Thing 15: Images and Photos
Posted on June 14th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Today’s final thing was about Image Sharing. I personally find these features useful to learn, especially now that the Internet has made it so simple for users to be able to search for any image/ photo that are available to them. Dr. Ackermann talked about a few photo sharing websites where users can upload and edit their images, and most importantly share them among family and friends.
Currently, the most popular image sharing website is Flickr. I absolutely love Flickr because it helps me stay in touch with my family through the use of sharing images and commenting on the ones I like. Also, it lets you edit photos like never before! For example, you can eliminate red eyes, crop photos, or add effects (my favorite is turning your original image to black and white).
Additionally, I actually was not aware that Flickr belongs to Creative Commons, and because of this any user is can browse to search for even more images and directly upload them to your Flickr account, or even donate your own photos so that other users can take advantage of your image.
Our “Hands on Activities” was to set up a Flickr account and upload images or photos to see how it works. I’ am an active member and definitely urge everyone to try it out. During my free time I browse through the “Most Popular Tags for the Past 7 Days.” Today’s favorite was this photo of a Red-Bellied Woodpecker having some lunch. 
Finally, if you are not particularly familiar with how Flickr works, check out this “7 Things You Should Know About Flickr” before you get started.
Thanks for the reading!
Thing Catorce: Awareness Tools
Posted on June 14th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Today’s thing was Awareness Tools. There is much to say about this matter, because the truth is no one can necessarily keep up with everything that is going on in today’s technology because it changes every second; whether you like it or not. This is why today we talked about a few useful awareness tools which will provide us with several ways on finding interesting and new content you did not know even existed.
Dr. Ackermann talked about two major types of awareness tools: Automated and Social awareness tools. Ironically, the presentation I gave last week was about a social awareness site called StumbleUpon. This tool provides you with unlimited access to new sites, photos, videos of topics that interest you, it still amazes me how many new things I learn and find out through this awesome awareness gadget. As far as automated tools go, one of the current most popular sites is Google News which provides users with a list of the most popular articles or news from different sites such as CNN or Fox News. This is also quite useful when you want to read about a featured article which has obviously impacted a number of people this allows you to be able to find it easier, rather than having to go to each news site and try to see if you get lucky.
Our “Hands on Activity” assignment was to explore more about “Google Alerts” which is a service offered by Google that informs users through emails when a new content has been discovered from the type of alert one choose to be notified on. Although, I had never before used or heard about this wonderful phenomenon; I love that it actually directly informs me through email of what has been found on what I am interested in. I enjoyed our thing today and definitely think it is something important for everyone to know more about.
Thing 13: Forums and Web Boards
Posted on June 9th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Today’s thing was on Forums and Web Boards, this is very popular in the World Wide Web due to the fact they are practical and a way of social networking on your own time. I’m currently not part of any forums, but it is something I have always wanted to try. In class we talked a bit about the history of discussion boards and learned the earliest forum was UseNet; which was actually invented before the World Wide Web even existed! Thanks to this, we now today have hundreds of different forums and Web Boards out on the Internet. Also, many colleges and universities use discussion boards. For example, at University of Mary Washington, professors use Blackboard (A Course Management Software) which allows them to upload files, make announcements, post grades and have discussion boards. I think it is one of the most useful tools because it keeps you up to date with what is going on in all your classes.
The Internet also allows you to create and host a forum, in class Professor Ackermann talked about Boardster it provides a forum hosting service absolutely free!
Our “Hands on Activity” was to go to groups.google.com and search for Google Groups for discussions about rail travel in Canada. I thought this Google group was quite useful because it gave you information about the passes, available discounts offered, and most importantly, information about each route/ line that is available. We were also encouraged to try out Chowhound.com which is a community devoted to food lovers. I searched for Fredericksburg recommendations and have to say that almost everyone has commented on Carl’s for ice cream, once I read this, I knew this place gave great advice on where to go to eat great food. Forums are a great way to find a wealth of knowledge and discussions from people just like you and me.
Presentation 1
Posted on June 8th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Do you ever sit and think that the Internet is just isn’t that big? Do you find yourself visiting the same web pages over and over every time you log in? Are you trying to find better ways to waste time? My suggestion is you get stumbling as soon as possible.
“Stumble: To miss ones step in walking or running. To come upon accidentally or unexpectedly.” – Webster Dictionary
StumbleUpon.com is a perfect answer for you if you find yourself scratching your head to any of the questions above. Stumbling can be totally mindless surfing of the Internet or useful surfing of specific topics of interest. After creating an account, you are asked to fill out a checklist of possible favorite topics to stumble. The site will allow you to stumble a generic list of popular topics like health and fitness, politics, pop culture, and photography but it also allows you to stumble the list you created upon registering. Another cool and useful feature is you can filter out any unwanted topics for stumbling and even stumble over one specific topic. A few useful features on the StumbleUpon toolbar are the “like” button, and the “share” button where I can upload any interesting pages directly to my Facebook or Twitter account. When I “like” a site, it saves the page to my login page where I can quickly access it in the future and I also receive email updates when any changes have been made regarding any of my “liked” sites. If you have never heard of StumbleUpon.com I suggest you follow this LINK and get started. Be careful though because you can quickly become overwhelmed by the never-ending list of pages the site will generate. Good luck and happy stumbling!
Thing 11: RSS
Posted on June 8th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, is a fun gadget on the Web for grouping search content into specific topics and then directing the user to related sites for a better surfing experience. With all honestly, I’ve never even heard of RSS until today. It is an “XML based format for distributing and aggregating Web content.” It can be used to publish updates to blog entries, videos, news, and much more. In Professor Ackermann’s blog, he posted some advantages of RSS. The biggest advantage for me is RSS lets me scan the list of headlines to find what I want to read. However, in order to partake using this wonderful phenomenon one must need to set up a news reader, this is what allows RSS to receive the information you want to be kept up to date on.
Before heading to the computer lab to work on our “hands-on activities” we watched a short video about Google Reader which I found to be very useful because I have never set up a news reader account and it will come in handy for future reference. This was precisely our assignment for part 1 of the hands on activity. After setting up an account on Google Reader, we were to add a Google bundle of RSS feeds to the reader which grouped resources related to the topic of “Web 2.0″ . I then learned how to add RSS feeds to individual sites and quickly found that the best place to find useful RSS feeds was to use the Yahoo! Directory RSS feeds. I selected a few topics I found interesting and began to explore each one. I found it very handy to be able to explore multiple websites related to my topic when before I was just clicking on the first link generated by a Google search. RSS takes related search queries and groups them to specific topics. These topics opened my eyes to a much larger Internet. Using RSS in the future will allow me to research topics rather than specific keywords for a broader list of useful websites to research.
Thing 10: Social Bookmarking and Tagging
Posted on June 6th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Today’s thing was Social Bookmarking and Tagging. It amazes me how everything has a place and how everyone wants to organize it in his or her own way. For example, there are taxonomies in every major discipline and society highly depends on them, resulting in being able to put things in order in a controlled way, allowing anyone to be able to access a specific type of information. In class, we looked at an Internet archive, which includes a “way back machine”, were users were able to see how sites were displayed years ago and how they were organized. In class we compared how subjects were organized years ago to how they are organized now. Years ago, the websites were put under specific categories whose lists became longer and larger; this lead to the biggest change that presently all major websites use: a search engine. This feature allows the user the availability to enter specific keywords into the search engine and instantly displaying results that have your keywords in their content. This now we take for granted but it’s interesting to note the changes of how different the Internet has organized things and how it has become what it is today.
Later on, we talked about the benefits of a social bookmarking; the one that stands out the most is being able to save all your favorite websites using this phenomenon and not just being limited to one computer. Another positive note is that bookmarks are public; this feature benefits others and links everyone together.
One of the most popular social bookmarking sites used today is Delicious. Our “Hands-on Activity” was to create an account on Delicious and play around with this site by saving a bookmark from one of the links we post in our blog. I loved the feature of “tagging” when editing a bookmark; this is so useful in setting that bookmark apart from the rest by looking at what you tagged it as. Also, you can find popular tags other people have tagged about that topic and add them that way too. I definitely think that this will help and benefit users of the Internet in organizing and categorizing however they would like.
If you want to learn more about how social bookmarking works check out this short video we saw in class today!
Bookmarking and tagging has allowed me to take control of the Internet in a sense that now I can create links to all of my favorite destinations for carefree surfing, networking, or scholarly research using Delicious.
Thing 9: Videos
Posted on June 2nd, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Today’s topic was online videos, probably one of the most commonly used features available today on the World Wide Web. Streaming videos online has become the normal for the visual representation of just about anything. After listening to the usual presentation one of my classmates gave about a particular topic that has been influenced by the Internet; the class watched this interesting and unique short video by Mike Welch. He wanted to convey to his viewers on how the machine, meaning computer/internet is using us (society) and we are using it, so therefore we are the machine, in that we are all linked like we have never been before.
YouTube is the most popular video streaming site where anyone can upload a video about anything or noting at all. Streaming online videos from YouTube has made it easier for me to watch my own version of “Americas Funniest Home Videos” or to watch instruction films when I just don’t feel like flipping through a manual. I can listen to basically any song I want and also see its music video all for free. When I feel like going to the movies, I can search for their trailers and watch them right from YouTube to help me choose the best one. With so many new videos being uploaded daily, YouTube has become the most popular video streaming site on the Internet. This is the main reason as to why it has become what it is today. It is extremely easy for people to learn how to use and upload videos and it is all for free. However, a new video-streaming site I had not known about and was shown in class is Blinkx. This search engine has this outstanding characteristic of being able to use speech recognition to help you find what video you are looking for if for some reason you can’t remember the name. Very clever!
After lecture, we were to complete the “Hands-on Activity” and had to sign up for an account on a video search engine, I choose YouTube, and played around with the different features it provides. I loved that you could “favorite” any video and they would be classified under your “favorites” and would be much easier to find. This is my top “favorite” video. YouTube also lets me subscribe to my favorite users and it sends me updates when they have added new videos. I am so glad that my generation has continuously been introduced to the very cool and never-ending capabilities of the Internet.
Thing 8: Podcasting
Posted on June 2nd, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
To be honest, I have never known much about “podcasting” before today’s lecture, so it was definitely something new for me. I searched on Wikipedia to learn more about this trend and it was defined as “a series of digital media files that are released and usually downloaded through the World Wide Web.” Mobile media players had been around before podcasts but the wide usage of these new digital and very handy devices like the popular “iPod” made podcasting a big hit for users who wanted to subscribe to various podcasters. My next question was; where would you even find a podcast? The experts say that it’s easiest to find them on sites that deal in broadcasting news, such as CNN. Another way to find sites, which I personally found more useful, is to visit Podcast Alley, a search engine in which it allows the user to pick a podcast genre, and in then displays the results relating to that specific field. This site is very helpful in finding a podcast that appeals to your interests.
One way to subscribe and listen to podcasts is using podcast reader software. My favorite is Apple iTunes, and this software contains thousands of podcasts. I explored more on how to find a podcast using iTunes and learned that you can search a podcast the same way you would for a song or album by using the “search window”. The iTunes Store also has an awesome feature of having podcast rooms! Each room contains a podcast under a specific theme; this lets the user find out what popular podcasts are under this category. Lastly, when completing the “hands on activity” I found a unique site called Podcatcher Matrix where you can select different podcasts you would like to compare, and see which one works best. Overall, I definitely agree that this new invention has made a remarkable impact on the Internet and how users get their daily news or listen to new songs.
Thing 7: Virtual Worlds
Posted on May 31st, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Virtual Worlds. What does it even mean? Basically it is an interactive simulated environment accessed by various users. One of the most popular and well-known virtual worlds is Second Life. In class we watched part of the video on TED about “Phillip Rosedale, the founder of Second Life”. The statement that impacted me the most was when he was asked what his main goal was, and if he in fact achieved it. He responded by mentioning how the use of the Internet can now simulate a world, which will allow us to re-invent ourselves. This I found to be quite true in that virtual world does have the power to change who you are and live in a different world, escaping reality (at least for a few hours).
I did not have any experience with virtual worlds nor have I ever seen anyone use it, however, I was quite excited to learn this new phenomenon. Our task for the “hands on exercise” was to install Second Life and register for a free new account. Professor Ackerman provided us with a useful Second Life Quickstart Guide before getting started. This guide provided me with basic explanations on how to access most of the features and tools that Second Life provides. Unfortunately, for some strange reason I was not able to successfully register in class but luckily at home I was able to finally sign up using Professor Ackerman’s user name, which was emailed to us. Overall, I did enjoy it and found it quite entertaining. It took me a while to figure out all the features (maybe because they are so many) but other than that I can definitely say that I had a great experience exploring the virtual world.
Thing 6: Evaluating Internet Sources
Posted on May 26th, 2010 by slang.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Information on the Web, when I type in “diet” to Google, more than 151,000,000 links will come up about dieting. Are you telling me that every single link is a valid and reliable resource for finding information about diets? It is just not possible. Also when searching “how was the earth created?”, I generated over 100 million hits which all have many different answers to my question. Thankfully, there are a few sites available that will provide me with a scholarly article or answer to my research question. Google Scholar, for example, is an excellent way to search articles that were published in scholarly journals and have reliable sources in their bibliographies. Others are virtual libraries; they are very dependable when doing research and will have authentic and reliable sources.
Today in class, Professor Ackermann showed us some guidelines when evaluating different sites for your sources, for example, finding whom the author is, how current the information is, and the audience for this particular site. We went over a few tips which I found to be very helpful. After discussing these we then went out the computer lab to try the “hands-on-exercise”. I was definitely surprised after completing the worksheet because it alarmed me to how unreliable some sites are regarding the validity of the author and if the site is at all even a valid resource to use for research. It turned out that I wouldn’t be able to use any! The Internet is a great tool for doing research but because of its enormous size and unlimited freedom for what is available, we need to proceed with caution when using websites as sources for our research.