In today’s class we learned about multimedia tools and how to create graphics using various platforms, particularly PowerPoint! Which turns out to be super underrated. I hadn’t used PowerPoint in a couple of years and totally forgot how many fun things there are and how much variety there is. I was especially impressed by the aesthetic slide templates because I thought PowerPoint had ugly slide options for one reason or another, but I was very wrong about that. I also had no idea how to change the pages from landscape to portrait to create activities and worksheets. When it was our turn to start building, I immediately had to try it. It was a little complicated trying to find the function to change the layout; I have the UVic PowerPoint and perhaps different formatting. I eventually figured it out by changing it to letter size and moving the page’s orientation to the left. After that, I moved over to Canva, a graphic tool I love and use all the time and decided to make a banner for my website. I wanted to create something simple and purple to match my website; however, I started finding these cute elements, went to town and made the image above. I am still playing around with it, so you’ll have to wait and see for the final product! It was so much fun making it; it felt very nostalgic when I used PicCollage during the Tumblr era from 2013 to 2017. 

Learning about multimedia and graphic tools is so important for incoming teachers. There are so many resources for teachers, but sometimes, when you want to teach something specific or the layout of an activity sheet is not aesthetically what you’re looking for, teachers turn to platforms like PowerPoint or Canva to make their own. I remember volunteering in Grade 2 French Immersion class, where the teacher used Teacher Pay Teachers to find an activity sheet or project for Mother’s Day. She loved the formatting and idea of one of them, but they were in English, and she said this is a common problem in a French Immersion school as there are not a lot of resources tailored to the French Immersion level. Many worksheets and activities are from Quebec, France or other advanced French-speaking countries. I asked her if I could make one similar to the English one in French on Canva, and she said go ahead, so I created the one above; the teacher loved it and used it. That is why teachers must share their resources, but more importantly, they must be aware of the options for adapting and creating resources using technology. 

After class, I got inspired by my peers, who helped me get to know the teacher banners. It was such a cool idea that I made my own! I also made this one on Canva and added photos of me to give my future students a look at who I am. I included pastries cause, of course, a couple of my travel destinations as I love to travel, me with my best friend at a concert, a couple of goofy photos, a photo with one of my paintings as I love using creative outlets, me at the beach has it’s one of my favourite places to be and signify that I’m from the island and of course a photo by Taylor Swift as I am a Swiftie💖. Then, I used a text sticker in a fun font to write what my students would know me as. At first, I wanted to make a collage and selected a bunch of photos, but as I started, I realized that would probably overwhelm students, so I kept it simple yet fun. I think I will add some graphics here and there to add some pizzazz.