Tools of Choice

This week we were assigned the first three parts of our five part final exam. Using any tool of our own choosing, we were to create a flyer, a brochure, and a newsletter. All three documents had to be aesthetically pleasing and pertaining to education. It was difficult at first because we had not been taught how to create these documents. However, with the use of any tool that we wanted, it made the assignment seem exciting. I love the opportunity to be creative.

The tool that I chose to use was Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office is a program that I have used many times in the past, so I am familiar with it. I started by making the newsletter first. I have made newsletters before, so I figured it would be the easiest part. I knew right away that I wanted to do a December themed newsletter. It is currently December. And December is my favorite month. I decided that I wanted to include the following sections in my newsletter: Note from the Teacher, Book Spotlight, Student of the Month, Spelling Words, School Food Drive, Parent and Student Reminders, Important Announcements, Upcoming Events, and Thank Yous. Once I typed up all the sections, I searched the Internet for Holiday themed graphics. Once my newsletter was complete, I decided to work on my brochure. I changed my mind several different times. I couldn't decide what I wanted my brochure to be about. Finally, I decided that my brochure would be centered around informing the parents of my students about my class. It would be something that I could give to parents on Back to School Night, sort of a parents guide to my classroom. Working on the brochure took a lot of time. I had to think about what to include and how to organize it. Finding the right graphics also took a lot of time. And then every time I would insert a graphic, all of my columns would shift. It was so frustrating. However, after about 3 hours, I finished my brochure. Next came the flyer. The flyer was probably the easiest of the three documents. It didn't take me long to decide that my flyer would be advertising a play. The play would be The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. When I was in school, I saw this play and it has always been my favorite Christmas story of all time. Once all three documents were done, I sat back and admired all of my hard work. This assignment was difficult, but also a lot of fun.

I plan to use what I had learned from this assignment when I become a teacher. I will be making weekly newsletters for my student's parents. Newsletters are a great way to keep parents involved and informed about their child's education. I also plan to make a brochure similar to the one that I made in this assignment for parents on Back to School Night. I will hand out these brochures to all the parents of my students. The brochures will introduce them to myself as well as to my classroom. I am sure that as a teacher there will be many events for which I will need to make flyers for. Some things that I can think of are: bake sales, parties, parent-teacher conferences, meetings, plays, fairs, fund raisers, and so much more. There is not a doubt in my mind that I will use the skills that I have developed in this assignment when I become a teacher.

This week's video is my favorite reflection video by far. I love Schoolhouse Rock! I remember watching Schoolhouse Rock when I was in school. I still remember all of the Schoolhouse Rock videos, including this one about Nouns. My favorite Schoolhouse Rock video was 3's a Magic number, which is why I choose to do my vidcast using that song. The great thing about Schoolhouse Rock videos is that they are both educational and fun. Children like them and learn from them. Learning things through music is a great way to remember important concepts. Great video!