In the creating of my own newsletter and reflecting on the techniques learned and tips specified in the readings, I was able to create a product that I am most proud and will post on my teacher website at school. I based my newsletter on the technology that I have taught to students and teachers, the information that I have learned from both my job and the graduate program, and the tools that have been given to us for use in the classroom. I also incorporated the knowledge gained from readings based on the design principals for a successful newsletter.
As noted in “Planning Newsletters”, Annette Lamb (2005) states the essential component before the creation of the newsletter is planning. During the development of the technology newsletter, thought was first given to the subject matter that would be represented, the sections that the information would be divided into and the content within each of the sections. Decisions were also placed on who the audience would be and what was the purpose of the newsletter, all crucial components for a successful product.
After deciding on the audience, the purpose and the content, the next crucial step was the layout. I immediately referred back the C.R.A.P. method presented by Dr. J. Yearwood (2009) in “Design Principals”. The newsletter headings maintained contrast and repetition, while the photos were aligned properly on the page and maintained proximity to the article of reference. Upon completion of my newsletter, I consulted with several of my colleagues to verify that I had produced a successful newsletter that contained both content and meaningful flow. I verified that the white space contained in the newsletter did not cause their eye to wander but to stay focused on a continuous flow from beginning to end (Yearwood, 2009).
Through the planning, design and execution of my technology newsletter, I have become at ease with the concepts that I have learned and feel prepared to teach others these techniques in order to execute their own newsletters, flyers or other graphical designs.
Lamb, A. (2005). Planning newsletters. Retrieved from http://educscapes.com/sessions/publishing/planning.htm
Yearwood, J. (2009, July). Basic elements of page design. Retrieved from https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=1581016
Yearwood, J. (2009, July). Basic Design Principles. Retrieved from https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=1581016
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Ancient Manuscript - Ethiopic Bible (using Design Principals)
My first impression from the Ethiopic Bible of the depiction of the Nativity scene is similar to our representation of the Nativity scene in my modern day home. The Christ child is being held by his mother Mary, Joseph standing in adoration, the presence of the angels and the animals of the manger scene.
The design elements found in this manuscript include: Contrast – how the beautiful reds and golds contrast against the blue background. Repetition – is represented by the same repeated colors for all of the figures in the portrait. Alignment – this depiction of the Nativity actually contains two separate alignments in scene. The one scene at the top has all figures leaning to the left as if flying across the sky. The second scene takes place along the bottom of the page with most figures aligned across the bottom except for the shepherd preparing to sacrifice the sheep for the Christ child. Proximity – in the scene at the top the figures are placed either inside of or around the long red cloak and the figures are placed in a line across the bottom to depict the second scene.
The author provided an explanation of the two scenes taking place depicting the Nativity.
The design elements found in this manuscript include: Contrast – how the beautiful reds and golds contrast against the blue background. Repetition – is represented by the same repeated colors for all of the figures in the portrait. Alignment – this depiction of the Nativity actually contains two separate alignments in scene. The one scene at the top has all figures leaning to the left as if flying across the sky. The second scene takes place along the bottom of the page with most figures aligned across the bottom except for the shepherd preparing to sacrifice the sheep for the Christ child. Proximity – in the scene at the top the figures are placed either inside of or around the long red cloak and the figures are placed in a line across the bottom to depict the second scene.
The author provided an explanation of the two scenes taking place depicting the Nativity.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
PSA - Cyber Bullying Reflection
We began our PSA journey by picking a topic that is extremely important in today's cyber world. Our group's first plan was to have two teen boys filmed showing cyber bullying taking place via a computer chat room. Due to scheduling issues with having my two teen boys home at the same time, we switched gears and I used my youngest daughter and her friend (with her mom's permission). Our plan was to show my daughter having fun chatting with a friend on the internet. She was to exit the chatroom when suddenly a message pops up that is not very nice. My daughter becomes concerned and asks the bully who he/she is. The bully continues to write mean messages to my daughter which causes her diress and she ends up crying. Once I completed filming, I had to figure out how to get the video clips to my editing group partner. We talked on the phone and she helped with my iMac and downloading a compression tool. I sent all 12 video clips to her.
I had to use Audacity to record the sound at school because I could not get a microphone to work on my computer at home. I had a high school girl do the voice over and she was very excited about the job I had giving her to do. Once Audacity was converted to MP3, it was also forwarded to the video editor, Karen.
I believe Karen did an excellent job picking the right video shots to portray our message and still keep it within the 60 second time frame. The only regret is that our statistics flash by fairly quickly and it is hard to read the entire slide.
A majority of our interaction took place via Google Docs and the chatroom provided inside of the document area. We were able to discuss our plans and add them to the assignment sheet in real-time. This was an exciting feature for all of us.
I had to use Audacity to record the sound at school because I could not get a microphone to work on my computer at home. I had a high school girl do the voice over and she was very excited about the job I had giving her to do. Once Audacity was converted to MP3, it was also forwarded to the video editor, Karen.
I believe Karen did an excellent job picking the right video shots to portray our message and still keep it within the 60 second time frame. The only regret is that our statistics flash by fairly quickly and it is hard to read the entire slide.
A majority of our interaction took place via Google Docs and the chatroom provided inside of the document area. We were able to discuss our plans and add them to the assignment sheet in real-time. This was an exciting feature for all of us.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Video Editing Software Evaluation
Assignment 2 - EDLD 5363
The two video editing software programs that I choose to evaluate were MS Movie Maker and Apple iMovie. My first choice was Movie Maker because the software is widely used at the new high school that I now work at and the upperclassmen are quite proficient in its use. As the new technology facilitator, I thought this was a great opportunity to also become more proficient in the ins and outs of movie maker. I found in the learning process that Movie Maker allows for drag and drop features making creating and editing videos easy. You can pull out parts of the video that you would like drop to a story board, munipulate them as you see fit and then easily add transitions and effects to the video. You can also add titles and ending credits easily. Movie Maker works best for small videos but Microsoft has many add-ons for this software and upgrades are available from the website.
My second choice for video editing evaluation was iMovie which is found on iMac computers. This is not actually a free downloaded software but comes with the purchase of a Mac. I had no prior experience with the software but this was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with it since I purchase an iMac last Christmas and I have not explored with iMovie can do with my videos. I found most of the same feature that Movie Maker provided but Apple is known for its ability to do so much more with photos and videos and I found this true in playing with the software. The features were easy to use such as drag and drop of the video clips to the story board. I easily linked to my iTunes account to add music. I was also able to add transitions and special effects but my favorite feature was in choosing a "Theme". I was able to choose the theme of a comic book and the videos would play like they were inside of a comic book. I was quite empressed with the outcome of the project and all I really had to do was choose the theme and iMovie did the rest. I am hoping that I can find the money to purchase at least on iMac for our school that the students can have the experience of using iMovie.
The two video editing software programs that I choose to evaluate were MS Movie Maker and Apple iMovie. My first choice was Movie Maker because the software is widely used at the new high school that I now work at and the upperclassmen are quite proficient in its use. As the new technology facilitator, I thought this was a great opportunity to also become more proficient in the ins and outs of movie maker. I found in the learning process that Movie Maker allows for drag and drop features making creating and editing videos easy. You can pull out parts of the video that you would like drop to a story board, munipulate them as you see fit and then easily add transitions and effects to the video. You can also add titles and ending credits easily. Movie Maker works best for small videos but Microsoft has many add-ons for this software and upgrades are available from the website.
My second choice for video editing evaluation was iMovie which is found on iMac computers. This is not actually a free downloaded software but comes with the purchase of a Mac. I had no prior experience with the software but this was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with it since I purchase an iMac last Christmas and I have not explored with iMovie can do with my videos. I found most of the same feature that Movie Maker provided but Apple is known for its ability to do so much more with photos and videos and I found this true in playing with the software. The features were easy to use such as drag and drop of the video clips to the story board. I easily linked to my iTunes account to add music. I was also able to add transitions and special effects but my favorite feature was in choosing a "Theme". I was able to choose the theme of a comic book and the videos would play like they were inside of a comic book. I was quite empressed with the outcome of the project and all I really had to do was choose the theme and iMovie did the rest. I am hoping that I can find the money to purchase at least on iMac for our school that the students can have the experience of using iMovie.
Web Conference Experience - EDLD 5363
The web conferences are an invaluable resource especially when class assignments change and confusion is created. It is nice to be able touch base with the professor and not only ask my questions but to listen/view the questions of fellow classmates. At times, my fellow classmates will ask a question that will really clear up any misunderstandings of my own. I truly feel that these web conferences are extremely important for online classes in that it is so much easier to get clarification with the professor via the conference than writting emails back and forth.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Action Inquiry Question and Plan - Week 3
Action Inquiry Question -
Can a technology rich classroom improve academic success compared to a typical classroom environment?
For this next school year, I will be the Technology Facilitator for Quest Early College High School. The next three years, this high school will be going through some changes along with some physical moves. The incoming freshmen for the fall will be the “Early College” part of Quest, and the 10th, 11th and 12th graders will continue to be “Quest High School”. I will not only focus my attention on the incoming ninth graders and implementing technology into their curriculum but my action research will be conducted on the 10th and 11th graders. I will be able to compare previous years assessments with these group as we create a richer technology classroom for their next 2-3 years.
I created an Action Planning spreadsheet using the Tool 7.1 template in Google Docs. The link to access this spreadsheet is located below.http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tQKujejVs_LWp2xTz0o0B_Q&hl=en&authkey=CLW86egE#gid=0
Can a technology rich classroom improve academic success compared to a typical classroom environment?
For this next school year, I will be the Technology Facilitator for Quest Early College High School. The next three years, this high school will be going through some changes along with some physical moves. The incoming freshmen for the fall will be the “Early College” part of Quest, and the 10th, 11th and 12th graders will continue to be “Quest High School”. I will not only focus my attention on the incoming ninth graders and implementing technology into their curriculum but my action research will be conducted on the 10th and 11th graders. I will be able to compare previous years assessments with these group as we create a richer technology classroom for their next 2-3 years.
I created an Action Planning spreadsheet using the Tool 7.1 template in Google Docs. The link to access this spreadsheet is located below.http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tQKujejVs_LWp2xTz0o0B_Q&hl=en&authkey=CLW86egE#gid=0
Action Research Possiblities...Week 2
Possible action research topics:
1. Can a technology rich classroom improve academic success as compared to a typical classroom environment?
2. Can the use of cell phones enhance student engagement in a classroom setting or will they become a distraction?
3. How can I build my own knowledge base on the use of technology into the classroom and how can I encourage/support the use of technology by the teachers at my school?
After meeting with my site supervisor, we have decided that the number 1 research plan is what the school would like to implement and follow throughout this school year. My new job will provide me with the opportunity to work with the different curriculum teams for all grade levels at the high school with the sole purpose of implementing technology into all facets of the classroom.
1. Can a technology rich classroom improve academic success as compared to a typical classroom environment?
2. Can the use of cell phones enhance student engagement in a classroom setting or will they become a distraction?
3. How can I build my own knowledge base on the use of technology into the classroom and how can I encourage/support the use of technology by the teachers at my school?
After meeting with my site supervisor, we have decided that the number 1 research plan is what the school would like to implement and follow throughout this school year. My new job will provide me with the opportunity to work with the different curriculum teams for all grade levels at the high school with the sole purpose of implementing technology into all facets of the classroom.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Educational Leaders use of Blogs
The use of weblogs is excellent way for an administrator to capture "thinking" when collecting data for action research. Through this type journaling, the leader can track the data collection necessary for action inquiry while also sharing the blogs with others involved in the action research.
Action Research
Action research, also known as action inquiry, is a process whereby a practitioner or teacher focuses on a concern of theirs and then engages other teachers in the action plan. The practitioners will create a design, collect data, research literary material and implement the action strategies and evaluate their effectiveness. It is through action research that practitioners are engaging in the study of their own professional practice. This action inquiry is created within and not by outside resources which also creates ownership in the process. According to Dana, it is through action research, that we can improve schools from the inside out rather from the outside in. Thus the action research process is an tool for improving both teaching and learning.
Marjorie Ringler, states that action research is essentially an extension of "good teaching" whereby the process validates the teachers effective practices in the classroom. Learning issues are addressed and teachers are motivated to improve their teaching to address those issues.
Ringler M. (2007). Action Research an Effective Instructional Leadership Skill for Future Public School Leaders. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice. 4(1), 27-28.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
EDLD 5368 - Final Course Reflection
As an online instructor at our local community college for over five years, I see the benefits of this form of instructional learning to be very beneficial to those who need to fit schooling around a work schedule. The same hold true for teachers who need to plan professional development around a long school day or well deserved summer break.
I enjoyed designing my professional development course to enlighten teachers to Web 2.0 tools and how they can be implemented in the classroom curriculum. Through reading “Understanding by Design” and using the backward design, I was able to take my goal of integrating technology into curriculum and create an online course. My future plans for this course is to move it over to a better learning management system and to continue to develop and expand the course so that I might implement the class with the teachers at my new job in the fall.
I enjoyed designing my professional development course to enlighten teachers to Web 2.0 tools and how they can be implemented in the classroom curriculum. Through reading “Understanding by Design” and using the backward design, I was able to take my goal of integrating technology into curriculum and create an online course. My future plans for this course is to move it over to a better learning management system and to continue to develop and expand the course so that I might implement the class with the teachers at my new job in the fall.
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