I have a couple of things I want to do which will fit nicely into my final ’12 things’ PD.

1. I want to find an app that will replace me. Hmmmm. Might sound odd to you but as a design teacher I am asked to do quite a few ‘little jobs’ that when added up amount to a lot of time. I am practicing saying ‘no’ in the mirror but I also would like to suggest a DIY option when asked to design a poster or invite for an upcoming event.

My search thus far has lead me to something called Glogster. http://glenniebakes.edu.glogster.com/dyi-poster/

It is easy to use – just upload images, use text boxes and items from the Glogster tool box and then publish. Above is my first play around.

2. The other ‘thing’ is more student focused. I have been searching for a more suitable app for Art student to create e.portfolios with. I use WordPress as a learning journal for the Web Design class but I was hoping to find something more ‘arty’ for the Graphic Design class.  My first stop was at myfolio. I set up an account and played around with the upload and sort functions. I wasn’t completely sold on it; it just felt a bit clunky and I wasn’t that impressed with the way the folio looked.

My next stop came via a recommendation from one of my AP Art students. So off to Carbonmade.com I went. Now this I liked! The set up was really easy, the presentation of the folio offered a couple of choices and looked much cleaner. You can organize work into different sections which I thought would be great for students who take a couple of art classes and want to keep adding to the folio. So, the Graphic Design class will start their e.portfolios with Carbonmade next week. If you want to see how it looks I set up an example site to show the class http://gbaker.carbonmade.com/.

And, that’s completes my 12 Things.

Thanks ASIJ – TMIC!