Out of all of the classes offered in this program, I enjoyed this one the most. From the very beginning in week one, the assignments were engaging and fun. I learned about the principles of design by analyzing a cover for a movie. From that activity, I now find myself trying to find meaning to different movie covers. Also in this class I got introduced to different types of digital formats. I’ve seen the file extensions before but never gave it a second thought on their importance. I had a chance to create a collage using a free web 2.0 application, which I still use to this day with my classes. This application is great for students who are visual and kinesthetic learners. “Taking a differentiated approach to instruction means accommodating these differences by tailoring teaching to students’ strengths and k knowledge.” (Wahl & Duffield, 2005) In this class I also had a chance to create a logo. Since I try to do personal training on the side, I use this assignment as an opportunity to create logo for my business. I really enjoyed this assignment, because it allowed me a chance to be creative. Another project that was fun involved using Stykz. I had never seen any type of animation software on the web until this time. Initially, I was thinking it would cost a small fee to use this but it was totally free! At the time I was doing this assignment, I was out of state with my team at a basketball showcase. I had so much fun doing this assignment that it was taking away from my basketball duties. I also had a chance to create a newsletter in this class. I used this opportunity to create a mock newsletter for my clients. I sent the newsletter to a couple of people to get their opinion and they were impressed. Because of the design principles I learned about in week one, I was able to combine the aspects of the two projects. All of the information I gained from the readings were well received. I believe many of the assignment introduced in this class will be ones that my students will have the most fun with.
Much of the information I learned in this class was completely new. There wasn’t any prior information that I could draw from. I had seen different types of animation but none like the application I was introduced to. I had seen newsletters but never created one. I had seen software applications that had different types of templates where you could input the information, but that takes away from the creative aspect. I actually created everything in the newsletter on my own.
As I stated before, most of the information I learned was new. My personal experience with all of the assignments was memorable and great. Many of the tools I learned, I use with my class. I had my class create a newsletter covering different news topics that were discussed during the year. “Teach students to use a wide variety of sources, including primary sources, oral communications, direct observation, and experimentation; the use of multiple sources accommodates various learning styles, interests, and abilities.” (Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory, n.d.) I ended up using two of the assignments as an outline to improve upon my business. The lasting effects of this class will extend years after my completion of this program.
The way I went about completing my assignments each week was based on time management. Since I was unfamiliar with many of the topics, I had to read on the topic before I started. Once I got started with the assignments I was fully engaged. Since I was really concerned about what my final product would look like, I sometimes asked for feedback from others. From their feedback, I would look to make changes, if any were needed. I ended up having multiple products for some of the assignments, so it put me in a position where I had to choose some weeks.
The assignments in this class catered to my learning style. I like the fact that I had a chance to be creative when engaged in an assignment. I was fully engaged in each assignment, so much so that I introduced a couple of the assignments to my co-workers and my students. “Because children are best able to show learning in ways that express their individuality, many students benefit from multiple ways of looking at and assessing learning.” (Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory, n.d.) Looking back on my performance each week, I knew I was having fun because I was eager to see what new application I would be working with.
My performance each week was not affected by my communication with my school colleagues. I did turn to a few of my co-workers to get some feedback on a couple of my projects. Because I valued their opinion, their feedback was critical to my success. I learned that everyone won’t be pleased with a product I created. There will always be someone that wants to add or take away an aspect. In the end, I had to be comfortable with the final project. Now with the newsletter and the logo, I might look closely at some of the feedback because that will be used for prospective customers. I think my interaction and collaboration was a great learning experience that will help me in and out of the educational field.
This class reinforced what I had already known about my learning style. Any type of activity that allows me to e creative and moving is what I need. In the future it will be important for me to realize that this may not always be the case. One of my goals throughout this program was to become well- rounded when learning new information. From the interactions I’ve had in the past, I know that there is much I can learn from my colleagues and co-workers. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some people who were very knowledgeable in many different subjects; these people could become a very valuable resource as I further my career in education. As a lifelong learner, I would like to do more research on the design principles. I was fascinated with the different principles and how they apply to art.
References
Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory. (n.d.) Meeting the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/pub/sec3.pdf
Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory. (n.d.) Meeting the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/pub/sec3.pdf
Wahl, L. & Duffield, J. (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/kn-05-01.pdf
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