January 18
No assignments due
January 25
HDS account setup
Make sure that you have set up your Home Directory Service account through ITC's accounts page.
Create a BlogSpot account
Go to Blogger.com and create a new account (click the "Create Your Blog Now" button). Use your UVA user ID (e.g., ras5p) as your username!
Once you've created your account, sign in (if necessary) and create a new Blog:
- Step 1: Call your Blog "546 Readings." Give it a brief description ("Reading reactions for EDLF 546 ") and ensure that it is a public blog
- Step 2: Host it at BlogSpot
- Step 3: In the address box,
enter your user ID (e.g., log2n)
- Step 4: Choose a template
2 Truths and 1 Lie
Write three short statements about yourself. Two of these statements will be completely true and one will be false. Be prepared to share your list with the class next week.
The goal is to stump your classmates about which of your statements is a lie, as well as to correctly guess the lies of your classmates (short sentences work best).
To be fair, I will post mine first.
- My cousin was a speech writer
for President Bush.
- I lived in London for two years.
- I have eaten lunch with Steven
Spielberg.
Which one is a lie?
Technology autobiography
Write a brief autobiographical statement (2-3 paragraphs) that focuses on your experience with, and attitudes toward, technology. Tell me how you feel about technology and computers, and why.
Be sure to include a discussion of your views on computers in the classroom, or in your future professional setting. What role (if any) do you think computers play? What role should they play? Why?
Post your statement to your Blogger account.
Blogs of interest
February 1
Blogger: Question of
the week
Read these articles on digital
images in education and digital
manipulation guidelines. What is your position on truth in photography?
How would you teach it?
Digital image competency (choose one)
A. Visual narrative
Using ONLY digital images (or scanned photos) you have taken personally, either a) tell a short narrative story or b) demonstrate how to do something:
- Acquire at least 10 images
- Import or scan them into the PC
- Use Photoshop Elements to "prep" them for your story i.e crop, retouch
- Save your finished images to a folder called "Pictures"
- Create a folder on your PC called "Story"
- Use the Web Photo Gallery of Photoshop Elements to make a web photo gallery with your images (10-15)
- Source folder is Pictures
- Destination folder is Story
- File extension should be .html
- You can leave the default settings for the other items
- Create your Photo Gallery
- Open the Story folder
- Double click the index.html page in your folder and test the links to make sure they work
- Move the Picture and Story folders to the Public_html folder of your home directory.
B. Photoshop collage
Use Photoshop to develop a collage of images on a specific subject in your content/specialization area. This collage can be an "advertisement," a mock magazine cover, or can simply be an image that represents what a subject means to you. For example, a collage on the Louisiana Purchase might have a background of the mid-western United States, pictures of Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, Lewis and Clark, historic maps, and 2-3 bulleted lines of text. The collage should contain the following:
- at least eight layers
- at least two instances of text
- at least one instance of a text layer effect (i.e., drop
shadow or inner glow)
- layer effects applied to at least two non-text layers (different
effects for each layer)
February 8
Blogger: Question of
the week
Read the Yale Style Guide chapter on Interface Design and pay a visit the Web Pages That Suck site. Do the guidelines offered by the Yale site and WPTS make sense to you? Were you surprised by any of the recommendations? What are some of the most important guidelines you learned about and how will you implement them on your site?
Post your reactions/discussions to your blog.
Create 546 folder
Create a new folder in your public_html folder and name it 546. After you create the folder, set your WWW file permissions by logging in here and then choosing "Set Your WWW File Permissions."
Web design competency
If you need help setting up a "site" in Dreamweaver to manage your student web page I have posted a tutorial in Word format.
Use a Web page editor of your choice to create a web site for your work in EDLF 546. This site will serve as a place that provides links to and descriptions of the work for this class. You will add to this site as the semester continues by creating links to the work that you've done. By the end of the semester, this site will eventually be edited and refined into your portfolio.
The site must include the following items:
- 5 pages, including a home page and the following 4 pages
- Philosophy - this section will contain links to reactions and writings which demonstrate your thoughts on technology
- Products - here, you will create links to some of your class work
- Projects - this is where you will insert links to EDLF 546 projects
- Resources - you should have at least 10-12 hyperlinks to, and brief explanations of, resources for people in your area of professional interest
- a title for each page
- at least one appropriate image per page
- tables to assist with the layout of each page
- a navigational structure that allows the viewer to get directly to any page on the site from any other page
Save the home page as menu.html in the 546 folder in your Public directory. Check that the file loads (http://www.people.virginia.edu/~userid/546/menu.html - replace userid with your UVA user id). If the page doesn't load, you may need to again set your WWW file permissions.
February 15
Blogger Question of the Week
Read "PowerPoint is evil" and Learning to Love Powerpoint (Wired, Sept. 2003) and post your reactions to the following points on your Blogger account:
- How does the mere ubiquity
of PowerPoint impact its effectiveness? Is this an issue for education?
Is it an issue for your field (if it is not for education)?
- Do you agree with Tufte's
contention that children are "being taught how to formulate
client pitches and infomercials" because of PowerPoint?
- When is using PowerPoint appropriate
in education?
- How can you get students to
determine for themselves when a use of the program is appropriate
(i.e., you can't just tell them; they need to think for
themselves).
Your response is not limited to a set length; however, it should be long enough to amply address the points above - with details and examples from your own experience.
PowerPoint competency
Use PowerPoint to develop an interactive, student-centered presentation. The presentation should introduce, teach, or review subject-matter material from a content area of your choice.
To receive full credit for this assignment, you must meet the following requirements:
- contain at least 10 slides
- include navigation features that allow students to explore the slideshow in an order other than the default (setup in kiosk mode)
- include a minimum of three appropriate images
- include a summary slide on which you discuss:
- what benefit students will receive from using the presentation
- any references or resources you used to create the slideshow (SOLs, journals, etc.).
- DO NOT use a wizard for this assignment
Please link this presentation to your Products page.
February 22
Blogger Question of the Week
Follow the two links below and read about fair use and copyright considerations. What were the most useful and salient points for you in each article? Do these guidelines affect you professionally? Have you advertently or inadvertently violated any of these guidelines?
Address these points in 2 or 3 paragraphs to your Blogger site.
Mail Merge competency-Excel & Word
Create a student report card in MS Word by merging data found in this Excel spreadsheet.
- Save the spreadsheet to your 546 folder
- Calculate the class average for each assignment
- Calculate each student's final grade
- You may need to edit some of the fields in your spreadsheet before you create the mail merge.
To get full credit, the finished merged letter should contain:
- Each student's last name
- Each student's first name
- Each student's grade on each of the five tests
- A comments section where you give an overview of each student's performance (this should be unique for each letter)
- Your name and title
- The letter should also be in an appropriate and understandable format suitable for sending to a student or a student's parents (i.e. professional-looking)
Make sure to save the original
source letter, corresponding Excel file, and the generated form letters
to your 546 folder. Link only the merged form letter
file to your Products page.
Field
paper #1 due
March 1
Blogger Question of the Week
Visit and explore the Valley of the Shadow site (make sure you check out this when you visit). Describe the experience - what did you like about it, what would you change, could the site be useful to you professionally or personally? Post your reactions to your blog.
Handheld Computers Competency
Building on the information discovered during class, search for and explore sites providing free or commercial software for handheld devices. Some sites are listed below to help get you started.
Search available handheld software on
these or other sites and select 3 software products that might help you at school
or at work. Post these to your blog, with descriptions and weblinks.
Project
proposal draft due
March 8
No assignments due
March 15
Blogger Question of the Week
Read the online chapter on the Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling by Joe Lambert. Why do you think he chose these particular elements? Do you think they are essential? Why or why not? Do they help you as you are trying to write your script, or do they make it more difficult. Post your reactions to your blog.
Research for Digital Narrative
Begin using the Web as well as other channels to find primary and secondary resources to support your digital story. Make notes of the sources you use so that they can later be cited.
Script for Digital Narrative
Using the guidelines in The Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling (pgs. 1-13) from the Digital Storytelling Cookbook, compose the first draft of your script (no more than one typed, double-spaced page) with an accompanying storyboard for your visual narrative. You are not required to have a polished draft, but what you write should clearly establish the direction you are going and the story you're trying to tell. You should also indicate any accompanying text (such as titles) you plan to use.
BE PREPARED TO EXCHANGE YOUR SCRIPT WITH CLASSMATES FOR FEEDBACK. You will use this rubric to provide feedback for the scripts you read.
Images for Digital Narrative
Identify the images that you
might use in your final digital narrative (at least 20-25). The images
should support the storyboard that you're researching. However, you
are not bound to use all of the images you find in your final project.
You can use pictures acquired on the Web, take your own digital photos,
or scan and digitize your own personal photos.
March 22
Revised Digital Narrative
Scripts
Using the feedback you received
in from classmates, as well as this revision
strategies handout (pdf), revise the rough draft of your script.
Revised Digital Narrative Images
Finish identifying and digitizing the images you want to use for your digital narrative. There is a photo and slide scanner in Ruffner 209 if you need access to one. Please bring a minimum of 20 images to class. You can store them on your Home Directory, or burn the images to a CD.
March 29
Blogger: Question of the Week
Read Robert Coover's essay The
End of Books and spend
some time navigating the hypertext book Teaching
Every Student in the Digital Age, Chapter 3. Now, what do you think
about the potential impact of digital media on education, literature, and
the humanities? Enter your opinion on your blog.
Digital Story
Use iMovie or Windows MovieMaker to develop a 2 minute digital story. There is a good deal of freedom in this assignment. The story should be personal, and, if possible, related to your professional goals. It also should follow the guidelines put forth in The Seven Elements of Digital Storyteling. Your movie must include all of the following components to be awarded full credit:
Story Components-rubric
Technical components
- At least five transitions
- At least three instances of text i.e. opening titles, subtitles, full screen text, end credits
- At least two effects
- Voice-over narration for the entire project, which also can include a soundtrack
- Exported to a CD at the highest quality possible
- Duration of 2-3 minutes
Digital video footage
Make plans ASAP to shoot
approximately 3-5 minutes of DV footage to use for your digital video project assignment
due on the last day of class. This should be a series of
shots with audio that you and your partner (if you have one) can edit together
to make your short film.
Remember that ETO requires
at least 24-hours to fulfill a reservation. Make a reservation now
if you need to check-out a digital camcorder.
Field paper #2 due
April 5
Open lab/Catch up
No assignments due
April 12
Open lab/Catch up
No assignments due
April 19
Technology autobiography part 2
Update the technology autobiography that you posted to your Blog account at the beginning of class. Have your feelings about technology changed? Do you feel more comfortable with technology? Do you feel more confident in your ability to recognize how to better incorporate technology into your professional life?
Also, update the rest of your web site according to what you think are the most important changes that should be made, including adding useful resources you have found and any other projects outside of class in which you are involved.
Project presentations due
Software
presentations due
April 26
Digital Video
Create a 3-4 minute video using Pinnacle Studio 9 (or some other non-linear video editing program). The finished movie should have:
- sound (either taken from the DV tape, or imported separately)
- a music soundtrack
- titles, transitions, and effects
The final movie should be saved as a as a DVD, CD-R (in .wmv, .mpg, or .mov format), or exported back to a DV tape
Show digital stories and/or videos
All work (Portfolio) due
Your 546 web site will serve as your finished portfolio for this class. It should be updated and professional-looking and contain links to your relevant class work.
Burn a CD of all of the work completed for this course. The CD should include all of the assignments for class, as well as any additional work you've done.
Late work will not be accepted.
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