January

I've met with Linda and her students to talk about generating ideas for a report of information and to describe the process we will use to publish student work. Linda has a projector linked to her computer which allows us to demonstrate the process of searching for, downloading, and saving images from the internet in a whole-group setting. In addition, we can demonstrate the features of i-Movie using this format. We watched student i-Movie projects completed last year by younger children at the school (my previous MTP), to provide an understanding of the capabilities of the software program we'd be using. The students are also working with a consultant from Friends of the Dunes, who comes each Friday and takes them into the field, where they learn about the plants found in the dune environment around the school.

I have begun my own course of study at College of the Redwoods to advance my tech knowledge. I'm taking a digital imaging class, as well as a digital art class. The first course makes use of Photoshop, and the second relies primarily on Illlustrator, but will include Photoshop and In-Design. I have some experience with Adobe CS3 from a five-session Extended Ed course at HSU, but these courses will last an entire semester and will be far more comprehensive. Not only will I be learning about digital art and imaging, I'll be learning how to teach technology from two teachers who have very different styles and approaches. Each course lasts three hours and is held in a Mac Computer Lab. I have assignments and due dates!