Project 8

I was certain that I was going to detest this course even before starting it.  I had previously been assigned to create a webpage for another class and ended up crying the last few weeks of school because of it.  Also, my experience with computers was limited; I had no interest in getting to know more than what I  needed to know to write a paper.  The first day of this class had me stressed out because the requirements were so overwhelming.  However, when I was introduced to Nvu I knew that my life would never be the same.  The program took all of the hard work out of designing a website and made it fun.

Don't get me wrong, there were many obstacles along the way that I had to figure out for myself.  I had to figure out how to upload pictures which wasn't difficult unless you had the wrong jpeg name.  It took me a few tries until I was able to figure out that the name of the picture can't have any spaces in it or it won't "register" with the computer.  I also had to figure out how to create links.  That actually got to be fun once the skill was mastered.  I kept the design of my website simple at first so that I wouldn't confuse myself or create more work by having to change typeface and colors each time I wanted to design a new page. This worked out for me in the end and I was able to focus more time on my creativity and mastering skills that I had trouble with.

Then Dr. Shi through a wrench into the works and had us begin creating a google page.  I was upset at first but once we got to play around with different features it was a lot of fun.  We were able to add our own touch to it by inserting fun graphics.  I chose goldfish, a notepad, and a clock.  I saw the advantages to having a google site simply because it is easy to design and edit.  As a future educator I think this would be a great way to keep parents informed of classroom activities.  I ended up completing my webquest on the google page because it allowed me to keep the process simple and organized.  I was excited to see the finished product and pleased that I was able to spend some time getting to play around with what google has to offer.  

Once I got good at creating my webpages I wanted to challenge myself a little more.  Dr. Shi showed us how we can link to other pages through uploaded pictures.  I thought this was a great detail and spent a lot of time practicing with it.  I had to upload the picture to microsoft paint, then upload it to nvu (my webpage) then create a link where I wanted the viewer to go.  I got pretty good at this after getting a little help from my classmates.  This might have been the most challenging thing that I did but I'm glad that I kept at it because I am pleased with the results, it adds a little personality to my site.  

One thing that surprised me this semester was discovering all the creative things that I can do on microsoft word.  I had fun playing around with watermarks, textboxes, and images.  I had no idea that you could be so creative on word and look forward to creating things for my future students.  I also learned from a fellow student how to save images from the computer and use them in my own work. I did this for several projects like the brochure and wordpuzzle that we created for one of the projects.  I also played around in word with an image of a mountain by making into a watermark and adding text over it.

I experienced many ups and downs throughout this semester in computer class.  Dr. Shi was always there to remind us that we can do it with a positive attitude; advice that I will carry with me into my own classroom someday.  I had a great time in this class because I got a chance to be my most creative.  My favorite project had to be the digital story.  I felt like spielberg or scorcese after producing my video!  My proudest accomplishment is that I am no longer afraid of computers.  I understand a little more about how they work and look forward to sharing my knowledge with students. This will come in handy for me because students utilize computers a lot more than when I was in school.  The students I have may know more than I do but I do know that I will have a positive attitude and open mind and hopefully we can learn from each other!

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