Newsletter+Reflection

I really enjoyed creating a class newsletter. I learned a lot about design and layout of documents, most of which can be transferred to web site design as well. As Dr. Yearwood describes, you must focus on contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity (2009). This is frequently abbreviated as CRAP. I noticed during the course of the project, that when creating my personal blog, paper newsletters, etc. I followed many of these guidelines instinctively. I think this largely has to do with me preference for things to be simple and uncluttered.

I learned that I prefer using a template rather than starting from scratch when developing my own newsletter. I want it to look good, but I find the content more important. I want to focus on what is being said, rather than the format it is set in. Creating a well written newsletter is time consuming, with the number of commitments teachers have on their schedules already, it is perfectly reasonable and sensible for them to utilize the templates provided in their licensed programs. One way of easing the burden on teacher time when creating a newsletter would be to make it a team, grade level, subject area, or school wide newsletter. This would allow each article to be updated by a different person, while still keeping parents and students informed and up to date. With the group publication approach, there would need to be a system of collaboration and a method for holding the people responsible for each article accountable so that there would not be any gaps in the newsletter content.

This assignment did help me realize the importance of presentation, especially in this digital age. Having visual cues to indicate what is important is vital in this age of scanning content rather than reading the entirety of the text. One component I wish that had been included would be how to turn the saved newsletter into a web page, so that it could also be posted online. This would provide parents and students another way to access the contained information, and provide a lasting record of events in a place easy to access. It also gives teachers a central access point to see what topics have already been covered in the newsletter. This way no one teacher is responsible for storing back issues, and it also reduces paper use.