What a CTE Diploma Means to Me (redux)

     In NYC High Schools students are awarded one of two diplomas at graduation, a Regents diploma or an Advanced Regents diploma. Both require a certain amount of credits and/or regents passed to earn them and the requirements and benefits have many differences. Genrally, however, an Advanced diploma is better in the fact that it makes a student more attractive to colleges. Some select schools also give a CTE endorsement to a diploma. This endorsement is given when a student completes a CTE track and recognizes a student's skill in the industry their track was about. It essentially tells employers that a student is ready for a high level job in that industry. This endorsement also has its requirements but comes with many benefits as well.
   
     Starting with the requirements for the diplomas, an Advanced diploma takes more effort to obtain than a regular one. Credits  for graduation requirements are spread amongst 8 subjects and several elective classes for both. The requirements in common are earning 8 credits in ELA, 8 credits in Social Studies, 6 credits in Math, 6 credits in Science, 4 credits in PE, 1 credit in Health, and 2 credits in the Arts. The differences in credits are mainly in LOTE and electives. For a regular diploma 2 LOTE credits and 7 electives must be obtained, however, an Advanced diploma requires 6 LOTE and 3 electives.

     In addition to differences in credits there are differences in regents you must pass. To earn a regular diploma a student needs to pass up to 5 regents tests: 4 must come from each of the 4 core subjects and the other must be another regents certified test. To earn an Advanced diploma more regents must be passed. Up to 9 regents tests must be passed: 1 from ELA, 3 from Math, 1 from Social Studies, 2 from Science, any amount of LOTE, and any other certified tests.

     The requirements for a CTE endorsement are very different from those of any Regents diploma. This is because To get a CTE endorsement you follow a CTE track and take courses not common in standard high schools. An unmentioned requirement is get a Regents/Advanced Regents diploma since you still need to graduate high school. Besides that the requirements are 7 CTE credits, 1 CFM credit, 1 industry certification exam, and a Meaningful enhanced WBL experience. These requirements are only filled on the CTE track and not a regular high schools track since the courses and exams needed are exclusive to CTE.

     The benefits of a CTE endorsement are plenty. One benefit is being able to attain an Advanced diploma without having to earn 6 LOTE and 3 elective credits. If the CTE track is fully completed a student only needs 2 LOTE and all electives are covered by the CTE track. Another benefit is certification exams. Cert. exams can count as a regents so to get to 9 regents for and Advanced diploma is easier. Regents that a student has failed can be replaced by a cert. exam. Only ELA can't be replaced. Getting and endorsement through Web Design has its unique benefits. Through Web Design you learn about creating websites. You can learn how to code in various coding languages and you get to learn how to use programs such as DreamWeaver to create sites. You also learn how to design webpages to make them look nice. You learn how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to do this, Finally, with the skills you learn in Web Design you can get a good paying job out of high school or become a freelancer.
   

WBL Seminar #2 Intro Into WordPress

     On 30 Apr 2018 I attended another Noble Desktop seminar for my CTE requirements. This seminar was about WordPress, an open source management system which allows the user to manage content on their website. This seminar gave and introduction through WordPress and gave a walkthrough of the UI and features of WordPress. Before the seminar all I knew about WordPress is that people use it to make blogs and websites as well as making it easy to edit them. After the seminar I had more knowledge about using WordPress's features to build my own websites.

This shot was bad since I was sick

     One of the first things I learned about WordPress were web hosting and running websites on web servers. With WordPress a .com domain is easy and free to use but limited. It only allows you to host your website on WordPress's server. The  .org domain is paid but more flexible and allows you to host your information to any web host you choose. After that I learned how you can create an edit new sites. Most of the work is done by logging into the admin. Once you're logged in you will have the option to create a new site and give it a name. This name can never be used by anyone ever again. Then you'll be able to change the look of your site by editing the headings, theme, content, and images. WordPress starts off with a limited amount of themes but you can add more through plugins or uploading your own themes. This is paid, however, and it allows you to personlize your website more. You can choose when you would like to make a post go public and you can view your posts in chronological order.

I look miserable since I was sick

     This information is important to me as a web designer because it provides me information about a platform I can use to create sites and make them visually appealing. While I can choose to code my site entirely from HTML/CSS and JS I can also make one fast by using WordPress. If  I'm creating a simple site I may not want to deal with coding it all from scratch, so I can just create one in WordPress and optimize it from there. WordPress allows me to easily customize the looks of the site through themes, theme plugins, and the ability to add my own themes. All in all, I see myself using WordPress to create a site where interactivity is something I won't be using too much but appearance and content are things I'll be tinkering the most.

Final Project Portfolio

     Our last project for VD was about making a portfolio including all the work we've done from September onwards. This was a relatively simple project to do. The first thing we did was organize all our files into two folders, labs and projects. The PDFs and JPEGs for labs we did went into the lab folder and the same files for projects we did went into the projects folder, obviously. Next, every reflection journal we did about a lab and project were saved as PDFs and placed in the folder the reflection corresponded to. Finally, we made a read me file explaining what we learned throughout the year and the contents of the portfolio. The labs folder, projects folder, and read me were all put in one large folder, the VD Portfolio folder. The VD Portfolio folder was compressed as a zip file and submitted.
     That wasn't the only thing we did, however. We also made a PDF portfolio in Adobe Acrobat Pro. We used Acrobat previously to combine PDF files into one large file. This time we used Acrobat to make a PDF Portfolio, where files aren't necessarily combined into a single file but are integrated into a single unit. In Acrobat the integrated file names are displayed in a column on the side and when clicked on you can see said file. To create a PDF Portfolio the first thing we did in Acrobat was click create PDF under tools. We them selected multiple files and PDF portfolio. Then I added my files and organized my files into labs and projects, since PDF portfolios allow for folders unlike large files. Once all files were in I saved and submitted my PDF portfolio.

Project Newspaper

     Our 6th project made us work in groups to make newspapers/magazines. These newspapers followed the layout out regular newspapers, including things such as bylines, deckers, mailing panels, and more. We also chose a topic for our newspaper. My group chose to write about politics. Next, we assigned roles and planned like in the previous project. This time we were more definitive about roles  and we had a rigid plan, so there was no role switching or time wasted. After the assignment of roles we each wrote an article about our topic. I chose to write about gerrymandering. We then had our peers review our article and revised them accordingly. The final article was transferred to InDesign with pull quotes and pictures. Our individual files were combined into one entire newspaper to be the skeleton of the newspaper.
     My role in my group was manager and head editor. As the manager of my group I made sure that my group members were on task as well as myself. If they got stuck my job was to help figure out their problem and find a solution. I oversaw the designer’s work and would point out if something didn’t work, something was missing, or what things worked that the designer should repeat. As head editor I revised my group’s article a second time and edited parts of their article for them to make them enjoyable to read. I also fixed grammar issues and spelling errors.
     Overall, this was a great way to apply what I learned from the last project in a new project in terms of working with teams. In the last project lack of good planning and undefined roles led to setbacks and delays, making it difficult to meet the deadline. In this project I feel I was able to correct that mistake and get work done efficiently. I also feel that I was able to use my organizational and management skills well. I was able to monitor the progress of my team as well as know when my teammates were having trouble. I was able to make sure my team stuck to the plan and got everything done on time.

Project Yearbook

     Yearbooks are publications that are meant to give information or highlight the current/previous year. Our 5th project for VD dealt with making mini yearbooks. This yearbook was meant to display our experience in our first year of Web Design (aka the entire year of VD). This was the first project done in teams and the first thing we did after meeting with our teams was assign roles. There was to be a leader, designer, researcher, and photographer. I was the researcher, which meant I gather information about yearbook structure, student info, school info, etc. However, later on I took on the roles of researcher, designer, and co-leader.
     After getting roles assigned we researched parts of a yearbook and took a look a various designs and ideas. Then we set a theme for our yearbook. Since we couldn't agree on one we choose the theme mosaic since we would try and combine multiple themes and styles into one. Planning time frames was next. We set small deadlines for completing specific parts of the yearbook which would eventually become the ultimate goal, completion of the yearbook itself.
     As the researcher I went online and found multiple sample yearbooks to follow as a guide structure wise and design inspiration. If there was a technical skill dealing with Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign my teammates didn't know as researcher I looked up videos abut the skill and showed it to my team. Additionally, I looked up pictures online if the photographer wasn't able to take a picture of something and I looked up information about the staff of our school to include in our yearbook. As the designer I was experimenting with different ideas on how to present something. I would take ideas from my teammates or go online for backgrounds of pages, presentation of pictures, and fonts. I also made sure the sections of the yearbook followed a logical order chronologically.
     This project was a great learning for me as a web designer in terms of working in a team. Our team faced a major challenge of getting work done on time which is due to the poor lack of planning and management in the team. People in our team would always switch role and wouldn't know what they're doing. If our team was more thorough when planning this wouldn't have happened and we could've met our deadline less stressful. So I learned having a plan, that is thorough but flexible, is key to group projects. I plan on using what I learned in this project in the future if I get a job dealing with working in teams. Since in the workplace getting a task done on time matters with quality matters it will be important that there is a well defined plan with roles that fit the skills of the teammates. That way we can ensure that the job gets done right and it will show our employer professionalism.
   

WBL Seminar #1 Search Engine Optimiztion

     On 4 Apr 2018 I attended a Noble Desktop seminar for my CTE requirements. This seminar was about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is about increasing the amount of traffic your website gets by making it appear high on the list of returns by a search engine. Before the seminar all I knew about SEO was that visual design is important in making your website look attractive and gaining traffic. After the seminar I learned a lot more about SEO. First of all, there are multiple types of results a search engine like Google can yield. There are paid ads which usually come as the first result if you see one. This is obviously because the company behind the ad paid far it to be the top result. Next are the organic results. The order these appear on in the results is based on relevancy and quality, with the most relevant and higher quality appearing higher on the list than those of a lower relevancy and quality. Finally, there is Google My Business. These results are mainly for local business such as restaurants and depend on reviews and citations.

     Two qualities that attracts audience into a website are expertise and authority. Experience and quality are the two main things one need to show to prove expertise in their business. Authority is shown through positive reputation, recommendations, professional association, and popularity. Trust is another thing that attracts people to a website. An 'About Us' page in your website can build trust with the audience by making it easy for them to understand what your business is about. Contact information builds trust by providing your audience a means to reach you if they have any questions or concerns. It lets them know you're there when they're confused. A privacy policy and SSL certificate might be the most important in regards to the website itself. Customers don't like it if particular information about themselves is recorded and shared. A privacy policy is a way of telling your customers they are free to do whatever they want and their information will not be shared. This builds a lot of trust and keeps them coming back. An SSL certificate basically says your website is protected and safe from hacking. This certificate is particularly be useful for sites where commerce takes place. Customers who give their credit card information to a site don't want it to be stolen by hackers. If the customer sees HTTPS (which means the site has the SSL certificate) they know the site is secure and are more likely to trust and buy on it. Lastly, there are keywords. A website attracts a particular audience and certain keywords can help attract that audience. If a websites is selling clothes it should use key words relating to the clothing its selling in its content and URLs. Tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Keyword Anywhere help businesses figure what keywords to use to be relevant.
     This information is important to me as a web designer because I need to make attractive websites. Not only through looks alone but through other aspects. In my content I must include things that help build trust between my customers and my business. Not only is it about selling stuff but selling it in a welcoming environment online. I now know about the SSL certification and know I must keep my site safe from hacker. And finally, key words will be crucial in how my website ranks in the search results. It's no longer about visual design only but about trust, safety, and relevancy.

Mock Interview/ 6th WBL Workshop

     At our 5th WBL workshop students were given mock interviews. These interviews were for a made up organization and tested our skills at giving interviews. The three important questions we needed to answer were "Tell me about yourself", "Why should I hire you?", and "What do you want to do in this company?". These questions tested how we branded ourselves to our interviewer and our skills to convince our employer to hire us.
     During the interview my ability to answer the questions with detail was a strength. I was able to answer 'yes or no' questions with more than a yes or no. I was able to give detailed and in depth responses to the questions asked to me, giving more reasons for my employer to hire me and avoiding awkward silence. I also believe I was able to assert myself with my posture and facial expression throughout the interview. However, one of my weaknesses was my attire. I was wearing casual attire which made me look unprofessional. I also had a lack of preparation before the interview which made it so that I froze on certain questions. Finally, my vocabulary was very basic and some things I said would’ve sounded better with better word choice.
     In the future I can improve by making myself look professional. This means not only wearing business casual but fixing my hair and washing my face. I can also use more body language which will make me seem more human and not a stiff robot. I can do research about the job I am applying for so if I am asked specific questions about the company or skills I don’t freeze. Finally, I can expand my vocabulary by reading more and using new words in sentences that may be used to answer interview questions.