edtechcc – Assignment 2 – Soundscape

I liked the idea of this task but know that I’m going to have very little free time this week so I’ve rushed it a little.  I have a bank of historical speeches that I have wanted to use for a while,  so my first task was to look through those.  I like the idea of Roswell because of UFO’s and the sounds that would be available.

The second thing I did was to used Aviery to then mix some techno sounds and add some effects to the  sounds such as echo and the flange tool was very effective.  My next step was to use freesound.org to find some quirky sounds to add to the beginning of the track.

Finally I found a nice image to go with the audio.

The biggest problem I had was that Aviery would not mixdown my track so I spent over an hour trying to find something that would record the sound from my soundcard so that I could use it. It was a trial software called wondershare streaming audio recorder.

If  I do get any more time this week I will come back to this.  Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s Soundscapes.

http://audioboo.fm/boos/643043-roswell

I’m quite new to wordpress so if anyone can tell me how to embed this I’d be grateful.

Illustrator Training

We have been doing some in house  Illustrator training by our head of department Helen Morgan.  Here is my finished monster task from last week.  Here is the link if you want to try yourself:

http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-cute-furry-vector-monster-in-illustrator

 

Assignment 1- #edtechcca1

The assignment is…‘Make two signs or symbols using a graphics tool of your choice. The first sign should be for your own department or course, the second sign should be for another educational department or course. Use only pictures, no words. Use only simple abstracted shapes, no photographs.’

The department that I will be focusing on is Imedia.

To start with I have created a basic mind map of what the subject is to us based on the elements that we deliver.  My next step will be to browse icons for the items I think represent each area.  Once I have done this I will sketch variations of designs by hand.

 

After finding symbols I then started putting things together and made a few simple sketches.  My next step was to decide which ideas and symbols I wanted to use.  As it is a sign I didn’t want to add to much detail but on the other hand wanted to represent a wide range of media.  I decided that a web camera was good because it covers video, sound, and most people relate a web cam with the internet.  Changing the camera to represent an Eye would cover the I from Imedia.  I decided to duplicate this fading it each time to represent a motion tween from flash and also to represent a collective.  Finally to give my design more symmetry and also represent interaction I have used a pointing finger interacting.  I’ve also made that interaction similar to a wi-fi symbol.

I developed the design in adobe illustrator which I’m just starting to get to grips with so overall I’ve enjoyed the project and look forward to project number 2.

Introduction #edtechccp1

This is my first post as part of the Educational Technology Creative Collective#edtechcc. I’m new to Twitter, Facebook and most Online groups.

 

Who am I?

My name is Leigh Johnson and I’m an ICT/Media teacher at the City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College.  I’m relatively new to teaching Media but I’ve always had an interest in Photography, Film and animations.

 

Why am I taking part in the subject?

Although I am never away from my laptop and doing IT related projects, I have never taken the plunge into the social networking side of things.  So partly this is me taking that first step into Twitter, Blogging, and working with a collective.  I’m also hoping to gain many creative ideas and skills that I can take back to the classroom; to become more creative and share my own  knowledge/ ideas with others.