Assignments 1 & 2 & 3

So this is my first attempt at blogging. I like the idea of blogs and sometimes I even read them...I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day, though, to blog on a regular basis. My sister, on the other hand, blogs ALL the time. I just say, "It must be nice to have all that time on your hands." But, since I am required to do this for my Principles of Instructional Technology class, I am making time. :)

Assignment #1 required us to create a Pageflake and include a number of elements such as what I believe my current technology level is. I had never heard of Pageflakes before so I was instantly intrigued and yet nervous that I wasn't going to know what to do. I consider myself to be on the intermediate side of technology. I use technology daily but I am by no means an expert. I do find most technology to be pretty user-friendly though (for the most part) and I can typically figure things out without having to read the directions. I guess that means I am more of a hands-on learner. Anyhow, the assignment was great and Pageflakes are very user-friendly. I enjoyed creating all of the different little flakes and adding colors and images to make the page fun. I can totally see using this in the classroom as a way to communicate to my students or even give them an assignment to create their own Pageflake for class. It seems to be much easier to maintain and manipulate than a traditional website. Check out my Pageflake at http://teacher.pageflakes.com/kslevin/27632643

Assignment #2 required us to create a newsletter using a Wordprocessor. This assignment was very easy for me as I create newsletters and training documents all the time for my current job. I prefer to use other programs for these documents such as Adobe InDesign because I find them easier to manipulate when adding images and text boxes. The columns in Word always drive me bonkers and this assignment just confirmed for me how much I despise using Word to create newsletter-type documents...lol! I decided to create a mock syllabus for a seventh grade science class....hummmmnnn...for some reason I cannot get the image of my newlsetter to appear under this...I will need to work on that! Maybe I'll have tread some directions! :(

And this brings me to assignment #3...the BLOG. Woo hoo! I have succeeded in writing my first blog. I guess I have more to say than I thought I would! Ha!