Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Can She Have Another Round? and, Smoke and Mirrors, border on humor and
reality. In my Graphic Descriptions there is more information regarding my thoughts
and process when creating these images.
The goal of the Drug, Alcohol and Smoking units is for students to make healthy
choices. The color green means, Growth, freshness, health, hope but is also
associated with guilt, disease, nausea, terror (Nelson, 1989); among the most cited
favorite colors (Boyle, 2001). (Lohr, 270). The minute I chose the template, I knew
that it was one that would convey every message contained within the sites pages.
As with any website, the homepage is cover page and its presence defines the mood
of the content that lies within its pages. My target audience is a diverse group of
middle school students so it was imperative that the image represented the most
varied group of students imaginable without being mundane or too stereotypical.
Ironically, I found the image I used on a website targeting teens with acne. The image
represents my mental image of middle school teens.
I wanted the format of my website to be simple, effective, easy to navigate and
interesting. On a website, your navigation buttons are a repetitive element. Colors,
style, illustrations, format, layout, typography, and so on can all be part of the
repetition that unifies the entire site. (Williams and Tollet, 122). I chose the topics
early in the course. Two of the three lesson plans were completed by the third week
of the course. That was extremely helpful as I designed my graphics because my
lesson concepts were front and center in the creative side of my brain.
Within each unit (Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking), there two modules. These modules
contain links to various types of content including images, video, web 2.0 tool and
printable pages. I included printable pages because many educators like to have
paper documentation of student work for grading purposes as well as evidence of
content comprehension. All materials are made available to both the student and
teacher to enhance the goals and topics of the health education lesson.
Asynchronous tools allow learners to engage with the course when it is convenient
for them, within defined due dates and timelines on specific activities. These tools
are the backbone of online instruction, and their well-planned use can determine the
success of a course. (Rice, 187)
Students studying independently or in a classroom setting should use the images on
the main pages of each topic area as a Do Now to get them thinking about each
particular topic. For the educator, the images are an excellent way to create an open
forum of discussion. An icebreaker should be carefully planned, not left to chance. It
sets the tone for future communications between learners; therefore, it should be
fun, creative and expressive. (Conrad and Donaldson, 52)
To eliminate user frustration, I wanted to design a site without redundancy and that
has an intuitive flow from one content area to the next. While each topic has the
redundant third module of Healthy Choices, I chose to place this material in its own
section where it can be used to conclude a particular unit or be utilized as a fourth
unit of instruction. Each independent topic has two modules contained within their
particular unit.
The justification tab links directly to my paper with my ideas and concepts used for
the conceptualization of the images, content framework and website design process.
I also created a lesson plan tab so educators can use these lesson plans in their
classroom and can submit to school administrator. All of the tools on the website are
included in the plans and each educator can continue to amend them as needed.
Graphic Descriptions
Sophisticated Smokers
Color, Depth, Space and Selection
I thought that humor would evoke an unexpected reaction
about the negative effects of smoking. Most students
hear, Dont smoke. Its bad for your health. This image
approaches the subject of smoking from a purely
superficial standpoint, How do you look when youre
smoking? With an image driven society such as ours, this image is one where
discussion may linger for quite some time after the students have seen it.
Color may not be necessary. (Lohr, 269) Chose colors that help the user see the big
picture (gestalt). (Lohr, 269). With a white background, the audience will notice
that the animals are smoking which is abnormal. For this reason, I feel the audience
will see the big picture. The students may ponder if they look as cool as the
animals which are smoking.
Death Rhymes with Meth
Typography and Shape
Meth, a drug once popular only in the suburbs and has
slowly moved into the urban drug scene. Since I teach in
an urban setting, I thought that incorporating a focus on
meth is important because of its devastating effects.
I this image invokes a feeling of fear. That was my initial
reaction where I saw the before and after photos. This
image is effective because the photos are real and show
that drugs can take your beauty. Secondly, these young people aged exponentially
fast.
Asymmetry is form that does not have balanced proportions. Asymmetrical balance
is achieved when all elements in display are in harmony, but the elements are not
symmetrical. (Lohr, 180) The unbalance in this image further reinforces the
unbalanced life of a drug user.
Can She Have Another Round?
Contrast, Alignment, Repetition and Proximity (CARP)
Many kids may not be interested in trying hard drugs but
would be interested in drinking alcohol because it is not
illegal to purchase alcohol (unless you are under the age
of 21), and they see many family members consuming
alcohol for various happy celebratory occasions.
I wanted the students to focus on a 120 pound female
drinking four glasses of beer at a party within an hour. By
the second glass, she is intoxicated at the party. Drinking alcohol underage may seem
like a fun ride, but like a carousel, it will come to an end. The possibility is it will not
be as fun as the moments you were consuming the alcohol.
I Always Dress My Best
Organization and Integration
After I read the text, I found this lesson a personal
challenge. The word chunking stood out. This lesson
focuses on why students should not drink alcohol to
excess.
I particularly focused on beer consumption as it seems
many underage drinkers prefer the frosty beverage.
Then, it popped into my head, Put a costume on the
beer. Low and behold, I found a penguin costume and
dressed up my bottle of beer. Penguins like the cold.
The beer looks cold. This was honestly a happy
coincidence. The lime added some character.
The idea was that dressing up a beer bottle as a penguin
is ridiculous. Drinking too much alcohol underage is
ridiculous. Dont be ridiculous. I added some text in blocks so the message would
pop. Addressing the students with humor prior to adds laughable moments at
appropriate times keeping the mood light and the content engaging.
Compare yourself (you are you so you are no cost) to a stunning home that is free
to the first interested party. You would expect that anyone would want to live here.
From the outside, it seems perfect. After closer inspection, the description describes
the interior is covered in smoke and soot. The point of the image is that is the effects
of smoking are internal and you cannot see the real damage until its too late. You
will have physical symptoms, find out you are possibly terminally ill and think about
the poor choices you made as a teen. Beauty is skin deep.
Grasshopper
From a young age, teens value friendships, are aware of
their image and seek to be individuals at the same time.
In a media-centric world where celebrities and politicians
alike have their most personal daily accounts exploited,
teens are sent many mixed messages about these
individuals actions. Are these acts by adults morally and
legally acceptable? Are these the individuals who they
aspire to be like? Celebrities and politicians are not held to the same legal standards
as the rest of us.
Teens do not truly understand the consequences of their actions. You can be arrested
if you are using or possessing illegal drugs. In a world where kids are bombarded with
test scores, applying to high school or college, and performing well in extra-curricular
activities there is no severe consequence if these particular parts of their life are
imperfect. Yet, using or possessing an illegal substance like marijuana can place a
mark on their permanent record far worse than a D in mathematics. Kids need to
realize some risks are not worth taking.
Sources:
Conrad, R & Donaldson, J. Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for
Creative Instruction. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual
literacy. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson.
Rice, K (2012). Making the Move to K-12 Online Teaching: Research-Based Strategies
and Practices. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson.
Smith, P & Ragan, T. Instructional Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Williams, R & Tollett, J. (2006. The Non-Designers Web Book. Berkley, California:
Peachpit Press.