Week 5 Assignment 1.3
Self-AssessmentCreating a newsletter seemed like a huge task to me. I had previously used many aspects of the newsletter design in other projects, but had not recently needed to put all these together into my own newsletter. New knowledge that I have gained creating a newsletter is mainly the use of graphic design techniques. I had never learned about content, proximity, repetition, and alignment as used in graphic design in any organized way.
Also, I had never studied about evaluating newsletters or thinking about planning a newsletter. In the online article, the newsletter evaluation criteria were very useful to me. It explains that to create a meaningful newsletter; we need to identify the audience, format, content, and layout. (Lamb, 2005) The article Planning Newsletters stated “Before investing the time in producing a newsletter, consider designing a survey to find out what parents want.” (Lamb, 2005) Although I do not have a group of parents to survey, I did email my mentor with different ideas for the newsletter. I hope some of the information in it will be useful to the school. My favorite part of my newsletter is the teacher dos and don’ts for Facebook.
Learn as a LearnerTo complete the assignment, I first determined that I would create a newsletter on the teacher use of social media and electronic communication with students. Because I wanted to make sure I came up with some good information, I had been keeping a watchful eye out for articles on this topic. The Chronicles of Higher Education emailed out an article on “de-friending” which I thought was useful (Perlmutter, 2010). Second, TEA released the new ethics code (TEA, 2010) for teacher use of texting which I received in a TASB blurb. I also received an evaluation of the new code, or rather of the process for updating the code, from ATPE. I chose not to use this article because it was really political and not informational. And third, I found some online posters by Edudemic on Facebook use by teachers that I thought were very smart. The title for the newsletter became “Digital Social Wisdom” and I was set to get it into the required format.
Our discussion forum did not require us to discuss or share our newsletters, but I did glean advice from my classmates on the mechanics of making the newsletter through Skype. I also received help from my high school senior who is extremely proficient in Word. My biggest fear was that I would not be able to get the text and graphics in the places that I wanted them. But the program was not difficult and I think it came out nice.
Lifelong Learning SkillsCreating a newsletter was a very useful task to me. Right now, I am involved in many clubs and church activities. Newsletters are a great way to publicize your ministry or event. Already, I have been asked to create a newsletter for a ministry that trains women in job skills. Hopefully, they will like the product! I also will make a family newsletter later this spring. Sending out Christmas newsletters seemed daunting to me, so it may be an Easter newsletter.
In the future, I would like to become more proficient at adding borders to the text that is included in the newsletters I create. Borders would be an added touch that would help the eye to focus on the different parts of the newsletter.
My Ed Tech cohort friends are the best. For sure, one of the blessings of this degree is the friends I have made.
Lamb, A. (2005). Evaluating newsletters. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sessions/publishing/evaluating.htm
Lamb, A. (2005). Planning newsletters. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sessions/publishing/planning.htm
Perlmutter, D. (2010). Knowing when to defriend. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Knowing-When-to-Defriend/125619/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Posters on Facebook use can be found at http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fbteacher_fullsize.pdf
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Field-Based Monthly Reflection for November 2010
This month I attended the school board meeting to hear the Instructional Technology director share with the board about 21st Century learning and skills. She spoke about the four C’s – creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. She also spoke about how the core subjects needed to be expounded upon with the help of technology to incorporate the life skills needed in our changing world. Students need to be taught responsible and accountable use of the internet. Students also need to have a good understanding of how to evaluate media as to whether the information received is accurate. Twenty first century learning also includes the use of technology to integrate global awareness which includes economic, financial, cultural and environmental literacy.
Several ways that teachers in our district are collaborating and communicating are through the use of wikis, creating podcasts, twittering, blogging and skyping. Some classrooms are also using Google docs.
Several students have shown interest in the new Texas Tech Engineering class that will be offered in the fall. The two high schools and one middle school have been recently given wireless capabilities so that students can use their iTouches, iPads, and phones for research in classrooms with limited technology resources.
The district is also experimenting with Exemplar Bundles that are a depository for lessons that teachers can share. Each teacher can have their own edublog which would include a rubric, lesson and student product.
One board member asked if there were any incentives to get teachers to put their work on the web. Another expressed appreciation of the addition of WiFi, so that more devices would be available for student use. A comment was made over whether providing internet to the poorer sections of the community could be done through a future bond election.
This month, I also had the opportunity to share a simulation website with a science teacher. The website is full of simulations that teachers can incorporate into lab work. The students can plug in the data to see the results of their experiments without the cost of the materials. This website is: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new.
Several ways that teachers in our district are collaborating and communicating are through the use of wikis, creating podcasts, twittering, blogging and skyping. Some classrooms are also using Google docs.
Several students have shown interest in the new Texas Tech Engineering class that will be offered in the fall. The two high schools and one middle school have been recently given wireless capabilities so that students can use their iTouches, iPads, and phones for research in classrooms with limited technology resources.
The district is also experimenting with Exemplar Bundles that are a depository for lessons that teachers can share. Each teacher can have their own edublog which would include a rubric, lesson and student product.
One board member asked if there were any incentives to get teachers to put their work on the web. Another expressed appreciation of the addition of WiFi, so that more devices would be available for student use. A comment was made over whether providing internet to the poorer sections of the community could be done through a future bond election.
This month, I also had the opportunity to share a simulation website with a science teacher. The website is full of simulations that teachers can incorporate into lab work. The students can plug in the data to see the results of their experiments without the cost of the materials. This website is: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Animation - Assignment 5366 Week 3
This was really fun to make! My boys will enjoy making their own. Merry Christmas!!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
My new Logo - What fun to create!
My logo for the lesson this week contains seven stars and the number 7 for my seven children. They pretty much define my life right now and I am sure will influence my activities for a long time into the future.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
EDLD 5366 Graphic Design
Assignment 1.2
This week’s assignment in EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics required us to look at ancient texts online and analyze them in terms of their graphic communication. The book I first looked at was the Bible from Ethiopia. This is found in the British Library website. I must say the British library website is awesome. The ability to view these texts while turning the pages as if they were in front of you places them in your lap. The website is found at www.bl.uk.
This Bible was written on sheep skin and has wooden covers embellished with patterned leather. My first impressions are that those that created this Bible desired to work hard to give as many details about the script as possible in the designs and pictures within the text. The pictures were just as important as the words of the text. It all appears so tedious and precise. The narration stated that the text would take eight months to create. The colors used were all found within Ethiopia except the indigo, which was imported from India.
The four principles of design were evident within the Bible from Ethiopia.
Contrast: Two different colors of ink are used for the text itself. Black is used for the main text and red is used for section titles and numberings. On some page pairs, the text on one page contrasts with the illustration on the other. In the drawing of Moses on page 3, the blue and red robe contrast with the orange background. In each illustration, where people are standing, their feet are often on top of the lower portion of the frame drawn. To contrast the “good people” drawn in the illustrations, the shepherd and the thieves on the cross do not have the gold halo.
Repetition: The leather of the cover is dyed red and the inside lining has red stripes. Illustrations are repeatedly given their own page. Elaborate embellishments surround the text on most pages. The same colors are used throughout the illustrations: green, black, blue, red, and gold. All of the birds drawn in the illustrations are drawn as if they were standing without their wings outstretched. This is true even when the birds are upside down. Each illustration in the text is surrounded by a frame of gold with the background color. Most individuals drawn in the book have a yellow circle behind their heads. This may be to signify the holiness of the individuals drawn.
Alignment: On the leather cover, four ribbons of patterns in the leather surround a stamped cross in the center. The cross is in the center to emphasize its importance. The cross tells the future person who finds this text its purpose - to tell about the resurrection and life of Jesus Christ.
Proximity: The cross on the cover is in the very center to show you the cross is central to the message of the text. Mary is standing with Joseph at Jesus’ death shown on page 24. In this picture, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – the men who followed Jesus – are together on the right side of the page. Mary and Joseph are together in the center grieving over Jesus. Two mourning women are together on the left side. And each upper corner contains angels Gabriel and Michael, who are showing their grief by peeking through their fingers to watch Jesus’ death as if it is too hard to watch.
The creator of this Bible made the effort to use very durable parchment that survived centuries of weathering and movement. The transcriber used charts, text, illustrations and framing all to emphasize and give value to the accounts given in the text. The transcriber also was very selective in his choice of scripture to write out. He chose the first eight books of the Old Testament which give the creation of man and the establishment of the Hebrew nation. He also chose the four gospels to give the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This week’s assignment in EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics required us to look at ancient texts online and analyze them in terms of their graphic communication. The book I first looked at was the Bible from Ethiopia. This is found in the British Library website. I must say the British library website is awesome. The ability to view these texts while turning the pages as if they were in front of you places them in your lap. The website is found at www.bl.uk.
This Bible was written on sheep skin and has wooden covers embellished with patterned leather. My first impressions are that those that created this Bible desired to work hard to give as many details about the script as possible in the designs and pictures within the text. The pictures were just as important as the words of the text. It all appears so tedious and precise. The narration stated that the text would take eight months to create. The colors used were all found within Ethiopia except the indigo, which was imported from India.
The four principles of design were evident within the Bible from Ethiopia.
Contrast: Two different colors of ink are used for the text itself. Black is used for the main text and red is used for section titles and numberings. On some page pairs, the text on one page contrasts with the illustration on the other. In the drawing of Moses on page 3, the blue and red robe contrast with the orange background. In each illustration, where people are standing, their feet are often on top of the lower portion of the frame drawn. To contrast the “good people” drawn in the illustrations, the shepherd and the thieves on the cross do not have the gold halo.
Repetition: The leather of the cover is dyed red and the inside lining has red stripes. Illustrations are repeatedly given their own page. Elaborate embellishments surround the text on most pages. The same colors are used throughout the illustrations: green, black, blue, red, and gold. All of the birds drawn in the illustrations are drawn as if they were standing without their wings outstretched. This is true even when the birds are upside down. Each illustration in the text is surrounded by a frame of gold with the background color. Most individuals drawn in the book have a yellow circle behind their heads. This may be to signify the holiness of the individuals drawn.
Alignment: On the leather cover, four ribbons of patterns in the leather surround a stamped cross in the center. The cross is in the center to emphasize its importance. The cross tells the future person who finds this text its purpose - to tell about the resurrection and life of Jesus Christ.
Proximity: The cross on the cover is in the very center to show you the cross is central to the message of the text. Mary is standing with Joseph at Jesus’ death shown on page 24. In this picture, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – the men who followed Jesus – are together on the right side of the page. Mary and Joseph are together in the center grieving over Jesus. Two mourning women are together on the left side. And each upper corner contains angels Gabriel and Michael, who are showing their grief by peeking through their fingers to watch Jesus’ death as if it is too hard to watch.
The creator of this Bible made the effort to use very durable parchment that survived centuries of weathering and movement. The transcriber used charts, text, illustrations and framing all to emphasize and give value to the accounts given in the text. The transcriber also was very selective in his choice of scripture to write out. He chose the first eight books of the Old Testament which give the creation of man and the establishment of the Hebrew nation. He also chose the four gospels to give the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Friday, November 5, 2010
October 2010 Field Based Reflection
October was an exceptionally busy month for my family. In addition to football games, university visits, sports events, performances, driving tests, flu shots, Bible studies, prayer meetings, and church activities – we also got a new puppy! “Rev” is a sheltie, a type of mini-collie. “Rev’’ is short for Reveillito – a mini Texas A&M mascot.
Anyway, all this is to say, that besides my school law class I have done little on my field based work. I did watch a tutorial on the internet detailing Epsilen: Project Share. The program will be an asset for teachers with all the resources available. This program allows teachers to complete online professional development, collaborate and share resources, and access digital content such as online repositories and state owned instructional materials. The platform also supports several web 2.0 tools such as e-portfolios, professional networking, work groups, peer review features and a learning Matrix available to create rubrics for assignments. I hope to check out the professional development opportunities soon.
I have also chatted with my mentor on non-specific topics. If I can just keep my head above water through New Years, I hope that I can get a bunch of internship work done in the spring semester.
Anyway, all this is to say, that besides my school law class I have done little on my field based work. I did watch a tutorial on the internet detailing Epsilen: Project Share. The program will be an asset for teachers with all the resources available. This program allows teachers to complete online professional development, collaborate and share resources, and access digital content such as online repositories and state owned instructional materials. The platform also supports several web 2.0 tools such as e-portfolios, professional networking, work groups, peer review features and a learning Matrix available to create rubrics for assignments. I hope to check out the professional development opportunities soon.
I have also chatted with my mentor on non-specific topics. If I can just keep my head above water through New Years, I hope that I can get a bunch of internship work done in the spring semester.
SCHOOL LAW - EDLD 5344
Course Embedded Reflection
Student Management
The student management issue that I found most relevant was student use of the internet. The internet is now a necessary education tool that all students need to access, but it also poses unknown threats to students through criminal activity and misuse. It also effects a student’s (and their family’s) privacy and safety.
In the book Cyber Law, the author states, “Schools need to help students understand the long-term effect of today’s blogging, postings, and practical jokes. Talking to students and educating them about appropriate Internet conduct not only will help prevent student free speech disputes and potential school liability but will help students become better Internet citizens.” (Bissonette, p. 27)
The knowledge gained in understanding the law regarding student free speech rights and the liability of schools to respond to bullying, will guide me as I try to discern problems faced in the schools. I hope to use this knowledge to create an internet manners unit that can teach both teachers and students proper internet behavior. I think students will really be helped just by understanding how permanent and long lasting the postings they make on Facebook really are.
Bissonette, A. (2009) Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin.
Personnel Management
This course has taught me about the different kinds of contracts that teachers may possess. I have also learned that these contracts are the teacher’s property and that they cannot be broken arbitrarily. When teachers are performing poorly in the classroom or are showing a lack of conscientiousness toward their jobs, it is very important for the campus principal to start documenting the undesirable behavior and placing it in a file for reference later. If the teacher is poor at his/her job, under a provisional contract or at the end of a term contract, they can be non-renewed at the end of the year as long as they are given 45 days notice. If the teacher is on a term contract, it would be necessary for the principal to document the problems and incidences and then confront the teacher with the problems identified - that they are not measuring up. If the teacher feels the documentation accumulated is enough to support a termination, they may choose to ask for the ability to resign. If you and the teacher think that they might improve through a growth plan to develop better teaching strategies and skills - that is one option. And then again, the teacher may protest and they can appeal your attempt to terminate them to the superintendent and then school board and beyond. In the lecture for week 3, Dr. Hopson states, “The teacher has a right to appeal to the state level, but only if he or she can prove that the board decision was arbitrary, unlawful, or not supported by evidence. So the lower legal bar to support a teacher’s non-renewal makes it a considerably easier process than terminating that same teacher during his or her contract term.”
One area of teacher management that I would like to know more about is the options for creating a growth plan for a teacher. Is it just more professional development or is it a mentor that follows you around? How can a growth plan help a teacher who just has a bad attitude or dislikes their job, but are trapped in it?
Hopson, Michael. (2010) EDLD 5344 Lecture Series, Lamar University, Beaumont retrieved November 5, 2010 from Epic Courseware online.
Improving Professional Practice
Cyber ethics is a topic that will need greater emphasis as technology changes and becomes more advanced and varied. Ethical treatment of other persons and their property is what defines us as people of integrity. Integrity is a characteristic that is necessary for all those working in and associated with education to have. Since we are instilling in students the values and mores of our society, we must choose the high road or higher ground in our behavior. Whether it is in person or on the internet, our behavior is being modeled to our students. Aimee Bissonette, in her book Cyber Law, writes “the cyber pitfalls associated with technology confronting today’s students are numerous. They include cyber bullying; misrepresenting one’s age or identity on social-networking sites, in chat rooms, or to access pornography; misrepresenting oneself or others by doctoring and posing digital photos; plagiarism and cheating (often with the assistance of electronic devices like cell phones and iPods); and overuse of the Internet to the extent that it affects one’s social and physical well-being (sometimes referred to as Internet addiction)” (pg. 85)
To train students to be responsible citizens on the internet, we must begin at an early age. I do like the “Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics” given in the Cyber Law book. (pg. 85) These ideas could be used to come up with a Cyber Manners Unit that could be taught in age appropriate ways beginning in Pre-K. If Texas is going to write Pre-K TEKS for computer introduction, it should expect that these students are thinking about how they can use the internet and technology in social settings. And we need to start early telling kids “play nice”.
Bissonette, A. (2009) Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin.
Student Management
The student management issue that I found most relevant was student use of the internet. The internet is now a necessary education tool that all students need to access, but it also poses unknown threats to students through criminal activity and misuse. It also effects a student’s (and their family’s) privacy and safety.
In the book Cyber Law, the author states, “Schools need to help students understand the long-term effect of today’s blogging, postings, and practical jokes. Talking to students and educating them about appropriate Internet conduct not only will help prevent student free speech disputes and potential school liability but will help students become better Internet citizens.” (Bissonette, p. 27)
The knowledge gained in understanding the law regarding student free speech rights and the liability of schools to respond to bullying, will guide me as I try to discern problems faced in the schools. I hope to use this knowledge to create an internet manners unit that can teach both teachers and students proper internet behavior. I think students will really be helped just by understanding how permanent and long lasting the postings they make on Facebook really are.
Bissonette, A. (2009) Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin.
Personnel Management
This course has taught me about the different kinds of contracts that teachers may possess. I have also learned that these contracts are the teacher’s property and that they cannot be broken arbitrarily. When teachers are performing poorly in the classroom or are showing a lack of conscientiousness toward their jobs, it is very important for the campus principal to start documenting the undesirable behavior and placing it in a file for reference later. If the teacher is poor at his/her job, under a provisional contract or at the end of a term contract, they can be non-renewed at the end of the year as long as they are given 45 days notice. If the teacher is on a term contract, it would be necessary for the principal to document the problems and incidences and then confront the teacher with the problems identified - that they are not measuring up. If the teacher feels the documentation accumulated is enough to support a termination, they may choose to ask for the ability to resign. If you and the teacher think that they might improve through a growth plan to develop better teaching strategies and skills - that is one option. And then again, the teacher may protest and they can appeal your attempt to terminate them to the superintendent and then school board and beyond. In the lecture for week 3, Dr. Hopson states, “The teacher has a right to appeal to the state level, but only if he or she can prove that the board decision was arbitrary, unlawful, or not supported by evidence. So the lower legal bar to support a teacher’s non-renewal makes it a considerably easier process than terminating that same teacher during his or her contract term.”
One area of teacher management that I would like to know more about is the options for creating a growth plan for a teacher. Is it just more professional development or is it a mentor that follows you around? How can a growth plan help a teacher who just has a bad attitude or dislikes their job, but are trapped in it?
Hopson, Michael. (2010) EDLD 5344 Lecture Series, Lamar University, Beaumont retrieved November 5, 2010 from Epic Courseware online.
Improving Professional Practice
Cyber ethics is a topic that will need greater emphasis as technology changes and becomes more advanced and varied. Ethical treatment of other persons and their property is what defines us as people of integrity. Integrity is a characteristic that is necessary for all those working in and associated with education to have. Since we are instilling in students the values and mores of our society, we must choose the high road or higher ground in our behavior. Whether it is in person or on the internet, our behavior is being modeled to our students. Aimee Bissonette, in her book Cyber Law, writes “the cyber pitfalls associated with technology confronting today’s students are numerous. They include cyber bullying; misrepresenting one’s age or identity on social-networking sites, in chat rooms, or to access pornography; misrepresenting oneself or others by doctoring and posing digital photos; plagiarism and cheating (often with the assistance of electronic devices like cell phones and iPods); and overuse of the Internet to the extent that it affects one’s social and physical well-being (sometimes referred to as Internet addiction)” (pg. 85)
To train students to be responsible citizens on the internet, we must begin at an early age. I do like the “Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics” given in the Cyber Law book. (pg. 85) These ideas could be used to come up with a Cyber Manners Unit that could be taught in age appropriate ways beginning in Pre-K. If Texas is going to write Pre-K TEKS for computer introduction, it should expect that these students are thinking about how they can use the internet and technology in social settings. And we need to start early telling kids “play nice”.
Bissonette, A. (2009) Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin.
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