Sunday, December 19, 2010
Digital Graphics Course Reflection EDLD 5366
What a few weeks it has been. The first week I tapped into my creative side and made a digital poster with images and a catchy phrase that was meaningful to me. I could see me doing more of that in the future. The following week I had to dig a little deeper and create a logo that said something about me. This process was more daunting as reflecting on myself is not an easy task. I called in the Calvary and friends came through. The logo was representative of my spiritual side without any connotation of it and then I associated it with my educator side. I was please with it; just wish the image I chose would have been easier to work with.
The larger part of the course was implementing the logo and tools learned in previous weeks in to digital newsletter. I first tried to use a software familiar to me and failed. Well, not really because it was nice enough to post on this site; I just could not go any further than one page and I needed more pages to complete the assignment.
The task was time consuming but gave me insight as to how many digital options there are and the various aspects of what a newsletter could be used for. I am familiar with the typical informative education newsletter in our district or campus however, the endless designs that I have come across seem to be poking at me in a way that I am unfamiliar. Its almost a calling to find an area that I am familiar with or passionate about and begin working on creating newsletters for those entities. As an adoptive parent I would love to be the voice for agencies that are reaching out the public and as an educator I would love to teach students and parents about the design aspects of digital creations.
The readings for this course took me into areas of hard thinking; especially the sense of "Gaming" in the classroom. I am not such a digital immigrant that I can not adapt to the idea that students are receptive to video games. I have a four yr old that loves to play Wii and if there is a Pre- K app on my phone he is interested. I love the idea that we all can learn to adapt to implementing some of these same gaming ideas into the classroom content we teach. I have done Virtual Jeopardy and Who Wants to be a Millionaire games with my students for years now as review and practice sessions before testing. However, I am so open to the concept that due to such diversity in our learners we should be able to create age appropriate and leaning level assessments through with gaming features. I am not advocating that the classroom become and big Wii game but adding this to the learning environment is positive reinforcements to learning and incorporates what the students already do just in a more practical way.
I know that in upper level math classes such as middle school and on it seems to be typical of a teacher using a smart board or overhead to work the concepts with students illustrating the steps to working a math problem; sometimes it’s the same things in a science class which I am familiar with. I know from a middle school teacher aspect, what I hear being said after staff development trainings is; "how can I do that with my kids?" So my goal is to learn more of the upper level ideas that will engage our students who need more than shapes and animals. One area in Science where I found this to work was when I had my students create a virtual rollercoaster lab instead of the typical tube lab. Each student was responsible for the design of the coaster height, turns, number of cars which also affected the mass. Then they had to test it. The neat part of the program was they began to almost predict the potential and kinetic energy levels and knew if the coaster would crash of come short or stop in place properly. I did this for two days and my kids not only had fun, they got satisfaction out of achievement and then when it came time to assess them those 120 kids scored higher than some of the Pre AP classes that did the old style lab. The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. We just have to be the generation of teachers and educate those coming and going from the profession that as the learning styles change we can adjust our teaching styles to accommodate and student achievement will not drop. I don't think drill and kill is the proper tactics anymore and personally over testing is a bit much too. In this class I was assessed on the product or end result on much of my assignments. It may have taken me longer than others, I don't know but in the end my product was gradable and complete. There were no mid terms and finals but I still feel as though my assessments were fair because I demonstrated that I could use the software, was creative and completed the task. Thank you for the demonstration and example to follow.
The larger part of the course was implementing the logo and tools learned in previous weeks in to digital newsletter. I first tried to use a software familiar to me and failed. Well, not really because it was nice enough to post on this site; I just could not go any further than one page and I needed more pages to complete the assignment.
The task was time consuming but gave me insight as to how many digital options there are and the various aspects of what a newsletter could be used for. I am familiar with the typical informative education newsletter in our district or campus however, the endless designs that I have come across seem to be poking at me in a way that I am unfamiliar. Its almost a calling to find an area that I am familiar with or passionate about and begin working on creating newsletters for those entities. As an adoptive parent I would love to be the voice for agencies that are reaching out the public and as an educator I would love to teach students and parents about the design aspects of digital creations.
The readings for this course took me into areas of hard thinking; especially the sense of "Gaming" in the classroom. I am not such a digital immigrant that I can not adapt to the idea that students are receptive to video games. I have a four yr old that loves to play Wii and if there is a Pre- K app on my phone he is interested. I love the idea that we all can learn to adapt to implementing some of these same gaming ideas into the classroom content we teach. I have done Virtual Jeopardy and Who Wants to be a Millionaire games with my students for years now as review and practice sessions before testing. However, I am so open to the concept that due to such diversity in our learners we should be able to create age appropriate and leaning level assessments through with gaming features. I am not advocating that the classroom become and big Wii game but adding this to the learning environment is positive reinforcements to learning and incorporates what the students already do just in a more practical way.
I know that in upper level math classes such as middle school and on it seems to be typical of a teacher using a smart board or overhead to work the concepts with students illustrating the steps to working a math problem; sometimes it’s the same things in a science class which I am familiar with. I know from a middle school teacher aspect, what I hear being said after staff development trainings is; "how can I do that with my kids?" So my goal is to learn more of the upper level ideas that will engage our students who need more than shapes and animals. One area in Science where I found this to work was when I had my students create a virtual rollercoaster lab instead of the typical tube lab. Each student was responsible for the design of the coaster height, turns, number of cars which also affected the mass. Then they had to test it. The neat part of the program was they began to almost predict the potential and kinetic energy levels and knew if the coaster would crash of come short or stop in place properly. I did this for two days and my kids not only had fun, they got satisfaction out of achievement and then when it came time to assess them those 120 kids scored higher than some of the Pre AP classes that did the old style lab. The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. We just have to be the generation of teachers and educate those coming and going from the profession that as the learning styles change we can adjust our teaching styles to accommodate and student achievement will not drop. I don't think drill and kill is the proper tactics anymore and personally over testing is a bit much too. In this class I was assessed on the product or end result on much of my assignments. It may have taken me longer than others, I don't know but in the end my product was gradable and complete. There were no mid terms and finals but I still feel as though my assessments were fair because I demonstrated that I could use the software, was creative and completed the task. Thank you for the demonstration and example to follow.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
EDLD 5366 Ancient Manuscript Reflection of Ethipic Bible
I was quite interested to see the Ethiopic Bible even without looking at it from a design concept. However, I stuck to the assignment and here are my findings as I reflect.
First I noticed the pages of the Bible were filled with losts of dark contrasting colors of both pictures and words. Some had more of just a picture while some pages were of more script.
There was a lot of repitition used in the dark bold colors of green, red, blue, yellow etc. They showed up in the pictures or drawings while also transfering into the script on the following page. The red letters or symbols carried throughout the Bible as though to be titles or subtitles and the script mostly in black. Things of importance were also in red; as to catch the eye.
The graphics changed throughout the book however the colors and patterns also remained the same.
In regards to the alignment of the pages; I saw neatly placed pcitures that usually were somewhat centered. Most of the people were of the same size or placed centered with the page. If there were multiple people or things in a pciture it was all balanced and did not seem too heavy on one side or the other.
As to proximity, I saw captions next to pictures or people that were placed just so that the eye was drawn there or it was acting as a title. The placement of the words near the person in a picture was almost non essential to me though because I felt the graphics were detailed enough to tell the story without the words. I was amazed at how we are studying in modern day how advertizing and such are aware of the essential elements yet, ancient works like this one did it so naturally. There must be a connection in the two and I am curios to learn that connection.
Katrina Powell - Author
First I noticed the pages of the Bible were filled with losts of dark contrasting colors of both pictures and words. Some had more of just a picture while some pages were of more script.
There was a lot of repitition used in the dark bold colors of green, red, blue, yellow etc. They showed up in the pictures or drawings while also transfering into the script on the following page. The red letters or symbols carried throughout the Bible as though to be titles or subtitles and the script mostly in black. Things of importance were also in red; as to catch the eye.
The graphics changed throughout the book however the colors and patterns also remained the same.
In regards to the alignment of the pages; I saw neatly placed pcitures that usually were somewhat centered. Most of the people were of the same size or placed centered with the page. If there were multiple people or things in a pciture it was all balanced and did not seem too heavy on one side or the other.
As to proximity, I saw captions next to pictures or people that were placed just so that the eye was drawn there or it was acting as a title. The placement of the words near the person in a picture was almost non essential to me though because I felt the graphics were detailed enough to tell the story without the words. I was amazed at how we are studying in modern day how advertizing and such are aware of the essential elements yet, ancient works like this one did it so naturally. There must be a connection in the two and I am curios to learn that connection.
Katrina Powell - Author
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My opinion of the TX LRPT Infrastructure
I have looked at the Infrastructure of the TX LRPT and found many positive aspects to help build an infrastructure for not only the state but also more localized in districts and then allow that to trickle down into the campuses.
An infrastructure is simply a VISION plan yet a very critical element that sets goals to be reached with adequate budget and multi levels of support. Here we are looking at Texas setting a goal to bring all schools in the state up to “code” as a matter of speaking on the use and integration of technology.
I agree that creating an infrastructure of the 21st Century will bring high speed connectivity into all levels of education; elementary, secondary as well as post secondary. I also agree that right now the Texas legislature and federal government are showing a tremendous support for all of the state schools. However, I am not seeing a precise plan or vision on making sure each school can access the best resources or can ensure themselves the best connectivity levels.
Loss of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund; in my opinion creates unstable state wide learning. For example, if student moves from a school with high broadband technology use and integration to a school 6 hours away that is not on the same plan, who suffers? I know it creates a downward swing in the student’s education.
I can see room for improvement within our individual campuses and the standards used to report current technology used in curriculum instruction. Then taking this data to the state level and creating a new funding plan that allows some districts to team with resources that are in other states.
An infrastructure is simply a VISION plan yet a very critical element that sets goals to be reached with adequate budget and multi levels of support. Here we are looking at Texas setting a goal to bring all schools in the state up to “code” as a matter of speaking on the use and integration of technology.
I agree that creating an infrastructure of the 21st Century will bring high speed connectivity into all levels of education; elementary, secondary as well as post secondary. I also agree that right now the Texas legislature and federal government are showing a tremendous support for all of the state schools. However, I am not seeing a precise plan or vision on making sure each school can access the best resources or can ensure themselves the best connectivity levels.
Loss of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund; in my opinion creates unstable state wide learning. For example, if student moves from a school with high broadband technology use and integration to a school 6 hours away that is not on the same plan, who suffers? I know it creates a downward swing in the student’s education.
I can see room for improvement within our individual campuses and the standards used to report current technology used in curriculum instruction. Then taking this data to the state level and creating a new funding plan that allows some districts to team with resources that are in other states.
Monday, January 25, 2010
TX STaR Chart Data Analyzation
I would like to see an upward swing in the administrative leadership role to help navigate the teachers of our campus in the right directions with enthusiasm. There are a few that are not ued to technology or are "technology immigrants" and are nervous but with team efforts and timely staff developments as a campus, we should raise our next survey Key Areas to all Advanced Technology.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
First Blog
Please don't think I am unaware of technology resources such as blogging I just haven't found the time to learn and experience the latest. I have joined blogs before but have never ceated one for myself.
The first time I planned on creating a blog or website was while my husband and I were working through the adoption process in 2006. Fortunately, the timing of our son being born was so quick that I didn't even have time to start one. Unfortunately it has delayed my knowledge somewhat.
The first time I planned on creating a blog or website was while my husband and I were working through the adoption process in 2006. Fortunately, the timing of our son being born was so quick that I didn't even have time to start one. Unfortunately it has delayed my knowledge somewhat.
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