EDLD+5366+Reflections

EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics was one of the most fun and exciting courses that I have taking in this program. Before taking this course, I had no prior experience with animation and design. The assignments were well developed and allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of all the design concepts. Having no prior experience with animation and design, the readings gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed in order to successfully complete my assignments each week. Although I felt that week five reading was not consistent with the first four weeks reading, it was still enlightening and fun to read. The first four weeks readings covered material dealing with design, while week five reading covered meeting the needs of diverse learners.

Initially, I was very uncomfortable with the idea of knowing we had to create a newsletter. With no prior experience with designing, this created a serious challenge for me. I felt that it would have been a good idea if we would have been put in groups and were allowed to collaborate on a newsletter. This would have been one thing about the course that I would have changed. The idea of collaborating with other classmates would have been a greater experience. Begining this assignment, I thought we would have been able to use one of the templates loaded in Microsoft Word or Publisher. After being told that we could not use a template, I knew that it was going to take more time than I had expected. I have only used Microsoft Word in order to create a text document. Using it to create a newsletter was frustrating because I did not know where all of the functions were located and which function did what. The readings in week four only explained how to evaluate and plan a newsletter. I was hoping to get an article or video on how to create a newsletter using Word or Publisher. I took it upon myself to look at a video on YouTube that gave me an idea of how to create a newsletter using Publisher.

During the web conference for week four, I was able to collaborate with classmates on some issues that I was having with the assignment. My classmates were very helpful and I was able to move forward with confidence in creating my newsletter. I now realize the importance and impact that collaboration has and I lok forward to collaborating with classmates on furture assignments. While creating my newsletter, I made sure that I applied all four principles of design. I used slab serif on a couple of my headings to draw attention from my audience. As Yearwood stated, "It draws attention to the edges of the letters, emphasizing word shape" (Yearwood, 2009). After creating my newsletter, I now have a new level of respect for professional designers. This assignment really brought out the creative side of me.

As a lifelong learner, this assignment motivates me to take advantage of any opportunity that allows me to exercise the knowledge that I have acquired. I truly have enjoyed this course and all of the challenges that it presented to me. I plan on using this knowledge in other areas of my life.


 * __References__**

Aunjar (2010, November 9). How to Create a Newsletter with Microsoft Office Publisher 2007. Retrieved from []

Yearwood, J. (2009,July). Basic Elements of Page Design.

Lamb, A. (2005). Planning Newsletter. Retrieved from []