Is it legit? Infographic on Five steps for vetting a news source

     One of my first assignments for Advanced Applications of Media and Technology was to create an infographic or logo. I chose an infographic based on information from the New Literacy Project on "Is it legit? Five steps for vetting a news source." I thought this would be helpful for my media classes I teach and it would go along with my capstone project on digital citizenship and media literacy. 

Reflection:

    As a teacher of Yearbook, Broadcasting, Digital Media, and such, I already live in the world of "multimedia." I enjoy graphic design and making videos and teaching my students on how to accomplish this as well. While I do know Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, I am starting to learn Adobe Express. However, I really enjoy Canva. Canva is what I made my infographic with, and I think it's a great design tool. My students also love Canva. It's easy to add them to my teacher account, so they can work on social media posts and design yearbook pages. I love the videos that were provided! I now have new videos to show my students for each aspect. I also have new examples to show as well! 

    I picked this topic because I wanted an infographic that I could easily incorporate into my lessons on media literacy. I chose the colors black and white and gray because I thought of a newspaper, which is my journalist background, and the gray because there are gray areas in trying to figure out news sources at times. It's not all just black and white. I chose a simple, easy to read font, as well as simple graphics to get my point across. The QR code to me was a bonus to make the infographic more interactive. 

    I'm always amazed when I create something how people think it's hard. To me graphic design is my therapy. I find designing very relaxing. 

Components of Multimedia

Graphic Design

    I pretty much had a basic understanding of color, typography, layout and composition, and images since I teach yearbook. These are lessons that I teach my students. We select a certain color pallet each year for the yearbook. We do this so the book looks uniform and not crazy with a bunch of different colors. Typography is one of my favorite lessons to teach. My students know that I DO NOT LIKE SCRIPT FONTS! Why? They are hard to read! We pick certain fonts each year for the yearbook because, once again, we want it to be uniform and consistent. Image a yearbook with 20 different fonts! Your eyes would pop out! Below is a funny video that I show my students about font choices. 

    

    Layout and design is also part of my yearbook class. We chose a theme each year and our layout and designs must fit that theme. We have to have a dominant photo on every spread (two pages side by side) and a variety of other photos. Once again, consistency and being uniform to create a nice looking product. We sell our yearbooks, so it is a product. I tell my students that we are the only organization in school where people pay to read your homework. 

Videos and Sound

    I enjoyed the video on "10 Easy Sound Recording Tips." I am in my second year of teaching broadcast, so this video will be useful to show my students and to use in my class. Putting your phone in airplane mode was a great tip! Living in West Texas, wind is always an issue. So it was great to see the pop filters and mic covers to help out. I also tell my students when they are doing an interview with the video camera, always put on the headphones to check your sound. 

    The video on creating online lectures was also helpful. This is something I plan on doing with some of my students. I find that there are students that do better making a video then writing a paper. The checklist mentioned in the video is one I have downloaded. I really appreciate the presenter talking about appearance. Something that often gets missed. It's hard explaining to people, especially teenagers, the importance of looking nice, fixing your hair, wearing nice clothes, sitting up straight, and smiling. Made my teacher heart happy to see this! 

    Adding animations to PowerPoints was also great! I learned a lot in this video, and I think my students will use this as well. Animations can really spruce up a presentation and keep your audience engaged. In the video, it mentions Adobe Illustrator. I am familiar with this program, but if you are not Adobe Express or Canva can make great presentations with animation as well and it has a ton of images to use. 

Conclusion

    Multimedia can be found in every career. To me, it's my livelihood and I try to make it fun and exciting. I enjoyed this week because I got some new resources to use for my students and in my classroom. 

    I encourage everyone to learn about multimedia and to implement it whenever possible. 

References

    [Emmanuel Crown]. (2020, October 11). How To Create Animated Videos With PowerPoint | Beginners Guide [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/DoyE48W3RUY?si=8CKklKMFp-vpjGlG

    [Filmora.io]. (2018, May 13). 10 EASY Sound Recording Tips: How to Record Audio for YouTube Videos [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/t9OQUfLsbUw?si=Ocmi0LQNYXP0Jrde

    [GRUMO]. (2020, April 28). How to record GREAT Video Lectures (39 Tips) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jPvFAPWUGHQ?si=R4PCzA60DJPq-Xwp