PE6_Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp
by Ginny Holm
I have progressed on my Centennial Park. I was able to add a gazebo, a rounded walkway around the fountain, a few park benches and some trees and shrubs. As you can see I've come a long way from the floating balcony rail in PE1. I still have a while to go to make the park look like what I have imagined. I need a richer variety of shrubs and flowers. I need to add in actual grass and have more people (preferably students) mingling around and enjoying the park. 

My Centennial Park is coming along.

Google SketchUp is still a work in progress. I finally mastered rotating today. I found that the protractor that  pops up is used to determine which axis you want to change. Once you've place the protractor, then you move on to rotating the item in the direction you desire. Obviously that would have been good to know when I tried to place the balcony rail on the town home a while back. 


I think overall this is a fun and great product. I would recommend giving yourself time to really learn it before attempting a real project. The possibilities are endless, but the learning curve (at least for me) was challenging. I plan to add to my park little by little. Hopefully within a week or two I will have it exactly the way I want it to look. It requires focus, and when you are interrupted often it makes it hard to remember some of the tools. I don't think I could have done it without the amazing Lynda.com videos. Those were truly a lifesaver! To check out this great 3D tool, click here.

PE5_Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp
by Ginny Holm

After trying to change the texture of the fountain in the one that I dragged from the Components with little success I decided to try my hand at actually drawing the park myself. I was able to successfully draw the grassy area and pathway and add textures using the materials in the Window/Materials. I found a great fountain in the Components menu.

I watched another video in Lynda.com called Texture Editing that directed me toward the materials window. There was a great selection for just about any item that you could imagine. I plan to add a gazebo and some park benches in my next rendering. Overall I am becoming much more comfortable with Google SketchUp. I feel pretty comfortable in tackling the Centennial project and am pleased with what I have come up with so far.

Word to the wise for beginners, it’s not as easy as everyone says. You need to tackle it with a very open mind and try not to have an idea of what you want or expect. Just go in with a fresh slate, erase Illustrator and any other 2D platform you’ve worked with. You have to literally think in 3D, which isn’t as easy as you would think. I think now that I have watched almost all of the Lynda.com videos (and will watch them all before my final post) and am no longer trying to relate this program to anything else I am actually able to accomplish much more. 

PE4_Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp
by Ginny Holm 
First things first. I watched two more videos in Lynda.com. This time I watch 3D Warehouse Components and Downloading models from Google Earth. I still have four more videos to cover to finish all of Lynda.com’s Google SketchUp information. I learned the following from the videos and am getting on track to my original goal of creating a rendering of a small park with a fountain for our Centennial website.

The components menu is still the place to go. Type in what you are looking for and it gives you not just the components on your hard disk but the entire components online as well which they call a warehouse. For example when I typed in window I had a huge assortment of various windows to choose from.

You can go into components and type in a landmark you are looking for like the White House. I clicked on the little white house and it gave me an example of the Little White House in Warsaw, Poland. Once you click on the image, you can also click on the Map tab and you are shown the actual building in Google Earth. It’s pretty neat and would also be a way to see if the structure you were considering building would fit within the area you intended to build it. You can download the building right onto your document if you like.

Back to my original plan... a small park with a fountain for our Centennial website. I typed small park with a fountain in the Components finder and viola I found literally a small park with a fountain! I have downloaded it onto my document and plan to figure out how to customize it to add the details that I envision in our park. I created a ScreenFlow video on using the Components to import my park. You can click on full-screen view for a better view.

W4 Final Video Option 1

This week's final video project left me with a lot to contemplate. I wasn't really sure which option to go with. I wanted to make a video that I felt strongly about, and create a mood within the video. I wasn't ready to do option 2 as we are still in the beginning phase of seeing how well adding a group Flickr account for the class to share is working out. It's something that I do hope to add to and you'll certainly hear more about it on my AR site. I also wanted to do something that didn't pertain to my AR topic for a change. So here it is. I would love to hear your thoughts...

W4 Reading

by Ginny Holm

           As I research more I am so happy I chose to do my blogs with a little review rather than the concept map. Not that I don’t see the relevance of the concept map, it’s just that I feel like by writing my reviews in this format, I can start my Literature Review more easily. It’s as if I’ve already done an overview and just need to add more detail to each review. Here are my week 4 selections:
Reading 1 by American Psychological Association:

            PowerPoint presentations have often had a negative response from their audiences. Suggestions were made on how to deliver successful presentations that included limited text, more graphics. Presenters tended to read along with the slides which took away from their effectiveness. Written summaries were strongly discouraged as they distract from the presentation because the audience was to busy reading the hardcopy to pay attention to the presenter. It was also suggested to use enthusiasm, voice projection and body language to engage the audience.

Reading 2 by Bartsch R., & Cobern, K.:           

            Students were asked whether they preferred and learned more from PowerPoint presentations or overhead transparencies. Results suggested that studies be done to see what types of presentations benefit different types of students. At the end of the study it was found that students preferred PowerPoint to transparencies.

Reading 3 by Rogers, D.:

            It was shown through data that the majority of American students are visual dominant learners. Benefits of multimedia learning included that it mirrors the way the human mind learns. Multimedia encourages discussion and participation. It was inevitable that technology would become a norm within the classroom.

Reading 4 by Vance, V.:

            Both students and experts were asked the same questions regarding the effectiveness and overall use (both as a viewer and a designer) of PowerPoint. Both students and experts felt essentially the same in regards to narrowing slide content to main points. Students however, felt that it was often difficult to narrow the content down effectively. Students also felt limited to what they could do because of the software’s limitations in regards to visual elements. Students felt that using animation was effective especially in slide transitions, while the experts disagreed.

           

            Well, that was my reading for week 4. As I did last week, I am including a link to my AR Resource page for anyone who would like to use the resources that I found.

PE3_Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp
by Ginny Holm

Google SketchUp continues to confuse and intrigue me. I have watched even more videos on Lynda.com and find them really helpful. I’ve also jumped into the program and am able to easily move, rotate, copy and scale items.

The component tool has many options to choose from.

The component tool, which I found in the Window command in the application bar let me choose from an array of things including people, construction, transportation and more. I’ve enclosed a screenshot so you can see exactly what options are available. There is an interactive feature on some of the components that allow you to “interact” with the objects. Examples include opening and closing the car door (to see if it will hit the wall or fence you may have placed next to it). You can also interact with some of the figures, which allows you to change the color of their shirt. A really cool use of this new feature is for example the fence in my rendering. When I pulled it into the document it was only 5 or 6 panels long. Since it had a green interactive triangle indicator on the thumbnail when I saw it in the component panel I knew it was interactive. It allowed me to select it, and using the scale tool I just pulled it and it stretched and added panels accordingly. You can find all kind of things that you can modify to fit your designs like stairs, windows, etc.

Green triangles indicate the component is interactive.

While I am progressing, I am nowhere near a Google SketchUp artist. I will have to watch a lot more videos and put in more time to figure out if I will ever master this program. I can see where it’s fun to play with, but I want to use it to actually produce renderings for my school. Hopefully Week 4 will bring some much needed aha moments.

PE2_Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp by Ginny Holm
I have watched 4-5 instructional videos on Lynda.com for Google SketchUp. Tip: be sure to use a 3-button mouse, it makes navigation much easier. I learned how to navigate using the orbit, pan, and zoom tools. I greatly admired a group of townhomes the narrator brought in as I am an architect deep inside with poor math skills.


After watching the videos I really just wanted to get started immediately and usually (losing this term loosely) am able to figure out a program pretty quickly on my own.

Lynda.com lesson on left / my new document on right

I easily opened a document that gave me a person on an axis with a lot of green space. I longed for the townhouse that I had seen on the Lynda.com instructional videos and chose File/Add New Building. It brought me to an option to choose buildings from around the world. That seems a bit overwhelming, and I really only wanted a grouping of Charleston style townhomes that I saw on my instructional videos. I tried File/3D Warehouse and was able to type in the term townhouse and choose from many styles that Google SketchUp users had uploaded. I settled on one and brought it in.

Note the little back object near the left townhome,
it's the balcony... more things to learn!

I used my newly learned orbit, pan, and zoom tools to view the design from various angles. This particular model had empty boxes attached. I tried my hand at adding windows by using the rectangle tool. I felt I needed a balcony and used the 3D warehouse to locate a nice wrought iron style. I was able to load it onto my document, but as you can see it’s dangling over the walkway and it’s not facing the right direction. Obviously I need to watch a few more videos…

BP12_OMM_Quizlet.com

BP12 Quizlet.com
A new twist to an old study tool!
by Ginny Holm

BP11_Comments to Jazmin

My classmate at FSO EMDT, Jazmin Jones has found a really neat program that could aide students who are spatial learners as well as ESL students. Find out more by following my comments about WordSift.

BP10_comment to Tremeris

Tremeris Sanders, a fellow FSO student in my ETC class has found a great Web 2.0 that I think would enhance my classroom and allow students to share their culture with one another.

Follow this link to Tremeris' blog and view my comments on Google Earth.

BP9_Quizlet.com

BP 9: Quizlet.com

by Ginny Holm

Every time test times nears in my Graphic Design class, I see the panic in my student’s eyes. The uncertainty, the unease and the questions… “Mrs. Holm what should we study?” “Mrs. Holm is ___________ going to be on the test?” “Mrs. Holm… the questions and anxiety go on and on.

My methods of preparation include vocabulary words, a review that includes visuals that use PowerPoint and group discussion followed by the exam the following day. My test format is a combination of fill-in-the-blank, true or false, and essay. I wonder though, is the vocabulary a good way to study for all of my students? What about the spatial learners? Although the PowerPoint helps them, I wonder when they go back to their dorms is the vocabulary enough for them to study and retain the information to successfully complete their test?

I stumbled upon Quizlet.com via the Web 2.0 links on the Dashboard. My idea was that by using this freeware the students could create flashcards that help them better prepare for tests. The students in my class represent 40 different countries. Some of them have only been speaking English for 3 years or less. I hope that this Web 2.0 tool can provide them with an alternative to studying vocabulary words with definitions.

It’s easy to access, allowing for signup through your Facebook account so you don’t have to create yet another log on screen. Getting started was super easy; you can create your own flashcards or choose from theirs. I decided to create my own, since my class is pretty specific. Quizlet prompted me from there, allowing me to create a few samples. The program even offers the option to upload pictures, which would be great when studying the tools in the CS4 applications. The really neat thing is that it offers you the ability to quiz yourself using the flashcards that you created. The student could begin quizzing themselves immediately. It’s a really neat little Web 2.0 tool. I could see my students using it instead of the vocabulary and they wouldn’t have to worry about losing the papers I hand out. The downside could be Internet access. If your school has unreliable access and the student is solely dependent on Quizlet to study there could potentially be a problem.

PE1_Google Sketchup

Google Sketch up

by Ginny Holm

I can't wait to get started!

Every blue moon at work I am asked to do a rendering of sorts. I’ve done buildings, a park, an athletic complex… but they are always in 2D. I use Illustrator for the most part to do these renderings and overall everyone is happy. I would prefer to have the 3D option available, but CAD software is super expensive and I doubt I could learn it that quickly.

A few months ago one of my students told me about a really neat 3D program. He said it was easy to use. Best of all, the basic version is free. I downloaded it and opened it for a few seconds and that was it. I haven’t had any time to really check it out. I was really excited to read about this particular assignment. I had originally considered Flash, but I have tried an older version and was totally lost. I also think some of the other applications we’ve learned like iMovie cover what I need (at least for now).

The software that I downloaded was Google Sketchup. It’s a 3D modeling program that claims it’s also fun and easy to use. We are currently gearing up for our Centennial at my school. Part of our plan is to build a beautiful park in the center of our campus for all to enjoy. I’ve done a 2D rendering of what I envision the park to look like using Illustrator. I’d like to come up with a 3D version that would show better on the website I am designing for the event. So my software that I’d like to learn more about is Google Sketchup. In the next two postings I hope to have an actual rendering to show you. Wish me luck! r

W3 Reading

       By Ginny Holm    

      I feel like I have my groove on now within regards to this research thing. Finding valid AR topics is something I am pursuing greatly in hopes of getting organized so that I can begin my Literature Review next month without totally stressing out. Below are this week’s results.

Reading 1 by Christie, B., & Collyer, J.

            It was suggested that three factors determine how an audience responds to a successful multimedia presentation. By assessing these three factors, one could use this to model a multi-media supported presentation that would also be successful within the classroom. The three factors were how much research and information was provided. Second, the overall design and creativity of the presentation. Third was how engaged and entertained the audience was during the presentation.

Reading 2 by Colvin, S.

            This article really grabbed me with the title How to Keep the Audience Awake and Learning.  That is exactly why I chose my AR topic - to get my students more involved in the lecture portion of my class. The author stressed the importance of constructed learning, a way of receiving information in a context that is relevant to the student. It involves active, context driven content in which students can collaborate. She encouraged using PowerPoint not to overwhelm and bore your audience but to stimulate discussion.

Reading 3 by Sung, D., and Huang S.

            There were three points to this study. The first was to investigate Taiwanese technical university’s instructor’s use of technology. The second was to see why or why not they were using technology in the classroom. The third was to see what impact (if any) adding technology to the classroom had. Most teachers had incorporated technology within their instruction. Those that had not found that with their workload it was difficult to find and learn technology for their classroom. It was found that using technology increased the student’s understanding of the content.

Reading 4 by Wei, N.

            A very insightful way of presenting PowerPoint presentations was explained by the author. He suggested that one approach their presentation as a movie with a setting, a hero, a problem and resolution.

                        Well, that was my reading for week 3. As I did last week, I am including a link to my AR Resource page for anyone who would like to use the resources that I found.

image from iclipart.com

           

BP8_OMM_Flickr.com

W2 Reading

by Ginny Holm

Look it up in Google Scholar first.

            It’s nice to find references that relate to my topic. This week I’ve found some really good research that I think will really help in my AR topic. My methods are a little wacky though. I find that if I go to Google Scholar and type in the topic I come up with a great selection of relevant material. The problem is that Google Scholar sources are usually not free and require memberships for the complete version. The wacky part is that I can take the title or author and enter it in EBSCOhost and a good portion of the time the reference is there!

Reading 1 by Apperson, J., Laws, E., & Scepansky, J.:

            Instructors taught the same course for two successive semesters. One semester they used traditional straight lectures, while in the second they added PowerPoint presentations. While one group did not outperform the other, it was found that students preferred the lectures with PowerPoint presentations and the likeability of the lecturer increased as well.

Reading 2 by Dey, E., Burn, H., & Gerdes, D.:

            In this study there were three groups. The first group viewed the lecture being presented entirely online with slides. The second group watched the lecture live, with the same slides presented to the first group. The third group watched only the slides online with the lecturer’s voice but no physical presence. It was found that the online students did better remembering equation heavy content that was in the slides then their counterparts who viewed the slides in class while the professor lectured. It seemed that the second group focused more on the lecture and less on the content of the slides.

Reading 3 by Susskind, J.:

            Students were lectured for five weeks. One group received straight lectures, while the other had the lectures presented along with PowerPoint slides. They had their first exam, and then the next five weeks the groups were switched. They too were given an exam. When asked students said they preferred the lectures given along with the PowerPoint presentation. They felt that the lectures were more organized and the lecturer did a better job when using the presentation. Sadly, performance was not enhanced on the exams in the portions utilizing both lectures and PowerPoint presentations.

Reading 4 by Bates, A.W.:

            The author questions whether changes in the way teachers deliver education will necessarily be good or bad or will they merely be different? Media in the classroom allows instructors to present information in many different ways. Using media enables learners to experience a more enhanced, visual understanding of a subject then just receiving information verbally. It would be ideal if teacher, technology and student were balanced and complemented one another.

            Well, that was my reading for week 2. As I did last week, I am including a link to my AR Resource page for anyone who would like to use the resources that I found.

image from iclipart.com

            

BP7_Comment to Rachel

by Ginny Holm
Rachel Ullinskey, and student in my ETC class has found a great Web 2.0 that I think would enhance my classroom and solve my student's yearning for a Facebook type platform,  which is blocked at our school
Follow this link to Rachel's blog and view my comments on Edmodo.

Click here to find out how you can join Edmodo today!

BP6_Comment to David

by Ginny Holm


Hey Everyone! My fellow classmate and friend David Hotler has discovered an amazing Web 2.0 tool - GoogleDocs. Learn more by checking out my comments on David's blog. Thanks David for your insight and for finding such a great Web 2.0 tool!

BP5_Flickr.com

by Ginny Holm

a screenshot of flickr.com

Blog post 5: 
Web 2.0 Tools

The tool I am choosing for this week’s post is Flickr.com. I’m sure most of you have an account with this Web 2.0 tool and use it for personal photos and sharing with friends and family. I have to admit though, that I didn’t have a Flickr.com account until now, and for photo sharing I’ve been using good old email and Facebook.

Okay, now I know I need to quit sounding like a cavewoman and get a move on with Web 2.0… that would be one of the reasons I am pursuing my Masters in EMDT at FSO. So why I chose Flickr.com is for several reasons and they apply to both my AR topic as well as my classroom and have applied to my Graphic Design position as well. I didn’t realize this but I have been using Flickr.com as a Web 2.0 source for the past year. A super talented lady that I know (www.saraparetsphotography.com) has been taking pictures for our school. She takes amazing pictures that I have used in our publications with her permission.  Sara has a Flickr.com site and has let me browse and use her photography. So without even realizing it I’ve been using this site to browse and download pictures. She shares her site with all of our school community during occasions like prom, graduation and other special events.

our flickr.com logo

In my classroom I assign several projects that involve the students finding images and using personal pictures. It’s amazing to me when they say to me “how can I get pictures to use in class to class?” When I need images I use my personal collection from iPhoto and cruise the web. I am also a subscriber to iclipart.com. My students who are in 9-12 grade are totally lost because our IT department has blocked Facebook. They just don’t know where to go or what to do for images (or don’t want to put the effort into the search).  With Flickr.com we can create a class account and everyone can upload images to share.  I have started the steps and will introduce the kids to the account in class tomorrow. It should be interesting to see how our site develops (no pun intended…) our group name is MVA Graphic Design and members can join through invitation.  I’ve posted rules and can even ban members who post inappropriate content. http://www.flickr.com/groups/mvagraphicdesign/mvagraphicdesign

BP4_ProofHQ

Web 2.0 Application Review: Proof HQ

by Ginny Holm

I am the Director of Publications at Montverde Academy where I also teach Graphic Design. I work with a lot of different departments. Our school is designed as a campus and the buildings are scattered about. Everyone is in a different location.

Pricing ranges from $17 per month for up to 500mb and 30 proofs

When I work on projects we tend to email each other constantly. We also walk back and forth from each building. This doesn’t sound bad, and really isn’t… when it’s not pouring outside, or freezing, or 100 degrees. Throw in some high heels and professional wear made of polyesters and silks and things sometimes become uncomfortable for the deliverer of edits. Emailing works to a point, but there is nothing (especially with me being more of a visual learner) better than having a face to face with the changes right there in front of you.  With email, sometimes we tend to get confused as to whose came first or what someone meant. Needless to say wires get crossed and changes aren’t always made and errors aren’t always caught.

I found a Web 2.0 application that could possibly enhance our proofing environment. The application is called proofhq, and I went to their website and watched an interesting video http://vimeo.com/14542789 and signed up for a FREE 14 day trail. I have already tested it to see if it really was fast and simple as the video promised. It uploaded my 4.3mb pdf file at a normal rate of speed. I clicked on the upload twice and it wasn’t ready.

After it did process the file (less than a minute, yes I am impatient) I was able to easily figure out the application. I sent a copy of the file to my other address and was able to open and use the application. I had to open my email, click on the link and I was in. With me being the owner, I was able to put some security features on the document too such as not allowing the original file to be downloaded and who was required to okay the file for final approval.

I am going to present this application to my supervisors this week. I really think it could be beneficial to us in the process of proofing. I’ll have to show them how it works and take into account a learning curve even though it really is easy to use. After all not all everyone is as open to new tools as others.

W1 Reading

by Ginny Holm 
     While in ETC course, we are heading further into our Action Research. This month I have to find all 25 of my resources. Next month our Literature Review is due. I’m trying to stay focused thinking about graduation in 2011... I found the articles at various sites. I’ve attached included a link below to my AR Literature Resources page for those who want to delve further for more information.

Reading 1 by Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray, & Krause: 

     Research and data by Kennedy, et. al. (2008) had shown that a majority of students were exposed to technology on a daily basis and had a wide variety of technological skills. These skills and exposure however, varied by student. Technology usage was mostly for socializing. Students did however, express an interest in learning through technology but could not relate how they would utilize technology to do so.

Reading 2 by T. Armstrong:

     This book was intended to be used as a guide for educators in the practice of teaching to multiple intelligences. It suggests new ways for both teachers and administrators to improve their teaching experience teaching to multiple intelligences. There are also ideas suggested by the author at the end of each chapter that help the reader to incorporate the material learned in that chapter into their instruction.

Reading 3 by L. Griffin:

     This article pointed out the value of video in the classroom. Video engages students and can give them a more hands on experience of the topic. Using video in the classroom allows teachers to stop and explain and discuss what the students are seeing and experiencing. Video can only work if use effectively. It should be used as a teaching aid and previewed by the instructor before introducing into the classroom.

Reading 4 by Smith & Woody:

     Students were divided into two groups and presented with the same course information except that one group was given straight lecture, while the other group had multimedia incorporated into the course. The study found that students from one group did not overall outperform the other. It found that students who prefer visual input did not do well in the straight lecture class. Predictably, students who preferred verbal input did not do well in the multimedia enhanced class.

     Well, that was my reading for week 1. I have to say I was a little disappointed by the study in Reading 4. I had hoped to find more positive results on incorporating multimedia into the classroom. Maybe it’s all about a balance, so that you teach to everyone in the classroom without isolating anyone. I am seeing a subtopic in my AR as somehow adding Multiple Intelligences and left and right-brained learning style.

Ginny's AR Literature Resources Page

graphic from iclipart.com 

            

BP2_igooglscreenshots

Screenshots of my iGoogle PLE (a work in progress!)

Starting to see what PLEs are all about 

BP3_Diigo Group