Oxford Preparatory Academy Digital Media
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Oxford Preparatory Academy

Digital Media

Find what you need. Make something real.

01 / Courses

Your class work

Find your class, and today’s lesson.

Grades, assignments, due dates, and feedback are in Canvas. Lesson slides and the day-by-day record of what each class covered live here — open your class below, including if you need to catch up on a day you missed.

Today

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Syllabus and rules Current project Dates and submissions Feedback and progress
Hand-drawn illustration of a student standing in a kitchen
Canvas opens with student access
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01.1 / Exploratory Digital Media

Exploratory Digital Media

Course resources.

Today’s lesson slides and every earlier lesson this class has covered — open a day below if you missed it.

Today

Lesson slides

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01.2 / Intro to Digital Media

Intro to Digital Media

Course resources.

Today’s lesson slides and every earlier lesson this class has covered — open a day below if you missed it.

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Lesson slides

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01.3 / Advanced Digital Media

Advanced Digital Media

Course resources.

Today’s lesson slides and every earlier lesson this class has covered — open a day below if you missed it.

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Lesson slides

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02 / Tutorials

How do I do this?

Clear help for tools and workflows.

Short, reusable instructions for making, editing, exporting, presenting, troubleshooting, and working safely.

Software basics Production workflows Export and presentation Safe and responsible tools
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02.1 / Class Apps

Tutorials / Class Apps

Download. Open. Make.

Download only the app your teacher assigns.

Ready / Mac

Color Companion

Sample colors, build palettes, and check contrast.

Download ↓ Version 0.2.0 · macOS 13+

Teacher testing

Adobe Cache Cleaner

Closes Adobe tools, then clears temporary cache files.

Coming soon A signed classroom release is required before student use.

Teacher testing

Sage Downloader

Save approved video or audio for class projects.

Coming soon Use only media you made, have permission to use, or your teacher approved.

Install on a classroom Mac

Three steps.

  1. Download and open the ZIP.
  2. Move the app to Applications.
  3. Control-click the app and choose Open the first time.
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03 / Design Guides

Fundamentals of design

Make choices you can explain.

Study color, typography, composition, hierarchy, contrast, branding, and visual storytelling before decorating the work.

Color Type Layout Story
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03.1 / Color

Design Guides / Color

Color makes meaning.

Use color to create mood, organize information, guide attention, and make the message easier to understand.

01

Three controls

Hue. Saturation. Value.

Hue

The color family: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet.

Saturation

How intense or muted the color feels.

Value

How light or dark the color is. Value creates readable contrast.

02

Color relationships

Build a palette with a reason.

Monochromatic

One hue changed through tints, shades, or saturation.

Analogous

Neighboring hues. Related, calm, and easy to unify.

Complementary

Opposite hues. Strong contrast—choose one color to lead.

Triadic

Three evenly spaced hues. Energetic, so control the saturation.

03

Color roles

Give every color a job.

A 60 / 30 / 10 split is a useful starting point, not a rule.

Dominant / 60% Sets the overall mood and fills the largest areas.

Support / 30% Separates sections and strengthens the system.

Accent / 10% Pulls attention toward the most important action.

04

Before you finish

Check the palette.

Limit it. Start with three to five colors.

Check value. Make sure important elements still separate in grayscale.

Read it. Text and background need strong contrast.

Do not rely on color alone. Add labels, icons, shapes, or patterns.

Repeat roles. Use the same color for the same job throughout the work.

Color Lab

Move it. See it.

Start with one color. Then test what changing its hue, saturation, and value actually does.

Build your color
Working color #2D7EAD

Blue

Palette relationship

Pick a structure.

Neighboring hues feel related and easy to unify.

Readability

Can you read it?

Student work Read this first.

Important information needs contrast.

Free class tool / macOS

Meet Color Companion.

Sample any color on your screen, build useful palettes, check accessible pairs, and carry colors into other Mac apps.

Sample Build Check Copy
Download for Mac

Version 0.2.0 · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon + Intel · 4.1 MB ZIP

Ryan as a curly-haired landscape painter holding a palette and paintbrush

Install

Three steps on a Mac.

  1. Download the ZIP and open it.
  2. Move Color Companion to Applications.
  3. First launch: Control-click the app, then choose Open.

This is a direct classroom build, so macOS may ask for approval the first time. If needed, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Practice

Build a four-color palette.

  1. Choose one base hue that fits the message.
  2. Choose a color relationship.
  3. Create a dominant, support, accent, and neutral color.
  4. Test readability and value contrast.
  5. Explain each color choice in one sentence.
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03.2 / Typography

Design Guides / Typography

Type makes the order clear.

Typography tells people what to notice first, what supports it, and what they need to read all the way through.

01

Three jobs

Choose. Organize. Space.

01

Choose

Pick a typeface that matches the message. Two families are usually enough.

02

Organize

Use size, weight, and position to show what matters first.

03

Space

Give letters, lines, and blocks room to breathe so the work can be read.

Interactive practice

Type Lab

Change one decision at a time. Watch the slide, then read what changed.

Live slide 16:9 presentation
OPA Digital Media / Student Showcase

COACH BARTON
IS COOL!

But not as cool as Coach Alex.

Poster system / 2026

Voice

Color

Practice

Build a three-level type system.

  1. Write one message in six words or fewer.
  2. Make the headline noticeably more important than the support copy.
  3. Use spacing to separate the three levels.
  4. Ask a classmate what they notice first, second, and third.
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04 / Student Work

Curated examples

See what students made.

Selected projects show strong choices, useful process, and finished work. Nothing is published without permission and context.

Featured project presentation

Project Presentation

Madeline De la O / Polar Bear Animation / 2025-26

Every project includes a presentation that makes the thinking visible: purpose, process evidence, response to a challenge, the current finished version, and what the student learned next.

Slide 1 of 11 from Madeline De la O's Polar Bear Animation project presentation

01 / 11

A hand-drawn white polar bear attempts a cartwheel inside live-action classroom footage.
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05 / Portfolios

Individual collections

Follow the work, not only the finish.

Portfolios connect planning, process, reflection, and final work across a student's projects.

Student namePortfolio link placeholder Student namePortfolio link placeholder Student namePortfolio link placeholder
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06 / Get Inspired

Look outward

Notice how creative work communicates.

Explore artists, designers, studios, champion profiles, and other references worth studying—not copying.

New inspiration will appear here.

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07 / OPA TV

Student media

Watch the program take shape.

Episodes and production showcases make the work of the OPA TV team visible with appropriate credits, captions, and permissions.

Today

Lesson slides

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Still frame from OPA TV Episode 14 2025–26 archive / 11 broadcasts Watch OPA TV episodes. Open the episode archive → Open OPA TV Studio — teacher access Open Today’s Production Board Return to the map