EDLD5366+Week+5

Course-Embedded Assignment Reflection

Prior to completing this course, I basically thought graphic designers were just talented artists that knew what looked good on a page. I had no clue what CRAP was or how it was used in designing graphics. Personal branding just reminded me of when I was young and had to help branding cattle until I read the articles written by Alcantara and discovered that it was actually a product created after a great deal of research and self reflection. These techniques provided me with the confidence needed to create the newsletter that we did in last week’s assignment and the knowledge to lead my students and coworkers in designing their projects. While completing the animation assignment I was exposed to many technological elements that I had never used. Animations are becoming quite popular and many of my students have asked if we would be learning about them in my class. It is not covered in my curriculum so I never really concerned myself with any of the programs. I was exposed to many issues while creating my animation that I had to problem solve which is such an important part of the new Bloom’s digital taxonomy. Although my talents and interest do not appear to be in the area of graphic design, this course certainly provided me with the opportunity to see how the concepts explored in this course can benefit me both professionally and personally. As a teacher to digital natives I believe that I have a responsibility to my students to learn as much as I can about emerging technologies so that I can help ready them for their futures which will no doubt be surrounded by technology as pointed out in Halverson’s article. http://www.techlearning.com/article/8670  || Retrieved from http:// www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=81  ||
 * Alcantara, L. (2009). The art of self-branding. Retrieved from http://www.lealea.net/blog/comments/the-art-of-self-branding-part-three/  ||
 * Churches, A. (2007). Bloom’s digital taxonomy. Retrieved from
 * Halverson, R. (2005). What can k-12 school leaders learn from video games and gaming.