wrapping up (week of 12/13)

As we finish up our final projects there is a lot to be learned in Media 366. Through further exploration of Dreamweaver I have become more aware of its capabilities. Dreamweaver makes maintaining a website very easy with many very customizable options. As an instructor it is important to be familiar with tools like this so you can keep your students informed and up to date.

demonstrations and easy web tools

Through this weeks demonstrations we learned a few new tricks within the Adobe applications. In addition to our concept demonstrations we learned how to create a search engine and integrate it into our web pages. After a brief explanation by Evan in class I explored the custom search creator tool offered by google. With this tool you can choose one or several sites in which you would like to search and make your search engine search them specifically. This tool is very useful as an instructor because we will likely have web pages with tons of information; by using this tool we can create a search for our site to provide our students or other visitors with the ability to find exactly what they're looking for on our sites.

new web sites and more

Through our exploration of web development software we have created some pretty basic and raunchy web sites. While I began to look at some curriculum for the creation of our less atrocious and actually useful web sites I have learned quite a bit. There are many useful tools throughout the world wide web dedicated to MBE curriculum. As I progress towards becoming an instructor tools like these will prove to be very beneficial.

Also, I have begun the creation of my video and am learning a lot more about Windows Movie Maker. There are a number of different features that will allow for great customization of my video. I look forward to future work with my video; while I initially thought it would be boring, its actually quite exciting to see it all come together.

Videos, Demos and such

Well, another eventful week in Media 366!

I completed my second concept demonstration and it went pretty well. This was my first time using Adobe InDesign and it was quite a learning experience. Prior to this course I had limited experience using the Adobe applications. Much like the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe applications have common features and terminology. Through exploration and use of Dreamweaver, InDesign, and Photoshop I have become at least mildly familiar with how they work. This made preparing to give a lesson on a completely new application quite easy. During my second concpet demonstration I made similar mistakes to my first but the feedback I received was very helpful. Many of my peers found the information useful but I need to do a better job of acknowledging my audience.

I also finished the storyboard for the video project. This was my first time creating a storyboard. I thought creating it would be a drag but it was exciting to think about video and the many things I can do with it. I look forward to using this new technology!

Concept Demos Round 2 and more

This week I will complete my second concept demonstration. I have been assigned Adobe InDesign for my program to demonstrate a skill in. Through some exploration of the program it is quite complex and will take some getting used to.

I have also learned a lot about teaching software concepts to peers/students. I got a lot of useful feedback after my software demonstration on Links. While many people thought that my topic was useful I didn't go into the depth I should have in order to accommodate to the different levels of expertise amongst my peers. On Thursday, when I give my next demo I am going to try to move throughout the class more so I can be more helpful to those who fall behind or are unfamiliar with what I am doing.

Concept Demos and more

Well, we've finished our first round of concept demonstrations. Initially my thought on this initial round of demo's was that they would be easy skills and a waste of our time. As we progressed through the first round it became apparent that this was not true. I learned many useful skills through these demonstrations. Skills such as placing videos in our web pages, customizing the toolbar in Dreamweaver and more. As an instructor, these software applications are extremely valuable. Dreamweaver provides the teacher with a 'round the clock classroom. In addition to being an effective way to communicate with students, teachers can also use their websites to interact and document interaction with other teachers and teaching tools. Through exploration of Dreamweaver and other software applications it has become apparent that they will be useful now and for years to come.

Struggling

As a result of some technical difficulties and procrastination I've gotten behind in Media 366. See my post last week (non-existent). As I spent this past weekend getting (close to) caught up I've learned a lot. Thursday we learned about visual literacy and interpretation. As an instructor I found this to be very useful. We learned that different people will interpret images different ways. In all likelihood my students will be a diverse group; with this being the case I will have to think more thoroughly about images I chose to ensure understanding by all of them.

Dreamweaver Update:
This is primarily where I fell behind due to my inability to access Dreamweaver off campus. This weekend I resumed editing my website and struggled initially until I turned to Lynda for help. Lynda provides tutorials for many of the essential applications on Stout computers. I could not create a new page from my pages template because I somehow misplaced the file. Through Lynda I learned how to create and edit a new template. Through Lynda I maintained my sanity...

Until Next Time

Dreamweaver excitement!

As we continue to develop our websites it becomes more apparent how powerful of a tool Adobe Dreamweaver is. I began designing this website with some experience but I am learning a lot about web publishing. It has been a very rewarding experience creating this website and I intend to maintain it even after this class is over. While I am learning a lot about web publishing I am also learning how to organize my files and folders more efficiently. I look forward to exploring Dreamweaver and Web Publishing more vividly!

Media continued

Media 366 is going to be a very interesting and useful course as we become teachers. Already we have explored web page design and I've learned a lot. We learned how to download and apply a template to our web site. Prior to taking this class I had some experience with web design using web based applications but Dreamweaver is far more functional and customizable than anything I have ever seen. Skills taught in Medai 366 become more essential each day; it's exciting to have such powerful tools always at our fingertips!