3/31

Today I got to page 160, step 25. I had many technical difficulties, but problems were solved. I learned more about working with masks to create the appearance of the alien's eye blinking, and changing fills and stroke widths. This relates to TEKs 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software, and 7(b), following safety manuals, instructions, and requirements.

3/28/08

Today I got to step 12 of 'Preparing the layers that will be masked' on pg 157. I learned about importing layers from an illustrator file, organizing the timeline, editing symbols (using the property inspector and altering the timeline), duplicating animated symbols (by pressing alt and dragging an image to a new location), adding layers, animating and creating nested symbols, breaking apart symbols using Modify> Break Apart, and masking layers. This relates to TEKs 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software, and 7(b), following safety manual, instructions, and requirements. One of the projects I'll be starting soon, coming up with a product and making an advertisement for it using the computer programs which we've been studying, relates to TEKs 9(b), developing a plan for completing a project, 13(c), applying decision-making techniques to the selection of computer technology, and 16(a), preparing a marketing plan for a(n) idea, product, or service.

3/27/08 - Lesson 5

Lots of things are due today! I came in early and worked on Flash and my html. I finished the webpage and css, but did not really get to work on Lesson 5, which is very frustrating. I also tried for a very long time to post my flash movies, but could not get it to work. Then, I tried to post jpg's from the movies, but that did not work either. I suppose I will have to talk to Mr. Bjerke again. Today I learned The work that I did today relates to TEKs 9(b), developing a plan for a computer project, and 13(c), applying decision-making techniques to the selection of computer technology.

Lesson 4 Complete - 3/26/08

I finished Lesson 4 of Flash today. I learned more about animating using masks, applying masks, applying 'onion skinning' (which is just pressing a button below the timeline that allows you to see multiple frames on the stage at once), displaying layers as outlines (which looks very cool, but is useful at the same time - also simply pressing a button, this time above the timeline), rotating layers using the transform panel, nesting layers, more using tweens, and applying filters to text. This relates to TEKs 18(h), completing work according to established criteria, and 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software.

Just to inform, my movie clips will not load, so I tried using jpg's, which didn't work either. So, I have these funny looking gif's instead.

3/25/08 - Lesson 4

I got to step 24 of 'Drawing masks'. Today I learned about rotating text using the Transform panel, converting text to a symbol, and drawing masks using the rectangle tool. I also had to problem solve - I had to fix the cellphone layer because it did not have the correct placement for the phone by the time the battery appeared on the screen. (I moved some keyframes to fix it.) This relates to TEK 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software. Also, working making the timeline for my 'preserving the past' project and working on my web site relate to TEK 9(b), developing a plan for completing a project.

3/24/08 - Lesson 4

I got to step 1 of 'Rotating text'. I need to fix the cell phone so that it's still there at frame 199. Today I learned about using Tween>Motion to change brightness over frames, using Tween>Motion to illustrate movement, adding text to layers, and copying text. I also worked a bit on my html project, learning about the tags which create an html webpage and help to format it. This relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology, 4(b), conducting research and experimentation in computer technology, and 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software.

3/20/08 - Lessons 3 & 4

Today I finished Lesson 3, and learned from it about using web-safe colors (colors which will display as they appear in Flash in a web-browser). I had to skip steps 1 through 8 of 'Adding a sound file' because my computer would not load the sound 'corny_birthday.wav'. I got to step 1 of 'Tweening brightness', and learned about organizing the layers of a timeline (adding a layer for actions, creating layer folders, adding layers to layer folders, and placing assets on layers. This relates to TEKs 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software, and 18(h), completing work according to established criteria. On Monday, I am going to try to save the Flash movies as .avi's so that they will work on my blog.

3/19/08 - Lesson 3

Today I got to step 6 of 'Changing the alpha value for a color'. I learned about creating an invisible button, using the property inspector, adding transparency (by changing the alpha value for an Instance and for a color). This relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology (in this lesson we are designing a DVD interface to help viewers navigate among the options on a DVD), and 7(b), following safety manuals, instructions, and requirements. I am very close to finishing the lesson...

3/18/08 - Lesson 3

Haha! I have completed Lesson 2 of Flash. Today I got to step 2 of 'Adding a Hit state to a button' in Lesson 3. I learned more about applying masks to layers in Flash, and about importing Illustrator files through File> Import> Import to Stage, symbols (movie clip, button, and graphic), converting objects to symbols, image formats in general, importing bitmap images (to the Library and Stage), converting bitmaps to vectors, adding bitmaps to a movie symbol, and creating button symbols. This relates to TEKs 18(h), completing work according to established criteria, and 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software.

3/17/08

Today I got to step 11 of "Masking Objects" in Lesson 2 of Flash. I'm getting closer to finishing this lesson that has been causing me so much trouble! I learned today about creating new objects in the same color as existing ones, using the line tool, rotating objects, breaking objects apart using Modify>Break Apart, disabling Snap to Guides, grouping objects, adding shapes, animating objects by moving them slightly every few frames (without using tween), and a bit about masking objects. This relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology, and 7(b), following safety manuals, instructions, and requirements.

March 7 - Lesson 2

I continued working on Lesson 2 of Flash. It is causing me many technical problems, but I think I finally figured it out. I got to Bubble3 of step 6 at the same point because of technical difficulties. Today I learned about adding animation layers, copying the same frames to different layers, and repositioning objects in Flash. This relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology, and 6(b), identifying, selecting, and sequencing the proper computer resources to complete a project.

March 6 - Lesson 2

I have no blog for yesterday because we had the TAKS during first period. Anyway, today I continued to work on Lesson 2 of Flash. I reached step six of the section called 'Adding animation layers'. I learned about using the Lasso tool and changing fill color, drawing circles using the Oval tool, converting a shape to a symbol, animating an object over multiple frames using Tween>Motion, and adding animation layers. This relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology, and 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software.

3/4/08

Today I worked on html. I did the lessons HTML Introduction, HTML Elements, and HTML basic tags. Next I will be moving on to HTML Attributes. I learned about different tags which are used in the creating of websites. My work today relates to TEKs 2(d), identifying and describing the roles of computer technology, 4(b), conducting research and experimentation in computer technology, and 6(c), describing the processes used in computer technology.

March 3 - Lesson 2

Today I started Lesson 2 of Flash. Mr. Bjerke will be giving a lesson on html a few minutes. I got to step 1 of 'Selecting sections of a fill'. From today's Flash, I got more practice with creating rectangles and changing their size and location, as well as their stroke. I also learned how to add a bitmap fill to a shape from a different application by importing it into the Library, how to modify an object using the Free Transform tool, and how to create and use a gradient fill and use the Gradient Transform tool. I also learned how to post what I am working on in flash. These things relate to TEKs 6(a), describing the properties and characteristics of computer-related hardware and software, and 7(b), following safety manuals, instructions, and requirements.