Final Blog Assignment

1. You have created a Blog and have been Blogging for 16 weeks.

What is your opinion of "Blogging"?

Blogging is interesting. It can be used for a large amount of different things, whether personal or professional. I think that blogging is an interesting tool to use to effectively communicate how you feel about things or to give ideas or to inspire others or anything else. I think that blogging is cool; I have done it before so it is nothing that is terribly new to me, but it was cool to use for a professional reason as opposed to a personal reason.

2. Did you find this to be a useful reflection / communication tool?

I think that blogging is a great tool for communication and reflection. It gives a place for people to write their thoughts, feelings, ideas and whatnot out into a place that could either be public or private, and any other person can see. It is also a great resource for being able to go back and look at what you have previously written to read and reflect upon it. It is cool to see how you change from post to post and throughout time.

3. Would you use a Blog in your art classroom? If yes, how. If no, why not?

I would use a blog in my classroom as either a tool for my students to use and do weekly or biweekly assignments on or as a tool for my students to follow a blog that I write. It would be a strictly professional blog that would be there as a resource for students to look at and to find new artists and movements and facts from. Or I would give them assignments that would pertain to art and sometimes their personal lives. It would be used as both a reflecting, analyzing and sharing too.

Blog Assignment Thirteen.

From the tutorial videos I learned how to use and control master pages. I planned on using a master page because I encountered one while making my newsletter. I thought that it would be a good idea to have a base page for my digital portfolio. That was it would create a nice flow and things would look simple, organized and clean from page to page. Managing pages taught me how to manage pages, haha. It will definitely help out when I am working and I need to move whole pages or to copy a page or template. Using layers will definitely help me out when I am creating my pages to help make it look fancier and nicer.

I think that using master pages will probably help me out the most. I like a very simple and clean look to design projects and I think that I will definitely be using that in this. I also like to incorporate the same elements from page to page to make them more aesthetically pleasing.

Newsletter Blog.

For project five, we had to create a newsletter about ourselves for our new classroom, parents and students. It was easier to work with InDesign now that I have more experience with it. It was odd to write about myself and to write about the future, and not something that is currently happening. It took some time to figure out what I wanted to write about, but I think I did a decent job with a newsletter. Although I don't really know. I wrote a bit about myself, my favorite artists, some stuff about Chuck Close (one of my favorite artists), and I included a sample lesson for teachers and students and family members to get a grasp on what I might be teaching and how. Hopefully all of these things would be valuable and useful in a newsletter.

Blog Assignment Twelve.

http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/

I would have students take digital pictures of their work and upload them into iPhoto, and as part of a project, they would have to organize, label and exhibit the pictures and images in a slideshow. It is also a great too to keep images organized and easy to find.

http://www.adobe.com/products/soundbooth/

I would have students create a podcast about a certain artist. They would be welcome to work in pairs or groups, and they would have to focus on a certain artist or movement. If they were to focus on a certain artist, part of the project would be to create a fictional short story about the artist. They will be given a list of criteria to meet about what to have in their podcast. They could also delegate the parts and jobs to one another, as in some students will speak, others will cut and edit, etc.

Blog Assignment Eleven.

BLOGS I COMMENTED ON:
http://aedcomputerapplications398.blogspot.com/2009/10/self-portrait.html

http://azizaaed398.blogspot.com/2009/10/self-portrait-creative-inspiration.html

A. How did you decide which blog to review?

I chose to review Eryn and Aziza's blogs because they are both people that I talk to and am friendly with. I have two classes with Eryn and it's been nice getting to know her.

B. Why did you select the individual posting to comment on?

I chose the one's about self-portraits because I think that they are the most interesting to look at and read. I chose Aziza'z with her pictures because I was drawn to the pictures in and of themselves, and I also really liked the ones that she chose. They were really interesting and I like the reasons that she chose them too. I commented on Eryn's self-portrait answers because it was interesting to take a look below the surface and find out a little more about her.

C. How could you use a Blog in your classroom as a communication tool? If not, why not?

I think you can definitely use a blog as a communication too. It provides great ways to get your thoughts out and to share things that you like, dislike, enjoy or are interested in. To use it in a classroom would be a great tool, as long as the blog was geared towards the class and classroom setting. Students would have to be held accountable for what they post and write in their blogs, and they would have to be made aware of that. I would probably use a blog as a communication tool only in upper levels, probably high school, where hopefully the students would be mature enough to keep their postings school appropriate.

Resume Writing and InDesign.

Resume writing is always an interesting process because a lot of factors play into how your resume turns out. One thing is where you are at in your life and what your goal of your resume is: to get a job? To win an award? It could be for a number of things, and your resume will change with each thing. Another big factor in the result of your resume is who you go to to have look at and edit your resume. Everyone will tell you to have different information and to set it up differently and have a different layout and order. I guess when determining which is best, you should go with your instinct and what you feel is best for the reason you are presenting your resume.

InDesign is something that I am slowly getting the hang of, but it is still hard to use. I never quite know if I am doing it right, and if there is an easier way to do things. I am sure there are a number of tips and tricks that you can use in InDesign. One thing that seemed helpful was what Prof. Tabone showed us in class, about the different ways of formatting your document. The videos we had to watch for our other blog post would have been helpful too, if I had taken the time to utilize them.

Blog Assignment Ten.

• the importance of parental involvement in eduation

• communication tools that educators can use with parents/guardians

• what/why/how/where/when of communication between educators and parents/guardians

First RSS Feed:
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/parents-involvement-in-childrens-education-117944.html

Second RSS Feed:
http://newteachersupport.suite101.com/article.cfm/contact_with_parents


I think that parent-teacher involvement is very important. As an aspiring teacher, I should be learning as much as possible about interacting with the parents as I am about interacting with the students. Parents play a huge role in a child's interest in school and in their development. When a parent shows interest in a child's progress and what they are doing in school and bringing home, that child is more eager to learn and to produce good results and they are more interested in impressing their parents. When a parent shows little interest in a child's education, doesn't care about their progress or how they are doing, that child begins to lack enthusiasm and starts to do a lackluster or poor job. A parents interest in their child's education reflects upon that child.

It is important for me, as a teacher, to build a good relationship with the parents. I need to be an effective listener for the parents. They need to understand that I am just as interested in their child's education and progress as they are. They need to be aware that "we are in this together" and not separate, or alone. However, I need to make it clear that I am only the teacher, and that they are the main influence to their child.