5366+Course+Reflections

 ** Week 1 – Principals of Design **  Week one’s information and learning formed the foundation to which the remainder of the course was built on. It was extremely impressive and stimulating due to both the content and the way technology was used to present that content. I will attempt to communicate the high quality of learning that took place through a reflection that describes the knowledge gained and how it affected me, how I successfully completed assignments, and how those learning experiences will influence me in the future as a lifelong learner.   Having been a History major in my undergraduate studies, I was extremely interested in the first week’s content, an exploration of the development of writing and of alphabets. Professor Yearwood explained the core subject of week by explaining the human desire and motivation of communicating with one another graphically. Linking the past to the present with his mentioning of “youngsters constantly texting one another” was a good way to establish a current connection with this basic human desire. The course went on to successfully illuminate theories and background on this graphic communication beginning with ancient cave drawings, then the earliest alphabets, and then to historic manuscripts from around the world. Prof. Yearwood specifically wanted us then to train ours eyes to look for details such as alignment, contrast, repetition, and proximity within the manuscripts. Gaining this broad and complete history on graphic communication has had a lasting effect on me, further realizing and appreciating the vast human history of this communication.   The successful completion of the course objectives was facilitated by the use of advanced technology interaction. The Turning the Pages™ software was amazing. “It offers a compelling 3-dimensional experience, a range of useful tools and the ability to scale to any number of books” (Turning the Pages 2010). I was impressed by the realistic 3-d books that you can pick up and examine at any angle, the zoom and magnification properties, personal and group note-taking, and the content management system. Additionally and quite uniquely the first week’s course assignment was exclusively made of discussion prompts. This format was highly interactive and allowed me to gain insight on other’s perspectives and views  Navigating through the rich and inspiring course material in week one has absolutely made a lasting impression on my life. Several things stuck with me including; the history of alphabets, ancient cave drawings, and the incredible manuscripts to name a few. However, one section of the lecture and prompts really hit home with me and it centered on perception. When Prof. Yearwood lectured on the Voyager space probe and the message that it sent into deep space something clicked. The Golden record that was sent to communicate with aliens would be extremely difficult for my 7th graders to decipher. In the 33 years since the communication was created technology has left the LP in the “space dust.” My point is – technology is changing in our life time so rapidly we really need to keep our finger on the educational technology pulse in order for our kids to compete globally.   ** Week 2 – Branding and the Golden Ratio ** Week two focused on branding (creating a logo) and the Golden Ration. These two concepts were quite foreign to me, especially regarding technology and education. However with further investigation and work I can to realize that these concepts play critical role in the education both at the individual and entire school district level. By reflecting on what was learned in this week I hope to better translate effectively the importance of branding relating to education.  During this week’s activities much new knowledge was gained regarding branding. Branding could serve a professional teaching purpose in several ways. One might be the selling of education to our students because, “today’s student seems to be coming of age in an environment where education itself has been called into question (lec.2.1). The proud display of a noble profession through creating a personal brand makes sense. And repetition is also the single most important factor in branding. Every repetition of the design, the color, the image, and the message reinforces and expands the associations of the consumer—or student—with the product Regarding school districts, branding can bring community and all stakeholders back into the process of educating our kids. Include in t completion of assignment two included considering the concept of branding in my own personal classroom and the creation of a mission statement. Writing a personal mission statement offers the opportunity to establish what's important. I had never thought about a personal mission statement until I was designing my web page for my class last year. In developing the statement I reviewed my district and campus’s vision and mission statements. Going from a personal mission statement to a logo requires you to identify the core values and beliefs and communicate them within a logo. I think the whole concept of branding myself and my classroom is good and deserves more research. The concept of selling the idea of school and education is important and is completely necessary these days as “most schools have a desperately weak plan for selling themselves to students” (lec.2.1). Writing a personal mission statement offers the opportunity to establish what's important. Going from a personal mission statement to a logo requires you to identify the core values and beliefs and communicate them within a logo. This deserves much more thought and investigation. While attempting to further my career with job advancement I have considered the use of a logo along with resumes and websites.  Week two focused on branding and the Golden Ration. I know realize that these concepts play critical roles in education both at the individual level and entire school district level. By reflecting on what was learned in this week I have better communicated the importance of branding relating to education. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Week 3 – The Newsletter ** This week began the Newsletter assignment that was to be completed in week five. By examining the rubric and other organizational techniques employed I hope to better understand the knowledge that I gained, how successful I was, and what issues and challenges I had in the process. Although I am familiar with newsletters, seeing them in my teacher mailbox every month, I was not familiar with the proper guidelines used to create newsletters. The information presented in the course regarding elements of a newsletter was appropriate and timely. Combining theories of design learned in weeks one and two a preliminary plan for my newsletter was successfully completed. Older views regarding the structure, content, and principals of a newsletter were combined with new useful information. For example, having a distinctive design for page one made lots of sense, including a logo I had never thought of, and following the rules of C.R.A.P. were all elements I included in my newsletter rubric. The creation of the rubric based on Prof. Yearwood’s design elements served as an excellent self assessment tool. The rubric not only established what the desired elements in a quality newsletter should be, but by creating the lower end of accomplishment sin the rubric, I established what elements should not be included in a newsletter. Finally, having the ability to model other quality newsletters combined with a rubric generating tool enabled me to achieve the desired result. Without the input from these two sources I would not have been able to complete week three assignment in a accepted quality. This week began the Newsletter assignment that was to be completed in week five. By examining the rubric and other organizational techniques employed I hope to better understand the knowledge that I gained, how successful I was, and what issues and challenges I had in the process. ** Week 4 – Animation and Theories of Color  ** When investigating virtual world I was amazed on the amount of possible applications there are for this medium. Examples include, commercial gaming, education, social networking, political expression, and even military training. Of course as with anything, the use of New Media in instruction has to be embarked on carefully. Any time you combine children with social networking sites thee could be trouble. I am slowly learning that the benefits outweigh the risks and am becoming convinced that this will be a major part of future education. As a game, Second Life is very impressive. It looks and feels like a video game. I believe this could be a great teaching tool for education. Today’s students are looking for interesting and cutting edge ways to learn, this medium fits that bill. As far as for teaching ethics and social behavior, I believe it could work quite well for several reasons. First safety, kids can interact with different people in a protected and secure environment. Next, different cultures and languages can be explored. Also, the almost forgotten practice of learning manners could be simulated without sitting at grandmother’s dining table. Finally, as a vehicle for delivering content Serious Gaming has to be considered. Just as the World Wide Web has opened the world to education, Serious Gaming could focus the limitless information stream to particular subject areas. I believe that Serious Gaming could have unlimited prospects with regards to education. There are several advantages that are being realized already. Benefits include, use at home and on the move, reaching students in all communities, and the inclusion of the underprivileged and the underrepresented. However there are some challenges that need to be overcome. The appearance and sophistication in design must be on par with the current video games offered today. They must appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Finally, the technology gap between our educators and students must be shrunk so effective integration of content can occur. ** Week 5 – Student Publications on the Desktop  ** The final week of this class bought together the completion of the newsletter using all the learned components, tools, and strategies learned in the previous weeks. I believe I am now prepared to professionally deliver a quality newsletter to any audience. The newsletter is an important component in any leadership position. This course has now given me the necessary tools to competently communicate my vision and goals, community information, student achievements, and many more leadership related theories in a quality medium. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Turning the Pages. 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010 from __ websitehttp://www.armadillosystems.com/ttp_commercial/products.html __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Ironically, this will be about as far into the future as the earliest cave drawings are in the past. We will go on to discuss some culture stereotyping in graphic communication and some revolutions in how we see. Specifically, we will look at the revolution of perspective in art that came in with the Renaissance painters around 1500, and we will look at how cultural trends have shaped art in the present day. Finally, I will ask you to draw a tree and then challenge your understanding of the color of a tree. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">After Lecture 1.3, please read Demo 1.2, Basics of Page Layout. You will need to understand the material in this demonstration for the remainder of the course, and I feel that you may refer to it frequently. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Lecture 1.4 studies the development of printing and of paper, two technologies that make desktop publishing and graphic communication possible. The principles of printing have been lifting straight into the digital world of computer monitors, where page layout programs have been built specifically to represent or to metaphorize the printing world. In that lecture we will also look at the development of letter forms, the different kinds of alphabets you use every day, and at printing measurements. All of this is information expected on the certification exam. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">At the end of the first week, I expect you to participate in discussion topics on the five manuscripts and on the ideas raised by the demonstrations, and to have survived the little quizzes I have prepared to test your understanding and reading of the lectures.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Assignment Reflections for EDLD 5366 – Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing **