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Welcome
Welcome to AVC 248 Design Self Promotion, the capstone career course for Digital Media Arts, Animation, Photography, Graphic Design and Fine Arts students. The course is fully online and asynchronous: there are no required meeting times, and you do not need to come to campus. You leave with a resume, cover letter, identity package, portfolio, interview practice on record, and a career agent you built yourself.
The course is designed for students in the final semester of their program and assumes a body of existing work to build a portfolio from. If you are unsure whether it fits your program plan, speak with Academic Advisement or message your instructor through Canvas Inbox before the first deadline.
How to Begin
- Read the syllabus. Open Syllabus+, the syllabus link in the Canvas course menu on the left side of the course.
- Go to Modules and open Module 0, Getting Started. Complete the Syllabus and Course Overview Quiz and Technology Setup by noon on Thursday, January 21. The quiz also records your attendance for the first week; if you cannot complete it on time, message your instructor through Canvas Inbox before the deadline.
- Each time you log in, go to Modules. Work through each module in order; every assignment is listed there.
How a Module Works
Every module page follows the same order: Objectives, Overview, Watch, Read, Practice, Assessment, Critique (Discord) and Due. Each graded item has its own page with its objectives, instructions, rubric and due times. Modules open at least one week before their first deadline.
Deadlines
| Cycle | Discord post (projects and project steps) | Due in Canvas | Hard close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midweek | Wednesday, noon | Thursday, noon | Friday, noon |
| Weekend | Saturday, noon | Sunday, noon | Monday, noon |
- All times are Arizona time. Nothing is ever due at midnight.
- Work submitted after the due time and before the hard close loses 10%. Nothing is accepted after the hard close.
- Projects and project steps are posted to the class Discord by noon the day before they are due, and you leave three critique comments by the due time. Exercises, discussions, quizzes and reflections have no separate Discord step; they follow the due time and the hard close.
- Comments on classmates’ late posts during the 24-hour window are welcome. They are ungraded and are not extra credit; they are part of being a good member of the class.
- Week 1 has one deadline, Thursday, January 21. Nothing is due on a college closure or during spring break (March 15 to 21); a weekend deadline before a Monday closure moves to Saturday, and the item’s page shows the dates.
- Emergencies go to your instructor through Canvas Inbox before the hard close.
Your Instructor
Message your instructor through Canvas Inbox or ask in the course Discord channel (#avc248-design-self-promotion). Messages receive a reply within one business day. Questions about course content are best asked in Discord, where classmates benefit from the answer; questions about grades or personal matters go to Canvas Inbox.
Assignments are graded with written feedback within one week of the deadline, and resume drafts within five days. Optional Zoom check-ins are announced in Canvas Announcements and Discord; see Zoom. Read Meet Your Instructor for an introduction.
Student Support
| Service | What it offers |
|---|---|
| GCC Tutoring | Free tutoring, including the Writing Center, online and on campus |
| GCC Library | Research help, databases and the Library Media Center Makerspace |
| IT Service Desk | Help with your MEID, Canvas, Google and Adobe accounts, (623) 845-3555 |
| Disability Resources and Services | Accommodations for coursework, recordings and testing |
| Career Services | Resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews and job search help |
| Academic Advisement | Program planning and whether a course fits your degree |
| Counseling Services | Free, confidential personal and academic counseling |
| GCC Cares | Food, housing, transportation and other basic-needs support |
Students with approved accommodations through Disability Resources and Services should contact the instructor in the first week. Equivalent recording and submission formats are available for any assignment.
Computers and Software
You need a computer that runs Adobe Creative Cloud for the design assignments. Every GCC student can install Creative Cloud at home with the district license; see Adobe Software. Students without a computer or reliable internet can borrow a laptop or hotspot through GCC’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) Student Technology Request. Gemini, Google Sites, Discord and Canvas run in a web browser.
Course Competencies
By the end of AVC 248 you will be able to:
- Evaluate the appropriateness of your personal goals and objectives to market needs.
- Develop a self-marketing plan, including a resume and business card.
- Develop a leave-behind.
- Use networking skills in the classroom.
- Identify the appropriate markets to target.
- Identify points of discussion for a standard operating contract with a client.
- Demonstrate the ability to interview and communicate with clients, including professional interview etiquette.
- Develop a portfolio for online and printed presentation purposes.
Every module objective is written to the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) and sits at or below the level of the course competency it supports. Every graded assessment has had an AI-exposure check using Oregon State University Ecampus’s Bloom’s Taxonomy Revisited, so that the graded evidence shows your own thinking, decisions and work. The Competency Alignment and Time Budget page lists every objective with its level and the assignment that measures it.
Make Your Work Accessible
Every piece of work you submit or post must be usable by someone who cannot see or hear it. Video gets accurate captions: start with automatic captions (YouTube Studio, Premiere Pro Speech to Text, Google Vids or Meet), then read every line and correct names, terms and timing by hand. Audio gets a corrected transcript. Every meaningful image, including images you post in Discord, gets alt text: one or two sentences on what matters, not “image of.” Documents and slides use real headings, readable contrast and alt text, and PDFs are exported with tags. Portfolio and Google Sites pages get alt text, captions on embedded video, headings in order and a check with the WAVE accessibility checker. Each media assignment’s rubric gives about 10 percent of the points to captions, transcripts and alt text.
AI in This Course
This course uses Google Gemini in assignments, as recommended by our industry advisors. Read AI in This Course before you take the syllabus quiz.
Course Policies
Academic integrity, conduct, attendance and withdrawal policies are in the syllabus in Syllabus+. See also Netiquette for how we communicate in Discord and Canvas.