Oh Gosh....Its Christmas time! I still have so much to do. Decorate, FINISH CLASSES, Take Finals, and send out Christmas cards! Christmas cards are a great way to connect with family near and far. Its always better if those cards are personalized. This year, consider using Shutterfly.
Shutterfly in running a promotion to get 50 christmas cards free for promoting their site on your blog!
Simply visit shutterfly.com and fill out the form.
Until next time,
Have a great Thanksgiving and BLACK Friday!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dreamweaver
Hello Blog World,
Class the past few weeks has been really busy and I am ready for the end of the semester. In Introduction to Education Media, we have been working with HTML and CSS for a while now, as I discussed in a previous post. Now, we have began working with Adobe Dreamweaver to create webpages. Compared to coding it all by hand, Dreamweaver is a God send! This software allows the creater to work from the design view. Being a visual/kinesthetic learner, I was able to pick this up much faster than before.
I had some trouble getting started but once I figured out a few tools, the rest was a breeze. Any trouble I had, I was able to watch tutorials and read step by step directions. This software is really easy to use and by having the basic knowledge of HTML coding it makes a lot of sense. I have said this numerous times and will probably say it again before the end of the semester...I AM NOT CREATIVE. I believe the point of a webpage is to catch a cutomer/person of interests eye and hold their attention. I am not creative enough to do that. I created a very basic webpage and really don't know what to do to "spice it up". Webpages are important and can be a great tool for managing extracurricular activities such as the ones in FFA. Maybe I will have really creative students that can help me out!
Until next time,
KMP
Class the past few weeks has been really busy and I am ready for the end of the semester. In Introduction to Education Media, we have been working with HTML and CSS for a while now, as I discussed in a previous post. Now, we have began working with Adobe Dreamweaver to create webpages. Compared to coding it all by hand, Dreamweaver is a God send! This software allows the creater to work from the design view. Being a visual/kinesthetic learner, I was able to pick this up much faster than before.
I had some trouble getting started but once I figured out a few tools, the rest was a breeze. Any trouble I had, I was able to watch tutorials and read step by step directions. This software is really easy to use and by having the basic knowledge of HTML coding it makes a lot of sense. I have said this numerous times and will probably say it again before the end of the semester...I AM NOT CREATIVE. I believe the point of a webpage is to catch a cutomer/person of interests eye and hold their attention. I am not creative enough to do that. I created a very basic webpage and really don't know what to do to "spice it up". Webpages are important and can be a great tool for managing extracurricular activities such as the ones in FFA. Maybe I will have really creative students that can help me out!
Until next time,
KMP
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Photoshop
Moving on from HTML/CSS, we have started Photoshop. Photoshop has many features and offers the ability to change photos with ease. I am not a super creative person but can handle making some changes. In the photos below you will see a wedding pictures as it was taken. Then there is the photo that has been edited. I took the color out (turned it to black and white) then re added the color of my flowers.
I also used Photoshop to change the effect on an image. The change made in the after picture was achieved by implementing a painting filter. This added "brush strokes" to the image. I could make the brush strokes small or large. I choose to leave the brush strokes small, in order to not distort the image.
Since Photoshop is utilized by so many people, there are many tutorials available as well as forums explaining how to accomplish different effects. Like I said earlier in the post, I am not a super creative person but was able to utilize tools in the program to make minor changes to images. For this assignment I was required to use a picture of myself, so maybe it would have been more fun if I could have used someone/something else as the subject in the photos.
In teaching, especially Agricultural Education, we document many things through photographs (team achievements, banquets, chapter meetings, etc), Photoshop could be utilized to make those snapshots into great photos to display.
Until next time,
Kristin
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Need Motivation
Week 7 of the semester is now half over. I can not get motivated this semester for the life of me. I need something to push me to do better and it is just not happening. Hoepfully it will get better. I really just want to be teaching. :(
Thursday, September 30, 2010
HTML and CSS
The past couple of weeks, in Educational Media, we have been exploring HTML coding and cascading style sheets (CSS). Our assignment in HTML was to create a basic web page, although we did not actually launch it to a site. It needed to have an image, headings for different sections as well as a bulleted list. For CSS, we were given a webpage's coding and asked to make changes only to the style (font, font size, font color, background color, borders, image placements, etc).
For a moment, I would think I had it figured out and then start trying it out and nothing seems to work. UGH. There is a great website though that provides tutorials for almost anything imaginable. www.w3school.com It was a lifesaver.
Some things I have learned:
- Take your time! Even though it is hard you can do it.
- HTML really makes sense when you look at the end product.
- CSS is great for adding flare to your site (if you understand it)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Introduction to Education Media
Hello Blog World!
I have not posted in a while due to a busy schedule at school and work!
This semester I am taking statistics, principles of technological change and introduction to education media. Statistics is mostly computerized and has not been too difficult thus far.
Principles of Tech Change is a ton of reading and writing. I am not learning a lot from it but trying to have a good attitude and maybe I will become interested in something about it!
Education Media is teaching me to use technology in the classroom. We have learned about Word and PowerPoint so far and are beginning HTML. Its odd to think that as a graduate student I am being taught how to use these seemingly simple programs.
In Microsoft Word we learned about accessibility options within these programs and how to set up documents for readers and students with disabilites. This can be as simple as using the true heading options and making sure that your photos have alt texts. I will post my word assignment soon. I did an instructional guide on downloading a screen capture program (SnagIt). It was hard to get use to doing things a little differently than normal and to think about future uses, not just utilizing this for the assignment.
In PowerPoint, I had a little bit tougher time making the connection to my content area. We designed a PowerPoint for something in out content area. I choose to teach on a Introduction to Plasma Arc Cutters. It was difficult to find internet based help links to enhance to the PowerPoint since the lab component of an ag classroom would normally be used. As ag teachers I think we depend heavily on what we have instead of what is available.
Reflecting back, it will be interesting to see how all of this can be incorporated in the classroom. Agricultural classrooms depend on problem based and experimental learning. With a new generation, we (ag teachers) have to be proactive in relating the experience to technologies students are comfortable with.
I have not posted in a while due to a busy schedule at school and work!
This semester I am taking statistics, principles of technological change and introduction to education media. Statistics is mostly computerized and has not been too difficult thus far.
Principles of Tech Change is a ton of reading and writing. I am not learning a lot from it but trying to have a good attitude and maybe I will become interested in something about it!
Education Media is teaching me to use technology in the classroom. We have learned about Word and PowerPoint so far and are beginning HTML. Its odd to think that as a graduate student I am being taught how to use these seemingly simple programs.
In Microsoft Word we learned about accessibility options within these programs and how to set up documents for readers and students with disabilites. This can be as simple as using the true heading options and making sure that your photos have alt texts. I will post my word assignment soon. I did an instructional guide on downloading a screen capture program (SnagIt). It was hard to get use to doing things a little differently than normal and to think about future uses, not just utilizing this for the assignment.
In PowerPoint, I had a little bit tougher time making the connection to my content area. We designed a PowerPoint for something in out content area. I choose to teach on a Introduction to Plasma Arc Cutters. It was difficult to find internet based help links to enhance to the PowerPoint since the lab component of an ag classroom would normally be used. As ag teachers I think we depend heavily on what we have instead of what is available.
Reflecting back, it will be interesting to see how all of this can be incorporated in the classroom. Agricultural classrooms depend on problem based and experimental learning. With a new generation, we (ag teachers) have to be proactive in relating the experience to technologies students are comfortable with.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Where does money come from?!
This is my last week to just hang out before research and school and work start for the school year.
For those of you that know me, I am obsessed with Racheal Ray! I was watching her show this morning and ended up very disheartned by a segment. It was almost like a "Kids say the darndest things" segment. Racheal asked the question "Where does money come from?" On little boys answer was "The president has a machine and just makes more money!'
Is this what we want to teach children, that the government can make and spend money at the drop of a hat?
For those of you that know me, I am obsessed with Racheal Ray! I was watching her show this morning and ended up very disheartned by a segment. It was almost like a "Kids say the darndest things" segment. Racheal asked the question "Where does money come from?" On little boys answer was "The president has a machine and just makes more money!'
Is this what we want to teach children, that the government can make and spend money at the drop of a hat?
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