Technological tools - the need to situate software skills in the implementation of design concepts

As a consequence of the rapid development of new technology, and new areas such as multimedia in the graphic design industry, education is faced with the problem of incorporating the software skills associated with visual communication within the existing curriculum. The software is complex and is required by many areas of the industry resulting in students expecting software training as part of their course. Computer soft-ware skills should be situated in the subject they are being used for; learning software is not an end in itself - the software is only used in relation to the subject. Methods of learning software, such as training programmes, manuals are not sufficient by themselves; people learn from each other and in relation to the job in hand The students' understanding of software is situated in the process of generating solutions to problems and in implementing design concepts. Treating software skills as abstract, unrelated to subject specific knowledge, either through training courses or the use of training manuals, does not take into account the discipline that the software application is to be used for.