Digital+Graphics-+Reflection

Before taking this course on graphic design and digital graphics, I never considered all the thought that goes into designing posters, cards, or newsletters. After reading about design principles in week one, I was flabbergasted at the amount of thought that goes into designing. The four principles (contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity) are in everything we see around us. The assignment in week one helped to reiterate each design principle, making the assignments for weeks two and four easier to manage. After learning about these design principles, I had a completely different idea about how I would design my personal logo. Implementing these principles really brought my logo to life and gave it more meaning that it would have had otherwise. Utilizing these design principles also helped me create a user-friendly and well-designed newsletter. Being able to read about and view other logos and newsletters on the internet also helped me with my design. Being able to read and see the information, as mentioned in the article on multimedia learning, helped me understand what I was to do and helped my express that understanding by creating products. This is an example of what Wahl discusses in her article on using technology to meet the needs of all learners. Overall, all of the assignment tasks that were completed throughout the course were very relevant to the intent of the course. I always knew that technology was important in education, this course made it extremely evident how technology can also be used in “fun” ways to enhance learning and overall student production. The discussion board was an excellent source for students to keep in touch about expectations and to see what others were doing. I found the many different interpretations of the same assignments very interesting and revealing. Teachers should utilize rubrics as much as possible to establish student expectations. This allows for many correct interpretations of the same assignment!

References:

Yearwood, J. (2009). Design Principles. Lamar University.

Wahl, L., & Duffield, J. (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from []

Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K12 Classroom. (2008, September). Retrieved from []

WestEd Regional Technology in Education Consortium (RTEC). (2004). Technology tips for differentiated instruction. Retrieved from []