Newsletter

NewsletterKM3-1

Using Microsoft Word features innovatively, I generated this class newsletter for students.  For initial visual impact, I added a table with hidden borders and WordArt to create a five-row newspaper-style masthead.  To stay with the newspaper theme, I used the “format” function to ensure that the text would be grouped into two columns, separated by a vertical line.   The three articles were set off using contrasting color headlines and drop-caps, along with appropriate graphic images with the text wrapped around the image.  This newsletter showed how a word processing program can be used creatively for more than just standard assignments because by taking advantage of some underutilized features in Word, I was able to model inventiveness, as required by NETS I, demonstrating to students that making a polished and interesting product does not require exotic software or equipment. Modelling the newsletter after a printed newspaper also provides an opportunity to engage students in a debate about the future of print journalism and the best ways to provide information to consumers in the 21st century.