettes, colour palette, expression, originality, clear silhouettes
etc.) (gesture), line quality, simplicity,
2. Why is exaggeration important? (helps identify key qualities of the character and makes them larger than life) colour palette, hair, accessories,
3. How does the audience affect the use of colour? expression, etc.
4. What is the role of the silhouette? (Keeping the character distinct and improving their pose)
5. How does line affect your design? Lines are read at different speeds (fast and slow depending on curved or straight it can
also depict a line of action/movement).

Homework (4 Hours)
Reflect on: How you want your avatar to look/feel/act/move/express themselves/background, clothing, etc.
Finish: Reading the 27 Top Character Design Tips article and listing all the qualities about you that you want to highlight in your character design
Prepare: Students find or take 2-5 photographs of themselves that they might like to use as inspiration for their avatar. Images might include great expression, facial expression, gestural
expression, etc. Students paste these into their portfolios.
 Victorian Curriculum – VCD Unit 1 Area of Study 2
Design Elements and Design Principles
Create a personal marketing brand in the form of an avatar and website

Week 2 Focus: Students investigate how the Elements and Principles of design can be used to visually communicate ideas through the design process.

2 Hours
Learning Intention: Resources:
Students develop concepts for a stated purpose. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students develop knowledge of how design elements and principles are used together. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students consider the relationship between design elements and principles and how they relate to achieving the stated purpose.  How to draw…
(VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
This is a great resource for
teaching students how to draw so
 Students look at the 11 Best Video Character Designs site and then collect 30 different characters/avatars they like for much more than just dogs. There
inspiration from other sources. These are to be pasted in their visual journals and annotated using the Elements and are lessons in how to draw dogs,
Principles of design to annotate the qualities they want to capture in their avatar. cats, horses, eyes, noses, faces,
postures, birds, skeletons, muscles,
Students are to consider the following questions in their visual journal: water, landscapes, roses, hands,
hair…. Students can use this to
Audience learn to draw a whole range of
 Who is your audience? Who will see your avatar? things and to propel them towards
 Describe your audience? Include information about potential: gender, lifestyle, socio-economic status, interests, more realistic renditions. Great
demographics, etc. resource for supporting students
 Why do we need to consider the audience of your design? artistic skills in VCD. Students can
practice doing these tutorials to
support their sketches.
Context
 What are the possible uses for your design?
 Where will it be visible to others?  11 Best Video Character
Designs

Constraints This is a good start for students

 What is a constraint? looking for inspiration. The graphics
 What are two constraints that could be applied to your design? Think about the platform you will be using and are complex (mostly) but the
your audience. reason behind why they are iconic
is useful for students to remember
when creating their avatars.
Students fill out the following personal profile to start the design thinking process:

Copy this table into your visual diary and use this table to brainstorm a list of words:
Your favourite:

Animal, Object, Activity, Hobby, Food, Place, Colour

Pick 5 of your words and make them into a rhyming pair or powerful slogan. For instance, if you like flowers you might come up with
5 different slogans around that, et: Petal Power, Tic-TIC-BLOOM!, All flower – no thorn!, How’s it growing? Don’t stop be-leafing,
What’s up buttercup?, Seed you later! Boo!-K?, etc,….

Students will write up a written statement of intention of what they want their character to look and feel like.
 Once students have handed in their statement of intention, they will begin sketching ideas for their character design. Students draw
a minimum of 8 sketches of different ideas for their avatar.
Students think about the shape and scale of their characters: body, eyes, and your personal features. Students are to annotate each
of their designs discussing which design elements and principles are working or not working and why.

2 Hours
Learning Intention: Resources:
Development of concepts for a stated purpose. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Article: 27 Top Character Design
Students use key features and functions of design elements such as point, line, shape, form, tone, texture, colour and type (VCAA Tips
2019, pp14-15)
Students use key features and functions of design principles such as figure-ground, balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, scale,
proportion and pattern (repetition and alternation) (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Students revisit this article and
Students use aesthetic and functional factors that influence the selection and application of design elements and design principles refine their sketches using different
(VCAA 2019, pp14-15) aspects of the design tips
Students use design elements and design principles and their use in the generation of ideas and development of concepts in the mentioned in the article.
design process (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students use drawing methods to visualise ideas and concepts. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students apply techniques to generate alternative design possibilities. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Tutorial: Draw Vector Art on the Go
Students use appropriate drawing methods to generate visible ideas and develop concepts. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students select and apply different design elements and design principles when generating and developing alternative design
options. (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)

Students will then look at their drawings and evaluate what parts of their design are working and select the best sketch out of the 10
they have drawn and annotated. After picking their favourite design they will develop it further using SCAMPER. They will evaluate
whether their character is ‘relatable’, whether the character is telling their story. Students will use PMI.
Students will evaluate how much of them are in their characters? Is the character wearing the clothes they wear, the hairstyle they
have, the accessories they choose to wear?

Students will then revisit the 27 Top Character Design Tips and refine their drawing focussing on 10 different tips within the article.
eg, they will re-sketch their drawing focussing on colour palette, then redraw it focussing on line, silhouette, action/movement,
posture, hair, exaggeration.

Students will annotate each sketch, commenting on what aspects of their design work or do not work for each sketch using the
design elements and principles as their focus for each annotation.

Homework (4 Hours)
Finish: Students finish coming up with their 10 sketches and annotating them. Students finish refining their final sketch at home. Student can read Draw Vector Art on the Go and have a go at
creating their avatar on their phone/iPad.
Students finish coming up with their slogans (5 for each of the 5 words they have chosen)
 Victorian Curriculum – VCD Unit 1 Area of Study 2
Design Elements and Design Principles
Create a personal marketing brand in the form of an avatar and website

Week 3 Focus: Students investigate how to use digital technologies in the design process

2 Hours
Learning Intention: Resources:
Tutorial: Draw Vector Art on the Go
Students use selected manual and digital drawing methods, media and materials appropriate to visual communication purposes
(VCAA 2019, pp14-15)
Students refine and present visual communications to meet their stated purposes (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) The work of Anna Mantzaris
Students utilise different manual and digital drawing methods, media and materials for exploring and applying design elements and
design principles (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) Beautiful illustration of how mood
Students use presentation drawing methods for the purpose of refining conceptual designs using drawing methods, including manual boards, backgrounds and
and digital methods (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) accessories can help develop
character as well as showing
Students will photograph or scan their finalised design and then use illustrator to draw their character using vectors to overlay their students what a consistent look can
design. (Students will open the layers palette, name this layer ‘Drawing’, and lock the layer, They will create a new layer and call this be like in a designer’s body of work.
layer ‘Marketing Me’ and use this layer to create a vector illustration, students will use the pen tool to draw the character or use Characters all have a similar ‘look’
simple shapes and stretch them, students will create a colour palette by creating a swatch from the swatch library > colour books, but stand out through colour,
students will draw with the blob brush and loosely render to create some sketchy lines, students will add shadows, students will keep posture, accessories, background,
some of their drawn lines visible.) expression. Etc.

Students will create their designs using vector illustrating techniques within illustrator.

Students will alter their avatars using the tools within illustrator to experiment with line shape, thickness, fills, patterns, textures, etc.

Students will colour their characters with different combinations and take screenshots, annotating each shot in their folios.

Students struggling to come up with a look can visit The work of Anna Mantzaris resource for further inspiration.
2 Hours
Resource
Students will continue working on their avatar design using illustrator.
Jo-Mei
Students will continue experimenting with different brush, colour and texture effects within illustrator, taking screenshots and
annotating them in their visual diaries.
A great resource for showing
Students can go to Jo-Mei site for inspiration on how background, line and silhouette can be used effectively to add to imagery. students how colour can really
impact the feel of graphics. As well
For those students who are well ahead, they might want to consider creating an animated Gif through ezgif.com or giphy.com. (and as a wonderful demonstration of
go to parallel teeth for examples on how they might want to include movement in their avatar). how background, line and
silhouette can be used effectively to
add to imagery. Student can use
this site as inspiration to add to
their avatar once they have come
up with the character.
Giphy.com
This is a great resource for
students who are ahead. They can
simply and easily create an
animated version of their avatar
using this site. They can then tag it
and use it to send to people.
Parallel teeth
A good example of simple avatars
being converted into dynamic
attention grabbers by using
animated gifs to bring avatar to life.

Homework (4 Hours)
Finish: Students finish their avatars digitally using Illustrator.
 Victorian Curriculum – VCD Unit 1 Area of Study 2
Design Elements and Design Principles
Create a personal marketing brand in the form of an avatar and website

Week 4 Focus: Students investigate how to use digital technologies in the design process

2 Hours
Learning Intention:

Students use presentation drawing methods for the purpose of refining conceptual designs using drawing methods, including manual
and digital methods (VCAA 2019, pp14-15)

This week, students continue drawing their designs in illustrator this week.
Students will continue to take regular screenshots of their progress, placing images in their folios and annotating them as they go,
commenting on their use of the design elements and principles.

Students will revisit the 27 Tips article and their Statement of and see if their design aligns with their written statement of intention.

Students who are ahead can draw their avatar in a variety of poses and backgrounds.

2 Hours
As students continue their avatar design, they are asked to read the article ‘Insider Advice from a Master Film Character Designer’ Resources:
which gives great information on how to take your character from being a stereotype to having a depth of character through their
appearance. As students hone their avatar, it is advice from this article, such as finding the posture or revelling in small details that ‘Insider Advice from a Master Film
can make your avatar really ‘pop’. Character Designer’ which gives
great information on how to take
your character from being a
stereotype to having a depth of
character through their
appearance. As students hone their
avatar, it is advice from this article,
such as finding the posture or
revelling in small details that can
make your avatar really ‘pop’.

Homework (4 Hours)
Finish: Students finish their avatars digitally using Illustrator.
 Victorian Curriculum – VCD Unit 1 Area of Study 2
Design Elements and Design Principles
Create a personal marketing brand in the form of an avatar and website

Week 5 Focus: Students learn to use digital technologies to present their work online

2 Hours Beginners Guide to Weebly

Learning Intention:
Weebly is great for beginners who
Refine and present visual communications to meet their stated purposes (VCAA 2019, pp14-15) want to create a website. It is
simple and easy and beginners can
have a website up and running in
This week, students will be shown in class how to create their website using Weebly.com. about half an hour. The rest is just
Students will create and personalise their websites with their Avatar, motto and a gallery showing their progress from initial concept tinkering to get all the information
sketches to a final avatar. Students will be given time in class to work out how they want their websites to look. up and looking how you want it.
The Weebly creation is intended to
be a guided lesson with the
teacher, but for those students who
may have had a bit of difficulty or
were away, this is a great place to
consolidate the lesson from class.

2 Hours Students present and share their websites and give each other feedback. Students reflect on whether their avatar and website are
suitable for their intended audience. Students analyse the effectiveness of their avatar in meeting their statement of intention.
This lesson planner is stored in the Visual Arts Classroom: https://visual-arts-classroom.weebly.com/

ECA432 Assessment Task 2: Visual Arts Senior Secondary Arts Learning Sequence

1: Statement of Intention

As technologies advance, personal devices such as smartphones and iPads are becoming more powerful. Not long ago photo and video editing programs were too expensive, and required so much computer
power, that only design professionals had access to them. With the advent of smartphones and iPads, we have seen these incredibly powerful applications placed in the hands of children - for free! At the same
time, we have seen a phenomenal rise in social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter….the list goes on, with new ones popping up every week! With every photo that is
shared on Instagram, every tweet posted on Twitter, or Facebook page that is ‘liked’, our digital footprint grows wider.

With powerful programs at our fingertips, the ability to reach a global audience and the inability to erase our digital footprint, it is important to be aware of how we portray ourselves online. VCD is uniquely
positioned to help students navigate these treacherous waters by empowering students with vital visual language skills and provide a framework to reflect on and critique their own, and others’, visual
communications in the modern world.

Year 11 students are at a time in their lives when they are questioning the world and their place in it. For this reason, the ‘Marketing Myself’ Unit is a pivotal unit designed to help students think about their
public and private identity. This unit is suitable for a diverse range of learners as it harnesses a topic with which they are highly engaged - Themselves! Helping to make the content relevant and deeply
meaningful to students lives.

Today’s adolescents are highly drawn to social media as a way of staying connected to their peers. AITSL (2019) Standard 1.2 requires the proficient teacher to ‘Understand how students learn’. This unit was
created with the understanding that students have a deep engagement with social media platforms. By focusing on the student’s identity, this learning sequence also differentiates by making every student an
expert on the subject - after all, who knows more about themselves than they do? This speaks to AITSL (2019) Standard 1.5 ‘Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the
full range of abilities’. However, this unit also aims to challenge students to delve deeper and to question who they are and how they want the world to see them, and to question why there might be a difference
between the two.

This unit provides students with the skills to adopt visual thinking to express these overarching ideas. The ‘Marketing Myself’ unit 'provides students with the opportunity to develop informed, critical and
discriminating approaches to understanding and using visual communications, and nurtures their ability to think creatively about design solutions’ (VCAA 2019, p.5). By the end of this unit, students will have
a personal Marketing brand, with avatar, logo and website. They will have ownership over their online portfolio that can be used to showcase their work. This unit, therefore, has real-life benefits to the students
during future employment or tertiary applications. Ultimately, this unit of work ensures students are well on their way to creating a positive personal marketing campaign that they can use for future success in
the modern world.

The Melbourne Declaration (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008, p.5.) focuses on the need for schools to not only use ICT in learning but to ‘increase their
effectiveness significantly over the next decade’. The use of ICT is an integral part of this unit of work. The unit has been developed to help students question the impact and ethical considerations surrounding
their current use of ICT on the global stage. In this way, this learning sequence speaks to AITSL (2019) Standard 4.5 ‘Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically’. The unit aims to have students create a digital
online presence that is a considered visual representation of themselves. In creating their avatar, logo and website, it also aims to provide students with a broad range of practical ICT capabilities that are
essential for 21st Century learning. AITSL (2019) Standard 2.6 recommends that teachers use current ICT to improve student learning outcomes. In response to this Standard, this unit also utilises a broad
range of ICT as pedagogical tools; including the website itself and the digital resources within it.
The Melbourne Declaration also emphasises the importance of ICT skills for students by directing that they 'have the essential skills in literacy and numeracy and are creative and productive users of technology,
especially ICT, as a foundation for success in all learning areas'. (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008, p.8). I aim to meet this directive by ensuring that the
components of this website work cohesively to form a complete sequence of learning that utilises the planner, resources, annotations and analysis of ICT as a pedagogical tool that can be used by students,
teachers and parents. AITSL (2019) Standard 3.7 asks teachers to ‘Engage parents/carers in the educative process’. This website is a valuable ICT tool facilitating three-way communication between parents,
teachers and students. Parents can easily access the sequence of learning and keep abreast of course requirements. The enables parents and school to work together as a team to ensure the best educational
outcomes for their child.

As an emerging teacher, this website is a fantastic pedagogical tool. It will follow me throughout my career and can be accessed from anywhere on the planet at the tip of my fingers. As my teaching practice
expands, so too will this teaching and learning repository. I hope to keep adding to it throughout my career (as well as culling when resources are superseded). I also hope that this website can be used by
other busy teachers like myself. In this way, we can work towards AITSL Standard 6.3 ‘Engage with colleagues and improve practice’ by ‘improving professional knowledge and practice, and the educational
outcomes of students’ (AITSL 2019, Standard 6.3). After all, who has the time to re-invent the wheel? By sharing teaching and learning resources, we can free up time to hone our pedagogical skills - and that's
a great way to make the world a better, brighter place for everyone!
Part 2: Analysis of ICT and Website as Pedagogical Tools

This learning sequence utilises ICT in a variety of ways to ensure students meet their highest potential for learning outcomes. Firstly, this website has been designed, curated and used as a pedagogical tool
for differentiation to help 'meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities’ (AITSL Standard 1.5). By providing a ‘one-stop’ repository of information about the unit (including lesson
plans, learning sequence and learning resources). This can assist in meeting the Melbourne Declaration (2008, p.7) Goal 1, that ‘Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence’ and reduces ‘the effect
of other sources of disadvantage, such as disability, homelessness, refugee status and remoteness’, by ensuring every student has easy and immediate access to these resources outside of school. No matter
how far away they are, no matter how disorganised they are, no matter how often they move or where they move to, students can access the learning resources for this unit in one place, online and at the tip
of their fingers.

One of the teaching methods outlines in the Hight Impact Teaching Strategies is differentiated teaching methods which 'extend(s) the knowledge and skills of every student in every class, regardless of their
starting point. The objective is to lift the performance of all students, including those who are falling behind and those ahead of year level expectations’ (HITS 2017, p.9) This website caters to those falling
behind by enabling students to go through the resources at their own pace. In their own time, students can re-read lesson information, re-visit resources they did not fully comprehend and to go over these
resources with the aid of people outside of the classroom such as carers, tutors, parents, aids, etc; thereby engaging parents/carers in the educative process (AITSL Standard 3.7). On the other hand, this
website also caters for students who are ahead of year level expectations by providing resources for the entire sequence of work on Day 1 of class. Students can go over the unit resources at a faster pace
than the class, freeing up time for them to master their skills. Instead of having to drag their heels, waiting for the rest of the class to catch up to them before they move on, students can work ahead with
guidance from the teacher.

Resources embedded in this website that help to address these differentiation needs include practical skills resources as well as theoretical knowledge resources. So those students who are great with creating
art but need help with the theoretical knowledge can consolidate learning by accessing theory related resources and vice versa. There is a range of materials included in this website that also speak to the
interests of students who live in a social media-dominated world.

More and more we are seeing the Flipped classroom model being used in Australian schools. This model flips the traditional classroom on its head. Students use ICT to learn the content at home, freeing up
class time for collaborative learning and the practice of practical, hands-on skills development. This website is a perfect vehicle for this style of teaching. It provides the content online for students to review at
home. This gives students the ability to revise and reflect at home and re-visit challenging or important concepts in their own time and at their own pace. Students are thereby given agency, ownership and
responsibility for their learning. This sees a shift in priorities during class time from covering material to mastering it. In this way, this website utilises the flipped classroom model to bring about higher student
agency and greater student learning outcomes.

Students learn best when they are engaged. This learning sequence aims to meet students where their interest lies - in social media and themselves! As digital natives, students are likely to find this unit
interesting as it asks them to think about their current use of digital media and how they portray themselves online. It also asks students to look at how others might see them and how people they encounter
in future might view their current portrayal. This opens up questions about how they see themselves now and in future as well as how the world will see as they progress into adulthood. In this way, students
begin to understand how to use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically (AITSL Standard 4.5). This unit empowers students with these critical questions and the practical ICT skills to take agency over their own
‘brand’; thereby speaking to AITSL Standard 3.4 ‘Select and use resources: Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning’.
References

AITSL 2019, ‘Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’, retrieved 13 August 2019, <https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards>.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008, Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians, retrieved 14 August 2019,
<https://www.google.com/search?q=melbourne+declaration&oq=melbour&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0l2j69i57j69i60l2.1164j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>.
State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) 2017, High Impact Teaching Strategies: Excellence in Teaching and Learning, retrieved 10 August 2019,

<https://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/school/teachers/support/highimpactteachstrat.pdf>.
VCAA 2019, ‘Victorian Certificate of Education: Visual Communication Design Study Design’, retrieved 13 August 2019,
<https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/visualcomm/VisualCommunicationDesignSD_2018.pdf>.