Graphics

Graphics
====Appearance isn't everything, but creating eyecatching graphics for your classroom can add visual appeal to otherwise drab posters, presentations and communication. Appealing graphics can be essential in grabbing your students' attention and interest in classroom or extracurricular activities, and it can be vital to your communication with parents and colleagues. A good graphic can be like a fantastic hook at the beginning of a novel...it is certainly not the enitre story, but it is definitely what gets you interested.====

Read through and explore the links and apps. All of the photographs are a link to a webpage, and you will find many wonderful tools to add some spice to all of your graphics!

Remember PowerPoint is a great place to create posters and signs that can be saved as jpegs. These jpegs can be put onto your blog or printed on the school postermaker. If you are a little more daring, Photoshop is also a great place to create beautiful, high quality images. Photoshop is not a free program, but if you are interested in using it often, it is available at a [|discounted rate for teachers].

Create a poster to display in your classroom. It can be a poster for anything. You may want something related to your content area, a quote or book covers.

 * ====Download two new fonts to use on your poster. It is a good idea to pair a script font with a block font so that the words don't get too difficult to read.====
 * ====Find the fonts that you like on one of the font websites included in the PowerPoint. Click download beside the font, and select open. When the folder opens you will double click the font. A box will pop up that has examples of the font, and you will click Install in the top left corner. The font is now installed into your font folder on the computer, and you will have access to it in all of the applications that you use. If you are currently working in a program when you download the fonts, you will need to close and reopen the program before the font is available.====
 * ====Use one of the backgrounds that you find from the background generator websites to spice up your poster. There are also many backgrounds on the Pinterest link.====
 * ====If you would like to add a photograph, there are great copyright free options on the [|Morgue File website]. This part is optional because many posters are beautiful with colorful backgrounds and unique fonts.====
 * ====If you are using PowerPoint to create your poster, save it as a jpeg for easy printing options.====
 * Post your file to the Edmodo page. Don't forget you can print your poster on the postermaker at your feeder Middle School.

Ready to Level Up: +1 for each font download +1 for each background saved +10 for creating any educational promotion materials that include new fonts, backgrounds or graphics (such as posters, flyers, handouts, logos, etc.)

Revisit Previous Challenges for Extra Points:

Multimedia Storytelling
+1 for every storytelling app you explore +5 for every digital story you use to introduce or review a lesson +10 for sharing new students' products online for parents and the community to admire (remember to keep student names private)

Digital Citizenship
+5 Embed another Digital Citizenship lesson into your curriculum. +1 For every Flickr or Google image used in your presentations this month that are licensed under Creative Commons and attributed as licensed.

+1 for every additional comment you write on a blog +1 reaching 40 people following on Twitter +1 reaching 50 people following on Twitter +1 every Tweet of a resource/article you share on Twitter +1 for every person that follows you on Twitter +2 for every RT you receive
 * PLN**

+1 Update your calendar page for January +1 Update your student work page +1 for each blog post you write on your class blog +1 for each reminder sent using a group text service +1 Poll your parents or students +1 Use QR codes in an assignment or on a letter/newsletter/bulletin board +1 for every newsletter, digital scrapbook page, audio clip or playlist created and shared
 * School/Home Communication**

Kristen