Friday, April 23, 2010

Number 23 Plus One ("Thing" Number 24)

I'm working on my 23 Things plus one activity (activity #24). I created a learning activity that exposes individuals to the RightNow technology that we use at my job for our online answering system. I work at USF and "RightNow" is the technology that we use to answer prospective student questions. It was kind of neat being on the teacher side of things. It was also helpful to force myself too communicate in a way that was clear for users to understand.

I asked my mom to complete the learning activity that I created.

My mom's comments were:

"These are good questions for students to know. If the person needs to know a specific answer they can go directly to the question and there's the answer.

Then you just click on ask a question and get to ask a question very easily."


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Reflections on Web Design Module

My reflections on the Web Design Module are as follows:

I used SeaMonkey software for my webdesign project. It is a very basic software that does the basics (links to files, lists text, etc.). Since the general public is so used to seeing more extensive websites, I do look forward to learning how to use more extensive software (such as possibly DreamWeaver) to create more customized sites.

I chose not to put a picture on the face of the site because I don't think you're supposed to really have a picture with something that is used as a supplement to your professional resume? I think that's the general rule but I could be wrong.

I had a little bit of difficulty getting the tables on SeaMonkey to appear as I wanted them to and the spacing and tabs seemed to be a little off.

I am happy that my site looks great on Mozilla Firefox but, unfortunately, it does not appear correct at all on Internet Explorer. My solution to this, at my current skill level, is to request that users only try viewing the site on Mozilla Firefox.

Nevertheless, creating the site was a good learning experience and I have already begun using it in my work and professional life.

Reflections on Podcast Module

My reflections on the podcast module are that I really like the Audacity Software and the ability to record podcasts. I created a podcast for my professional portfolio and it really makes things more personal rather than just reading text. One thing I noticed is that you really have to make sure and not talk to close to the microphone as it creates a "blasting" sound when you play back the recording.

It is really good to have free software for technology such as this so that a person's potential is not limited by their financial ability to purchase for-profit software.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Reflections on Publications Module

I have now completed the Publications module. My reflections on this are that Microsoft Publisher is much easier than Photoshop!

I had worked with Photoshop and other Adobe products before but was already apprehensive about producing documents because I always seemed to forget the rules about layering, etc.

I like Microsoft Publisher much better and now feel comfortable about using it in the future.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

43 Things

Among the list of "43 Things I might want to do this year" I would consider doing the following:

Look at LibraryElf and see the potential for personal library tools.
8. Register at MSN Photo Album and build an album to share with friends, family, or colleagues.
9. Check out Myspace and see how this service has become so huge globally.
10. Have some fun with the links on the Generator Blog.
11. Download Firefox and compare it to Explorer and Opera.
12. Research bookmarklets and try a few.
13. Revisit Yahoo! and remind yourself why it is visited more than Google.
14. Learn about iFILM and viral video.
15. Get a PubSub account and start searching the future.
16. Make a map of all the countries or states you've been to at Visited Countries.
17. Experiment with some sound and picture search engines like Podscope.
18. Try some new Web search engines like Exalead, Wink, Gravee, Clusty, Mooter, Kartoo, etc., or others you can find at Search Engine Watch's list.
19. Learn more about visual display tools like Grokker.
20. Check out Google Base and see what the fuss is all about.
21. Register with NetFlix and rent a movie. Learn how to deal with streaming media.
23. Play with Blinkx and learn about searching TV shows, video and podcasts.
24. Try MovieFlix too. There are plenty of free movies here to learn to do this.
25. Set up a Google Picasa account. Post a picture and then edit it.
26. Download an MP3 file to your PC, laptop or phone. Try iTunes, LimeWire, Kazaa, or eDonkey. Look for something that's not music too.
31. Visit the Google Labs site regularly.
32. Set up a personalized Google or My Yahoo! page
33. Play with JibJab.
35. Play with Copernic and extend your searching.

#23 - Summarizing My Thoughts

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Some of my favorite exercises were:

1) Browsing through the Web 2.0 Winners and discovering upcoming.org" (http://upcoming.yahoo.com).
2) RSS feeds including www.bloglines.com
3) Del.icio.us
4) www.librarything.com
5) www.podcastalley.com
6) News feeds including www.topix.net

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I have kept a chart of all the things I have learned along with the associated website for each thing. I hope to use this in my job and in my life for planning get togethers, travel planning, looking for jobs, etc.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I actually was not familiar with most of the sites so this entire experience has been new for me.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I think overall, the program is pretty good. It might be made more universal by not requiring individuals to be members of PLMC on certain exercises and the manager of the site should regularly check all suggested websites to ensure that all the links are working.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
As long as I see it as being immediately applicable to my work or business life, then yes I would participate again!

#17 - Sandbox Wiki

I am working with the PLC Wiki. I found this site somewhat difficult to use. It was difficult for me to figure out exactly how to log-in and also I could not find the edit button to add my blog to the list of favorites. I did add a post to the favorites page, however and added my blog that way.

Thanks!

Marcia