Standards: Standard VII

Desktop Publishing

The desktop publishing teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems and 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.

Reflection

This was such an exciting course for me. I started out thinking that I knew quite a bit about desktop publishing since I have used the Microsoft Office suite of products for many years. I quickly found out that I knew very little about designing effective and motivational desktop publishing products. The Non Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams changed how I look at desktop publishing, web page and multimedia products. I believe the principles in this book of contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are extremely valuable to every Technology Application teacher.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating the projects in this course. Even though I have used the Office products, I had not used Microsoft Publisher. What fun it was to learn this software! Creating the business card, newsletter and desktop publishing unit using this software made me want to teach desktop publishing.

I plan on learning more about design principles which can be applied to all Technology Application courses. I think about the information I learned in this course every time I create a memo, letter, web page and multimedia presentation. The information in this course has proven to be very valuable to me.

Artifact #6

Caption 6

Indicators: Standards I, II, III, IV, V, 7.1s, 7.2s, 7.3s, 7.4s, 7.6s, 7.10s, 7.13s, 7.14s, 7.15s, 7.16s, 7.17s, 7.18s, 7.19s, 7.21s, 7.22s, 7.28s, 7.29s, 7.30s, 7.31s, 7.32s, 7.33s, 7.34s, 7.35s, 7.36s, 7.37s, 7.38s, 7.39s. 7.40s, 7.41s, 7.43s, 8.1s, 8.15s, 8,17s, 8.18s, 8.19s, 8.20s, 8.24s, 8.25s, 8.26s, 8.41s, 8.44s

Artifact #6

Descriptors: Desktop Publishing, Newsletters, Using Templates, Layout Design, Elements of Design

Title: A Beginners Desktop Publishing Newsletter

Course: 104 Desktop Publishing

Date Created: January 2003

Source: The content came from Interactive Guides 1 and 2. The images where from Microsoft Publisher.

Media: Microsoft Publisher 2000 was used to create the newsletter. The images used were also from Microsoft Publisher 2000.

Description: This assignment involved creating a newsletter for beginning desktop publishers using the information in Interactive Guides 1 and 2. We were to create a template for a newsletter that could be used in the classroom. The template would then be used to create the newsletter by replacing the headings, text and images. In designing the newsletter we were to utilize the knowledge we had gained from The Non-Designer's Design Book written by Robin Williams. This book focuses on the four basic principles including contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.

Rationale: I chose this artifact because it was an excellent example of a good desktop publishing activity. This activity also covers many of the design principles, skills and terminology used in desktop publishing. A number of these elements are listed below.

• Incorporating a template into a document
• Importing text, images, etc., from one document to another
• Using the principles of design while creating a document
• Working with newsletter elements such as the title, masterhead, headings, subheadings, sidebars, gutters, logos, drop caps, end of story symbols, etc.
• Assessing the target audience for a document
• Taking into consideration color and typography for a document
• Using appropriate images for the right effect

Implications for future: I think this would be a good activity for a beginner to advanced desktop publishing lesson. Writing about good design principles while creating a document is an excellent way to understand and apply these principles. Creating a template is also a good classroom activity. The same template can be used in another activity which would reinforce the skills learned previously.

I also think it would be beneficial to display examples of desktop publishing documents that use the principles of design effectively. Looking at the examples in Robin Williams' book has helped me to create better products by giving me ideas on how to improve.

Reviewers Comments, Names & Titles:
Excellent Design! Very nice use of space, color and layout. It's obvious you have a real talent for DTP.
Kayla Steiner (TATC Instructor)

You newsletter was very well planned. The border going all the way around both pages tied them together. The clip art that you chose was both attractive and professional looking. I would definitely expect to see these in a magazine. I like the text that you chose for your caption. You didn't bold text inside paragraphs but you did italicize -- great work. The font in the masterhead gave a feeling of simplicity which is great for beginners. You color choices were also very appropriate and complimentary. The only suggestion that I would make is the first line of text on the second page could be italicized. It's a great newsletter!
Diana Saenz (TATC Participant)

In every newsletter that really was outstanding, including yours, the content from the Interactive Guides was broken into different articles instead of using it literally as it appeared in the guides. I like the variety of seeing you sidebar on the right of your newsletter. You did a good job of grouping the topical content and accenting it graphically. The layout was very pleasing to the reader.
Jane Able (TATC Participant)

Date Reviewed: January 2002

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