Desktop Publishing

Desktop publishing is used to create pages that incorporate text and images. In education, desktop publishing can be very useful. Educators and administrators can use various software applications (microsoft word, adobe pagemaker and more) to create newsletters, calenders, advertisements, presentations, certificates and much much more. Students can also use these programs to create flyers for events, the school newpaper, books and projects.
"Principles of Design" by Jacci Howard Bear describes the general rules that can be used to create appealing and effective desktop publishing designs. They include balance, proximity/unity, alignment, repetition/consistency, contrast and white space. Elements on the page should be evenly balanced in order to avoid sending the wrong message. Unless you want to have the elements unbalanced to emphasize a particular part. Proximity/ unitiy refers to how close or far apart the elements are to one another and if the content is in order. This will organize your creation and not cause to much clutter or confusion. Alignment is how the publisher decides to place text and graphics to make it easier for the reader to read. Using to many fonts and graphics can also cause confusion for readers, sticky to only a few fonts and graphics can allow readers to get the point without being overwhelemed. Contrast refers to the size of different elements and the colors. Designers should use colors/patterns/fonts that are readable and important information should be bigger. The last principle, white spaces, is the amount of space between graphics and text to make it easier to read.
Besides the principles of design, there are "12 rules of desktop publishing" by Jacci Howard Bear, they are:
1.Use only one space after punctuation
2.Don't use double-hard returns after paragraphs (pushing enter after each paragraph)
3.Use fewer fonts
4.Use ragged-right or fully justified text
5.Used center text spairingly
6.Balance line length with font size
7.Use all caps with the right fonts
8.Use proper typographical punctuation
9.Use frames, boxes, borders with a purpose
10.Use less clip art
11.Use more white space
12.Reset software document defults
*All these rules are the authors personal selection, the designer shoud base everything on what looks best for their end product. As long as it is readable and send an effective message.

Powerpoints and Webpages

Powerpoints are great for teaching lessons, expecially when there is a lot of information. A good power point presentation only notes the key points for any given topic. Using paragraphs of information is not the correct way to construct one. Bullet points are great to list pieces of information that the students need to know for future tests and projects. Then they are able to go back into their radings or notes that they have taken and study or do a project. Powerpoints work best when the students are able to read them, using dark background and light text works best. The font and pictures (centered with text) should all be reasonably large.

Webpages, when used in the classroom and in everyday use really sould be creditable. Using Cornell University's, 5 Criteria for Evaluating Webpages, can ensure this. They are 1) Accuracy: author provides contact information and the article is purposeful 2) Authority: the author(s) are qualified and is published in appropriate URL 3) Objectibity: Who was the website written for and is it biased 4) Currency: website is upto date with no dead links and 5) Coverage: website is free of cost and all information is viewable. If the website meets this criteria it is considered a "good" website. This is important because you don't want to use information that is inaccurate and teaching/ preacticing this criteria will help your students in the future.

Having a class website is a good way to enform students and their parents on what is occuring in the classroom. Assignments and events can be posted online to provide easy access to students. This information should also be available offline to students who do not have internet access at home. This website creates a connection to parents and guardians that do not always have the time to be involved activley with the school. It also creates unity, where students can access articles that you find interesting or are needed for projects.