Digital Media Editing & Graphic Design

Why This Class

Does your student have a knack for creating funny or inspiring images, or enjoy finding and sharing them online? If so, you might want to help them learn about the skills that make some of these photos go viral. This course introduces them to the tools graphic designers use to make great digital images.

Students in this self-paced course install free GIMP photo-editing software and learn its user interface and tools, including cropping and resizing, drawing and painting, adding multiple layers, illustrating text, filtering, and blending. In the process, they create fun artistic scenes, memes, and collages and develop a personal digital art album.

Students emerge from this course with the tools and experience to put their creative ideas into digital formats to share with their peers, families, and the world. They know how to express themselves online via images.

Overarching Questions

How can I use the drawing tools and special effects techniques in GIMP to create fun artistic scenes?

How do I add style to an image and combine several images to make a collage?

How can I use the layer mask feature in GIMP along with filters and gradients?

How do I improve and touch up photos by adjusting brightness, contrast, color, and saturation?

What are the levels of copyright and fair use and how do I apply them in using online images?

Required Materials

Gimp 2.6 (free download)
Personal computer or laptop

*This course will not work on a Chromebook.

Course Details

Recommended Grade: 9th (Freshman) – 12th (Senior)

Prerequisites: None

Estimated Weekly Hours: 5

Format: Self-paced

Credits: 0.5

Please contact our Customer Support Team at support@williamsburglearning.com if you have questions.
Please note that program and course descriptions, as well as reading and materials lists, are subject to change as we continuously improve our curriculum throughout the year. Book and materials lists for the upcoming school year are published in SIS mid to late June. Some courses require subscriptions e.g., Adobe software or online magazines that may not be covered by partner schools.