Back to school powerpoint reflection

There is always room for improvement on anything I've ever done, but my back to school powerpoint makes me smile! Part of my joy lies in the fact that this is the 1st powerpoint I didn't struggle with... I remembered how to use animations, sounds and graphics, so I didn't have to spend my time searching for those things!

I learned a few new tricks, including taking pictures on my PC and animating the bronco symbol. I also really worked on making the sounds I chose match the feeling of the slide. In my previous powerpoint, I just chose a sound and assigned it to a slide. That worked okay individually, but once the slides were put together, the presentation didn't have a good "flow," and it detracted from what I was trying to convey. My back to school powerpoint flows, and the sounds enhance each individual slide and the show as a whole.

I also really like the color scheme... The blues and greens are pleasant to look at, and the waves of color give it a layed-back, beachy feeling. I think the appearance would make people who might be nervous on back-to-school night feel more at ease!

Content-wise, I followed the ruberic closely and checked off requirements as I went, so everything should be covered. Even though P.E. doesn't seem like it would have much in common with technology, all 3 class "highlights" involve using some form of it, which provides evidence of the role technology will play in my classroom.

Internet Safety/Class rules reflection

The ISTE Standards I met on this powerpoint are numbers 3 and 4. Number 3 states that teachers "Model Digital-Age Work and Learning", and specifically, I met letter C by communicating "relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats." In number 4, "Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility", I accomplished letter A by advocating, modeling, and teaching safe, legal and ethical uses of digital information and technology. My knowledge of technology is demonstrated by the fact I can create an interesting, informative powerpoint! :)
I was really happy with my internet safety and classroom rules powerpoint until I saw Michael's... Mine was okay, but his is a masterpiece! He used many fun, custom pictures in his, and his letter animations were amazing. It gave me a lot to think about in terms of improving my work.

I presented all the required information, and more, but it didn't have much flair. I had a lot of fun with colors and word art this time, which is defintely a big improvement over my 1st cyber dangers powerpoint, but it still seems lackluster. I need to be much more adventurous with using animation, sound, and pictures other than standard clip art. Right now I demonstrate moderate knowledge of powerpoint, but I want my presentations to show expert knowledge of the program and inspire the students who will be viewing them. After all, if we expect excellence from our students we need to model it!

If I was a student watching my powerpoint presentation, I would think it was nice, but it wouldn't be memorable or engaging. So in the future, I will try to use more unusual features of powerpoint to capture the attention of my kids and present information in a more effective manner.

Susie's reflection

I absolutely loved learning how to create my back to school newsletter in Word. I had never done anything like that before, so the whole newsletter was a testimony to my growing skills in technology!
I learned so much on that project... The first really useful thing I learned was how to access Word, and then I learned how to choose a page layout and create borders for it. I had a ball choosing the font and colors to be used, but my favorite thing was learning to use WordArt and clip art. I learned how to insert lines and boxes, too, but it wasn't as exciting as finding clip art and using WordArt.
What I really liked in my newsletter was the "Class expectations" box. It was very simple and well-spaced, but it contained all the information needed. I also liked how the "Parent Corner" turned out; that, too, was really clear and concise and easily readable.
The next time I do a newsletter, though, I will not use a box with single-spaced lines in bold lettering. It came out looking very crowded and business-like, and it really didn't match the casual style I used in the rest of the newsletter. I think I will use the "less-is-more" philosophy when I create my next newsletter, but I will be more adventurous with color!
http://www.spokentext.net/members/susiechristie/Susies_newsletter_reflection.mp3