Course Reflection for EDLD 5366

I had considered myself pretty knowledgeable in the area of desktop publication and digital graphic design.  Very early in this class, I realized that I did not know as much as I had thought! For example, I did not know about the four design elements of contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity. After learning about these important elements, I understand now how to make material look more interesting, balanced and appealing. Designing my own logo helped me look at self-branding in a new light. As Alcantara notes, “It’s very important to be yourself and brand yourself accordingly…” (Alcantara, 2009) As I researched branding while making my logo, I tried to incorporate all the design elements and I think the design is fairly pleasing, however I am not a fan of it now that I have had more time to “live with it”. I plan to spend some time developing my brand and a new personal logo.

I had never worked with animation. This was very intimidating. I tried the different programs, but felt very uncomfortable working with them.  I know myself and I like to spend a great deal of time working with new software before I feel comfortable with it.  I just did not feel like I could spare that much time for the assignment.  I ended up using an animation website, that just allowed me to type in text and choose actions to create an animated scene. It was easy to learn and use and contained multiple variations from which to choose. There are also many implications for using these types of programs with diverse learners. “Integration of multimedia into instruction can help to reduce curriculum barriers and improve learning for all students.” (Multimedia Applications, n.d.)

Since I am very much a visual learner, this course in suited my learning style. The reading material, discussions and assignments all included a lot of visual, hands-on experiences. I enjoyed trying out and learning how to use all the different software programs. Discussing these programs and ideas with my colleagues through the discussion forums, web conferences and blogs was very helpful. These forums helped me, as a learner, clarify my thoughts and organize my ideas. It was useful to hear my classmates’ questions and comments. I also learned a lot more about educational gaming and incorporating it into our classrooms. While completing the assignments for this Design Graphics course, I kept thinking of other projects I could use these programs in and what other programs might be available. As a lifelong learner, my am inspired to continue researching how I could incorporate all the aspects I have learned in Design Graphics into my current classroom.

Alcantara, L. (2009). The art of self-branding, part one. Retrieved December 19, 2010, from http://www.lealea.net/blog/comments/the-art-of-self-branding-part-one/

Multimedia applications for the classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2010, from http://www.cited.org/output_pages/printDefault.aspx?page_id=106