EDLD5366+Week5+Course+Assignment+Reflection

I have thoroughly enjoyed my Digital Graphics and Web Design class. I am new to the Graphics and Design field and have found every bit of what I’ve learned challenging and fascinating. I was fortunate enough to be placed in a group during our Web Design class whose members had extensive experience with web design and learned a great deal. I had not realized that so much went into web design. Graphic design is like putting pieces of a puzzle together and having the image make a vivid impact. The four principles of design were interesting to learn as I considered them when analyzing different designs. I find myself analyzing advertisements that I may see on a day to day basis. The ancient manuscripts impressed me with the vivid colors and emphasis placed on the illustrations. I have learned that Graphic Design is not just for advertising. The concepts can be used for anything that needs a unified look or professional feel. I had not really thought about how important branding can be or what kind of impact it would have in regards of telling the world who you are. Branding yourself creates a lasting impression to others. By developing your own brand, you’ll have control over people’s initial perception. I would advise anyone interested in creating a logo or brand for themselves to start with their friends. Ask your friends to provide three adjectives describing you and go from there. I took this route and was pleasantly surprised to find what my friends thought of me and then compared to what I had used to describe myself. Once I had my data I could create a logo that accurately represented me as a person, teacher and learner. Creating the animation was a fun project. I used Stykz software for my animation. It was interesting to see how many open source animation programs that are available. I can see the value in animation, teaching and learning. Teachers can use animation with students to create all sorts of creative projects. Animation can drive imaginative exploration by students, as well as enhancing their writing and storytelling skills. Creating stories teaches visual literacy, as well as plain old fashioned literacy, and can help students experience learning in a very different way. I learn and retain information best when in a collaborative environment. Bouncing ideas off of each other assists me in the learning process especially if the content is new to me. I enjoy surrounding myself with the experts who can show me, not tell me, and can assist in the learning processes. I also enjoy the research aspect of the learning process and will continue to improve my research skills for future projects. Digital technology is part of students’ everyday lives. As technology leaders it is crucial that we continue to research and develop ways to incorporate technology into the classroom not only as a teaching tool, but to get the students involved in collaborative projects. If the student understands the application of what they are learning, work with others for support and present the project in an effective way, I believe the student has an excellent chance to retaining the information.

References Alcantara, L (2009). The Art of Self-Branding. Retrieved from[] Reyes, J. (2010). Why Branding Yourself Is Important. Retrieved from [] Gopin, L. (2012) 5 Innovative Animation Tools for Teachers. Retrieved from []