Bebo is the new and lastest digital world for students to keep in contact. There are many positive aspects of bebo and through reading through my blog you will come to understand how design and literacy come together. Design is a very important part in a child's life as this is what they first learn to do. Design an image that is oringnal and authentic and has many to them in different context. Through allowing students to be a member of this type of blogging they are experiencing new things that will enable them to connect to the bigger and wider community of technology we are producing for them. Students need to be taught and learn the codes so are able to put them to use and be able to make meaning to them in their own individual way. Teachers need to un teach them selevs talked about by Erica Mcwilliams and see that when taking some one elses work is not copying, it may be taken and used in different context or meaning to show a whole different perspective on something. Design is a process that students need to keep referring back to. Word and images together are the most powerful of all design technologies. Let your children become a memeber of bebo and maybe thety could be the teachers of you and let you in their world of how the show meaning in representing themsleves in todays world.

Design is a very powerful process. Through using bebo students will be able to learn and become more knowledgable about the design elements out there. From viewing other peoples blogs and bebo pages students will become to understand how different images and words may be used in different context to give different representation. Through researching and developing on my blog about bebo enhancing students design skills i have come to realise alot if things. From a very early age children are developing their own original designs and giving them meaning and when they are introduced to the alphabet and conventions these designs become more powerful. A student may use a design or an oringinal template but the way they use or give meaning to it will not be considered copying alothough it has the potential to be copying they are adapting and making new meanings of the design.

Words and images are both powerful representations in design. This is where literacy and design come together.

This photo is an image from Gunther Kress's paper on Reading Images; Multimodality, Representation and New Madia. I find this image to be a very powerful image and is very effective. Kress is a professor of Education/English at the institude of Educations, University of London. Multimodality links to oral, visual and written. Gunther Kress talks about this in his paper and the representation images and meaning they portray. He also looks at how different codes or signs can have different meanings by however the user wishes to use it. He talks about about how different social meanings are specific to a particular culture. To view more on what Gunther Kress has to say about image and design click the link below and have a good read as i think that there is alot more to deisgn than people think. http://www.knowledgepresentation.org/BuildingTheFuture/Kress2/Kress2.html

In relation to bebo students may choose an image for example this image below which most people see as peace or thats the context they view it in. However this may lead the student to becoming naive as in different cultures this can be viewed as warmonger where the presidents used as a sign of victory. Students need to become aware and taught the codes. Although students may be taking that design and re using it they must be aware of exsiting signs. They must be asked the questions what does this represent? How may i use it in a different context to make meaning.

Steps to designing and creating a bebo page

Once students are registered with the bebo website, users of this site are to post a profile of themselves which can be read by others online or if you are a private user just your friends you have accepted. What most young poeple or users want is to make their page represent themselevs as much as possible and of course look the best.

As you can by this users bebo page. They have inserted a picture of themselves and above given them selves a name that represents them. WIth design words can have meaning like images. For example if i was too look at the name i could create my self an image in my head of what the person may look like or consider them selves to be. When reading words not every one may get the same image as every body sees things differently. Also when creating your bebo page you choose a skin which is basically a background. When choosing a background the user generally chooses one that relates to them. For example you may choose a skin that is pink and has a lot of spark to it as this is what kind of person you see your slef to be. This girl above has chosen a quote and this may represent her down. Words and images are very powerful and students need to become aware of this but they all have different meaning and contexts to every one.

The next step of creating your page is to invite friends to join their profile and share their page of exciting things about themselves. Every friend will have a different bebo page and this gives the users to view other peoples designs and they way they set things up. A user may visit a page and disciver a new page element they may like to add their design. Users may copy this and add to their page, this is not seen to be copying as they creating a new reason and may adapt it to fit with their page. The same deal goes with the skin ten different poeple may have the same skin as you but the way you use it or see it may give it a new identity. As a friend you are able to drew on what is called a white board, from doing this students are becoming more creative and innovative with the way they use the paint brush. For some one who hasnt done alot of painting on ICT may find this difficult at first but that is the way for every one. Students can become teachers of themselves in doing this type of design. In a classroom the teacher may like to use the white board as an activity to develop on students skills as they may use this type of design drewing in presentations and on book work. The deisgn concpet of bebo could be a good way to use in the classroom in a all about me project. Through powerful images and words students will be able to create a profile that has meaning and represents them as the way the other students may view them.

Students within their on bebo website can always add photos to their design. Within the design elements in bebo you are basically the designer of your page and chooose what u wish to choose to a point.