Assignment Instructions:
Research Web 2.0 Tools beginning with http://www.go2web20.net/ and choose one that is of interest to you in your teaching/learning environment. Learn how to use the tool through the site or tutorials and use it to create an assignment you might use in a learning situation or use it to create some product. Next evaluate what you have done and think about all the possible educational uses. Post a blog at least 250 words long describing how you would use it in your classroom and the educational benefits the tool provides. Be specific and thorough in your discussion.
Review Web 2.0 tools: Fawnt
http://www.fawnt.com/
I discovered Fawnt as an online font sample and catalog for almost 10,000 free digital typefaces. In the preview mode, a simple sample of the font name in the actual face displays just enough of the style and "personality" of the letterforms to direct a decision to investigate that alphabet in more detail. Every typeface also has a complete character map available, showing the detail of each letterform. In addition to a direct download for each face selected, Fawnt provides a true portal giving access to many different sources linking to each specific software manufacturer's site.
A classroom assignment would be to find several typefaces that fall into traditional letterform categories, such as serif, sans-serif, gothic, script, stencil, etc. The student would be able to screenshot the font names displayed in the actual typeface, and group the font name screenshots by similar letterform characteristics. This would allow the students to quickly get visually familiar with many different custom typefaces without downloading or purchasing them. They could also bookmark these faces online for further investigation or use in a project.
A more detailed project could ask students to find several typefaces with similar characteristics, and compare how each of these would most appropriately be used in typesetting and design. An example would be the seven different Stencil typefaces listed on Fawnt. Some are proportional while others are monospaced, some are very geometric while others have rough edges, some are very modern or futuristic looking while others evoke historical text of past eras. Recognizing and differentiating between these characteristics would be a valuable exercise for a student of graphic design or typography.
Could the students then post, tag and share their creations with these fonts on Flickr? Then the could see how they would group together and give each other feedback on their choices and creations? Nice job:)
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