Microsoft Word Experience

I think Microsoft Word has great potential for use in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. There are so many possibilities with the program and the products that can be made. Book reports with pictures, research papers with citations and footnotes, scientific and mathematical graphs, and story books with pictures. This means all grade levels can use Microsoft Word for classwork and homework. I believe Microsoft Word has a lot of classroom potential. Beginning in the early grades, students can learn how to use the computer and work on projects. One of my biggest concern with the use of computers in primary classrooms is how they are used and when the children are using them. I find a lot of primary classrooms have no computers or have six computers but are only used for busy work. I think Microsoft Word should be used in the classroom with all subjects, with monitored computer time, and effectiveness and learning constantly tested. I can certainly see potential of using this in the classroom. While I have not yet tackled the newsletter, I have completed the flyer in which I tried a few new things. Although I have a lot of experience with Microsoft Word for newsletters, reports, assignments, and projects there are things I learned this week which I never tried. I used some of the AutoShapes and included a text box inside of them. This works great to draw attention to the paper and highlights the important information. Like many people mentioned before, so many flyers get tossed without being looked at. I believe my flyer will attract people's eyes and only include pertinent information.

Design Principles

I believe these principles are great for everyone to use; anyone designing flyers, brochures, or papers distributed to large audiences. These will help companies attract new customers, better advertise their product, and demonstrate professionalism. With my experience using flyers, I believe I have seen the better end of design. The summer camp I worked at the past three summers distributed a newsletter every week. All of the design principles were included in it: contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity. The heading of the newsletter was in a box with bold faced text. Then, each subheading was bold faced. The rest of the text was regular type. There were two pictures on the front of dragonflies; one on each side of the heading. There were also two grids: one on the front and one on the back, where additional notes and unique information could be handwritten in. We couldn't have everything typed because we were in the woods! Right underneath the name of the camp, on the top of the page, was the contact information for the camp, the address, and the camp director's name. I think an educator should definitely know about this information. For some families, this will be the only mode of communication you have with them other than phone calls and conferences. As the educator, you want to portray professionalism and the importance of the information you are sending home. Colored paper and text will attract the parents eyes to the page but the information must be displayed on the page in a way which will allow them to follow along and read all the information. For students, it is important for them to learn how to use the computer and word processing tools. Learning the design principles will allow them to practice. And as the old wives tale goes: practice makes perfect.