This page has been edited with permission from Dr. Keith Mitchell. This information appeared on Apple's web site from 1997-1999. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Technology Applications Center for Educator Development or the Texas Education Agency.

Desktop Publishing, Skills for the Next Millennium
by Keith Mitchell, Ph.D. - Education Development Executive for Apple Computer, Inc.

The term Desktop Publishing was given birth in 1985 with the introduction of the first mass produced postscript laser printers. The advent of desktop publishing meant for the first time the production of heavily formatted documents with integrated text and graphics could be completed by a single individual who was often the primary source of the information.

Skills and tools required of students in the new Computer Applications curriculum (126.24) in Desktop Publishing will have to take into account the rapidly changing definition of publishing as color printing moves to the desktop as more and more information makes the transition to digital distribution in mediums such as CD-ROM and the Web. Student developed products should include the printed page with a new emphasis on using effectively color text, images and graphics. Student products should include traditional newsletter formatting, but be expanded to include more graphics intensive products such as advertisements, magazine articles, marketing materials, and posters. Along with printed information products, students should have an opportunity in this course to apply their desktop publishing skills to communicating with digital mediums such as the Web or CD-ROM.

The curriculum can be organized around a series of short products that introduce sequentially more challenging use of the individual tools or even around one large collaborative project that requires mastery of the adopted publishing tools. In either case, the experience should result in student developed products that are perceived as having a purpose to both the students and their community. The time spent on mastering individual software tools and more importantly producing information products will accomplish most of the issues covered in the TEKS, but additional resources will have to be incorporated to insure students are learning quality skills as defined by the curriculum and the industries involved. Much of the additional resources such as those involving ethics, copyright, or even style can be obtained from student research on the Internet.