Posted by Archa
Posted on 03-10-2009 under Creative Business

A couple of weeks ago Dani and I were invited to The Art Institute of California / Inland Empire. We were there to answer questions regarding their web design courses and to give advice on what they can improve to keep up to date with teaching web design.

As you may or may not know, Rob, Dani, and I are all tied to AI. Rob teaches web design and development courses at the school, Dani is back in school for their Media Arts and Animation program, and I graduated a few years ago with an Associates in their Interactive Media Web Design program (I also have a Bachelors in Graphic Design from Cal State San Bernardino). I guess we owe a great deal to the school and felt honored to take part in the advisory committee and it was our chance to help out the new crop of graduates.

When we arrived we were treated to dinner and we all sat down to begin the meeting.  Many of the questions dealt with the curriculum matrix of the web program and if certain or special classes needed to be added so students are being taught the latest knowledge. The main goal of the meeting was to make sure when the graduates are entering the work force, they will be up to date with the latest technology and know the best practices of their field. Some other important advice was to make sure the students know how to manage time well, and most importantly how to work in a real world environment. I believe it’s important that students really understand this. Working on a project for school is one thing, but knowing how to deal with  clients is a different story.

The meeting lasted an hour longer than it should of, but it was worth it. I got some AI swag, one of them being a fancy lunch bag that I stuffed full of left-over tacos and tortillas from the meeting. It was a good experience for both of us and I’m glad that the Inland Empire has The Art Institute. The area was definitely missing a school of this professional caliber when I was younger, and now students around the area have a choice close to home to showcase their talent.