This is where I live from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. I currently teach Digital Art and Animation and Video Game Design. I teach 30 students a class period, every 90 minutes.
There are embedded links within this page that are underlined.
Welcome to my classroom!
Student Work
Every year, our district hosts a multimedia festival competition (MMF).​ There are several categories students can enter: magazine covers, bumper stickers, doodles, and 3D. These pieces are a collection of my students' work from when I started teaching in 2016 to now. Some of them have even won first place in their category.
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In addition to the multimedia festival competition, I have included work my students learned throughout the school year, as well as other competition pieces they have entered, along with their winning entries.
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There are two sections of work. The top section is work we created and designed in my Digital Art & Animation course. The bottom section is what we learned and developed in my Video Game Design course.
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I hope you enjoy it! I am very proud of my students, their hard work, and what they have achieved.
MAGAZINE COVERS
MMF
Multimedia Festival Medals
MMF
Students designed and submitted medals for the multimedia festival competition. A third-party company produces the winning design, which is handed out to the winners who submit artwork for the MMF Competition every March.
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This year, Isabel O., who is in my 3rd period, won first place for her design this year (2025).
Bumper Stickers and Doodle
MMF
Learning Photoshop
TEXT IN GOLD
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Mr. Potato Head
Students used a Mr. Potato head photo of his body parts to learn the basic tools of the program.
Then, students continue to create different effects on the text. They could use the word that went with the lesson (fire/ gold) or their name/ nickname as long as it is school-appropriate.
TEXT IN 80'S RETRO
TEXT ON FIRE
TEXT IN METAL
Text in Gradient
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Multiperson in Photoshop
My first year teaching, I had to come up with my own lesson plan activities. So, I pulled one of my college assignments and had my students create a multi person photo of themselves. Students were required to take 3 photos of themselves and use Photoshop to combine them into one photo.
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My District Winners
These students won first place in the secondary division (junior high and high school) category for their Internet Safety Poster.
Theme:
Digital Stranger Danger
Theme:
You Can't Take It Back
Arly Cruz
2017-2018
8th Grader
Natalie Fuentes
2016-2017
8th Grader
Illustrator
Vector Yourself
Students used Illustrator and a selfie to vector themselves on a poster.. They were also able to use a sports team photo if they didn't want to use a selfie.
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The Book Express is a mobile library that visits neighborhoods across the district during June and July. Students, as well as family and community members, can check out books by visiting The Book Express during scheduled stops. Sarah Butler and Hillary Barboza's bus name was chosen out of several hundred submissions.
Pictured from left to right are Elizabeth Laylor, Deputy Superintendent for Educational Support and School Administration; Anna Gonzalez, Campus Principal; Sarah Butler; Angela Speck, CTE teacher; and Hillary Barboza.
"The Texas Character Education Week holds a special place as one of the School of Science and Technology Discovery District’s exemplary practices in character education. This celebration was born from the proclamation by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who declared November 15, 2019, as the inaugural Texas Character Education Day. The success of the day led to its expansion into a week-long celebration in 2020, and since then, it has become a cherished tradition in Texas." (TCEW, 2024)
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In the fall of 2021, I had a student, Ashley, who was dealing with personal issues and missed the first half of the semester. Finally, she returned in late November and sat quietly in the back of the room, staring at her computer, lost. She missed all our introduction lessons on using Illustrator. She didn't even know how to launch the program on the computer, let alone use the pen tool to create such a design.
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I found the TCEW site by chance while searching for competitions my students could work on in class and submit their artwork. I had all my students working on this assignment and quickly got Ashley caught up on the basics of Illustrator. I told her I wanted her to try and do her best and not worry about anything else. Just have fun. She showed me her sketch, and I told her to use the pain she had endured as her inspiration. Her rough draft was similar to below and after a few changes, this is what she came up. I said I loved it and to design away.
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Her winning piece is on the left. She created this poster using Illustrator just a few weeks after returning to school. Unfortunately, the TCEW did not have a division for my student's grade level. The digital category was only for students in the 9-12 grade. I quickly emailed them, petitioning them to heavily consider changing the grade level to include junior high students. The competition they offered was literally my class, but I could not submit their work due to their rules. They changed the rules so that junior high students could submit work, and I was very thankful.
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I asked Ashley's parents if they would allow me to submit her poster and sign the permission slip to send it off. They sent back the permission slip, and I submitted her artwork. Weeks went by, and nothing. Not a word. Finally, after school had gotten out for the summer, I got a call from the principal's secretary. There was an envelope with my name on it. I quickly told them to rip it open and tell me what was inside. Sure enough, Ashley had placed in the competition. Not only did she place, but she had won FIRST PLACE in the junior high division for the digital art category. She won $250 AND a signed letter of congratulations from Senator Ted Cruz for a job well done.
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Never underestimate your power to create beautiful things from the pain you have inside!
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Students use the 3D program to bring their ideas to life. Then we printed them out for them to see.
Video Game Design
During our time together, students learn to create video games from scratch using STEM Fuse lessons and Construct 3 software. In May, at the end of the school year, students will compete against other middle school campuses to showcase their designs, using the knowledge they gained in class. Students can submit their games in several categories: 3D, Action/Adventure, Sports/Recreation, Unique/ Original, and two-man team.​
On the right is the layout for Construct 3. Within this program, students will create, design, and build their own games from scratch using the knowledge and lesson plans from StemFuse that they have acquired throughout the school year in our 90-minute classes.
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They use behaviors, variables, and instance variables to make each object move, jump, act as a boundary, etc. This is where the magic happens.
Winning Games
On the top left is a game called Project Termination. Rolando Romo spent the entire semester working on this game in class. He won first place in the competition.
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If you'd like to play his game, click here to be taken to the site.
The middle right game is called Crazy Miner. Angel Grimaldo Rubio spent the entire semester working on this game in class. He won first place in the competition.
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If you'd like to play his game, click here to be taken to the site.
The bottom left game is called Mushi Attacks by Alijah Garcia. He worked hard in class to create his game and even asked if he could work on it over the weekend to prepare for the competition. He won first place in the competition.
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If you'd like to play his game, click here to be taken to the site.
Competiton
The competition takes place once a year in May, after STAAR. We transformed the Agriculture Facility into our competition setup. We set up curtains to divide stations where students showcase their games. Each category has its own station.
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Within these stations, there are flat-panel TVs and two tables. The judges sit at one end, and the competitors sit in the chairs waiting to be called.
The judges are given a rubric to grade off of, and when students are called, they sit at the table and play their game while explaining how they created it, what the obstacles are, and the thought behind it.
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Once everyone has finished, the scores are calculated, and at the end of the event, students are awarded plaques and ribbons depending on their placement.
