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MYP

DESIGN

Resource page

ABOUT

Finding (the right) Resources

I'm an Architect and a Designer. For the past 15 years I've been living in the digital world, using the computer to create realities, so when I was asked to teach Digital Design to MYP students in Hong Kong, things just clicked. Solving problems through design is what I do and using the Design Cycle, even when we don't call it by this name, is how I do it. 

So I had the WHY and the WHO but finding the HOW and the WHAT wasn't so easy. The internet is full with MYP materials and OCC has its share but separating the wheat from the chaff was hard. I spent many nights trying to find the right assignments or the right image to go with my lesson plans. In this website I will attempt to share the materials I found useful as well as the ones I created by myself for my classes. 

I guess this whole website is my way of giving back for all the help I did find online and to follow in the footsteps of all the wonderful educators that shared their content and helped me along the way. Feel free to use and share the materials on this website, some credit would be nice but mostly I just hope it helps you too. 

About

The

Resources

Disclaimer: 

All the materials on this website are meant for educational purposes only. You are free to use it for your classes, share it and edit it but if you plan to use it for commercial purposes or for profit, please contact me first. I have tried to give correct credit to all the materials I didn't create. If you feel there has been a mistake, please contact me through the contact form at the end of the page. 

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My main topic was Digital Design so most of the materials here are related to that topic although some can be used for other purposes. I tried creating some order and group related materials together but some unrelated resources I just added because people might find them useful. 

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The materials below are given as is with the intention of helping you built your units and lessons in a way best fitting you and your students. They were built and presented to fit my way of teaching and my units as we progressed over the year so some of them might look weird out of context. If you have any questions regarding any material please feel free to leave a comment down below.

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I divided the resources into four categories: 1. Lesson plans, 2. Assignments / Summatives, 3. Teaching materials (Posters, Images, Guides) and 4. Links. I hope this will help you find what you need. If you have any suggestions please leave them at the comments section below. 

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Finally, a big thank you to Elsa High school teachers and administration and of course students for all the help and support they provided.

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Lesson Plans

First and foremost, deciding what to teach was my main concern. Where to start, what skills will I focus on, etc,.

 

Since my background is in Architecture, I knew I would be teaching something related during the year and a followup decision I made was to introduce the digital tools since I was fortunate enough to be teaching in a school where the students have Adobe software.  

 

Below are two units I developed to fit this purpose, the first for MYP 3, designing a poster for a social campaign, introducing the students to graphic design and to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The second unit is for MYP 2, designing a dream house for yourself, introducing the students to 3D design, Google Sketchup and Architecture.

Poster Design - MYP 3
3D Dream House - MYP 2

Assignments / Summatives

Poster Design - Criterion A worksheet

This worksheet covers the research and inquiry phase of the poster design unit (aka Criterion A). I removed the examples for copy right reason, you can add your own. 

Poster Design - Criterion B worksheet

This is the follow up from the previous worksheet, covering Criterion B strands for the poster design unit. I suggest sharing a copy with each student through Google Docs.

Criterion A - Defining your client's needs

Here is another Criterion A assignment from another unit. The goal here is for the student to analyse and present his client needs in his own words. 

Opening Challenge - Birthday poster for a friend

Designing a birthday poster for a friend can be a great way to get introduced to the design process; sketching, working with a "client", finding the right solution for him as well as a way for you as the teacher to get to know your students.

Dream house - Criterion D group work

This assignment is meant to help the students practice evaluating a final product. It can also fit as Criterion A - Analyse existing product assignment. I used it as an introduction to the Dream house unit. 

Dream house - Criterion A-B Progress report

This is a progress report for the work students already completed. It covers part of Criterion A and a little bit of Criterion B strands and is meant to summarise and prepare the students for the next phase.

Dream House - Full Feature Development

I chose to use the Dream House unit to work with the students on their organization skills. They practiced planning and then developing one of the features they specified in the previous summative. 

3D Printing unit - Criterion A group work

I used a 3D printing unit to develop Criterion A, strand 2 - Identify and prioritize the research. I didn't include here the research topics which were given in a different assignment. The end product for this assignment was to present their findings in class. 

3D Printing unit - Keychain requirements

Another part of the 3D printing unit, the requirements for the first assignment the students had to design along with resources to help them develop their work by themselves. 

Posters / Images/ Other

The 6 Fundamental Principles of Design

After I saw Paper Leaf's reference sheet (see below), I started looking for a reference sheet to cover the six fundamental principles (Balance, Proximity, Repetition, Alignment, Contrast and Space). I couldn't find any so I made one myself. 

Design quotes by category

A collection of quotes about design organized by different topics (User, Simplicity, Tools, Risk, etc.), I used them to start a discussion on the first day of class. 

What is Design

When all is said and done, the actual definition of what is Design is often hard to explain. Out of all the explanations I saw, Design Council managed to create a good summary that touches many important points.

Design Cycle clarification

Ryan Evans from Luanda International School design Department made this MYP Design Cycle but with a very clear and helpful explanation added to show what each strand ask from the students. I found it very useful and been using it constantly.

Elements of Design by Paper Leaf

A quick reference sheet, beautifully designed covering some of the basic elements of design such as Color, Line, Shape, Size, etc. I recommend visiting the company's website for more resources.  

Color Emotion Guide

The Logo Company created a great guide for the emotions colors evoke in us with lots of examples to study from. Useful as poster to hang in class or as a research resource for the students to understand the impact colors have aside from aesthetic value.

Color emotions guide

Website design Assessment Rubric

Communicating to the students what is expected from them is never easy, here is one of my more successful attempts from a website design unit. Explaining how their final grade will be calculated according to the different criteria.  

MYP terms explained

A small help sheet created by The Design Department of LIS, Angola for students to get familiar with the terms we use and what is expected of them. I include it here as a reminder to break down and explain to the students all the terms we use. 

Sketchup Reference Card

One of the help sheet I gave my students while learning how to use Google Sketchup. The commands we will use in class with the icons and the shortcuts.

Final Grades summary

When the moment finaly comes, giving grades and notes to students can be challenging. Summarizing all they did and trying to find the right words to propel them forward. I include here several grades and notes I wrote for students and I hope it will help you find the right format and words when this year/semester finally ends.

Useful Links

Google Classroom -

Free learning platform

I can't stress enough how much this tool has helped my work; followup on students progress, immediately send a copy of your assignments to students, group discussions and surveys. 

The Fundamental Elements Of Design - A short movie 

This short movie (2:42 min) covers with clear visuals most of the design concepts the students need to know from shapes to colors to composition. 

Pexels - Free Images/Videos

High res and free stock photos, searchable, when you or your students need visuals for presentations, papers and to incorporate into your work. Most of the images on this website and in my worksheet are from there.

Design Cycle Introduction 

Using the 3D presentation tool Focusky I created a presentation for the Design Cycle, going over the 4 Criteria and highlighting parts I felt were important. I hope you'll find either the tool or the presentation helpful.

How to draw cartoon animals -

Online tutorials for cartoon animals and characters. A very good introduction to vector work flow and techniques and one of the more successful projects I gave my students who had great fun creating cute animals. 

Sketchup videos - A short clip about the Sketchup's potential 

Sketchup youtube channel has posted a few inspirational clips showing the potential Google Sketchup has as well as some good tutorials. Worth checking out and showing the students.

TED Architecture talk - 

Why the buildings of the future will be shaped by... you

Architect Marc Kushner gives a great overview of how the public relationship with Architecture developed over the past 30 years, great interoduction to a unit. 

Google+ IB MYP Design Educators Group - THE place to ask and receive help

The best forum I found for MYP Design teachers to ask questions, share content, and their thoughts regarding the MYP Design program and talk about everything related. A very open and helpful community.

Important Update

Dear visitor,
Since building this website, I have moved on and for better or for worse, I'm no longer teaching in the MYP program. I still try to check up on the website and the comments but I'm afraid I won't be updating the materials here or will I be able to help beyond the resources offered here. I wish you all the best, thank you for your comments, I'm glad I've been able to help.  

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