Digital Media Design (DMD) Academy

DMD Academy is a 3-year career-themed Program commitment (or 2 years, if you start in 11th Grade, if space is available).

In the spring semester, each student will be selecting their elective courses within their Synergy StudentVUE Portal for the next school year. 

**If you are a current 9th Grader you must choose the DMD Academy’s 10th Grade class in the list of elective courses & the title of that course is “AME Digital Media 1”. Selecting that course title will place you on the class list for the DMD Academy & you will be enrolled in the DMD Program, if there is space in the class section. IMPORTANT: you must also VERIFY & CONFIRM your seat in the class by replying to a Confirmation Email that you will receive in the Spring semester by the deadline if you make it in the class section.

**If you are a current 10th Grader, there occasionally are a few spaces in the 11th Grade DMD Academy class section & you would be able to join starting your 11th Grade year.  If you are a current 10th Grader you must choose the DMD Academy’s 11th Grade class in the list of elective courses & the title of that course is “AME Digital Media 2”. Selecting that course title will place you on the class list for the DMD Academy & you will be enrolled in the DMD Program, if there is space in the class section. IMPORTANT: you must also VERIFY & CONFIRM your seat in the class by replying to a Confirmation Email that you will receive in the Spring semester by the deadline if you make it in the class section.

Please visit the individual DMD course webpages linked (in BLUE) in the left column for more info about each DMD course.

ALSO, please check out the separate DMD Academy official website for course details, field trip info, guest speakers, equipment/software used and sample media projects (from current & former DMD Academy students) HERE.

1. Do you enjoy teaching DMD? And explain why.

Yes I do! Students who elect to join the DMD Program are excited about using computers to create digital artwork and designs and are excited about learning more advanced techniques to create and manipulate images, videos, animations, and sound to convey their unique messages to the world, so they really want to be in DMD to learn and create original digital art.

2. What is DMD all about? And why is it important for students learn more about it.

DMD is about learning to use digital art software (the latest version of Adobe software, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, & Premiere Pro) to the intermediate professional level, in conjunction with knowledge of design principles and elements of art so students can understand what it would be like to work in the creative arts career fields. It's important because design and multi-media are all around us and it is important for students to know early on if it is for them or not as a possible career field. But its also for them to have the digital art skills and knowledge to create content for their own personal websites and social media accounts. There are millions of great jobs in the advertising, video production, and animation fields, and it is a benefit to students to see if they enjoy doing this type of work and therefore would enjoy doing it as a well-paid career in their future.

3. What is something you tell your students to do on a daily?

First off, at the end of each class period, I say to "Save your work!", so that they don't lose all that they've created all class period! I also tell them regularly that what the DMD Program is about is exploring whether the digital creative field is for them or not, and that they won't know that unless they try their best to learn the software and the design skills and to practice them effectively.

4. What are other interesting facts about your class would you like to tell the us?

Most people don't know that the DMD Program also helps students sign up for free CCSF classes with free textbooks and support, has presentations about applying for colleges and scholarships, helps students get paid internships for the summer and school year, and makes available other after school programs related to digital media, which makes DMD students stand out on their college applications and their job resumes, if they are looking for jobs in the world right after high school. So, the DMD Program is not just about taking a sequence of three engaging courses at ALHS, but it's also about going beyond the Lincoln campus to expand your learning, skill set, and knowledge base, and also to begin to build your professional network, which will aid you in getting a great creative job in the future.