Leah Franco's TATC Portfolio

It is absolutely amazing for me to glance back at my notebooks and look at the progress that we (I) have made over the year. I remember back to our Vision days. I remember thinking at that time that I could do this; and I remember thinking..."how hard could this be". Well, the difficulty level was there....learning new software, learning more about existing software, researching, exploring terms and concepts that were totally unfamiliar, learning about totally new curriculum, collaborating, answering....I could go on and on because the difficulty went on and on. However, it has been and will continue to be well worth the effort--in all areas.

In Foundations, I acquired a background knowledge about design and design elements that I will carry with me throughout any courses that I will ever teach. By the time I had finished the BEGINNING course, I was astounded at what I didn't know....and what I had learned. 

In Digital Graphics/Animation, I had a wonderful time exploring the world of graphics and animation. After all, isn't that the up and coming technology territory!!! I enjoyed further expanding my vocabulary and applying more skills concerning design, color...and adding features such as hue, saturation, white balance, etc. To cap off my learning experiences in this area, I loved learning to animate objects--the software end was challenging, but the rewards were and will be endless. 

Web Authoring had to be another one of the more challenging courses; however, again, the rewards reaped from this foundation knowledge will be boundless. Implementing the design end of a product again was interesting and very useful. However, the resources and research in this area were and will continue to be very beneficial. Without the emphasis on  HTML (I had a little previous knowledge) and Java scripting, I would have never been as tempted to continue to explore these areas as I am now.

The ever-expanding world of Multimedia was another area that I really learned a lot. I have always been very interested in sound and editing and creating sound files. After our study in this area, I feel competent that I could at least attempt new sound software and include this area in my curriculum. The use of all of the Technology Applications elements in the Multimedia curriculum make this subject very interesting and challenging, also. Again, I feel that this is an area that would be rewarding for my students. After completing these courses, I see so many ways that I could offer a well-balanced, challenging Multimedia curriculum.

In the Desktop Publishing course, we were given a multitude of ideas that would benefit any Desktop Publishing curriculum. Again, utilizing our basic knowledge of design, we created many lessons and generated many ideas that will be useful in the classroom. I learned that Desktop Publishing wasn't nearly as a mundane subject as I had once believed. 

Video Technology was another area that I was so very interested in and also so very challenged by. However, after my experiences, I feel confident that I have a basic knowledge of video products and video software. I feel that this knowledge will lead me to learn more in this area...an area that I would like to teach and be involved with in the future.

Lastly, I have learned a very valuable lesson about portfolios. I now understand their importance in a student's learning experience. I have always respected the use of portfolios; however, after my TATC experience, I believe I will better utilize portfolios in the classroom.

I feel my learning experiences in all of the areas will prove to be priceless. I am also grateful for the "push"...because without participating in this program, I would have always put off learning many of the skills I have obtained. The resources I have acquired from my courses and my fellow classmates will be another high value aspect in the years to come. I feel that I will become a better teacher....more knowledgeable, more willing, more daring, more confident....because of my experiences and the challenges in this program. I also feel that I will always make time to learn....this is so very important for teachers, especially technology teachers. 

As I look back on my artifacts, I know I have learned so much because I remember my "struggle" to complete each and every assignment. In many artifacts, I also recognize my beginning stages. Because of the depth of my learning, I see things I would have done differently. But isn't that part of recognizing your own growth and development. To sum it up, it has definitely been worth all of the hours, the frustration, the agonizing, the nervousness...because in the end, I feel like I have learned so much; however, I know I always have much more to learn.    

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