Lesson Three

Going over all the reading and doing the graded assignment for the week I realized that I did not know as much as I thought about desktop publishing and word processing. Breaking down each component allowed me to really examine what comprises each one. I knew before this lesson that I used both a desktop publisher and a word processor for communicating with my students and parents at school. I decided to go through my saved documents on my computer to see what types of items that I used last year at school. Needless to say I soon realized that all my saved items were not at home, but on my school computer. Thus, I created a replica of a newsletter for the parents/guardians that I should have created. The newsletter is missing some vital parts, but was far better than what I had done before. The one thing that I noticed about the newsletter is that I used very little images on it. I realize that some teachers prefer to use a lot of images on their newsletter, but I find that sometimes this can be a major distraction for the parents who receive these newsletters. There are so many different types of newsletter that a teacher can create, but the main part of using the newsletters is to get across a point to the parents. It is a communication tool that many teachers use. Teachers have to stay available at all times to help not only their students, but the parents as well. As a first year teacher I didn't realize how vital the communication between the teacher and parent can be. Sometimes there is a barrier that is created unintentional between the two, but breaking that barrier is very important. If no communication happens between the teachers and parents it is hard for the student to prosper at a desired level. Creating either a weekly or monthly newsletter to give the parents can keep the communication lines open. I did realize that when I re-created the newsletter that I preferred using a desktop publishing program over using a word processor. With the word processor I felt limited in what I could do. However, with the desktop publisher I had the chance to expand what I was wanting to communicate. Overall, I realize that it depends on what you know. If I had no clue how to use either program I would not be able to create a document in the first place. Learning about technology is to use technology over and over again.