Microsoft Publisher

                                                                                                                                                    25/08/2010 

Hello,

In today's lecture I had learnt about ePortfolio's. I did not know what an ePortfolio was until today's lecture. I now know that an ePortfolio is, a 'digital or electronic portfolio'. It is the collection of  individuals work, ideas, reflections, achievements and progress developed across time (across all disciplines) -unassisted and annotated. As new work is completed the portfolio gets updated. 

In the first part of today's workshop I had learnt how to set up an ePortfolio using Microsoft Publisher. I had learnt how to change settings, save work and use certain features such as choosing a website template when creating an ePortfolio. I had also set up a table of contexts and learnt how to change the titles to what I consider appropriate and relevant. I was comfortable using Microsoft Publisher as I am familiar with the program. Therefore I will be considering to use this program in the future when I need to create my ePortfolio.

There were several websites that I found useful to refer to when creating my ePortfolio. These included;

(1) Mahara: http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios

(2) Innovate; Journal of Online Education : http://www,innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=369

These sites allowed me to grasp a better understanding of the term ePortfolio and to understand that an ePortfolio offers ways of making meaning of information through reflection and social construction.  

The second part to today's workshop was designing a brochure, using Microsoft Publisher. The reason for this activity was to see how I could use this activity in my classroom.  I first explored the program and then decided to pick my favourite holiday destination and make a brochure of it. The aim of the brochure was to invite others to come and visit this beautiful  holiday destination. I had conducted some research on my favourite holiday destination which is the Greek Islands. I then looked for eye-catching pictures that best represent this destination. Photos included beaches, Islands, a map and towns. I then decide to put my brochure together. So my front cover consisted of the title of the destination followed by a picture. I then put my information about the destination inside the brochure. The type of information that was included were prices, hotels/resorts and some information on the culture of the Greek Islands. I had also included a picture of a map to show where the Islands are located followed by a picture of a view from one of the resorts on the Island.

I believe this is a fantastic activity for students to complete as they learn how to use Microsoft Publisher, they learn what a brochure is , features that are required, while learning to conduct research and be creative. This would be a fantastic assessment for grade 3-6 students and can be used across all subjects. e.g. English- this activity could be used to describe a town or place that their novel is set in.   

My Brochure: Santorini