Standards VII

Desktop Publishing

The desktop publishing teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in desktop publishing, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I-V.

I have worked in Desktop Publishing since the days when the phrase was first coined. I took a DTP training course back when color printers were hardly even heard of yet. So what have I learned in TATC Desktop Publishing? Plenty! I've learned about the practical aspects of actually getting your product out there for the public to see, especially in the Internet arena. Having a project where your final product will be printed out on a printer has proven to be a bit different than developing a product that will be published to the Internet. I've learned a lot about universally accessible formats, such as .rtf and .pdf files. I've learned a lot about converting file types from one to the other; and, I've learned about applying the elements of good design to purely electronic documents. I know that each of these areas will continue to be absolute requirements in the future and I'm convinced that the skills I'm developing today will be applied to all the products I create in the future. In that vein, what are my future goals relating to Desktop Publishing? I hope to be able to teach an in-depth course in DTP in which the students will be able to develop professional quality products. I want these products to be related to the real world, giving students valuable experiences they can carry with them as they continue on into their future careers. I also want to continue to expand my skills as the resources for DTP continue to expand. One thing about teaching technology--you're never going to get bored! It's exciting to consider the possibilities for technology in the near- and far-distant future--and I want to be there learning and doing!

Caption 6

Indicators: TA TEKS: 7.5s, 7.6s, 7.13s, 7.1s, 7.3s, 7.10s, 7.35s, 7.14s, 7.15s, 7.16s, 7.28s, 7.46s, 7.34s, 7.33s, 7.31s, 7.30s, 7.17s, 8.1s, 8.24s, 8.44s

Artifact #6

Descriptors: Desktop Publishing, Newsletter, Newsletter Template, Typography, Design Elements

Title: Building Blocks of Design

Course: Desktop Publishing, 104-1, Module Week 2

Date Created: January 21, 2003

Source: Newsletter created by Kim Dean, Content from 104 Interactive Guide 1-2 and 104 Interactive Guide 2-2, Clip Art from Microsoft Clip Art Gallery.

Media: Overall layout developed using MS Word. Masthead created using Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and clip art from Microsoft Clip Art Gallery.

Description: This assignment required the student to first develop a newsletter template and then to "flesh out" the content of the newsletter. The Elements of Effective Design were to be both discussed and demonstrated. The newsletter and template were to be distributed in a universally accessible format such as .rtf or .pdf.

Rationale: I chose to use this product as my artifact for Standard VII because not only does it exhibit the principles discussed in the lesson, it also clearly discusses those same principles. Using the Elements of Design causes this newsletter to be both attractive to the eye and effective in conveying the information contained in the document.

Implications for Future: I will continue to use the concepts discussed in this lesson to create effective desktop publishing documents in the future. I will also continue to expand my knowledge about universally accessible formats. Desktop publishing is not an area that will be phased out as technology continues to advance. On the contrary, more and more individuals will be enabled to create professional quality DTP products, so even more people will be trained in the principles of effective design.

Reviewer's Comments: Your newsletter was interesting and easy to read because of your use of white space, bold type, different sized columns, easy to read font styles, use of drop caps, graphics, and the way you presented the information. Good job!

Reviewer's Name: Sheryl Lamb

Date Reviewed: January 21, 2003

Title: TATC Learner '03

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