Self-Assessment
While learning about the design principles of Color, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity I reviewed some of my old handouts and flyers and realized that they probably distracted the viewers. Many times I would be scared of white space and therefore, cram too many graphics onto a page. I have also restructured my website in order to follow these rules and create a cleaner alignment and keep proximity in mind in order to keep related items together. I am now more confident when it comes to creating media and know that my future handouts and posters will not be ignored.
Learn as a Learner
For our team website we used Google Docs, Google Hangouts, and Google Sites in order to work collaboratively and create a website that used all the design elements. Our team wanted to create something more than just a website to turn in as an assignment. We wanted something that we will share with colleagues and hopefully inspire other teachers to incorporate technology into their classrooms. I believe we achieved that goal. Even though we all had differing levels of technology skills, the group worked together to teach each other from our strengths. My strength did not lie in the area of design. I was able to teach some members of our group how to use Google sites and docs while they helped me with the alignment and colors of my page. Working together with my teammates allowed us to create a beautiful and useful website.
Lifelong Learning Skills
Another part of this class that I found helpful was the self-branding. I began that week skeptical and ready to just get through the assignment and move on. I believe that I fit into the mold that Utecht was describing when he stated “educators do not take enough time to pat themselves on the back, reflect, and think about themselves as a brand”. However, as I read about controlling your brand and even saw the value of teaching this to my students. I discussed the permanence of a web footprint and why they need to be the ones to decide how others view them. Each member of the class wrote down an adjective that describes their classmates. After that part of the assignment the students chose the top 10 adjectives and a graphic in order to create a phoetic word cloud. This was one of the first things the students placed on their blog and they will be able to look back at that image and hopefully be inspired to keep those positive images at the front of their mind. I am interested to see if this helps my students as the year goes on and what they feel they gained from that activity. I am lucky enough to have my students for multiple years, so I plan on follow up activities to enhance this lesson.
Implementation of Websites
When it comes to web pages and Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, “ students are accustomed to having a range of means to communicate and process information outside of school, they must conform to a more restrictive media environment within school.” This has led me to rethink my classroom environment and use a website called, Kidblog to incorporate blogging into our everyday procedures. Gerstein (2011), states “The most powerful learning often happens when students self-monitor, or reflect.” My students are learning to reflect on assignments and comment to each other about those reflections. They have had to take ownership of their education and helped them to be more engaged. Each child has a Kidblog account that they use to upload their digital products and reflect on what they have learned. We have also started a class website that we hope will inspire other teachers and students to incorporate technology into their lessons. We have always used websites such as Brainpop, Discovery, Study Jams, and National Geographic for multimedia. Now I am trying to have the students create the media to inspire their learning.
Gerstein, J. (2011), Where is reflection in the learning process? retrieved fromhttp://usergeneratededucation. wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/ Feb. 11, 2014.
Multimedia Applications for the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cited.org/output_pages/printDefault.aspx?page_id=106, February 12, 2014.
Utecht, J. (2010). Creating your personal brand. Retrieved from http://www.thethinkingstick.com/creating-your-personal-brand, February 11, 2014.
While learning about the design principles of Color, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity I reviewed some of my old handouts and flyers and realized that they probably distracted the viewers. Many times I would be scared of white space and therefore, cram too many graphics onto a page. I have also restructured my website in order to follow these rules and create a cleaner alignment and keep proximity in mind in order to keep related items together. I am now more confident when it comes to creating media and know that my future handouts and posters will not be ignored.
Learn as a Learner
For our team website we used Google Docs, Google Hangouts, and Google Sites in order to work collaboratively and create a website that used all the design elements. Our team wanted to create something more than just a website to turn in as an assignment. We wanted something that we will share with colleagues and hopefully inspire other teachers to incorporate technology into their classrooms. I believe we achieved that goal. Even though we all had differing levels of technology skills, the group worked together to teach each other from our strengths. My strength did not lie in the area of design. I was able to teach some members of our group how to use Google sites and docs while they helped me with the alignment and colors of my page. Working together with my teammates allowed us to create a beautiful and useful website.
Lifelong Learning Skills
Another part of this class that I found helpful was the self-branding. I began that week skeptical and ready to just get through the assignment and move on. I believe that I fit into the mold that Utecht was describing when he stated “educators do not take enough time to pat themselves on the back, reflect, and think about themselves as a brand”. However, as I read about controlling your brand and even saw the value of teaching this to my students. I discussed the permanence of a web footprint and why they need to be the ones to decide how others view them. Each member of the class wrote down an adjective that describes their classmates. After that part of the assignment the students chose the top 10 adjectives and a graphic in order to create a phoetic word cloud. This was one of the first things the students placed on their blog and they will be able to look back at that image and hopefully be inspired to keep those positive images at the front of their mind. I am interested to see if this helps my students as the year goes on and what they feel they gained from that activity. I am lucky enough to have my students for multiple years, so I plan on follow up activities to enhance this lesson.
Implementation of Websites
When it comes to web pages and Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, “ students are accustomed to having a range of means to communicate and process information outside of school, they must conform to a more restrictive media environment within school.” This has led me to rethink my classroom environment and use a website called, Kidblog to incorporate blogging into our everyday procedures. Gerstein (2011), states “The most powerful learning often happens when students self-monitor, or reflect.” My students are learning to reflect on assignments and comment to each other about those reflections. They have had to take ownership of their education and helped them to be more engaged. Each child has a Kidblog account that they use to upload their digital products and reflect on what they have learned. We have also started a class website that we hope will inspire other teachers and students to incorporate technology into their lessons. We have always used websites such as Brainpop, Discovery, Study Jams, and National Geographic for multimedia. Now I am trying to have the students create the media to inspire their learning.
Gerstein, J. (2011), Where is reflection in the learning process? retrieved fromhttp://usergeneratededucation. wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/ Feb. 11, 2014.
Multimedia Applications for the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cited.org/output_pages/printDefault.aspx?page_id=106, February 12, 2014.
Utecht, J. (2010). Creating your personal brand. Retrieved from http://www.thethinkingstick.com/creating-your-personal-brand, February 11, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment