(a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. This course is recommended for students in Grades 9-12.
(b) Introduction.
  (1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.
  (2) The Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications Career Cluster focuses on careers in designing, producing, exhibiting, performing, writing, and publishing multimedia content including visual and performing arts and design, journalism, and entertainment services.
  (3) Digital Design and Media Production will allow students to demonstrate creative thinking, develop innovative strategies, and use communication tools in order to work effectively with others as well as independently. Students will gather information electronically, which will allow for problem solving and making informed decisions regarding media projects. Students will learn digital citizenship by researching current laws and regulations and by practicing integrity and respect. Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of digital design principles that is transferable to other disciplines. The six strands include creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking; problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.
  (4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.
  (5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
  (1) Creativity and innovation. The student employs a creative design process to create original projects as they relate to purposes and audiences. The student is expected to:
    (A) create designs for defined projects such as graphics, logos, and page layouts;
    (B) apply design elements and typography standards; and
    (C) use visual composition principles.
  (2) Communication and collaboration. The student understands professional digital media communications strategies. The student is expected to:
    (A) adapt the language and design of a project for audience, purpose, situation, and intent;
    (B) organize oral, written, and graphic information into formal and informal publications;
    (C) interpret and communicate information to multiple audiences; and
    (D) collaborate to create original projects, including seeking and responding to advice from others such as peers or experts in the creation and evaluation process.
  (3) Research and information fluency. The student uses a variety of strategies to plan, obtain, evaluate, and use valid information. The student is expected to:
    (A) obtain print and digital information such as graphics, audio, and video from a variety of resources while citing the sources;
    (B) evaluate information for accuracy and validity; and
    (C) present accurate information using techniques appropriate for the intended audience.
  (4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student implements problem-solving methods using critical-thinking skills to plan, implement, manage, and evaluate projects; solve problems; and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. The student is expected to:
    (A) employ critical-thinking and interpersonal skills to solve problems and make decisions through planning and gathering, interpreting, and evaluating data;
    (B) identify and organize the tasks for completion of a project using the most appropriate digital tools;
    (C) distinguish design requirements as they relate to the purposes and audiences of a project and apply appropriate design elements;
    (D) seek and respond to input from others, including peers, teachers, and outside collaborators;
    (E) evaluate a process and project both independently and collaboratively and make suggested revisions; and
    (F) transfer critical-thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making processes when using new technologies.
  (5) Digital citizenship. The student complies with standard practices and behaviors and upholds legal and ethical responsibilities. The student is expected to:
    (A) examine copyright and fair use guidelines with regard to print and digital media;
    (B) model ethical and legal acquisition and use of digital resources such as licensing and established methods of citing sources;
    (C) demonstrate proper digital etiquette, personal security guidelines, use of network resources, and application of the district's acceptable use policy for technology; and
    (D) identify and demonstrate positive personal qualities such as flexibility, open-mindedness, initiative, listening attentively to speakers, willingness to learn new knowledge and skills, and pride in quality work.
  (6) Technology operations and concepts. The student uses technology concepts, systems, and operations as appropriate for a project. The student is expected to:
    (A) define the purpose of a product and identify the specified audience;
    (B) demonstrate appropriate project management to:
      (i) create a plan for a media project such as a storyboard, stage development, and identification of equipment and resources; and
      (ii) evaluate design, content delivery, purpose, and audience throughout a project's timeline and make suggested revisions until completion of the project;
    (C) use hardware, software, and information appropriate to a project and its audience to:
      (i) acquire readily available digital information, including text, audio, video, and graphics, citing the sources;
      (ii) create digital content through the use of various devices such as video camera, digital camera, scanner, microphone, interactive whiteboard, video capture, and musical instrument;
      (iii) collaborate via online tools such as blogs, discussion boards, email, and online learning communities;
      (iv) make decisions regarding the selection and use of software, taking into consideration operating system platform, quality, appropriateness, effectiveness, and efficiency;
      (v) delineate and make necessary adjustments regarding compatibility issues, including digital file formats and cross-platform connectivity; and
      (vi) demonstrate the ability to import and export elements from one program to another;
    (D) use digital typography standards such as:
      (i) one space after punctuation, the use of em- and en-dashes, and smart quotation marks;
      (ii) categories of type, font, size, style, and alignment appropriate for the task;
      (iii) type techniques such as drop cap, decorative letters, or embedded text frames as graphic elements;
      (iv) leading and kerning, automatic text flow into linked columns, widows and orphans, and text wrap; and
      (v) type measurement for inches and picas;
    (E) apply design and layout principles and techniques to:
      (i) incorporate the principles of design, including balance, contrast, dominant element, white space, consistency, repetition, alignment, and proximity;
      (ii) apply the elements of design, including text, graphics, and white space;
      (iii) apply color principles appropriate to the product in order to communicate the mood for the specific audience;
      (iv) identify the parts of pages, including inside margin, outside margin, and gutter;
      (v) create a master template, including page specifications and other repetitive elements; and
      (vi) use style sheets, including a variety of type specifications such as typeface, style, size, alignment, indents, and tabs;
    (F) demonstrate appropriate use of digital photography and editing to:
      (i) use digital photography equipment to capture still-shot images that incorporate various photo composition techniques, including lighting, perspective, candid versus posed, rule of thirds, and filling the frame;
      (ii) transfer digital images from equipment to the computer; and
Cont'd...