Newsletter Design Project Reflection

The newsletter design project made me realize it is a “science”. Its success relies on many factors often not recognized by a novice. These factors range from the obvious such as the audience which was highlighted by Lamb to the little known fact of the amount of white space. All elements come together creating an intriguing newsletter meant to inform, entertain, and educate.

The most compelling piece of information learned from this project was the amount of white space necessary in a document. Yearwood demonstrated this concept extensively and showed numerous examples on how to achieve the correct amount in a publication. One of his key points was that white space allowed the reader’s eye to travel through the publication directing the reader to the most important information. My publications created before hand had minimal amounts of white space. This new learned information can be applied to all printed documents and will change the way I format everything I create.

The newsletter design project was easily completed by following the rubric and applying information learned from the assigned readings. Lamb’s article on newsletter evaluation was especially helpful with her question/answer format to critiquing one’s own newsletter to ensure a quality product. Collaboration with colleagues is very beneficial and can improve one’s work because more than one set of eyes is always a plus when it comes to proof-reading and critiquing.

Life long learning has always been a part of my life. I am a curious person that is constantly looking for a simpler method of completing tasks. I enjoy learning from others and as a teacher I have on multiple occasions “begged, borrowed, and stole” the techniques I use in my classroom! My current topic of interest is how to get computers in my science classroom through grant or donation.

Lamb, A. (2005). Planning Newsletters. Retrieved from http://educscapes.com/session/publishing/planning.htm.

Lamb, A. (2005). Evaluating Newsletters. Retrieved from http://educscapes.com/session/publishing/evaluating.htm.

Yearwood, J. (2009, July). Basic Elements of Page Design.

Scratch | Project | christmas tree

Scratch Project christmas tree

Examining the Design of Early Manuscripts – The Book of Kells

The design is undeniably magnificent. The detailing is extraordinary in itself. It is hard to imagine the time it took to create a manuscript of this caliber in the ninth century.

The four principles of design are located throughout this ancient manuscript. Contrast is the first to be shown with bold lettering combined with artistic detailing and color. Repetition is used by use of patterns, colors, and words. Alignment is faultless with all lists perfectly aligned. Proximity is demonstrated by symbols being located close to the words they represent.

The amount of detailing, symbols, and colors used tells us the importance of this manuscript. Historians may never know the amount of time it took to create this manuscript but they know this book was very important to those that designed it.

EDLD 5363 PSA Project Thoughts

I loved working with my team members, Kristie and Raquel. I thought we blended very well together. We all pitched in on the project and it seemed whenever something needed to be done, someone in our group got the job done. It was like we were puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.

Pre-production ran very smoothly. We got our concept done with an outline and script in two days. Production is where I ran into some system non-compatibility issues with my team member’s software and it was very frustrating. I was a little anxious about everything coming together but it did and I shouldn’t have worried. Post-production proved to be a little stressed but we all are working off of very busy and complicated schedules so we were down to the wire.

My only regret about the public service announcement is the lack of live video footage. I believe if this class would have been during the summer we would have had time to collaborate such a project. Our school and extra-curricular activity schedules during this class have been crazy and that does not include our normal day to day chores!

Long distance collaboration will definitely take a while to get use to but I can’t say I dislike it entirely! Time will tell.

Windows Movie Maker still the King of Free Video Editing Software

Windows Movie Maker is still the top choice for free video editing software programs using a pc when compared to other free programs including the shareware program Wax. Windows Movie Maker, with it’s easy user interface and click-n-drag editing, make it effortless for the beginning to intermediate video editor. Whereas Wax, a much more complicated and non-friendly program, would be better suited for the advanced user.

Wax, in addition to it’s more complicated layout and usability, is viewed as problematic and outdated. Several of the online reviews at CNET’s download site for the program stated, “Bad green screen technology, can be difficult to use and plain annoying, unstable sometimes, and needs an update.” These complaints combined with the complexity of the program make it a bad choice for users searching for reliable, user-friendly video editing software.

Windows Movie Maker is simply a walk in the park for any experience level Windows user. It’s customary pull-down menus will not require extensive learning or memorization of keystrokes based on my personal use of the software. In addition to the ease of use, it has many exceptional built-in features including the powerful Automovie.

Automovie is a video enthusiast’s dream come true. Once loaded, a video can be converted into a spectacular video in a matter of seconds. It takes the loaded video content, examines it for natural breaks, cuts your video to match your music clip, and produces an amazing video ready for publication to your favorite video sharing website within minutes.

Windows Movie Maker is hands-down the best choice for the beginning to intermediate video editing software user. It’s ease of use coupled with it’s amazing features make it King!

Desktop-Video-Guide. (n.d.). Top 5 free video editing software programs. Retrieved on September 5, 2010, from http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/top-5-free-video-editing-software-review.html.

DebugMode Wax 2.0e. Retrieved on September 5, 2010, from http://download.cnet.com/DebugMode-Wax/3000-13631_4-10413349.html.

Creating a Digital Story

This week in my EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology graduate class at Lamar University I had to create a two minute digital story. This was a challenging assignment but very rewarding at the same time. I was very proud to share a part of my life through this class. I grew up up on a cattle ranch in Central Texas and I am very proud of that heritage and it was exciting to share a glimpse of that life. I think it inspired me to tell more stories about growing up on a cattle ranch. I especially would like to share stories about my father who was a great inspiration for me. I also aspire to use this technology in my teaching field, science. There are so many interesting stories I enjoy sharing with my students and this is now a tool I can use to really liven up those stories!

Action Planning Template

Goal: Determine what format of textbook better serves the needs of our K-12 21st century learners, traditional hardcopy, electronic - store and retrieve, electronic - on-line/interactive, or a combination of the three.