E-Portfolio

As we all know with the introduction to web 2.0 came a lot of great and useful tools. One of these tools is e-portfolios. An e-portfolio is an electronic portfolio used for reasons such as learning, self marketing, and assessment/accountability. An e-portfolio can link individuals to one another, as well as be used for resume purposes.
For learning purposes, an individual can use e-portfolios to document their progress on a particular project. Using it to share images, their reflections, and thought processes.
This is a great tool especially for students. As a student you are still learning about your developmental process and how you learn and express yourself. Documenting it will help the student learn more about themselves more quickly and be able to understand why they went a particular direction.
Using an e-portfolio for resume purposes can be VERY helpful. Placing your address to your resume can help businesses understand your capabilities and variety of work.
I think e-portfolios are a great thing to have. I would love to be able to show someone my work rather than tell them I created a webpage. I would feel much more confident in applying to places when they know what I am truly capable of. I know that some people could have had the same positions as me but may not have the same strengths as I do, and having an e-portfolio would allow my abilities to shine through.
An e-portfolio would even allow others to see my work without me applying to their company. They could look at my work, like it, and offer me a job.
When I start designing web pages and other sorts of media, I will most definitely have an e-portfolio. I don’t see any strong negatives to having one.

EPortfolio and web 2.0
Educause: Electronic Portfolio
Blog on Eportfolio Apps

Web standards.

When the web first came out in the early 1990’s, a competition began between web browsers and operating systems. The first few years of web design, was not so much design oriented. They were mainly text based with a grey background and black font. Here is a youtube video that shows images of web pages from 1994-1998.
As you can see they are all boring and bland (compared to todays standards). Not colorful and very simple with their images. As the web began to become more popular and main stream the competition between web browsers and operating systems began to get a little out of hand.
Mosaic was the first web browser that was able to support graphic images within a text page (as opposed to opening the image in another page with a link). They released a browser in 1993, which allowed the public to be able to use the web. They then turned into Netscape ( a name we are all familiar with..if not..I am showing my age..ahhh) The netscape browser that was introduced in late 1994 supported coding such as the <alt> tag and <embeded> tag.

Netscape’s competitor, Internet Explorer, came out with a browser that was able to support CSS and Java applets and much more.  As more techniques and languages were created, the war between these two mainstream browsers became more powerful and created a bigger gap between the two.  Keep in mind that there are two mainstream browsers, but there are many other smaller browsers that were used as well.  As all of these browsers were used, it became extremely stressful to create a webpage that everyone could see.  Your site could work on Internet Explorer, but would not be viewable in any other browsers out there.

To be able to see in other browsers, web designers would have to create pages for each one, which took up more time and money.  It is a bit silly to think about it, why go through all the stress when you could just create a page that simply worked on all browsers.  That is why web standards were created.

Web standards are not the LAW of web designing.  You won’t receive a fine from the head of W3C for not following the standards.  You may, however, receive a lot of angry and frustrated emails and phone calls saying your site won’t work on so and so’s browser.   And of course, if you upset the customers, you most certainly will upset the client.

The web standards were created to avoid this huge dilemma and create a more peaceful and cheaper internet environment.  The standards you should follow can be found at the W3c website at W3c.org.

I think the creation of standards was a brilliant idea.  It does not restrict someone from doing what they want, but it most certainly creates strong guidelines for those who want to be successful in the web design field.  It would be nice to know a head of time that a particular language would not work on the browser Safari, but if I used CSS I would create a site viewable by all.

It is definitely tempting to create a page that blows you out of the water when you go to it and has all sorts of images and sounds.  But the reality of the situation is why put in all the time and effort for a wonderful page when no one will be able to enjoy it?  You need to make yourself, as well as the pages you create more accessible by being more creative with the restrictions the web has.

Web Browser History
Word Wide Web 1994-1998
Web standards Project
Netscape browser

Designing a site for a mobile device.

If it wasn’t frustrating enough for designers to be conscious of all the different types of web browsers and being conscious of formatting a page that would work on them, they now have to worry about cell phones, Ipads, Itouches, and other mobile devices wanting to see the page.

One site suggested using a code in your CSS. The code you can put is a code for a handheld device. When an item that considers itself a hand held device accesses the webpage, it automatically removes anything under the #nav section. (that is for the navigation bar for a webpage.) Unfortunately, this would not work on an Iphone. The reason for this is because Apple did not want their products displaying simplified versions of pages, when they had the capability to show a page as it was meant to be seen. The solution to this can still be done in the CSS coding section. You just need to set the display for an item with a resolution smaller than a particular resolution.
Another site I came across also refers to using CSS as well as javascript in setting the parameters for a mobile phone. They also suggested to be conscious of how large your columns are and to avoid using frames.
You can also set in a code that detects an Iphone. As i stated before, an Iphone will display a site differently than any other mobile phone, which is why there is coding out there specifically for that device.

I have wondered what happens when a phone accesses a webpage and when my computer accesses it. I did notice some differences in layouts and wondered how that happened. I do think it is fascinating and amazing how some simple coding can do something so drastic.

As I researched this topic I wondered to myself how I would make sure my site would look good on an iphone when I don’t own one. And of course, the answer is as simple as using a certain web browser device on your computer.

I am constantly amazed at how simple it all ends up being. Of course the coding is the difficult part of anything, but aside from that, accomplishing these things are truly simple. They are especially simple if you take the time to research what you want to do and learn the ins and outs of it.

Learning all of these tricks and the coding will be frustrating in the beginning I am sure, but it will most defiantly be worth it. When a business wants a web page created for their company, they do not want to be restricted on the types of viewers they receive. They, of course, want to be seen by anyone and everyone, regardless of the device they are using.

I am looking forward to the days when I am an employed web developer, and a new device comes out that needs particular settings in order to view web pages. To be able to see the process of figuring out how to make everything work will be a great thrill for me.

Designing for Iphone
How to design websites for mobile phones and iphones
Test iphone

Twitter a good stepping stone for a business?

I severely apologize for my late post.  My life has become rather chaotic, and lately I have gotten the feeling that if my head was not attached to my body, I would indeed lose it.  Rather quickly too. At any rate, I have found the time to submit my post about Twitter.

I must admit, Twitter seemed to be a useless tool, that just influenced the same idea as facebooks news feeds.  When it came out, I did not sign up for it because I did not need another medium to use to let everyone know what I was doing every minute of the day.  I am now stuffing my foot in my mouth for the fact that it seems to be a very beneficial tool, especially in the business area.

One of the first sites I looked up, I asked the question of how on earth could Twitter benefit a business.  I need to work on my open-ness because it was hard for me to realize how a blog could help an industry, but now I am all for it.  Twitter is a tool that can help communicate, in a quick manner, important information.  Chris Brogan gave a different perspective on how to use and think of Twitter.  He suggests rather than answering “what are you doing?” to think about the question “what has your attention?” (Brogan, Chris) He also suggests taking Twitter in stride.  To not just put something out there just to be an active twitter-er (if thats a word).  You need to really put thought into what you are posting.  You are limited to the amount of words you can use, be sure to use them wisely.  Another suggestion was to do what you want to use twitter for, and to not feel forced (by negative comments or by what others seem to be doing) to do it a certain way.

I found an interesting link that researched what people are talking about on Twitter.  Among the most frequent are a users current status (I.E. I am eating a tub of ice cream haha) and users having private conversations.   Among the next few popular ones though are links to blog and news articles, politics and current events.  Twitter is a great tool to put out your thoughts and getting input by others.  For instance, I could Tweet my opinion on why a certain law is downright atrocious, and I could receive feedback on why others feel the same way or have different view points.  One thing I do find a little comforting about Twitter, is that users will post information and thoughts in a non-threatening sense.  I don’t have to worry about being put in an uncomfortable position based on my thoughts.  I can read others thoughts and take them as I want.

It is also a great way to expand out of your own bubble.  Using Twitter to get others opinions could really broaden someone’s view.  They no longer have to rely and their Democratic friends and relatives, the could get a post from a Republican and giving them a great way to look at a situation that they never originally thought of.

An amazing link I found was if Twitter was helpful for grieving.  This blogger stated that they had a death in the family and had a hard time handling the situation.  As a way to let it out, they Tweeted their difficulty in handling the situation.  A few hours later, when they returned to their Twitter, they received multiple responses from twitter users offering support and well wishes.  Aside from the information sharing, and helpful twitter has in business, it can also provide an emotional outlet and support for users.

Twitter is most defiantly a tool that can be very beneficial if users take advantage of what they have avaliable to them.  I plan on tweeting about something political to see what types of responses I receive.  I am very curious on what I receive.  Although I am very excited for it as well.  Sometimes you do need that third party opinion to set you straight.

50 Ideas on using Twitter for
How Informative Is Twitter?
Twitter helpful for Grievement?

Podcasts

I have never been interested enough in podcasts to fully understand what it was. I saw some on the itunes store but never felt compelled in purchasing one. I never fully understood what the big interest was in it. I was under the impression that a podcast was a downloadable radio station. A way for those who can’t get on the air, to still have a way to share their thoughts and views.
My guess was correct, in that in a way it is a downloadable radio show. Individuals subscribe to the RSS feed of the podcast (much like people do with webpages when they want to find out whats new without loading the page every day) and their computer will download the update for the subscriber to listen to. It is a very simple process that is extremely popular.
My biggest question, while reading up on this topic, is what is the point? Why podcast? This video gives a great simple explanation of why someone should podcast.  Podcasting gives you the ability to be more creative than other forms of expression, such as writing or drawing.  It gives you the ability to verbally or even visually by video, explain things.
Having a podcast is cheaper (in most cases, free) than having a radio show.  Having an on air, AM of FM radio show, costs a lot of money and time that some people may not have.  Podcasting allows you to explore this type of media with no cost to you.
The exciting thing I think about podcasting is the way to show excitement and life into what you are talking about.  In a basic example, if you read a joke online, it is nearly not as funny and does not have the life it has when it comes out of a stand up comedian.  The information is completely the same, however it is the passion and emotion that comes from the individual that makes you enjoy the joke that much more.
I am interested in looking up podcasts for information I may find a bit dull or even confusing to read myself.  Maybe finding someone who is passionate about it, can rub off their passion to me.   I am very much a visual or auditory learner.  Being able to listen to lectures or blogs from the comfort of my own home is something that I am very interested in.  I don’t think podcasts get as much attention as they should, but I guess that is how everything was with blogging in the beginning as well.  I am excited to see how things go in that area.

Apple: Podcasting
Why Podcast?
Podcasting video

Collective intelligence and the new millennium

When a group of individuals sit down to think of ways to solve a problem, they are using what is called collective intelligence.  Collective intelligence is a when groups of people come together to share ideas and experiences.  By sharing their individual thoughts, they can learn from one another and see things in a different perspective.

One possible flaw of collective intelligence is  groupthink.  Groupthink is  a term where there are no individual thoughts, they all see things the same way and don’t question it.  This is something that can become extremely dangerous. An extreme example of groupthink is the nazi movement. But if groupthink is avoided, collective intelligence can prove to be very beneficial to everyone.

Why does collective intelligence even matter?  It is a very important tool that we must take advantage of.  For example, if I were to go and cut down a tree, thought the only way to achieve this was to use my axe, it would take me an extremely long time to achieve this.  But if I were to talk to my neighbors about what I was planning on doing, they may have other ideas such as using a saw or an electrical saw.  This is a very very basic example of collective intelligence, but you get the idea.  Without their input, I am stuck with using only my knowledge, and wouldn’t get very far in achieving things.

With the new millennium, and as new technologies are introduced  our spectrum of collective intelligence is expanded.  We are no longer restricted by our physical locations.  We can now communicate with individuals in Guam, Tahiti, and even people down the street.  Those in high positions can communicate with blue collar workers and so on.  There is no longer any reason to prevent individuals from communicating from one another.

I think that this is such an amazing and fascinating thing to be in the middle of.  I think that large companies and governments should really take advantage of this.  What if BP put a poll on their website, asking for ideas of how to stop the oil spill?  Would farmer joe have the answer to solve the problem?  The amazing thing is that he probably would.  The one thing that people need to realize is it cannot hurt giving or taking suggestions.  You may have the idea that could kick start an amazing chain reaction.

Collective Brainpower

The Collective Intelligence Genome

Collective Intelligence slide show

Professional Blogging

When blogging was first introduced, I was under the impression that it was just an online journal where people would post their daily events and personal thoughts.  However, I have come to find out that blogging is a great tool for businesses and educated professionals.

To become a professional blogger, one doesn’t have to necessarily be a professional in the field they are discussing.  To be a successful professional blogger, they just need to be well educated on the topic.  The author must also be willing to dedicate the required time in order for their blog to be successful.  Anyone can become a professional blogger, and I think that is what attracts most people to it.  Anyone can be successful in this area if they are willing to dedicate the time and effort that is required.

Once someone has a blog up and running and some entries, the question that begins to develop is: “how do I get more visitors to my page?”.   One simple way to tag and bookmark entries.  By doing this, it allows a user to find a link to the blog by typing in certain key words.  Another simple solution, is for the blogger to comment on other blogs that relate to their topic.  By doing so, users will click on the link and be directed to the new blog that relates to their interest.  The last suggestion I found to improve the amount of visitors is to include a Feedburner on their site.  A feedburner allows users to subscribe to their RSS feed, and allow them to be instantly updated on posts.

The idea of being a professional blogger amused me in the sense that people can make money just by posting about their thoughts.  But as I researched more, I learned that professional blogging was much more detail oriented and took a lot more work than I had originally thought.  I think it would be an interesting thing to test out and experiment with.

The internet never fails to amaze me at the endless possibilities it creates for our world.  The ability to communicate ideas though blogging and communicate with individuals you would never of been able to interact with otherwise is a tool that is very beneficial.  Especially for individuals who have interesting insight and ideas, and need a way to channel them the right audience.

Problogger
Professional Blogging
Blog Tips

What is RSS? How does it work? And how do you make one?

As I have stated in one of my previous blogs, RSS is a product of Web 2.0. RSS was first introduced by Netscape, as a way for users to find webpages more efficiently and be able to read a description of the webpage before clicking on the link, to be sure it was a good fit (Cadenhead, Rodger). As RSS became more popular, it soon became a craze that we are far from getting rid of.   RSS is an amazing tool in todays world, how it works totally facinates me.

Before the introduction to RSS, if an individual wanted to check a couple news sites and blogs before bed, he would just type in each address and scroll down the pages to see what is new.  However, as more sites showed up with loads of information, this process became very time consuming.  And may even now be seen as the “cavemans” way of doing it.  With RSS, an individual can look at one page, or even their desktop to see what is new on multiple pages at once.
What RSS does, is communicates with an aggregator set up by an individual and delivers what is new from that page, and is automatically updated on that persons account.  If you are more of a visual learner like myself, here is a link to a video that describes the processes perfectly. Video

I understood how the RSS feed worked with sites such as blogs, however with a normal webpage, I could not understand how it worked.  It felt like a smack in the head when I realized how simple creating an RSS feed was.  It really stayed true to is name, Really Simple Syndication.  Creating an RSS feed is just as simple as any coding can be.  It is a part of XML, which is HTML’s granddaughter you could say. A newer, and more advanced version.

If someone were designing a website for a golf tournament, and wanted to remind players there was only a few weeks left before the final signup date, they would post that on their webpage.  They could also put in some extra coding, so that they can alert those who have access the the RSS feed.  All they would have to do is put in a new item, and it would go to the subscribers.  Inside the RSS code the programer would then put in

<item>
<title> Sign up date </title>
<description> Sign up now! The closing date is fast approaching. </description>
<link> golfcourseexample.com</link>
</item>

It truly  is as simple as that.  The simplicity is something I find comical and extremely encouraging. Comical in a sense that hearing about it sounded very confusing and very time consuming to create.  It is encouraging knowing it is not as difficult as it seemed, and it is something anyone can create.

Sources:

What is RSS?

RSS and Live Webfeeds

RSS Basics

RSS manual feed

Can of Worms: Created RSS

Personal Learning Environment (PLE)

If someone were to describe him or herself as well educated, most people would assume that they were educated in a learning environment such as a college or university.  What most would not relate being well educated to, is someone educating themselves.  What most do not realize, is that someone could educate themselves on a topic without having to attend a school.  With loads of information available to our fingertips, it is hard to not become educated in things happening around the world, or educating ourselves on subjects we are interested in.  The term that is used to associate with educating one self is Personal Learning Environment  (PLE).

Continuing learning outside of a university began when it became evident that as technology grew, employees had to be educated and continuously trained on their occupational skills and processes (Atwell, Graham).  To meet theses needs, employees would have training sessions and office meetings to be introduced to the new information.  In today’s world,  information is literally a click away and incredibly easy to access, that an individual may be able to learn one subject in numerous ways.  Instead of reading a book, they could listen to a book on tape, watch a video on the topic, listen to a pod cast or talk radio show, or read news articles or blogs (Knittle, Beth).

The development of PLE is the introduction to web 2.0.  As a student researches a subject online, they will no longer have to worry about topics being outdated, and can easily find more resources.  The ability to quickly access information allows one to quickly learn a topic and move on to new topics (EDUcause).

I believe that PLE’s are an amazing advancement in our society.  No longer does someone have to rely on a teacher to become fully informed on a topic.  If someone really wants to become educated on a topic, they can easily find it.  Unfortunately, I feel that people in the near future, may become spoiled with the information at their grasps, that they resist fully learning a topic.   For example, if a student is learning about the War of 1812, they will grab resources that give them the basic information, and will not fully grasp the whole concept or meaning behind it.  It is great to know when the war started and why, however, it is the story line I fear will become a distant memory.  I am worried the passion of learning will deteriorate, as a passion of education will no longer be a requirement.

Web 2.0

The Internet is an everyday tool that is used by a majority of today’s population.  It is a tool that helps us connect with friends and family.  It also helps us to connect and branch out to businesses and find job placements, as well as a fun tool to find and play games and read the news.  The Internet has become such a vital tool in today’s world; it is a scary thought to what life would be like without it.  What most people don’t know is that the Internet we all know and love today, is referred to as web 2.0.
Web 2.0 is a term that was coined by Darcy DiNikki.  Prior to Web 2.0, the Internet was very basic. It had web pages that were written by the creators and informers such as businesses.  The web at that time was a one-way information highway, as opposed to a user-friendly atmosphere. The web has slowly developed into a place that has become a playground for programmers and hackers (Graham, Paul).  As they experiment more with code and design, it becomes more user-friendly.  Web 2.0 now allows for the web to be designed not only by the creators and informers, but also the users.
The fascinating thing about Web 2.0 is how much it constantly updates itself.  This version has so many bells and whistles it is difficult to not get excited about it.  A few of these bells and whistles include: RSS, blogging, tagging, social networking sites, and widgets (Tech Soup).
Another exciting aspect of web 2.0 is the coding that has expanded from basic html.  As well as being user-friendly, web 2.0 is all about being useful for the computer (Digital Web).  A styling code called CSS was introduced to help make loading pages faster, which is helpful for the computer, but also makes deigning a page less tedious, which is helpful for the designers.
Researching this topic excited me for a number of reasons.  If this many things can be added to the Internet within a short amount of time, what kind of possibilities are there for the future?  For web 3.0, or even 4.0?   It fascinated me that all the things I am used to having available to me, all the things I am now spoiled with was just created within the past few years.  I do remember when facebook.com was new and the idea of signing up for it worried me, but now, I cannot imagine communicating without it.
Aside from the personal and social aspect of web 2.0, I find the professional ability to be enormous.  Not only can another in their field influence someone over the web, but they can also find jobs, and become more educated on their interests.
Something I continue to get geekishly giddy about is Google.  The reason it tickles me is because no longer does someone need to pull out his or her dictionary to define a word, research through libraries on a topic, or even consult an expert for advice.  They can simply, as the phrase has been used, “google it” and the information is at their fingertips.
The Internet allows me to educate myself, communicate with my friends I left when I moved a 24-hour car ride away, and it also allows me to be creative.  All of these are made possible by web 2.0.