Shape Tools

After I finished reading Chapter 10: Shape Tools,  it was undeniable what image I needed to create. My students, who are freshman, will create a "healthy plate" as their culminating project after participation in my instructional unit on nutrition.  

Students have a difficult time visualizing what a healthy plate looks like, not only with respect to what types of foods go on the plate, but the quantities of the foods as well.  I decided to use an oval for my base shape to model an actual plate.  Lohr, 2008, states that a base shape should be created as an underlying instructional visual with type and other design elements around the shape. (p. 250).  I divided the oval into separate parts, with each of those parts representing the quantities of food students will be putting on the plate in their final project.   I incorporated two font types; Broadway for the bold large text outside the oval and Tempas Sans for the text inside the oval. I also tried to help students visualize the quantities of the different foods by varying the text size based on the amounts of foods within each of the parts on the healthy plate. 

I have incorporated circles and triangles into my graphic as well.  Lohr explains that shape improves instruction through the use of simple shapes such as circles and ovals which imply harmony, show processes, focus attention, and show elements of systems or subsystems” (2008, p. 250) My graphic uses ovals and circles to help students visualize the elements of a healthy meal. 

As usual, I had our elementary art teacher and good friend look at my visual to help me make it better. Initially, my visual was simply black and white, but he suggested I add some color to increase its appeal to students.  I decided to use the glow effect and our school colors of black and orange.

Lohr, L.L. (2008).  Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ:Pearson

Typography

Type can be a powerful tool when representing concepts.  Lohr, 2008, states that type can even be used to express emotion or to enhance a message (pg. 213). This unit of instruction will focus on the processes involved before food enters the mouth to when its left over products are eliminated, and my images represent important processes students will need to understand.  My learners are freshman with varying reading ability and skill levels.

Lohr explains that type can be aligned to the edges of lines, shapes and pictures to create meaning. I've aligned the word "processes" around a spiral to help the learner understand that some processes are ongoing and don't necessarily begin or end at any one particular spot.  In addition, I've aligned the word absorption with the shape of a semicircle to represent the curves of the stomach and intestines and used color to show how the word absorption seems to dissappear; as if it had absorped into the color black. I've used contrast in my images as well.  In addition to aligning to shapes, Lohr, 2008 explains that contrast can be used to show the "organizational and communicative power of type" (pg. 213). The contrast and dissolved look of the word digestion help to explain the process itself. Proximity is a tool used to show relationships and helps the learner to determine how important the text is to each other and can be found in my last word, elimination.  

My reviewer was a little confused about the first image and wasn't sure what message I wanted my learners to get.  Since processes are ongoing and really don't have a beginning or end, I would probably use a simple circle instead of the spiral effect.  However, the last three words were very easy for my reviewer to understand.  

Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Universal Design For Learning

Universal Design for Learning

After reading and researching about the concept of universal design, it has been a struggle for me to find a picture that exemplifies the true, ever complex meaning and multitude of variables that have an impact on it.  I searched for examples through various websites focusing on universal design for learning but I could not settle on just one; so I created one myself.  My example isn't a technical drawing or a real life picture of universal design in action, however my example is a visual representation of the meaning of universal design.


The small picture of crayons in the center of my image represents the various students in my classroom who come to me with such a wide range of abilities, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, preferences, and backgrounds.  From the center of the picture I've spiraled the text with the smallest text closest to the picture and the largest text away from the picture.  I did this because with universal design the individual differences, or varying abilities in the classroom should not even been seen in the classroom, so that text is the smallest.  As the words spiral out, the larger the words the more the text moves towards universal design concepts such as accessibility, functionality, clarity, and everyone benefiting.  These words are the largest, and within the classroom, should take precedence over the smaller individual words.  (Lohr, 2008) states that "the goals of universal design focus on making information and learning accessible in the broader sphere of life for all people". (p. 8)

 Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Evaluation Assignment One

For our first assignment, we were asked to think about a project we recently were involved in.  The project I chose to focus on was my family reunion of which I am the organizer and planner.  We needed to analyze the project by describing its purpose, goals, and activities, along with expected outcomes.  Then, we were asked to describe which definition of evaluate we most strongly relate to.  I chose to create a PowerPoint and upload to Youtube.  I hope you enjoy my presentation. 










Reference:

Boulmetis, J., & Dutwin, P. (2011). The ABCs of evaluation: Timeless techniques for program and project managers. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.