Large Format Poster Support Models

We have several support models available for large format poster assignments in courses.  Faculty can work with instructional technologist to find the model and process that best suits their needs and assignment goals.

Model A

Large Format (33"x43") posters for assignments including visual literacy learning goals.

•  Faculty member is offered a coordinated support meeting with members of the Research and Instructional Design team to plan project and timeline.
•  Faculty member works through poster authoring process and project assigned to students.
•  Faculty member is offered the following planned support from LITS:
  • Workshop on visual literacy and design.
  • Workshop or authoring lab on PowerPoint (PPT) for Large Format Printing (LFP).
  •  Open lab for scanning images.
  • Open lab for proofing posters.
  • Printing appointments for students.

Model B

Large Format (33"x43") posters based on a clearly defined outcome – science posters, templates, etc.

• Faculty member is offered a coordinated support meeting with members of Research and Instructional Design to plan project and timeline.
• Faculty member is offered the following planned support from LITS:
  • Workshop or authoring lab on PowerPoint (PPT) for Large Format Printing (LFP).
  • Open lab for scanning images.
  • Open lab for proofing posters.
  • Printing appointments for students.

Model C

Tiles or small posters (11"x17").  Tiles may work well for groups working on a poster if each person in the group is responsible for a tile and also for coordinating their work with others submitting tiles to the group.

• Faculty member is offered a coordinated support meeting with members of Research and Instructional Design to plan project and timeline.
• Faculty member is offered the following planned support from LITS:
  • Workshop or authoring lab on PowerPoint (PPT) for Large Format Printing (LFP).
  • Open lab for scanning images.
  • Open lab for final printing.

Model D

Large Format (33"x43") posters printed by Research and Instructional Design staff but students are trained on authoring by their faculty member. The faculty member sends R&ID the student’s final posters in PDF format.

• Faculty member will meet with R&ID professional staff and work through the process of poster creation in large format posters. This step can be waived if the faculty member has been through the entire process with us in the past year. In this step, we will provide information on our procedures, available printing dates, and “how to” documents to be distributed to their students.  We will establish a timeline for printing posters for their course. The final product of this step will be a written agreement recording the production timeline for the course, and the number of posters to be printed.
• PDFs will be delivered to R&ID for printing.  No printing or proofing appointments will be scheduled. R&ID will not reprint or troubleshoot files if errors occur.

Model E

• We will research outsourcing options.

Definition of Planned Support "Events"

Workshop on Visual Literacy and Design

• This is an interactive workshop on graphic design principles in terms of visual literacy and communication in the medium of a large format poster.  Students get tips on ways to present their research so that their posters reflect scholarly effort, and visual communication design and are aesthetically pleasing.  The workshop covers the use of color, images, graphs, text, etc. in a poster project. (1.5 hrs)

Workshop on PowerPoint for Large Format Printing

• Students learn how to setup and author a poster in Microsoft PowerPoint.  This workshop focuses particularly on the special considerations and differences in using PowerPoint to create a poster as opposed to a slide show. (1 hr)

Authoring Lab on PowerPoint for Large Format Printing

• An authoring lab can be offered in place of a workshop (see above) as a time for students to ask questions of the Educational Technology Support (ETS) staff, their faculty member and their reference liaison. Since the goal in these sessions is to have the students leave with a draft of their final poster, they are only effective if most of the students in a particular course have already researched their topics, drafted the text components of their poster and begun selection of the types of graphics they wish to use.  These labs are dependent upon the faculty member being present to help guide the students and answer discipline based authoring questions. (1.5-2 hrs)

Open Lab for Scanning Images

• These open labs are selected blocks of time when students can come in to the RDS and receive 1-on-1 assistance in scanning images for their poster.  The scanning labs focus on proper image size, resolution, scanning settings and basic editing. (2-3hrs)

Open Lab for Proofing Posters

• These open labs are selected blocks of time when students can come in to the RDS and receive an 11"x17" proof of their final poster. Proofing labs generally occur one - two weeks prior to the assignment due date.  This gives the students an opportunity to make corrections and consult with their professor before the final printing appointment. We require the professor's signature on the proof to print out the final poster. (2-3 hrs)

Printing Appointments for Students

• One hour time slots for printing appointments are scheduled for the students to print the final copies of their posters.  Students are expected to arrive at the appointment on time, with their signed poster proof, a completed PowerPoint file, saved to their SSS account.  At the appointment, an ITS staff member will convert the PPT file to a PDF and the student will fill out a quick survey.  Once the student has approved the convert PDF file, the staff member will print the final large format poster.  The ITS staff member will collect the signed poster proof. (1-hr/student or group)

Large Format Poster (LFP) Printing Appointment Request