Firstly, the course needs to address ‘the Creativity Challenge’ in contemporary education. What does a pedagogy of creativity entail, and the social and economic costs of stifling creativity at a young age.

Secondly it needs to be based around an integrated and coherent framework for using technology in education. In Kadenze’s case we have called this framework TECL, short for Technology Enabled Creative Learning (TECL). The principles of such a framework need to be made explicit, for it is by applying those principles that teachers will grow their artful teaching practice.

The third quality needed is a comprehensive and balanced approach to setting goals and outcomes for learning. In an educational world obsessed with measurement, predictable behavioural objectives have become the norm. The creative challenge is to deploy Expressive Outcomes (from Eliot Eisner), alongside Behavioural objectives and Problem-solving objectives.

Quality number four addresses how learning pathways can be curated within a spectrum of expressivity so as to sidestep dull routine and repetition and build adventure and alliance into courses.

The next requisite quality of courses addressing a pedagogy of creativity flows directly from our post-COVID educational environments and challenges all educators to consider how ‘hyflexing’ can be effective when it comes to orchestrating live, synchronous and asynchronous modes of delivery.

Quality number six is the requirement to make learning personal and significant for each learner. There are a number of strategies to position students as authentic partners in their learning and in our course we work with seven of them. This opens up learning to cater for diversity; encompassing diverse learning styles, non-Western knowledge systems and motivations particular to each learner. Of course, to do that meaningfully, it is necessary to elevate student priorities over rigid course structures.

The final and seventh quality ensures that the first qualities, which are potentially radical for many, are embedded into the planning processes and practice of teachers. This means using retrieval practise to ensure teachers have adequately secured all six qualities to memory, thereby enabling them to develop the prowess to judge value and efficacy in whole-of-course design, and connoisseurship in course evaluation and critique.

The authors who planned and fabricated this course know where they stand as educators. The experience of ‘Joy’ needs to be present in all learning, not necessarily in ecstatic measure all the time, but distinctly felt, and so add pleasure and incentive to the stretch all of us must make to ‘know’ topics of high challenge and high worth. Consequently, joy needs to sit alongside curiosity, inventiveness, imagination, and feelings of independence, respect, partnering well, high challenge and tolerance of ambiguity. We designed the course knowing that ‘there is no such thing as good teaching, only teaching that is good for certain purposes or outcomes’. We have drawn on the learning sciences when proven and useful, as well as longstanding traditions in the philosophy of education and aesthetics (these days understood as the ‘user experience’). We understand teachers are experiencing the pressures of work intensification like never before and urgently need time-saving and workable approaches to learning design.

Boredom in the classroom is noxious. Program 1: Your Joyful 21st Century Learning Framework gives both teachers and learners the oxygen they need to experience joy in learning and, at times, wonder at the world and their place in it.

Brad Haseman, for the team of authors of Your Joyful 21st Century Learning Framework

Photo by Alex Alvarez on Unsplash

Salah-Eddine Kandri, Global Head of Education, IFC, in a contribution to the World Economic Forum, noted that “COVID-19 is causing us to challenge deep-rooted notions of when, where, and how we deliver education, of the role of colleges and universities, the importance of lifelong learning, and the distinction we draw between traditional and non-traditional learners.” He acknowledges “As painful and stressful a time as this is, it may fashion a long overdue and welcome rebirth of our education systems.” Such a rebirth will midwife a ‘new normal’ for education globally.

Really? Didn’t the old ways work well for a long time? Surely, sooner or later, we will end up back there, back to the known and reassuring. Well, not for educational pioneer Sugata Mitra who argues “we can never go ‘back’ to anything. Even if we could – to what ‘normal’ shall we return? Going back to normal doesn’t mean anything at all.”

As we grasp for the ‘new normal’ there are portents of what will matter most. Kadenze, Inc. for instance, a longstanding online learning platform committed solely to the creative arts and design, has hard won expertise in online program design to share, especially with teachers and creatives wanting to heighten engagement with their learners. 

Through April Kadenze will publish a series of predictive posts which take readers into Education’s new normal. Subscribe to the Kadenze blog and hold your breath for Modes of Delivery and the ‘new normal’, coming early next week.

By

Brad Haseman, Executive Vice President, Kadenze, Inc. & Professor Emeritus, QUT

Credit for Image: Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Psychology courses typically use lectures and tutorials to focus on key concepts, the history of psychology and the scientific methods used in psychological research. This course takes a different approach. It harnesses the creative and collaborative power of project-based learning using a series of digital projects which are scaffolded to create a coherent understanding of this important field of study. As a result, this course demonstrates a creative approach to teaching a traditional subject online.

A radical feature of this approach is Digital-Intro

Lisa Dierker, Professor of Psychology at Wesleyan University, curated the online course Introduction to Psychology for the Kadenze platform. The course is delivered through a series of projects using, what Professor Dierker calls, Digital-Intro, to explain and frame the work students undertake alone or in small groups. By actively making and reflecting throughout the course, students find the learning engaging and develop transferable digital skills. Professor Dierker is driving the development of and promoting the use of Digital-Intro as a distinctive pedagogical strategy.

Why are digital skills relevant for contemporary education and critical to diversity, equity and inclusion? 

Most of the top 25 highest paying, in-demand jobs (e.g., database administrator, project marketing manager, UX designer, business development manager, solutions architect, etc.) require diverse digital skills. This enduring trend threatens to further increase current social and economic disparities given the continued under-representation of both women and individuals from racial minority groups across all technology-oriented industries. At the same time, students, particularly women and those from under-represented groups, continue to overwhelmingly pursue undergraduate degrees in social science and related fields (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017) with their first two years of college largely consumed by general education courses that rarely introduce students to technology. General education currently represents an untapped opportunity to achieve greater equality and inclusion in the U.S. workforce. 

Enter, Digital-Intro where Professor Dierker and her team are working to transform general education courses into active, project-based experiences. Projects are aimed at exposing students to a wide range of digital skills as they learn traditional disciplinary content. 

How does Digital-Intro enhance the Introduction to Psychology online course?

Within our digital Introduction to Psychology course now available on kadenze.com, students explore concepts and content in the field of psychology through video storytelling, programming, data visualization, experimentation, design and more. This novel curriculum solidifies new content knowledge, exposes students to modern digital tools and provides the opportunity to create tangible learning artifacts. The goal is learning through the creation of “stunning acts of communication”, an idea that is both aspirational and we believe, wholly achievable. Even more than introducing students to a discipline, Digital-Intro creates opportunities to learn leading digital tools and software platforms that empower students to enter the expanding digital workforce.

Within our newly launched Introduction to Psychology courses (Introduction to Psychology Part 1 and Introduction to Psychology Part 2) students can learn about the foundations of human behavior including contributions of the brain, sensation and perception, emotions, development, learning, mental health, memory, our social world and more. Lessons are delivered through a series of video presentations aimed at teaching about the field of psychology and preparing students conceptually for approaching a series of digital projects. These projects allow students to engage with the course concepts by investigating for insight, designing for change, advocating for influence, teaching to learn, and making learning stick.

The following diagram illustrates the knowledge flows and transfers which are enabled by the Digital-Intro approach to this course.

Distinctive contribution to creative education 

The underpinning pedagogy of these courses marks a distinctive and significant contribution to the field of creative education. Kadenze is proud to bring this course to students and creative educators across the globe. The course embeds digital literacy studies and practice within the study of Psychology, ensuring that the two areas of knowledge enrich each other and the students who undertake the course. Educators can learn from this innovative pedagogy and see how they too might apply Digital-Intro to their discipline and transform their classes into highly interactive, creative, and engaging sites with real-world impact in digital literacy. This vision aligns with Kadenze’s aims to offer high-quality courses in creative fields from top universities, such as Wesleyan University; to support and celebrate creative and innovative pedagogy; and to take action in areas of social justice, diversity and inclusion.

Digital-Intro for all students’ general education

The Digital-Intro initiative is 100% committed to Open Educational Resources both in the content created and in the contributions that Digital-Intro classrooms and communities will make in expanding this resource. Open Educational Resources are open to everyone and can be used, revised, re-mixed, improved and redistributed freely to create expanded access, equity, and inclusion. Open Educational Resources made by new learners serve as an empowering resource for newer learners!

Right now, Digital-Intro is in its infancy. Lisa Dierker and her colleagues at Wesleyan are excited about the vast possibilities and warmly welcome everyone to get involved. For more information, see their website at https://digitalintro.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/ and feel free to reach out. Lisa Dierker: ldierker@wesleyan.edu

Credit for Image: University of Michigan Health Lab published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

We’re excited to announce the launch of three new Micro-courses in Music:

• Computer-Assisted Music in Python, presented by Marc Evanstein, USA
• Exploring North Indian Classical Music: Part 1 Acquaintance, presented by RagaSphere, India
• Exploring North Indian Classical Music: Part 2 Appreciation, presented by RagaSphere, India

Marc Evanstein is a composer and pianist whose music takes inspiration from mathematics, physics and the natural world. His new Micro-course, Computer-Assisted Music in Python introduces students to the exciting world of algorithmic and computer-assisted composition using Python.

Marc’s course introduces you to SCAMP (Suite for Computer-Assisted Music in Python), Marc’s newly developed invention which makes it possible to create music with an ensemble of virtual instruments. Ultimately, SCAMP can be used both to create acoustic, notated music and to produce electronic music by communicating with external applications or sound synthesis languages like SuperCollider and Max/MSP. Future Micro-courses will explore this endless array of possibilities!

In this micro-course, once you become acquainted with SCAMP and with the fundamentals of Python programming (eg. variables, loops, functions), the emphasis shifts to exploring the potential of these concepts for musical creation. So, if you’re brand new to coding or to Python, you will have an opportunity to learn the basics. On the other hand, if you have a background in programming, this course will be an opportunity to focus on the musical potential of Python, and on getting to know the SCAMP framework.

Marc’s work has been featured in festivals and conferences throughout the USA and internationally. He studied Music and Music Technology at Stanford University and recently completed a Master’s in Media Arts and Technology and a PhD in Composition at UC Santa Barbara.

Our two new Micro-courses Exploring North Indian Classical Music are presented by RagaSphere, India; a team of musicians and music lovers with professional backgrounds in Engineering, Information Technology, and Media. RagaSphere uses technology and multimedia to help the curious and serious listener understand the basic concepts and finer nuances of Indian Classical Music. The author of these courses is Nitin Amin, a passionate music educator and co-founder of RagaSphere. First trained as an engineer, Nitin has a Master’s degree in Music and is a performing flautist in Hindustani Classical Music.

Exploring North Indian Classical Music: Part 1 Acquaintance introduces students to the scale and inter-relationship of musical notes as well as the concepts of the Raga which deals with the melodic element of music and the Tala which represents the rhythm. Understanding these abstract concepts is embodied for students through the experience of singing or playing an instrument along with a series of practice exercises.

Exploring North Indian Classical Music: Part 2 Appreciation shares with students what happens in a performance, revealing how the element of improvisation imbues North Indian Classical Music with mystical surprise. The Micro-course demonstrates how the Raga and Tala form the composition, which is then used as a tool to improvise and expand in performance. Examples of vocal and instrumental performances are explored.

While these Micro-courses will help listeners everywhere experience North Indian Classical Music better, they are designed also to help musicians of other genres of music enhance their performance skills. Together these two Micro-courses open up a rich world of music tradition and you will join RagaSphere’s worldwide community dedicated to the appreciation and enjoyment of a classical Indian music performance.

These new Micro-courses are the latest instances of Kadenze’s commitment to delivering exceptional online courses and Micro-courses across a range of music disciplines and technologies. So whether you are a student, a performer, or a listener curious to learn, come to Kadenze.com, your go-to partner for Music Courses, Programs and bite-sized Micro-courses.

To celebrate the launch, the Micro-course Computer-Assisted Music in Python is on sale for $USD30.00 – that’s $10 off the original price of $USD40.00. But only until October 1, 2021. Discover the Micro-course now and enrol to start learning!
LEARN MORE

To celebrate the launch, the Micro-course Exploring North Indian Classical Music: Part 1 Acquaintance is on sale for $USD25.00 – that’s $50 off the original price of $USD75.00. But only until October 1, 2021. Discover the Micro-course now and enrol to start learning!
LEARN MORE

Brad is the lead teacher and coordinator of a Kadenze team of teachers and researchers designing and delivering the Professional Development Program Renewing Learning Design through Creativity and Technology.

Photo by Petri Heiskanen on Unsplash

The digital learning designer Luis Alvarado concluded a blog post recently by proclaiming, “Online learning does not suck, but bad learning design does!”  At Kadenze, Inc. (“Kadenze”) we agree. On this blog, since April 2019, we have been wrestling regularly with the problems of established online learning design, especially its failure to adequately manage and respect the longstanding educational practices of the creative arts, design, and creative technologies. After years of scholarly engagement, the creation of hundreds of online courses, and strong reflexive partnerships with leading institutions on the planet, we have articulated our online learning framework called Technology Enabled Creative Learning (TECL). TECL has been a scholarly exercise in interdisciplinary knowledge building; spawned by educators from music, dance, drama, film and media, the visual arts, design, and the creative application of technology and computing power. As it stands the model is applicable to all disciplines and serves as a coherent and mature field of practice, not just some airy, arm-waving promising to inject more generic ‘creativity’ into classes.

This brings us back to Alvarado’s original observation; that many problems in online learning stem from learning designs which ‘suck’. There is a further aspect of this. While many learning designs are not fit for purpose and are dumbly cut to fit all sizes of learning at once, the Professional Development Programs meant to illuminate those learning frameworks are often quite poor. There are many reasons why this is so; all understandable, some forgivable, some not.

Firstly, many expert arts educators are wary about overly short courses claiming to ‘get them online’. Their pedagogic heartbeat is for experiential and active learning in a medium rich with symbolic potential, (such as clay, sound and silence, machine-led computation, moving images, the expressive body) so mediating learning through a screen can only seem to diminish and impoverish. This is not inevitably the case of course, but the caution is reasonable.

Then the pandemic blew in. Suddenly online learning had to happen, and across three weeks in early 2020 wariness was forced to give way to the demands of remote emergency teaching. Immediately necessity triumphed over reluctance, hardly a precondition for the warm embrace of technology in learning.

Thirdly, it is hardly the case too that prevailing learning design models are convincing for all disciplines. Many have been built on sandy scholarship, promulgated with a certainty of success which lacks critical interrogation, and are overclaimed, often with undeserving zeal. Many creative and expert educators, when encountering some of the online learning design approaches for the first time, quickly reach for the snake oil antidote.    

Finally, the need to move quickly, to ‘just do it’, has fuelled an over simplistic pragmatism for learning to teach online. The proliferation of easy templates and repetitive lists of tips and trickery (for fuller engagement for instance), masquerade as scholarship. For teachers genuinely attending to their overarching educational approach and how to realise it in the lives of their learners, these materials are half baked, half truths, with little purchase over the complexity of classrooms and the synchronous and asynchronous strategies they are being called on to deploy.

The question of substance in Professional Development Programs

Going forward the challenge for teachers producing Professional Development Programs is to build substance and consequence, consciously and demonstrably, into their offerings. In this I am not referring to the ‘substance’ found in many certificate courses hosted by universities (involving chunks of theory the learner must evidence in a project of some kind) nor the ‘substance’ found in many informal, short courses led by industry experts (involving the passing on of the ‘blood knowledge’, hard won from the acrobatics of ‘failing forward’).

Kadenze has found that courses delivering substance and effect have several recurring characteristics. Such courses:

• model the new pedagogies they advocate; maximising the value of the live and synchronous by their astute use of asynchronous activities
• are informed by Kadenze’s Technology Enabled Creative Learning (TECL)
• include real world activities, or powerful simulations of it
• structure opportunities for collaboration and co-creation 
• link with participants career expectations for advancement
• adopt phases of a curriculum development process for structural scaffolding
• ensure adequate time is allowed for exploration, experimentation, and reflection
• archive lifelong access to session recordings and resources for participants
• maintain a solutions orientation for practical engagement rather than abstract conceptual content only
• save learners’ time by blending serviceable theory with core principles of practice 
• provide fitting challenges, and support when challenges become confounding
• keep alive the learner’s ‘need to know’.

Embedding these characteristics in Professional Development Programs doesn’t happen by accident or whim. Course development takes time and thrives in a culture of open-minded critique in the knowledge that it is always a build between the science of learning and art of learning. We know this firsthand having spent months designing and resourcing our own Professional Development Program Renewing Learning Design through Creativity and Technology. This online program, incorporating our Technology Enabled Creative Learning (TECL) framework, commences on May 18 and will be conducted throughout May and June 2021.

In building our own course we have steadfastly refused to feature the snack food of cut-out tips, random thoughts and generic advice, holding instead to the belief that they can never fully nourish transformational professional learning. Such an approach just sucks…alongside bad learning design!  To learn more about Renewing Learning Design through Creativity and Technology or to register for the Program launch & information session click here.

Art is too important not to share

Photo by Peter F on Unsplash

When it comes to art and education, especially online education, there is one element of artful sharing that is often overlooked. All too often, when teachers and authors of creative courses, the content experts, decide to ‘go online’ they are bemused and then frustrated trying to work within models of learning design that are not fit for purpose; for creative purpose. Fit for developing analytical and linear cognitive capabilities may be, and as we are reminded repeatedly, capabilities that are essential to hold down a successful job and build a powerful economy.

At Kadenze, Inc. (‘Kadenze’), after seven years of working with teachers of the creative arts and design, we have needed to challenge those online learning design approaches which engender the cognitive operations of mind most commonly found in Mathematics, Chemistry, Language, Engineering and Business education. Increasingly we have found they fail to address neither the dynamics which motivate creative engagement nor serve a pedagogy needing to stimulate interpretation and judgment (such as informed disagreement), rather than correct or incorrect answers.

Kadenze has been wrestling with this for years now. Two years ago, to the day, on April 1, 2019, I wrote the first blog post on this concern. Before the pandemic, before education had to go remote, I framed the challenge this way:

But the question arises: do the precepts of arts education hold value for contemporary online pedagogy? Should we wait for virtual reality and the holodeck to become ubiquitous and real enough to replicate the studio before we engage the arts online?

Of course not. Indeed, there is plenty to suggest that many prevailing approaches to online learning design desperately need to be nourished by the arts-led tradition of education.

In the two years since, Kadenze has been undertaking a research and teaching investigation into this proposition. What have we done, what have we learned, and what can we now share?

Firstly, we have designed a mature and comprehensive framework for online creative education which, unsurprisingly, is “nourished by the arts-led tradition of education.” Called “Technology Enabled Creative Learning” (‘TECL’), this framework has grown from the conceptual foundations developed in the four blog posts (and accompanying vodcasts) published to this blog throughout April 2019. While TECL will be reassuring and aligned with the pedagogical heartbeat of arts and design educators, it will have traction with teachers from all disciplines wanting to creatively engage the modern learner.

Secondly, Kadenze will soon be presenting our TECL inspired insights in an online course “Renewing Learning Design through Creativity” and Technology. This course, to be conducted throughout May 2021, not only shares and applies TECL, but does so with an eye to the digitally integrated futures that educators see coming.

When you fully embrace Britto’s idea, that art is too important not to share, and fuse it with design, creative technologies and creative education, then you have the DNA for a company like Kadenze. Sharing is at the heart of everything we do; now sharing our expertise in online learning design for creative education.

Further announcements about how to access Kadenze’s “Technology Enabled Creative Learning” framework and the course “Renewing Learning Design through Creativity and Technology” will be made throughout April. We look forward to sharing our findings and proven practice with you.

You can access the 2019 blog posts which prefigure these developments (Part 1 posted April 1 2019) at: “How The 8 Effects of Arts Education Are Changing Online Pedagogy, Part 1 – Kadenze Blog“

You can register your interest in TECL and “Renewing Learning Design through Creativity and Technology” by contacting us at: tecl@kadenze.com

One year on and the pandemic remains. Along with the many signs of distress we see around us, we note the ravages of COVID-19 on our creative colleagues world-wide. How long can the arts remain temporarily closed? What will be left standing when we finally arrive at the ‘new’ creative normal? How can we prepare for that abnormal future?

Many are stepping up by learning and studying, driving an explosion in demand for learning online and at home.  

Kadenze, Inc. (“Kadenze”) too is stepping up by increasing our support for creative communities and learners across the globe. We are slashing the prices of all our programs for the foreseeable future (“special pricing”). Each program has been reduced in price, savings are up to 60% in some cases!

Graduates of the creative arts, design and creative technology are best placed to create, collaborate and navigate the world’s complexities and so our industry and university partners have helped us deliver programs which explicitly address the 21^st century global skills challenge. Kadenze programs are designed by these institutional partners dealing with in-demand workplace skills.

What Kadenze Programs offer

There are programs for everyone. Some will prepare school leavers for further study. Others will enable young creatives to develop core knowledge and current skills to enter their chosen workplace, while more experienced and mid-career professionals can extend the currency of their skills and expand their career opportunities through professional development. Our uniquely curated programs will help you become a specialist in the specific subject of your choice.

Rich with real world illustrations, case studies and practical activities, each program connects multiple related courses (programs consist of between 2 to 5 courses), to provide complete and comprehensive learning in the topic. Creative projects and expressive works are forged and shared in Program galleries and then uploaded to your Portfolio for sharing with the world. The choice is yours.

Our students enjoy being part of an online community of creative practitioners and feel at home with the interactive engagement and easy functionality of the platform. 

“The Kadenze experience is a bit special; it is made by artists for artists, so it feels different, in a good way.”

Lifelong Protection with Premium Membership

Programs are available only to Kadenze’s Premium Members. As a Premium Member you will be entitled to access our additional Premium courses in fields of your choice, and all while your Premium Membership, priced at US$20.00 per month, is current.

Self-Inoculation at an everyday price

Kadenze was founded to make high quality college-level education available to all. These latest moves, reducing Program prices, and extending the benefits of Premium Membership, is a global milestone in making higher education more affordable and accessible for designers, musicians, creative programmers, visual, screen artists or teaching artists everywhere.  

Create now by learning now. Browse our Program catalogue in design, visual arts, screen entertainment, animation, film, music, digital arts, creative technologies and machine learning, career readiness and entrepreneurship here.

It is Black Friday sale season once again. This sale season is happening in the year of the ‘omnishambles’, that evocative word invented by the Brits to capture the mayhem caused by global deaths from a pandemic, climate emergencies, demands for racial equality and justice, rising inequality, global trade tensions, bitter cuts to higher education and punishing lost opportunities for many of the world’s artists and designers. Our ‘omnishambolic’ and ‘covidblue’ lives have been made worse by the poor judgment of many leaders who have amplified the disorder or chaos with disastrous consequences.

Yet the more optimistic of us can see faint flickers of stability and predictability on the horizon and so to magnify them, this sale season, Kadenze is opening up our catalogue of programs to the world… for a mere $10.00 USD.* Yes, a 24-hour promotion which ends tomorrow November 26, 2020 at 9:00am PST so you can seize the future of creative education with certainty and little cost. Our programs are mature and coherent packages of study, delivered by industry experts to set stable and predictable foundations for future creative work.

This offer to build longstanding skills and knowledge is not merely a nostalgic yearning for simpler, more comforting times. Rather it is essential for our creative futures. Over two hundred years ago the great Immanuel Kant reminded us that the most telling creative works do “not to spring from imitation”. They arise through a creative imaginations struggle to produce “something for which no definite rule can be given”. He called that capability ‘genius’.

To power on from the omnishambles of 2020 (a year of less than perfect vision), Kadenze offers learners everywhere the opportunity to stabilise their skills and knowledge, to engage with ‘rules’ of their discipline; not to imitate them, but to break them. To create mass genius. For, as the heavens know, the days ahead will demand all the creative genius the world can muster.

Our Programs normally cost between $200 and $900 and cover topics in graphic design, music/synthesis/production, animation, machine learning, video & motion graphics, creative coding, fashion, and more.

* Premium Membership Required

By Brad Haseman, Executive Vice President of Kadenze, Inc.

Many artists from our Kadenze community would have been packing their bags and heading to Seoul, Korea this week. I am referring to our socially-engaged-colleagues who address the everyday lives of people and confront the challenging issues of our society. They are artists with a passion and practice for arts and activism, the participatory arts and the arts for social change; they are teaching artists and they work around the world. The magnet drawing them to Seoul was to be the fifth International Teaching Artist Conference (ITAC5), set up to explore ways to turn ‘boundaries into new pathways,’ which is the central theme. Plans were put in place, calls for papers were made, travel plans confirmed.

Then COVID-19 arrived…and stayed. Consequently the hosts of ITAC5, the Korea Arts and Culture Education Services(KACES) decided to pivot, and they did, with the elegance of a pirouette. They redesigned the live event into a fully digital one. Yes, like every other arts organisation, COVID has accelerated the move to online conference collaboration and learning.

The new virtual ITAC5 opens on Monday 14^th September and it is already possible to see how COVID has affected the form and content of what promises to be a landmark event for the International Teaching Artists movement and for online arts conferences generally.

The conference organizers have had to meet three chief design challenges which have disrupted the form of the face-to-face event. The first has been to seek out conference activities which increase interactivity and engagement. How to ensure that the energy of the live event is not replaced by a series of broadcast-style, bullet-point, talking-heads? Many presenters are now adept with video conferencing tools to communicate across time and space, but how to do it creatively and poetically?  Not surprisingly teaching artists have risen to this challenge, taking their lead from digital artists and new media colleagues. 

The 24-hour world clock presented the second challenge in the form of scheduling concerns. While much has been programmed into a ‘13-hour Seoul day,’ there are always teaching artists awake in other parts of the world. So innovative elements have been introduced. The conference organisers also had to consider how to archive and retrieve presentations. How will people use the Collective Rooms which will be open 24 hours each day?

While conferences are valued for their intellectual and artistic stimulation, we also know the informal conference matters too. The ITAC5 hosts have triumphed in this third challenge, offering imaginative, bespoke opportunities to meet and gather as individuals. An extended Art Project: Drawing Dictation, in the form of imaginary digital soundscapes and lounges, has been enhanced by offering delegates opportunities to join MUCKJA, to meet and eat, HAJA, to play and perform, GACHIHAJA, to call and collaborate, NOLJA, to chill and chat, MOOTJA, to ask and advise and MALHAJA, to discuss and share sessions and workshops. Some truly creative ways to become perfectly remote. 

These changes to the traditional form of the conference have all been made to strengthen and enhance the intellectual, creative and contextual work of the conference. Two years ago the conference planners set the themes which, as events would have it, uncannily prefigured our COVID context.

The first theme, Unlearning, asks, “What do we as teaching artists (and participants) need to unlearn, and what are the most powerful tools for new learning?” In response, the conference abstracts propose new ways to question, examine and analyze creativity for the arts, culture and change. Traditional modes of arts learning are challenged to maximise their impact and to embed enquiry and dialogic conversation in all aspects of cultural life and practice.

The second theme, Local and Nomadic Practices, asks, “What is universal in the practices that we offer to other specific communities and even to other parts of the world—our nomadic potential”? and “What is the dynamic balance between local and universal?” The presentations on offer pick up on issues of sustainability for artists and communities, the conditions and circumstances whereby power and change come about, and what being a nomad means for the life, practice and experience of becoming and being a teaching artist.

The final theme, Peace and Reconciliation, challenges delegates to wrestle with ways they “can facilitate citizens to become the agents of change in their own communities and beyond, by embracing difference and diversity.” In response many instances detailing how arts activism can shape better futures will be shared. Consideration will also be given to what is involved in making better choices for better outcomes for both teaching artists and their communities. Other papers will explore what are the deep embodied understandings and practices which take tolerance from one’s own body to the body politic, or organized groups of citizens.

The three days of the conference next week will be of course strange for everyone who attends. Certainly the artists, arts educators, administrators, funders and researchers from all around the world will be present and together, but also alone and apart. While some will miss the intimacy of the live, others will be comforted by the enabled distance of this virtual conference and relish that they have not had to pack for Korea this September. 

To find out more about ITAC5 click here. 

To find out more about The Basics of Teaching Artistry click here.

About the Author:
Brad Haseman is a teaching artist from Australia who for over a decade worked in Papua New Guinea developing programs for HIV and AIDS education. In 2014 he co-convened the second International Teaching Artist Conference (ITAC2) in Brisbane, Australia and serves on the ITAC5 Programming Committee.  Kadenze, Inc has strong links with Teaching Artists globally. The Kadenze program The Basics of Teaching Artistry features courses by Lincoln Centre Education (NYC), the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane) and Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia). Brad is Executive Vice President of Kadenze, Inc.

Image courtesy of Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

Anyone working with content development and technology knows the common phrase ‘content is king’.  You need to have excellent ‘content’ because if things just look pretty, there is little real value to the reader. Online learning reframes this dilemma. Now it is not just the content which matters, but the ability to communicate it using digital platforms that make the teaching experience effective.

The global education sector is currently undergoing rapid disruption, from kindergarten right through to higher education. The content is still the same, but it now needs to be communicated differently to make the most of the digital environment. Businesses have already experienced this shift online, but are still realising the way you tell your story needs to change; the story is the same, it just needs to adapt and be flexible. But flexible for what digital technology? There are literally thousands of software services and platforms to choose from, so knowing how to integrate all the different digital tools is an art and a skill within itself.

This digital delivery method is even more difficult with activities that are not naturally suited to an online teaching environment. Specialist areas such as skills-based learning in music and other creative arts need to have the right equipment and ‘feel’ to provide the best learning environment. The current and various COVID-19 restrictions in place on social distancing, wearing masks and lockdown quarantine makes the ability to teach these skills-based courses even harder. How can they be reimagined for online delivery, but in a way that makes it easy to communicate without having to be an IT wizard?

Kadenze Virtual Studio (KVS) has answered that question for studio teachers, arts educators and teaching artists everywhere. Kadenze Virtual Studio creates an online education environment specifically for independent artists and arts educators of all types. Additionally, a Kadenze Virtual Studio is backed by technology that enables online teaching and learning to focus on the message: the skills being developed and the accompanying content.

A Kadenze Virtual Studio gives teachers their own platform, to teach their own content, the way they choose. This streamlines planning, designing, delivering and managing classes and content all through the one centralised technology.

For learners, the Kadenze Virtual Studio presents a focused and easy-to-use learning environment with opportunities to interact, share and gain feedback in an arts-focussed platform. Instructors and students alike relish the flexibility of using forums and galleries for peer-review, building portfolios of achievements, communicating instantly through messenger and awarding badges for making learning visible. All parties have the ability to share visual content from YouTube and Vimeo and easily embed a Zoom meeting or Google Meet.

Kadenze is not new to arts-based education, being the platform of choice for leading arts institutions worldwide. The breakthrough development with the launch of the Kadenze Virtual Studio this week is that our designers, educators, artists and engineers are offering a pure white-label teaching solution for the independent teacher and artist. In a KVS arts studio, teachers are in control; in control of a full suite of mature teaching tools, of the content presented and of the financial arrangements between instructors and learners.

The move to teaching online is daunting for many, so we also provide support guides for setting up and running a Kadenze Virtual Studio and teaching creative content. Our Technology Enabled Creative Learning (TECL) framework helps artists and teachers to plan, develop and deliver content that makes the most of the online environment, keeping focus on the content and the learner’s progress.

Content will always be king, but using the right medium ensures the message is communicated clearly. Every educational institution is currently innovating to select software, platforms and technical support for the online teaching environment. For the independent educator-artist that solution is the Kadenze Virtual Studio (KVS).

Are you, or colleagues you know, considering launching online classes? You can do so in your own Kadenze Virtual Studio. For more information and to lodge an Expression of Interest please go to try.kadenze.com/virtualstudio to get started.

Want to know more about MIR? Read on below as Professor Tzanetakis explains.

Computers have profoundly influenced how music is created, distributed, and consumed. Music Information Retrieval (MIR) is the interdisciplinary science of retrieving information from music using computers. I started doing research in this field back in 1998, before the term MIR was used, and it has been the focus of my work since then. When I started working on algorithms to analyze music recordings many computers could not play sound and the hard disks of the time could only store a few audio files. Most listeners bought compact disks and heard music on the radio. Today, the large majority of listeners around the world experience music digitally using streaming music providers. These streaming services are powered by intelligent music recommendation algorithms that utilize MIR techniques to process and better understand millions of audio recordings. Being part of this transformation has been an incredible journey.

MIR techniques are also used in digital audio effects such as auto-tuning and harmonizing. Algorithms for beat tracking, pitch detection and time stretching are common features in digital audio editing and mixing software. Moreover, audio fingerprinting and watermarking techniques are used to digitally track and identify copyrighted content. Finally, MIR techniques are used by music creation systems such as DJ software, synthesizers, and music controllers.

In the last twenty years I have taught MIR topics to undergraduate and graduate students, presented tutorials to researchers in academia and industry, and supervised directed studies, as well as Masters and PhD theses on this topic. The highly interdisciplinary nature of this field is what attracted me to it but it is also what poses unique challenges when teaching. I am fortunate to have a solid formal music education in addition to my computer science training, but I can’t assume that’s the case for all the students who take my courses. Digital signal processing is a topic typically covered in Electrical and Computer Engineering courses but not in Computer Science. Over the years I am constantly trying to come up with more effective ways to teach all the different topics needed to understand MIR algorithms and techniques.

In 2016 I was approached by Kadenze to develop an online course for Music Information Retrieval. I was honored and excited about the possibility, as I was aware of their existing courses many of which were interdisciplinary and exploring creative technologies. MIR can be considered 20 years old and many of the research techniques that were initially explored in academic research are now an integral part of industrial applications. However, it is still an emerging field and there are many places around the world where there is no one available to teach it. As a young Computer Science undergraduate in Crete, Greece, I remember how thirsty I was for information about computer music as it was not covered in any courses I took and none of my professors had experience with it. To a large extent it was this desire to learn more about computers and music that motivated me to pursue graduate studies at Princeton University under the supervision of Perry Cook and led me to MIR. It is my hope that this Program will be a valuable resource for students and interested researchers from around the world and inspire them to do work in this field.

The Program covers the majority of topics that have been explored in the academic MIR community and provides a basic but solid introduction to concepts from digital signal processing, machine learning, and human-computer interaction from a MIR perspective. I have strived to make it accessible and useful to a variety of potential students ranging from motivated and curious first year students to experienced researchers in a variety of fields including Computer Science, Music, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Information Science, Musicology, and Psychology.

A course is like a garden. It takes a lot of preparation and work that is not immediately visible and requires regular monitoring and maintenance. In the next months and years I look forward to taking care of this Program and seeing how it evolves. I hope that taking this Program motivates you to learn more about MIR and undertake some work in this field. The annual conference in this field is ISMIR, the international conference of the Society for Music Information Retrieval and it is a great event. During ISMIR you might see an engineer explaining fourier transforms to a musicologist, or a music theorist explaining chord progression to a programmer. It is my hope that taking this Program will make you part of these conversations, and perhaps I’ll see you online or at the conference!

Discover the Program below:

To celebrate the launch, the Music Information Retrieval program is on sale for $USD350.00 – that’s $125 off the original price of $USD475.00. But only until August 1, 2020. Discover the program now and enroll to start learning!

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About the Author and Program Instructor:
George Tzanetakis is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science with cross-listed appointments in ECE and Music at the University of Victoria, Canada. He is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in the Computer Analysis and Audio and Music, and received the Craigdaroch research award in artistic expression at the University of Victoria in 2012.  In 2011 he was Visiting Faculty at Google Research. He received his PhD in Computer Science at Princeton University in 2002, and was a Post-Doctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in 2002-2003. His research spans all stages of audio content analysis such as feature extraction, segmentation, classification with specific emphasis on music information retrieval. He is also the primary designer and developer of Marsyas, an open source framework for audio processing with specific emphasis on music information retrieval applications. His pioneering work on musical genre classification received a IEEE signal processing society young author award and is frequently cited. More recently, he has been exploring new interfaces for musical expression, music robotics, computational ethnomusicology, and computer-assisted music instrument tutoring.

Our new Micro-Course Introduction to Micro-Influence for Creative Professionals is here! Taught by Lisa Harrison, engagement and online media expert, this Micro-Course covers everything you must know to become a Micro-Influencer. From understanding content marketing’s effects; to social network strategy and implementation; and measuring and reporting based on the results of your efforts. This Micro-Course will  take your social media networking activity from ordinary to impressive. Delivered over six modules, this first Micro-Course starts June 3, 2020. 

Keep reading to learn more about micro-influencing as Lisa Harrison introduces the concept and the benefits to creative professionals. 

Why is this Course Important to My Success? 

Our current economic and social environment has made social media an essential aspect of participating in a 21st century society both professionally and socially. As a creative practitioner you tend to self-manage your career, audiences and professional identities. Old methods of sustaining a career as a creative professional are being superseded, producing a need for a fundamental change.  Careers in creative fields have always been fluid and with the increasing dominance of the digital world and social media, the process of self-management has shifted online.  Social media provides a flexible social and professional networking environment for building and to provide you with a competitive advantage.

Micro-influence is an elevated form of social media practice that establishes the ordinary user as an influencer. A professional social media identity has become an essential element of creative practitioners daily lives. Developments in professional communication technology have created undeniable changes, as the competitive landscape for creative professionals is being redefined. Creative professionals’ careers are increasingly intertwined with social media, and my research revealed a demand for better professional communication skills, knowledge and capabilities in implementing and maintaining a professional social media identity.  If creative practitioners can improve their skills, knowledge and capabilities in creating a professional social media identity they can achieve micro-influence.

What Will I do in the Course?

The Micro-Course Introduction to Micro-Influence in Creative Industries provides a practical set of learning experiences developed to support your professional development as a creative practitioner and progress your career.

Learn to take your social media skills to the next level by hearing from successful Micro-influencers.  Discover the secrets to creating digital social capital using your social media identity.  With increased social capital you will increase opportunities for micro-influence to support your career path as a creative practitioner. This course is an introduction to micro-influencer theory and provides a foundation for the skills, knowledge and capabilities current micro-influences use to create and sustain micro-influence.  The suite of six micro-credentials will give you all the knowledge and confidence you need to use a variety of digital tools, from the planning phase right through to analysing and reporting on your success..

Through participation in this course you will be able to take your career to the next level by learning how to:

• Write and implement a social media strategy to support your creative practice aims and objectives.
• Understand the fundamentals of micro-influencer theory.
• Use key communication tools to network effectively.
• Develop and maintain networks using social media.
• Establish and maintain relationships using social media.
• Evaluate which online networking sites are appropriate for you.
• Promote a crisp, clear digital representation of your creative practice so others want to get to know you.

This Micro-Course will take you through a set of worksheets that, when compiled, will provide you with a professional communication strategy for your creative practice. Having a clear, concise approach using the techniques taught in this Micro-Course will provide you with the skills to enhance your social capital and lead to opportunities for micro-influence. Your motivation and goals to become a micro-influencer will drive the direction of your strategy, for instance, a potter may want to increase sales of their pottery, or a journalist may want to create a media hub on a particular niche and sell editorial/advertising space via their networks. Whatever your motivation, the opportunities are almost endless. It just takes a bit of planning.

With that in mind, the six micro-credentials are based on:

Global best practice – incorporating concepts from a range of micro-influencers, commentators and leading practitioners, illustrated with examples.

Practical application – giving practical insights into developing and executing plans and campaigns which can be applied in your creative practice to improve your social media activity.

Introduction to Micro-Influence in Creative Industries offers participants:

• A unique professional development pathway.
• Academically rigorous curriculum.
• Short manageable modules of information.
• Digital access at a low cost.

Now is your chance to arm yourself with the inside knowledge used by real influencers to take your creative career to the next level.

Open for enrollments now, the first cycle of Introduction to Micro-Influence for Creative Professionals begins June 3, 2020.

About the Author:
Lisa Harrison BCI, Hons, Dip TAE, Doctoral Candidate QUT.
Educator, Entrepreneur, Doctoral Researcher.

Lisa Harrison is a doctoral candidate at Queensland University of Technology in Queensland Australia and a specialist in social media influencers. 
She is an award winning consultant, having operated her own digital media practice for over a decade and worked with clients ranging from government agencies through to small business. 
Lisa is an educator, speaker, trainer and consultant on all things digital communication, with a passion to empower creative professionals to become micro-influencers by supporting their professional communication skills, knowledge and capabilities.
She has a passion for supporting creative practitioners  to upskill and reeducate the digital economy

Whether you are kick-starting your career, fine-tuning your skill-set, or in the pursuit of life-long learning, Kadenze, Inc offers Programs across a range of creative disciplines to help you achieve your learning and career goals.

To help celebrate the New Year, for a limited time only you can enjoy 20% off selected Programs*.

Taught by expert artists and educators from some of the world’s leading institutions, there’s a Program for everyone. Explore and enroll now!

Are you interested in music and audio technology? Why not check out:

Output Teaches Creating Audio Plugins with C++ and JUCE with instructors Jacob Penn and Bruce Dawson from Output Inc and Kadenze Academy

Foundations of Music Technology with Jordan Hochenbaum, Owen Vallis, Ajay Kapur, Spencer Salazar and guests from California Institute of the Arts

Is mixed reality and creative technology part of your artistic practice? We have Programs for that too!

Creating for Mixed Reality with Thomas Wester and guests from Pacific Northwest College of Art

Generative Art and Computational Creativity with Philippe Pasquier from Simon Fraser University

There’s many more Programs to choose from! Head to our website to find your perfect match and enroll now. HURRY! Our 20% off sale ends soon.

*Premium Membership is required to access Programs. College Credits are available for some courses for an additional fee.

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In Making Meaning: An Introduction to Object Design, Part II, Tim investigates ideas that comment on the relationship between individuals and objects in a given environment. The course is an in-depth exploration of larger practical issues within the design process by reflecting on object design within the contexts of sustainability and futurist innovation. The course includes topics on social responsibility, ethics, and consumer responsibility. Learners will discover new possibilities for functional design.

The course goes live Tuesday, November 19th. The Making Meaning program is currently being offered with an early bird discount at $USD150.00 (original price $USD200.00) from now through the end of November. If you are not a currently enrolled SAIC student, you can take the courses for SAIC credit for an additional $400. Discover the course below and enroll to start learning!

Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part II

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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Music Theory Comprehensive is an in-depth, comprehensive guide designed for beginner musicians just starting to learn the craft, as well as more experienced artists who want to get a better grasp of fundamentals. The series covers all the bases of music theory, with lessons focusing on concepts chords, scales, music notation, melodies, and much more. Assignments emphasize song analysis and identification of key signatures to prepare learners for performance.

Discover each of the courses here.

Already caught up with the series? Enroll in Music Theory Level 2: Part Seven below:

Music Theory Level 2: Part Seven

Kadenze Academy

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The course focuses on how applications of historical and experimental analog electronic, recording, and studio techniques are central to electronic music and sound design within modern studio platforms. Using Ableton Live and Audacity, learners will hone and expand their craft by working with oscillators, synth patches, and other hardware to deepen their sound creation. 

Composers, sound designers, sound editors, and independent filmmakers can apply these techniques in a wide variety of areas, ranging from sound design for film, video games, electronic music, sound art, and more. Whether it’s for a small-scale project or sound art installation, this course provides you with the foundation to create innovative audio outside of your craft and enrich the quality of your production. 

The instructor for the course is Seth Cluett, visual artist and composer lecturing at Columbia’s Computer Music Center and Sound Art program. Cluett is also the Artist-in-Residence at Nokia Bell Labs. Cluett’s work has been featured internationally at venues such as the Whitney Museum and MoMA/PS1, and STEIM. His research involves virtual and augmented reality acoustics and multi-sensory communication.  

Previous knowledge of Ableton Live is helpful but not required to take this course. If you’re interested in leveling up your sound design skills, enroll by clicking the link below:

Experimental Foundations for Sound Design

Columbia University in the City of New York

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Praise for Music Technology and Digital Arts 

The most popular subject among our entries was music technology. Students highlighted courses like Sound Synthesis Using Reaktor, Sound Production in Ableton Live for Musicians and Artists, and Introduction to Real-Time Audio Programming in ChucK for thought-provoking assignments and deep dive of core concepts. Programming courses such as The Nature of Code, Generative Art and Computational Creativity, Web Design and Development Using WordPress, and Programming Max: Structuring Interactive Software for Digital Arts were also top choices.

Helping the Creative Community Thrive

Many participants pointed to an inspired community and learning environment as their favorite features of the platform. In his entry, winner Max Chichkan mentioned how he was so impressed by the demo of a modular synth controller for the Sound Synthesis in Reaktor course that it fostered an interest in him to learn more about it. Entrant Franck Aubry loved his experience taking Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists, especially for its accessibility to learners who come from a non-technical background.

Check out the full list of winners:

1 Month Premium Membership Winners

• Nathaly Toledo
• Max Chichkan
• Luis Ernesto
• Eduardo Ahumada
• Franck Aubry

Grand Prize Winner – 1 Month Premium Membership + Program of choice

• Ricardo Fuentes

A big thanks again to all the winners and everyone who participated! Keep up with us on our social pages and be on the lookout for more updates. Have a learner success story of your own with Kadenze? Tag us on our social media pages and include the hashtag #Kadenze. You can be the next to be featured on our page!

Start exploring some of the courses yourself and begin sharpening your skills:

Web Development and Design Using WordPress

California Institute of the Arts

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Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists

Goldsmiths University of London

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Four top-rated Kadenze courses earned a spot on the list, all claiming the top rankings in their respective categories: Introduction to Real-Time Audio Programming in ChucK, Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists, Sound Production in Ableton Live for Musicians and Artists, and Creative Applications for Deep Learning in TensorFlow. Take a look at what some learners are saying about each course:

Introduction to Real-Time Audio Programming in Chuck

• #1 in Art & Design
• #1 in Art & Design (Digital Media)

“I would recommend this course to any programmer, whether you are a rookie or a master, because it offers an experience more unique than any other programming course I’ve taken.”

“I really enjoyed this course! It was a great way to learn all of the introductory concepts of programming as well as music. The creative aspect of it make it a lot more fun and interesting then the other computer science courses I have taken.”

Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists

• #1 in Computer Science
• #1 in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning)

“This course is an excellent introduction to machine learning, and also clearly explain the difference in machine learning for general task and machine learning for arts, music and interaction.“

“Rebecca Fiebrink’s course is very clear to my non-programmer artist musician brain, without feeling like it’s dumbing down or overly repetitive. The examples and their accompanying programs and settings are incredibly helpful and feel like a great primer to a better understanding of programming in a general sense. A+++”

Sound Production in Ableton Live for Musicians and Artists

• #2 in Art & Design
• #2 in Art & Design (Digital Media)

“If you’re just getting started with Ableton Live or have been trying to find a structured way to refresh your Ableton and sound product knowledge and techniques in general, look no further. This course really puts everything in place.” 

“I’ve taken Ableton Live courses before but this one went much deeper in a lot of techniques. After this course I felt that my ableton skills were furthered a lot. I was looking to reach an advanced level and this course helped me a lot.”

Creative Applications of Deep Learning with TensorFlow

• #1 in Computer Science (Deep Learning)

“Excellent course for anyone without a technical background interested in harnessing the power of Machine Learning for their creative projects.”

“It provides inspirational projects that are beyond ‘toy examples’ and you are encouraged to explore and experiment to learn and better understand how they work. Recommend for anyone who has experience with Deep Learning and wants to delve into the world of Creative AI.”

Start exploring the courses by enrolling below to get started on your learning journey.

Introduction to Real-Time Audio Programming in ChucK

California Institute of the Arts

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Sound Production in Ableton Live for Musicians and Artists

California Institute of the Arts

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Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists

Goldsmiths, University of London

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Creative Applications of Deep Learning with TensorFlow

Kadenze Academy

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We’re amazed at the responses in the entries you’ve shared, and are thrilled to read about how pursuing creative education has impacted your growth as inspiring artists and creators. 

To help learners continue to move forward in their educational journey, each week we’re giving one winner free 1 month Premium membership, and one Grand Prize winner a free Program of their choice (valued up to $900). 

Premium membership lets you submit assignments, receive grades, earn verified certificates, and join a global online creative community to share your projects with. If you’re looking to upgrade your skill set, broaden your expertise, or jump into a new interest, we want to help you get there!

These are a few highlights from some of our winning entries so far:

“4 months ago I started a course in Kadenze called Web Development and Design Using WordPress, with Spencer Salazar as the instructor in charge. The final assignment demanded students to create a website. At some point of the course I decided I would do it about who I was as an individual… I take it as a chance to have fun and to start asking myself the right questions.”  —Nathaly Toledo, winner #1

“I learned how amazing sound manipulation with different devices is on the course Sound Synthesis Using Reaktor. The demo of controlling a modular synth with an iphone at the beginning of the course really impressed me and made me wanna learn more about this subject.”

—Max Chichkan, winner #2

“One of the things I like about Kadenze is the community of students that share their knowledge and thoughts […] The gallery of Kadenze [is] and opportunity to learn more of other professional artists, when you feel that you are stuck in something, you can go and see what others make” —Luis Rincon, winner #3

Join now and you can be our next winner! We hope these stories will inspire you to share your own experience. Go to our social pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your entry.

In How to Create 2D Graphic Animations, you’ll be introduced to core techniques for creating unique animations with Photoshop and the industry-standard video effects program After Effects. Taught by graphics artist Mehreen Bazm, lessons will cover topics like how to prepare files in Photoshop, key framing techniques, and animating cameras within After Effects. Other topics include implementing design strategies to make a dynamic and cohesive animation.

Enroll now and start learning today!

How to Create 2D Graphic Animations

Kadenze Academy

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