Blog #9

Discuss the changes you notice in your understanding and skill with the technical resources and concepts we have used in class.

This class was great - not only from a professional point of view, but personal as well. I have long tried to figure out how to crop a picture and put a silly hat one someone. I could never do it. I bought a video camera around Christmas and could never figure out how to do anything with the videos. Now I can manipulate images and put together a quality video. I don't know what I will end up teaching or when - but I will have plenty of opportunity to use what I have learned once I get a job. The great thing about this class, is I will be able to use what I have learned outside of work. I really enjoy making the movies and it sure beats watching 6 hours of boring video to watch the 30 seconds of what you really want to watch.

From the perspective of becoming a teacher, knowing how to use the tools we learned this quarter will help me teach it to the kids - but more than that it will allow me to enhance the learning experience in other classes I teach as well.

This was a great class!

I posted on Ron's blog....again.

Blog #8

There are many ways I could use videos in my teaching career. I will be teaching business classes, so I could end up teaching a media class where I would have to teach students how to use video. In fact, my student teaching next quarter will include a section where the students will be making marketing videos. I could use video in the student recruitment process by making a video of the different activities the students are engaged in throughout the year. I know there are many other areas that I can use this - once I get a job and figure out what I am teaching, I will have many opportunities to include this type of technology. I will be especially motivated to find ways to use this type of software now that I know how easy it is!

I commmented on Ron's blog.

Blog #7

The video I am making for the final project is an extension of my first video. The first one was pictures and videos of my family, specifically the kids. I plan to include the pictures from the work with Photoshop and the stories I wrote for the Newsletter. I hope to make the final project something like a video newsletter with actual and fictitious events in which the girls have participated. They love watching the video, and I hope to get them to participate (knowlingly) in the final project. They really enjoy the pictures they are in that didn't happen. They think it's magic. Using something I am really interested in - family - has made this video project fun, and I am really learning how to use the software. The only problems I have been having are uploading the project to Carmen and trying to send it to family. The file size is too big, so I am looking for a free website to host the videos. So far, I haven't had much luck. If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate it!

I posted on Jenny's blog.

Blog #6

I started working on this project with Ron, but we soon figured out that we wanted to work on different things - and we both thought it would be fun to do it on our own to get the most out of it. So, I continued working with pictures and videos I have of Maya and Anna. They really enjoyed the photoshop pictures I did, so they were pretty excited to be starring in a movie. For this project, I used footage that I had already filmed - but hadn't been able to figure out what to do with yet. I used some clips cut from larger ones and included pictures of the girls as well. I added music from the software I am using and ripped one song from a CD. It was a lot of fun to make and the girls loved it - all of us are excited about making the next one! The picture shown is one of the ones I used for the video.

I commented on Tia's blog....again.

Blog #5

I think graphic design and page layout can be a complement to literacy education. Adding pictures or an interesting graphic can draw in students who may not respond as well to text only lessons. Graphics might help with comprehension of the lesson for all students as they see the concepts demonstrated in pictures as well as words. With the technology available in schools today, teachers have a much greater opportunity to reach more students than in the past. Computer software and applications can allow teachers to be more creative in their presentations, which help the students become, and stay, engaged. When students are interested and engaged they are more likely to learn. I think graphics and creative page layouts when included in every day lesson plans can help increase literacy and learning. Also, once created, it is easy for the teacher to make changes, so it will be easier for teachers to stay up to date and share new information with students.


I commented on Tia's Blog.

Blog #4 - Newsletters

I think it would be interesting to use a newsletter as a teacher to inform parents what we are doing in class. It could be especially effective teaching business education classes, as I could have the students prepare monthly newsletters to send to their parents. We could also, as a class, come up with newsletters which we could use for recruiting of new students to our program. These newsletters could be shown to administrators as well so they know what the class is doing.

I think a newsletter could be a powerful tool for elective programs like business education. They can be used to inform parents and administrators, as well as to attract new students and parents.

I commented on Blog Topic 3 of Ron's Blog.

Blog #3 - Using Image Editing in the Classroom

I will be teaching business education classes in high school, and one of those classes could be web page development. During one of my observations, the class did an interesting project to help them learn how to use image editing. They had to make a magazine cover, using an image of themselves and a made up magazine. It was a great project because it helped them learn how to use a basic image and integrate it into an overall layout. It allowed the students to use their creativity to do anything they wanted. The students did some really creative and interesting magazines. They used the skills they learned in this project later when they were developing their websites.

I would like to do a similar project in my classroom. It allows the students to get excited about editing images, as well as teaches them how to do basic editing. It also allows them to be creative and explore on their own. I think it's a great way introduction into working with images and an excellent beginning to a web development class.

Blog #2

My first project in Photoshop involved inserting a snowman into a desert landscape. I came up with the idea by thinking of two things that were opposites and trying to put them together. It was difficult to cut the snowman out and insert just the snowman into the desert. I found that pictures with a white background are easier to cut and insert into another picture.


I find it interesting to put pictures together that don't make sense - like snow in the desert, or a cactus at the North Pole. The problem for me is that it proves difficult to make it look real - partly because it is so unreal, but also because making the inserted object blend properly has been complicated. I also enjoy trying to insert people into group pictures where they were not there before. That is what I will try to do for my second project.

Blog #1

I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1993 with a degree in Finance and Marketing, and a Math minor. I am currently attending The Ohio State University pursuing my Masters Degree in Workforce Development. I am also taking math classes in order to get my teaching license for high school math.