My First Blog

The Ed Tech Experience

2006-08-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say this experience has been interesting. I think the most valuable lesson that I learned is to stop doubting myself and my abilities. When we received the syllabus on the first day of class I was intimidated and skeptical of my own ability to meet the requirements. I could not imagine ever being able to create a web page or do claymation. I was excited to try photoshop, and relieved that there was one assignment I felt confident in my ability to do...powerpoint.
The photoshop assignment proved a little more difficult than I was anticipating. Some of the tools were a little tricky, but after a couple days I got the hang of it. I love the pictures I created, and am looking forward to further exporing the opportunities that photoshop provides.
The website creation was suprisingly easier than I had expected. Getting the links to work and making sure the pictures were in the right format, and "in the garage" were the most challenging parts. I am amazed at how well my web page looks, and works! I have shared the address with friends and family, and they all have enjoyed exploring it. I would like to create a webpage for my class, and now feel confident in my ability to do so. I am going to look into websites that allow you to purchase your own web address, and also into software, such as Dreamweaver.
Claymation was also much easier than I had anticipated. Our team worked well together, and it turned out adorable. I was inspired that each of us (even those who don't consier themselves technology saavy) have something to offer in group work. I am not very confident in my photography skills, or art ability, yet I was able to bring a concept suggestion to the group that
was well received. I also contributed by staying focused, and helping others to stay on track, and keep the project simple and realistic.
Ultimately, I have been inspired to be confident going into something new, eventhough I don't know much about it. I know that with the help of a tutorial, "help" button, the internet, my classmates, and instructor, I will get through it, and do a good job.
I feel much more confident in my abilities, and am excited to take these new skills into the classroom with me, to use both as a personal tool and to teach to my students. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn so much about technology, and myself.

Photoshop

2006-08-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm glad I waited until I was completely done with my photos to post this. My first few days of working with Photoshop were a little frustrating. I had particular trouble with the layering function. I tried to cut Eeyore out of one picture, and put him in another, and I just couldn't get it to work. Finally I read about cutting and pasting from 2 different photos that were open at the same time. I used the magnetic lasso tool, which was a little tricky. Everytime I would venture towards the top or bottom of my photo (while outlining the item to be cut), the screen would jump up and my lasso would stretch across the photo. Then, I would try to undo and that would just make it worse. I finally learned the trick of the "delete" button! It helped me correct all of my mistakes. Once I began using that things got easier. I even cut items from 2 different photos to put in a third.
Then I got brave and started editing photos from the web. I added Orlando Bloom into a picture of me at Disneyland!
Saving the files in the proper format was a little confusing. I had to save all of my before photos, and all of my after photos, but I had to make sure they were saved as jpegs, then I had to resize them, and save for web. The result was about 50 pictures saved in 3 or 4 different formats. But, there is always DELETE!
I am glad I got to use this program, I think it would be fun to use in the classroom for posters or yearbook type projects.
I wish I had the trial version for longer so I could try altering some old photos using the scanner.

Disneyland!

2006-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Matt and I went to Disneland in July for the first time! Neither of us had been on a plane before, so it was quite an experience.
We stayed for 6 days and went to Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World and Universal Studios. It was great!
We really wanted to do some of these things BEFORE we had kids, so with only a month's notice we booked the trip, before we could change our minds.
I'm so glad we got to spend uninterrupted time together, especially considering how little time we have together now that the program has started.

More trouble with the newsletter

2006-07-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I finally made it through that assignment. But, I just went back and looked at the finished product from the dropbox link, and one of the pictures is turned sideways, eventhough it is not in my final saved version. I'm not sure what happened, but I hope I have an opportunity to fix it before it is posted on the website.

My First Newsletter

2006-07-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! Creating my first newletter was harder than I ever thought it would be. I had considered myself pretty proficient in word, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. I am glad that the first thing I tried was bringing in my picture, because that was very difficult. I had a picture saved in my email, which I saved to the computer, and tried to import. Everytime I would insert it, either by cutting and pasting, or clicking insert...the picture came over HUGE. So, I resized it, and rotated it, but then IT WOULD NOT MOVE! I tried clicking and dragging over and over and over again. I even tried opening different templates and seeing if it would work there, but NO! Finally, after almost giving up completely, I tried the "help function". I learned that I needed to change the wordwrap around the picture to make room for it, and Wahlah! it worked. Finally I was able to bring in 2 pictures and get to typing!