Week
1 was a great introduction to the course. I had learned about the
principles of design in a web design class many years ago but had
forgotten how important these concepts are. The first assignment was a
great way to learn about design basics; it allowed me to create whatever
I wanted. In accessing my performance this week I was able to easily
recall the C.R.A.P. design principles. I found that once this assignment
was completed I could use the C.R.A.P. design principles fluently to
create anything.Week
2 was a fairly easy week for me. I am familiar with making logos, so
creating one for my assignment was a relatively simple task . I did find
that I was more aware of my design due to familiarization with the
principles of design from week 1. This week I learned the importance of
self branding and how I am already doing it. “You might be branding
yourself without even knowing it. Just by using the same username on
different websites you can start a brand.” (Utecht, 2009) This
week’s readings increased my awareness of the fact that branding
should be taught at an early age to students because they are already
branding themselves.Week
3 was my favorite week in the course. I had experience in making simple
animated gif images but had never done anything of this magnitude with
animation software. The assignment required that I download and
familiarize myself with newer animation software. This was engaging to
me because I love to learn new software. I ended up playing with the
software for quite some time because of how fun it was. I think this
newly acquired knowledge will be beneficial in the future because of its
endless uses in the classroom. “You will find that animation is a
useful tool for engaging students and illustrating difficult concepts.
Animate to enliven your lessons and assignments, and have your students
create their own animations.” (Fablevision Inc., 2012) Week
4 was our group project website. I am very familiar with creating
websites and designs. My previous knowledge of design assisted in
simplifying this task. This was not a difficult project as it was using
Google Sites which we previously used to create our personal wiki pages.
I would have liked to use an alternate site for web design just to have
a chance to familiarize ourselves with other options. I
also do not think this should have been a group project if the aim was
to use design principles to create a site. The reason I think this is
with the division of the project, some members were simply generating
content for the site and this has little to do with applying what we
previously learned. I did learn through the group project,
that teams can collaborate very well, respect one another and generate a
product that each member can be proud of . Previous experiences had me
jaded about group work but we came together and helped one another. This
will help me in the future because I will be more willing to work with
others. As
an educator I would use websites to teach students basic web design. I
would also use them as a digital portfolio for all work done in the
classroom. “Assessment, showcasing best practice, and learner
accountability constitute some of the more common ways in which
ePortfolios can be used within an educational environment.” (Jafari & Kaufman, 2006) I
think portfolios are becoming a very important medium in today’s
society and because of this I think students should be taught to keep a
record of their academic works. This becomes even more essential as Web
2.0 technologies are allowing more work to be created with a variety of
online mediums.
Resources:
Fablevision Inc. (2012). Animation-ish for the
classroom. Retrieved from Fablevision:
http://www.fablevision.com/animationish/LearningStandards.php
Jafari, A., & Kaufman, C. (2006). Handbook of
Research on EPortfolios. Hershy: Idea Group Reference.
Utecht, J. (2009, May 1). When to start teaching
self branding. Retrieved from The Thinking Stick:
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/when-to-start-teaching-self-branding/
