I can't believe it is nearly June.
Since my last entry I have been immersed in Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Image manipulation, image size, canvas size, web page size, resolution, html, applets, slidshows, and disappearing podcasts pepper my dreams.
The image above was created in Photoshop - a montage of my grandparents, survey map created by my grandfather in the early 1900s and a railway survey camp in NZ bush.
This is the banner on my 'Woisin:Stewart Genealogy' homepage. This mini-project is my practical way of learning about webpages, dreamweaver, photo manipulation and preparedness for the web.
I have visited UCOL a second time. The best learning tip I picked up was that there is more to enhancing photos than just contrast and brightness. Levels and curves, as tools, provide far more realistic photo enhancement. My two workshops taken in Palmerston North were on webpage development and preparing photos for the web.
I have discovered applets and spent hours trying to find a freebie for my webpages. Problems too numerous to mention have raised my frustration levels. When I have the pages and site ready for publishing on the web I will provide a link.
My art nightclasses have whetted my appetite to further explore my creativity and inspired me to enrol in the Year 11 Visual Art course through the Correspondence School. I have spent two days so far with drawing - lines, tonal shading, crosshatching, perspective and showing depth. Absolute fun!!!!
One of my objectives is to produce a careers DVD for secondary school students to showcase and inform about careers in the visual imaging fields. As groundwork for this I have contacted numerous businesses and industries asking for a meeting and if they would be willing to be part of this enterprise. There are some wonderful people out there who have given up valuable time! So far I have the following:
Video Production: Outpost Digital Media www.outpost.co.nz/new_site/video.html
Photographer: Kevin Bills Photography www.kbphotography.net.nz/
A huge thanks to these busy people - they have been helpful, interested and willing to provide a total newbie with assistance and time in their busy schedules.
My next steep learning curve is to be able to video interviews; collect sound clips, resources, examples of work, edit and learn how to put these into a professional DVD!
Podcasts as a tool for engaging learners has also piqued my interest. Pt England school in Auckland has a proven record and researched facts proving their value with reluctant readers.
I have been investigating this further as a possible proposed elearning initiative for my school. Dorothy Burt, Pt England's elearning faciliator, has been generous with her time in clarifying the technical minefields of hosting, publishing and accessing podcasts. I may look to a future visit with her to gain a more indepth understanding.
Have a look at their website:
My own podcast, created after RED Bus Tour, has now become inaccessible!! I created a .mac trial account to host it and now that has run out. I am in the process of trying to work out how I can post it on this Blog page. Lots of strange things to learn like rss feeds!
Watch this space!
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