The World Is Changing Part 01- Desktop Publishing
Posted by mrfordsclass on April 10, 2008
The world is changing, how are you keeping up?
The world is changing. With the Internet, Web 2.0, Netcasts and all the wonderful technologies available to the educator to integrate into the course, were is a teacher to start.
In this article you will learn about some of the latest tools you can use to help deliver you curriculum to your students in the most effective and efficient methods possible.
This is the first part is a series of posting and discussing about some of the tools available to the teacher/student/ and designer in this new world of education. Our first posting will look at Desktop Publishing.
Part 01 Desktop Publishing
What is Desktop Publishing?
Desktop publishing or “DTP” traces it origins back to 1985 with the creation of two very important products:
The combination of these two herald in desktop publishing, and for only $10,000 anyone could be their own publisher. Since 1985 the technology allowing desktop publishing has become much more mainstream. Now anyone can create anything from a book layout to a Gala flyer. It give the user the ability to create page layouts, enter text, pictures, and any other multimedia that the user thinks would be aesthetically pleasing.
Why should I care?
Desktop publishing much like a lot of the other tools that will be discussed is only limited by the users imagination.
Here are some links for lesson plans:
Desktop Publishing Software & Requirements
There are currently several products that a user could use to meet their desktop publishing needs. Some of the more well knows DTP software solutions are:
- QuarkXPress
- Adobe InDesign
- Scribus
- Microsoft Publisher
- Word 2008 for Mac (this is a new feature within the Mac Office 2008 edition)
While all these products are good, let us focus on what many consider the industry standard: InDesign® CS3.
InDesign System Requirements
| Apple System Requirements | PC System Requirements |
|---|---|
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Features of InDesign®CS3
- InDesign has a very user centered workspace. While it does take time to familiarize oneself with the layout of the tools, this program allows the user to move the controls to almost any were the user wants to. Because of that it is extremely customizable.
- With Adobe acquiring Macromedia, the entire Adobe product line (Adobe® Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Acrobat®, InCopy®, and Dreamweaver®) has almost seamless integration.
- Work done within InDesign is “nondestructive”. This is a term that means the original word can be edited, ad changed but the original remains untouched. This is excellent in case something bad happens and the person needs to start over again.
- Accurate representation from the monitor to the final output. To many times user will create something on the computer only to be disappointed when the final product is printed out. With the new InDesign, what you see, is darn close to what you get.
- With more and more integration of the web to what we produce on a daily basis, the new XHTML exporting feature allows complete integration into web design via Dreamweaver®. Professional typographical controls, this is specialist speak for getting the type just the way you want it.
- There are tons of other feature in addition to the ones already presented. Such as full table support like Excel, long document support, no longer does the document need to be one or tow pages, in fact a person could use InDesign® to create an entire novel.
Review of InDesign®CS3
InDesign® ® upon first glance can appear very intimidating. The powerful tools that InDesign® boasts can scare aware the novice user. Once the initial scare fades the user will discover a very intuitive and user centered program. In addition if the user purchase InDesign® there is a plethora of video help, both provided by Adobe on a companion CD as well as the Adobe netcasts found within iTunes.
The sticker price for just the program (not the entire Adobe suite) is $ 699.00 for the full version, $199.00 to upgrade from previous versions. Adobe also sells the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium package which includes Adobe InDesign® ® CS3, Photoshop® CS3 Extended, Illustrator® CS3, Flash® CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver® CS3, Acrobat® 8 Professional, Bridge CS3, Version Cue® CS3, and Device Central CS3. The suite costs 1,799.00 for the full copy, $599.00 for the update.
Mr Ford’s Final Thoughts
InDesign is the InDustry standard. If you need to work in the design world buy and learn InDesign If you are a classroom teacher or someone who just occasionally needs to do DTP, think Microsoft Word or Scribus.
