EDLD+5366+Digital+Graphics,+Animation,+and+Desktop+Publishing

EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing II. Communicate research on the use of technology to implement effective assessment and evaluation strategies. III. Model, design, and disseminate curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. V. Design, develop, evaluate, and model products created using technology resources to improve and enhance their productivity and professional practice. || 4 - Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of design and their application to digital graphics/animation products . 5 –Demonstrates knowledge of principles of typography and page design and knows how to use technology tools to create desktop publishing products. 6 –Know how to use graphics, animation, and desktop publishing software to produce products that convey a specified message to an intended audience. || ** EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation and Desktop Publishing ** ** A. ** Design and produce a four-page newsletter providing educational technology resources for teachers. Each page should be standard 8.5”x11”. The pages must be numbered and show a consistent design theme throughout. You must design your newsletter with columns, but the shape and size of these columns is up to you. The essential design problem is to create a layout that provokes an appropriate response. Basic design principles should be followed – contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity – and each page should present a graphically pleasing layout. The newspaper should contain contact information. || ** A. **** – 12 hrs. **
 * I. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of technology operations and concepts.


 * Total: 12 hrs. ** ||

Reflection:

During EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing, our major assignment was to design a 4-page newsletter with a consistent design theme, exhibiting basic design principles (CRAP), and the use of columns. We were able to be creative with the fonts, color schemes, and general layout, while always following basic design principles. I chose Adobe InDesign as the program to create the newsletter, basically because the professor mentioned it in the instructions and that was the program he used. In the program, I learned how to set up master pages, create columns, insert graphics, and use dynamic fonts and colors. The most important thing I learned, however, was how to use contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity to create eye-pleasing and easily readable documents. Also, I learned the importance of creating a distinctive first page, using appropriate copy for newsletter copy and headlines.

I had never created a newsletter before or used Adobe InDesign to create anything. I probably would have used a program I am familiar with, Microsoft Word, which the instructor specifically said not to do. Then, I thought we might be able to use a template for a newsletter, since I have Microsoft Publisher, and there are literally hundreds of templates to create newsletters. Alas, we were not allowed to use this either. So, I basically needed to not only learn how to create the basic layout of a newsletter, but to use a program I have never used before to do it. Needless to say, it was quite time consuming and frustrating to do both at the same time, but I feel like I created a very good product and learned a lot while doing it.

I also learned how to use my resources and personal experience to navigate through the program, use the help button if I needed to, or Google how to do something I didn’t know how to do. I was able to find out most of the information I needed to create the newsletter in this manner. The instructor kind of threw us into a “sink or swim” mode and we had to learn the program as we went along. I think this assignment modeled what we are expected to do with our own students to some extent, but at a much higher level. Maybe the learning curve was just a bit steeper for us digital immigrants.

Since this was not a group project (boy would it have been a lot easier if it was!!!), I did not interact with many of my fellow Lamar students on this activity. I think we were all just kind of trying to figure out everything on our own. I think we shared our newsletters with each other at the beginning of the next class, and there were some wonderful creations out there. Most of the graduate students felt they thought the assignment was interesting and fun, but was very long. I think maybe I should have made more contact with others to get some insight into the new program I was using. I understood the design principles very well, but struggled with using the program. I also struggled with finding enough content to fill 4 pages. I felt the same outcomes could have been reached by creating a 2 to 3-page newsletter.

For this assignment, I would like to ask the professor what couldn’t have been accomplished in a 2 to 3-page newsletter, instead of a 4-page newsletter. Also, I would like to ask him why the newsletter had to be educational in content. I had all of these great ideas for a pool newsletter for an amateur pool (billiards) organization I am in (which doesn’t have a newsletter), but I found out I couldn’t do it because the content had to be “educational” in content.

The one thing that still puzzles me is why we weren’t able to use a template to create the newsletter. They are there literally hundreds out there to choose from. I understand that the purpose of the class is to learn how to create the CRAP, but if the tools are there for us to use, why can’t we use them?

Feel free to view my awesome newsletter: