Week 5 Reflecction

This class has been all about what I would consider self- discovery and collaboration. We were asked in week two  to create a logo for ourselves. Involved in this process was a lot of self reflection and self-discovery. One of the strategies for doing this assignment was asking other what three words best described me. I was humbled by some of the answers but mostly importantly to me were the answers I didn't get. It was an eye- opening experience. In week 3 we created animations using Web 2.0 tools and in week 4 we worked collaboratively on a web site. The group I worked with worked very well together and we created an outstanding website which can be view here. Although I sometimes find working in a group challenging, this particular group/ assignment was great. We all seemed to have different strengths that meshed well together. One of the points Dr. Borel made in her Week 5 overview was  that working with an online group was important in today's technological world. I couldn't agree me.  Collaboration, especially online collaboration is quickly becoming an important skill in our ever increasing technological society. Allowing students to collaborate on projects provides students with valuable real world experience and it enhances learning. Both students and teachers can benefit from these experiences.
I know I've said this before, but it deserves repeating, I am so proud to be involved in this experience. I feel that not only am I accomplishing a personal goal of completing my masters degree in pursuit   of my ultimate goal of teaching, but I feel that my future students are going to benefit from a teacher who wants to make teaching with technology a part of the classroom experience. Bringing technology  into the classroom can be achieved simply by creating class wikis, using web 2.0 tools for collaborative learning, creating videos/ podcasts of your lessons for students. These are just a small example of the many things you can do and as we advance in technology, there are likely to be many many more in the months and years to come.

Week 4 Webiste Desgin

This week were to create a website as a group. Our group decided to get started in advance of this week and I am so glad we did. I think it really turned out wonderful and I will be using the site as a resource and I hope you will too. You can visit the site here. I hope you enjoy browsing through the pages. Please feel free to make comments or suggest links. Happy tech-ing.... Marissa :)

Animation

This weeks assignment was to create an animation with at least ten different steps involved. I choose to use the software STYKZ  to create my animation, It was very simple to use and once downloaded you can immediately begin to use it. This could be a great tool to use in the classroom. With animation you can bring projects to life!

Ancient Texts

This week as part of our assignment, we were to analyze ancient texts to look for the four principles of design (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity) or C.R.A.P. One of the suggested websites to find this text was the British Library. If you click on "discover" you will find that you "turn the pages" of many ancient texts. It is simply amazing! I choose to look at several texts because I was so fascinated with them. Although the covers appear worn, the pages are BEAUTIFUL. They are full of vibrantly colored pictures, gold leaf letters and decorations which enhance their beauty. Even though I would imagine that the C.R.A.P. acronym didn't exist when the texts were written, the scribes/writers used design principles. The beautiful colors contrast with the background paper and seem to "pop" off the page. Several of the texts that I viewed had repeating colors and drawing throughout. The text on the pages were aligned in perfectly straight columns and the letters seemed "justified" within the columns. Proximity was a little more tricky because I cannot understand what information in contained in the text; however, at the beginning of a seemed paragraph, there are pictures to indicate the transitions.
I am willing to bet that if you visit the site and take a look at these texts, you will be as amazed as I am. I've posted this before, but I think it bares repeating, Technology is an awesome tool which can connect us in so many ways. I may never be able to inspect the pages of these books in person, but through the internet, I am able to connect with ancient peoples and their works.