Posting your 1st photos AND The Camera. Assigned 9/2, due 9/4 - MAJOR/Minor

The first day of school, you got to go take some photos. Now is the time to access those photos and share them with me. If you were not in my class the first day, you will be excused from this assignment!

Now it's time to turn those photos in. Here are the instructions on how to do that:

1. On your Desktop please make a new folder called Digital Media. To do this, all you need to do is RIGHT click on the desktop and select MAKE NEW FOLDER. You should be able to name it immediately. If not, RIGHT click on the folder and select RENAME. I will make sure to help you with this step if you need it.

2. Click on the appropriate link below to access your photos. 

3rd period

4th period

3. Find your name. Click on your name. At the top, find the download button. Click the download button.

It will create a ZIP file and it will put that ZIP file into your download folder. Find your download folder and MOVE that ZIP file to your Folder on the Desktop. Once you have the ZIP file into your personal folder, you can double click the ZIP file and it will open all your photos.

Now open the photo folder and look at your photos. You can use the Gallery Mode to see them bigger. I will show you how to do that.

4. Move your favorites to your AISD Google Drive. You might make a folder in your Google Drive and call it Digital Design - Reeves.

5. Once you have selected your favorite images, make a new subpage on your Google Site, title it First Photos. Insert at least THREE IMAGES and not more than FIVE IMAGES onto that new subpage. Make sure at least ONE is of a person.

6. Once you have the images uploaded from your Drive - insert a text box and write a paragraph explaining to me your photography experiences. Have you used a camera like that before? How did you like using that kind of camera. Have you used any other kind of camera besides your phone? Where and When?

Make sure to hit PUBLISH (you have to do this twice!!) so I can see your work. 

I WILL BE SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO THESE THINGS ON THE SCREEN!!

When you are finished sharing your best photos, please begin the following assignment:

 The Camera - 

Overview: To take good photos, it is necessary to understand the parts of a camera and how they work to take photos. To learn more about cameras click on the following link and then answer the questions that go with that link.

Assignment: Click on the link and answer questions in a new subpage titled The Camera on your Google Site. Make sure you do the following:

Under the words Publish on the top right side, create a new page by clicking the THREE DOTS next to the HOME page and select Make Subpage. Name it "The Camera". If you use the + sign, you will then need to make it a subpage of your home page, by clicking and holding on the page titled the camera, and dragging it into your home page. When you have done this, make sure to go up and hit the publish button. You will have to hit Publish twice. The first time will open the Publish page and show you the changes you made, the second actually publishes it so I can see it. Although Google sites has an auto save function, I cannot see your work until you hit Publish. You should get in the habit of doing this when you make a new page at the beginning of every class period, AND most importantly at the end of every class period before you log off. 

On that new subpage, called The Camera you will answer the following questions. Please read the questions and then click the link to appropriate website for those questions. There are multiple places I an sending you today to learn more about the camera, the history of photography and what all the buttons and screens on the back of the camera mean. We will go into greater depth on all those functions later, but these are the important ones for now.

First, lets take a look at the History of the camera:

https://photographylife.com/what-is-photography

1. Who is credited with taking the first "permanent" photograph?
2. What specific materials did Louis Daguerre use to create the first "commercial photographic material"?
3. What type of images is Ansel Adams famous for?
4. What are the three fundamental settings you need to understand to be an excellent photographer?

Now let's shift to Metering briefly:

https://photographylife.com/understanding-metering-modes

5. What are the three types of metering modes?
6. When does the article suggest you use "Center-weight" metering?
7. What is one very specific subject does the article suggest would be great for "Spot" metering?

Next, Camera Modes:

https://photographylife.com/understanding-digital-camera-modes

8. What are the four Camera Modes?
9. What is the difference between the Aperture and Shutter priority modes?

Take a peek at Focus next:

https://photographylife.com/understanding-focus-in-photography

10. What is the difference between Manual and AutoFocus?
11. Which do you think is best for most circumstances (make sure to answer why you think this)?

How about using a Flash:

https://photographylife.com/when-to-use-flash

12. When should you use a flash indoors?
13. When should you use a flash outdoors?

Let's take a short look at Video:

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-shoot-better-hd-dslr-video/

14. Why is using a tripod a good decision?
15. Should you use auto focus when shooing video (why or why not)?
16. What are the percentages according to the article when deciding to shoot wide, medium and close up (or even extreme close up)?

Finally, lets finish off this assignment with a look at the Histogram:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/how-read-your-cameras-histogram

17. What is a histogram?
18. What will a "low key" histogram look like?
19. What will a "high key" histogram look like?
20. What is clipping?

Now click Publish in the upper right corner. Remember you have to hit the Publish button TWICE. Google Sites will show you a preview of the changes. ALWAYS HIT PUBLISH TWICE or I cannot see it.

When you finish these 20 questions and have published, you are most likely done. I will let you know if you need to do anything else. Some of you may still have some minor issues with your Google Site. Others might still need to finish the "This is Me!" slide. This is your time to finish those two assignments.

NOTE: I will be grading this weekend, so make sure you are caught up. Everyone should have a 100 when we check grades next week

About Me Slide - assigned 8/31, due 9/2 - Minor

Google Sites

If you do not have access to Google Sites go try again right now!!, 

If you do not get access, go do your About Me Slide as instructed below.

If you get access - spend 45 minutes working on your site, follow the directions on the assignment below called Making a Google Site.

If you already had access to Google Sites last class, finish your site and email me the URL, and then work on the About Me Slide below.

The About Me Slide will be due next class regardless if you have access to your Google Site or not!!

ABOUT ME!!

Create a Google slide to introduce yourself to me. I will combine slides and share on my website (and BLEND) so I can find out more about you.

Open Google Drive via the AISD portal, then create a new blank presentation.




Change the layout as necessary. (Slide>Apply Layout)
Include the first name you go by and last name initial in big letters as the slide title;
Fill the entire slide either including words and pictures to tell us about you on the slide.
Include 5- 10 facts or short phrases describing you and things that you enjoy.
Add a school appropriate photo of you (a selfie is fine) unless you make a video. (Go to Insert>Image. Take one with your phone or Chromebook, if you don't have one)
Include least 3 other images showing your likes, aspects of you you wish to share with with the class. Examples: extracurriculars, hobbies, friends, family, future plans, favorites. 

Spread your information out to fill the slide;

Format the slide so it feels like you.
Words should be easy to read and all pictures easy to see clearly.

Next, take a screenshot and save it in your desktop folder. Here is how you take a screenshot, learn it, because you will be doing it a lot this year!!

To do a screenshot - Hold down the SHIFT, COMMAND and NUMBER 4 key at the same time. This will turn your cursor into a little bullseye. You can then let go of the three keys and use your mouse to click and drag a box over what you want to take a picture of. When you finish drawing that box it will take that photo and put it either on your desktop OR in your download folder. Make sure you move it from either of those places into YOUR FOLDER on the desktop. You can then move the item to your DRIVE and from there you can put it on your Google Site.

Move it to your Google Drive.

Make a new subpage on your Google Site called About Me!

Insert the image on the subpage.

Next, go back to your Google Slide and click the SHARE button. There will be a pop-up box. In that pop-up box, look at the bottom and find the Get Link area. Find the blue words that say CHANGE. Click that word. There will be another box that opens. In the box, find the words Austin Independent School District. There is a drop down box there as indicated by the little downward facing triangle. Click that triangle and select ANYONE WITH THE LINK. It will process for a moment.

Make a copy of the link.

Go back to your Google Site, use the EMBED function in the Insert area.

Make your link a CLICKABLE link on your Google Site, under the photo.

Hit PUBLISH X2!!!

You are done for the day!!

Making a Google Site. Assigned 8/24, due 8/28 - MAJOR

  Digital Design and Media Production

Hello and welcome to DDM!!

This year we will be using Google Sites to publish and post your work, notes and assignments about the topics we will be covering this year. This will serve as a portfolio and a point of reference for future uses. You already have access to Google Sites via your school Google Account.

The following video explains in a very simple fashion how to create and edit a Google Site. Feel free to revise this video on your own if you need help when working on the site. 

You will have the rest of the period to get your Google Site created. There are a couple of things you will need to do, including making the site shareable outside of AISD. I will write complete, step-by-step instructions below.

1. Create your home page - use the BLANK when you push the colored + sign. You can set your background image for the head to any image you would like, including images you might have taken. If you use the Google search function, please make sure you get an image that has no copyrights. If you use one of their images, you are fine.

2. Title you page in simple fashion. Your first name, the class name and period number. For example: Michael's Digital Design Site period 1. Do not use your last name. We will make these public, but we want to keep your personal information as protected as possible. Be aware of your digital footprint.


3. Once you have a title, it's time to add some content. Follow the directions on the video to create a text box. In that first text box, please write a one to two paragraph biography (100-200 words). Again, do not use your full name, and only share what you feel comfortable with. You are under no obligation to do anything you do not feel like sharing.

4. Please use the image function to add a selfie. Make it school appropriate. You will need to figure out how to upload an image, or take one using your webcam on your computer.

5. Add a new text box. Write a paragraph (50-100 words) describing why you signed up for this class and what you hope to learn this year.

6. Add a new text box. Write a paragraph (50-100 words) describing your previous experience with digital media, even if it is just taking fun photos with your phone camera. If you were on a publication in middle school, please tell me about that.

7. Create a new page. Title this page Welcome to my site. Add a new header image. Make it a subpage of your home page. We will do this for EVERY assignment, so please figure out how to do this, the video explains it fully.

8. On this page, please upload a new image. I don't care what the image is, as long as it meets two criteria. It is school appropriate and you took it. For this image, you need to take the photo NOW. Go take a photo and share it with me. It can be anything, but you must take it right now. Do not use an old image or one that you took in the past. Show me something fun, or something unique. You may use filters if you want.

Now it is time to share your page with me. Here are the exact steps to Publishing your Google Site and sharing it with me properly.

1. Once you have your work done, remember that Google has an autosave function, so your work is saved, but we want to publish it, so I can easily see it. Look at the top of your page, there should be a set of tool bars. Find the one that looks like a person with a + sign next to their head. Click that person.

2. In the pop-up box at the bottom of the page, find the words Links vary and click the word CHANGE.

3. Find the words Austin Independent School District and use the drag down next to us to change the sharing to PUBLIC. Click DONE.

4. At the top of the page in the tool bar, find the word PUBLISH. Click that button.

5. Change the web address to: First name, DigitalDesign, period #. Example: Michael DigitalDesign 1st. It should separate the words for you.

6. Check the box that says "Request public search engines to not display my site"

7. Click PUBLISH

8. Go back to the tool bar at the top. Find the drag down next to the word Publish. Click VIEW PUBLISHED SITE.

9. Look at the top of the browser window and find the URL bar. Click and highlight the URL and copy it.

10. Open your AISD gmail and compose a new email.

11. In the subject line type: My new Google Site.

12. In the body of the email: Paste the URL to your new Google Site.

13. The recipient is: mreeves1@austinisd.org

14. Click SEND and you should be done. I will update you next class that I have gotten your site and I will show you where and how I will use it.

Mac Basics - posted 8/24 - no grade assigned

 1. Find and set the location of the Dock – Click on Apple icon in top left corner of screen. Scroll down and click on "System Preferences". Find Desktop and Dock. In the top portion labeled DOCK, you can change the magnification and size of your Dock. You can also adjust the Minimize Window. You can also choose to hide the dock so it will only show when you move your mouse cursor to the bottom of your screen.

2. Set the speed of the mouse/cursor – Click on Apple icon in top left corner of screen. Scroll down and click on “System Preferences.” Scroll down to the very bottom of the screen - find the word Mouse and click on it. Here you can change the tracking speed (turn it up so you can move your cursor from one side of the screen to the other without having to pick up your mouse), increase your double click speed (do not make it the fastest possible please), and you can adjust your scrolling speed (generally students like it a little faster, do not increase it as high as possible). You should also UNCHECK the box that says natural scrolling. Finally, click on the button that says Might Mouse Settings. When that box opens, where the RIGHT CLICK is, use the drop down to change it to from Primary button to Secondary Button. Do not change anything else.

3. Open Chrome and save a bookmark on the Bookmarks Bar – Click on the icon in your dock for Google Chrome. Chrome will work for most applications we will be using in this class. There may be times when I specifically instruct you to use a different browser, like Safari or even Firefox, but this is rare and only for specific assignments.

4. Creating/Naming a folder – To create a folder on a Mac, use one of the following options.

1.      Keyboard shortcut (recommended) – hold “command” + “shift” and press “N” key.

2.      Click on desktop to activate “Finder.” On the menu bar, click “File” and scroll down to “New Folder.”

3.      “Right click” your mouse and click on “New Folder” in pop-up menu.

To name a folder, click ONCE on the text underneath the folder. When the text for the folder’s name becomes highlighted, you can edit the name of the folder. Or you can "right-click" and find "Rename"

5. Finding downloaded items – All downloaded files automatically are placed in the “Downloads” folder, which is located in your Dock. Click on the “Downloads” folder to see the various files that have been downloaded.

6. Viewing/Switching between applications – The current version of the Mac operating system features a “Full Screen” viewing mode for certain applications. You can tell if a program is in “Full Screen” mode if the program window completely covers your screen. You can exit full screen mode by pressing the “esc” button on the top left corner of your keyboard. I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING “FULL SCREEN” MODE for typical use in our classroom. It will cause problems and make your life miserable in this class.

Below are some tips on switching between programs on Mac.

1.      To open commonly used programs, click once on the program icon in the “Dock.”

2.      To see all of the program windows you currently have open, press “F3.”

3.      To quickly open other applications, press “F4.”

4.      To hide an active application to see the desktop or another program, press “command” + “H” key. Return to the program by clicking on its icon in the Dock.

5.      To quickly switch between open applications, press “command” + “tab.”

6.      To quickly hide all open windows, press “fn” + “F11.” Press it again to restore open windows.

7. Using the “Finder” – The Finder is what you use to navigate through folders and files on a Mac.

1.      To open a new Finder window, click on the Smile Face icon in your “Dock” or use “command” + “N” keyboard shortcut.

2.      To adjust how files are displayed, click on the buttons at the top of the window just above the file names. There are four different ways to view folders.

a.       As an icon. You can adjust the size of icons by adjusting the slider in the bottom right corner of the Finder window.

b.      As a list. 

c.       As columns.

d.      In “Cover Flow” mode, which provides an image preview of your file.

3.      Each different mode of viewing files and folders has different uses. Learn to use all four of them to effectively use the Mac. 

8. Saving Files – We save ALL documents, photos and downloads onto our desktop. Please create a folder there now with the title: firstname_lastname_DigitalMediaFiles
Anytime we create a new document, please make sure that you save it there, this will include photos, design files, etc. You are responsible for all your work, which means creating back-ups. I highly recommend you use Google Drive to back up work. Some people might even go to the extreme of saving your work folder from your desktop to a portable/thumb drive. I am not responsible for lost work.

We will also use Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, or even Forms throughout this semester. Much of your work will go directly into your Google Site, which you will create later today, but longer pieces over a period of days will be written in Google Docs and automatically saved in your Google Drive. You will be able to turn in that work as a shared file LINK. I will show you how to share properly and it is crucial you share your work correctly. Any work not shared properly cannot be graded and you will suffer point deductions appropriate to how long it takes that to be correct. Please see my blog for further information.

9. Printing – Currently I do not have a way for students to print on their own, but I am usually okay with printing things for students. You can share it with me at my school email, and then let me know and I will print what you need. I cannot print tons of stuff....so don't ask. Color is okay for a couple of things, but not pages and pages....those will need to be black and white.