Other Media Project and Final Thoughts

Monday’s Preparing Instructional Media class overlapped with another class I had the same afternoon. Unfortunately, I had to leave class early yesterday in order to make it to my Religious Studies class. So, I will be meeting with Diane Austin to work on the Media Project.

I am working on some last minute editing on my other projects. I am happy with how my web-page and PowerPoint project came together. The process of creating my first web-page was frustrating and exciting. I ran into a lot of technical problems creating my web-page, but in the end I was able to accomplish my goal of creating a informative web-page.

The communications project that I created for this class was a continuation of the blog I created for Dr. Slone’s class last semester. I have decided to delete some of my posts that I wrote for Dr. Slone’s class. I am only leaving two posts from that class on my blog. I feel that leaving too many older posts in my blog will distract from the new focus of my blog. I want my blog to really reflect the frustrations and excitement I experienced while learning about new forms of technology. I enjoyed creating my reflections for this class in a form of a blog. I truly feel more confident in my ability to work with different types of technology. This class was a great jumping off point for my class next semester, Instructional Graphics. I would like to thank Diane Austin for teaching this course and for her frequent reminders to the class to not panic.

Stacy Davis

Praise for Publisher

I decided to make a flyer for my publication project, and I really enjoyed working with Microsoft Publisher. Microsoft Publisher gives a lot of options for designing a publication and it was a little tricky deciding exactly what style, layout and colors I wanted for my flyer. I finally decided how I wanted my project to be formatted. I saved all the pictures I needed on my flash drive and I spent my class time Monday working on this project. I found a really neat black and white Purim picture that I inserted into my flyer. Heather Dodge helped me print a copy of my flyer into a PDF file, and that made my flyer look more professional. I am happy with the results of this project, and now I am confident that I can go into Microsoft Publisher and create a professional looking publication.

Microsoft Publisher and Me

I have been exploring Microsoft Publisher and learning how to create published documents. I have decided to complete my project using MS Publisher. It strikes me as a very user friendly program. The first page offers popular publication types and I have decided to either work with the Brochure option or the Flyer option. The Brochures and Flyers will work well with the subject matter of my publication.

I will be creating a publication for youth services programming. The program itself will be fictional in nature but the subject matter connects with my web-page and my PowerPoint. My web-page explores the Jewish holiday of Purim and I retell the Story of Esther. My PowerPoint explores the lessons presented in the Story of Esther.

I am going to present a publication based on a fictional production of a Purim Shpiel. A Purim Shpiel is a play that dramatically reenacts the Story of Esther. Purim is a very family oriented holiday and many synagogues hold family services on Purim. The children are encouraged to shake noisemakers when the Story of Esther is told to the congregation. My publication will give information about the Purim Shpiel that is being performed at a fictional temple.

PowerPoint and Web-Pages 2

I went to the help session to learn about templates and how to make my web-page awesome. A young woman decided to help me by explaining Dreamweaver. She was very knowledgeable, but the templates were too complex for what I was working on. I figured this out after I tried to work with the program. It was frustrating to realize that I spent all that time trying to figure out something that is not going to be a part of my project. I am just going to go forward and not get frustrated with myself. I am still struggling with the technical aspects of my web-page but fortunately I am doing very well with the content portion of my project.

I have changed the topic for my web-page, and my PowerPoint. I wanted a subject that allowed me to be creative. Many of my classmates are going to be media specialists. I decided that it would be fun to choose a topic that is focused on a young audience. I also wanted a topic that was more personal in nature and reflects who I am. My main page is titled Shalom (Peace). This page expresses how the Jewish holiday Purim can be taught to children in a way that is friendly and informative. My second web page is an abridged version about the Story of Esther. The Story of Esther is retold every Purim and I am basing my PowerPoint on lessons that children can receive from this story. The PowerPoint presentation is meant to be shown to an early elementary school audience. My Co-host for the PowerPoint is my cat Ozzy-Chan. Chan means little one and I thought it would be cute to include him in my PowerPoint. Choosing the right topic for my project has made all the difference and I am finally having fun creating my PowerPoint.

Blogging for Perfectionists

I decided to create a blog as my communication assignment for two reasons. First, I am the most familiar with blogging as a means of communication. Last semester I wrote a blog for Dr. Slone’s class about the creation of information. That was my first venture into the world of blogging and I was quite intimidated about the idea that I needed to create my own blog. The subject matter was such that I needed to make the blog postings academic in scope and I was unsure about how to blog in an academic way. I tried my best and I ended up with a B- for my blog grade. I wanted a chance to improve my blogging skills, and I talked to my instructor Diana Austin about building on my blog from last semester. She gave me the go ahead to use this blog for my project.

I wanted to enjoy the process of blogging and I decided to use my blog as a type of journal that reflects my journey through this class. First, I changed the information in my old blog to reflect my new goal by changing my introduction paragraph and my statement of purpose. I really enjoyed being creative and customizing my new blog. I changed my template and used different elements to build up my blog. For example, I included library science and Jewish web-pages that was academic in scope as part of my Link List.

This blog has also allowed me to see how I approach projects and what I expect out of myself as a student. I always strive to do my best in academics, and I have considered myself a perfectionist in the past with a sense of pride. Looking back at my blog entries for this course, I realize that my need to go above and beyond what is expected has hindered my ability to finish projects in a timely manner. I want to apply many creative and technology savvy elements to my projects and make my final project truly magnificent. I am not being realistic in the time frame that I have for the course or in the complexity of the content of the material that I want to include in my projects. It is crunch time and I am determined to finish all the requirements for this course. I am going to try to be more realistic the expectations that I have for myself.

Brainstorming about PowerPoint and Web-pages

Before my trial with Linux, I was trying to decide a topic that I was going to use for my PowerPoint presentation and my web-page. I wanted the subject area to connect because then I could have a more cohesive website. I am taking a Religious Studies class this semester on the Upanishads. The Upanishads are a part of the Vedas and the Upanishads are an important part of the Hindu religion. I wanted Hinduism to be the subject of my website. I quickly realized that the Upanishads are much too complex for the purposes of my website. I entertained the idea of covering only one aspect of the Upanishads, but this was still too complex in scope.

I then decided to pick an aspect of Hinduism that would relate in some way to library science. My webpage would show the basic belief system of Hinduism and my PowerPoint would showcase the goddess Saravati. During the course of my research, I learned about this interesting deity within Hinduism. Saravati is the goddess of learning and knowledge in the Hindu tradition. She is a goddess that is particularly important to teachers and students. I was excited about sharing this aspect of Hinduism with the class because it would show how knowledge and learning are an important part of the Hindu religious tradition. I gathered material about Saravati and Hinduism for my PowerPoint presentation and my website. I tried to make the material fit into the context of the class. After finding websites, pictures and general information about the subject, I started building the content portion of my website. I tried to force the subject matter into the scope of my project. I finally had to admit that I was too ambitious with what I wanted to accomplish, and I decided to scratch my web- page and Power Point projects and start from the beginning.