Teaching the first two classes of digital art and media, with obsolete machines (older Mac G4's), and software that is 3-4 versions old has definitely not been easy. It has been next to impossible to find reference books, enough for 20 students to buy, and online help just doesn't cut it. Since the college will not be upgrading the software or equipment anytime soon, I have really had to think about this class and what of relevance I can teach the students. Approaching this as though it were a drawing or painting class has been the answer. It cannot be a software class, therefore it will be an art class who will learn to make art with whatever software they have. Hasn't that been a tradition for students all along? When I was an art student, I could never afford stretched canvas to paint on and ended up painting on cardboard out of my mother's panty-hose, masonite, or whatever scraps of wood I could find at the local lumber yard. Why should life for a digital art student be any different?