Well, I used this weekend to work on my website reflection and finish changes to my website. I haven't uploaded the changes to my site yet because I still have a couple of tweaks to make.
As for the artist redesign, I got some positive feedback from Lynn. However, I'm having issues getting the gallery page to work properly. It is rather frustrating, and I may need to scrap that design and use another. Based in the feedback from the class, I am experimenting with different blues instead of that bright turquoise. I figure I'll be working on the site down to the very last minute. There's so much content to put out there. I think that's one of the main reasons I am having so many problems with the gallery page. Somewhere along the lines, I have inproper coding that is messing everything up.
My head is spinning right now. I can't belive it's the May 4 a week from tomorrow. I am also a little dazed at the prospect of getting the artist website, artist instruction manual, and the website reflection paper and presentation all ready to go by then. Time flies very quickly.
Back to work!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Screenshot of Artist Redesign
Here's a screenshot from my artist redesign effort. It's just the homepage. I have a slider bar gallery at the top that will display 5 or so of Lynn's works, and I have a quote from her statement beside it.
I'm having the most difficulty with the actual gallery page - getting all the images to display. The page design for the other pages is still puzzling me. I'm not sure if what I have is best. I was worried about the color scheme in the beginning, but I think it worked out rather well.
I'm having the most difficulty with the actual gallery page - getting all the images to display. The page design for the other pages is still puzzling me. I'm not sure if what I have is best. I was worried about the color scheme in the beginning, but I think it worked out rather well.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
5376 Podcast is on my site
My podcast is on my site! Woo hoo!
Here's a direct link to it: http://www.grad.english.ttu.edu/owen/images/PowerPoint%20Podcast.htm
I ended up using Captivate to create it, and I am proud of it.
Here's a direct link to it: http://www.grad.english.ttu.edu/owen/images/PowerPoint%20Podcast.htm
I ended up using Captivate to create it, and I am proud of it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
5376 Week 9 Post
As a general comment, I just want to say how great everybody's sites were. It is amazing how everyone was able to pull together such great sites. I felt my site was lacking after browsing through everyone's sites. I had fun with the blog assignment, and I want to give everyone a big round of applause for their sites!!!
Chris
My favorite part of Chris’s website is his landing page that says ‘You can’t know if don’t click somewhere’. I think it is a great way to engage the site visitor. The image and text combined make me very curious to enter the site. The only recommendation I have is to make the quote on the Philosophies of Teaching page, “No ideas but in things,” Williams Carlos Williams. I think if it were larger it would be a great intro and emphasis for the page.
Jessica
I love the pictures and personal dialogue throughout Jessica’s site. It has an enormous emotional impact, and I think that the background color choice really helps play into that. I have so much respect and admiration for Jessica for being so honest and open on her site. I don’t think I could be so open, especially since I knew my classmates were also going to be reading through my site. The one change I would recommend is changing the font color on the book reviews page. Right now it is two colors: 1 book review is light green, the other is dark blue. I like the two different colors for contrast, but the green is little hard to read on the screen.
Sharba
I think Sharba’s site is very well put together. I love all the comments in the banner on each page. I think it is a very engaging site. I was very interesting in reading the text on each page and moving throughout her site. The one thing I would recommend is for Sharba to put a picture of herself on the Me page. Since we learn so much about Sharba, I think it would be good if we could see a photo of her and maybe of Calcutta.
Dominic
Dominic’s site is very well designed. It takes a great web designer to be able to pull off a blue and orange color scheme! I love the landing page and the page layout. I also love the page names and personal comments throughout the site. This is a great personal site because Dominic gives so much information about himself. The only comment I have is that it might be good to put a navigation links to each page at the bottom of each page since some of the page are long and require a lot of scrolling.
Shawna
I love how Shawna’s site has the bright color tabs that drop when you hover over them. You can tell how much effort Shawn put into her site. I think the thumbnail banners at the top of the page are a great touch, and it’s very accessible. This is a great professional site, and I was struck by how much fun I was having navigating around her site! I think it was a mixture of the colors and the thumbnails. My comment for Shawna’s site is that it would be good to add some into text for the sample pages. Maybe a quick overview of what each sample is or if there is any special story behind a particular sample.
Adrian
I love how Adrian created a Flash-based website. I think the flower in bottom right-hand corner is a great element that is eye-catching and interesting for the reader. I think Adrian made a bold move choosing black and orange as her color scheme. It takes skill to use these colors effectively without them looking too much like a Halloween theme. Adrian did an excellent job of using this color scheme. I would suggest making the font size on the home page a little bigger.
Carie
I think Carie did a great job on her site. I especially like her biography on her Instructor page. She gives great information about herself. I wish I had a site like this, especially the podcast on passive voice when I was an undergrad in the beginning technical writing class! This is a great resource for students, and I think that Carie’s students will get so much information and help from this site. The only comment I have is that if the Syllabus page could be a web page version of the PDF syllabus with a link to the PDF syllabus. I think having the PDF syllabus is great, but it would be a useful tool if there could be a web page version too. You could link to major assignment descriptions.
Melody
Melody did a great job with her site. It is very impressive. I especially like how she linked to other pages, such as the Gardener’s Rake, on her biography page. I think it helps the visitor get to know Melody a little better and really get to know what her hobbies are. The only thing I would suggest is maybe having a page specifically for samples of her work. I know there are some links throughout the site that take us to her research, but I think it would good to have separate samples page for ease of searching.
Rebecca
I think Rebecca did a great job adding personality and fun to her professional site. I liked how she has pictures of herself on every page. It shows her talent as a professional, but still lets the visitor get to know about her on a personal level. This is an excellent mixture or Rebecca as a person and Rebecca as a professional. The only thing I would suggest changing is the hosting environment just because Geocities pops up all these extra menus. However, I do not think this is too big of an issue. The strange this is, I didn’t notice much when I was in an IE browser for class on Monday. I didn’t really notice it. But I noticed it tonight when I was in FireFox.
Brett
I think Brett has a great landing page. The oPhone is a great concept and idea. It is very creative, and I know it made me want to enter the site to take a look around. I think it is an informative site with a lot of good information. I like how there is a mix of personality with professional content. I think it is important to liven up the material! The only suggestion I have is making the top menu with the name of the site and links a little bigger. It seems small in comparison with the rest of the page. Or maybe separating the site name from the menu and making the site name bigger to put more emphasis on Brett.
Monica
I think Monica did a great job on her site. I love the usability of the site, especially how on the page links you can click the text or the box below. It makes it really easy for the user to navigate around the page. I think it is an engaging site too with all the visual stimulation that occurs on every page. The only change I would suggest is to fix the text on the home page with the Left-brain, right-brain text. Since it was justified, there were a lot of huge gaps when I opened it, and it started to run on the MW graphic.
Chris
My favorite part of Chris’s website is his landing page that says ‘You can’t know if don’t click somewhere’. I think it is a great way to engage the site visitor. The image and text combined make me very curious to enter the site. The only recommendation I have is to make the quote on the Philosophies of Teaching page, “No ideas but in things,” Williams Carlos Williams. I think if it were larger it would be a great intro and emphasis for the page.
Jessica
I love the pictures and personal dialogue throughout Jessica’s site. It has an enormous emotional impact, and I think that the background color choice really helps play into that. I have so much respect and admiration for Jessica for being so honest and open on her site. I don’t think I could be so open, especially since I knew my classmates were also going to be reading through my site. The one change I would recommend is changing the font color on the book reviews page. Right now it is two colors: 1 book review is light green, the other is dark blue. I like the two different colors for contrast, but the green is little hard to read on the screen.
Sharba
I think Sharba’s site is very well put together. I love all the comments in the banner on each page. I think it is a very engaging site. I was very interesting in reading the text on each page and moving throughout her site. The one thing I would recommend is for Sharba to put a picture of herself on the Me page. Since we learn so much about Sharba, I think it would be good if we could see a photo of her and maybe of Calcutta.
Dominic
Dominic’s site is very well designed. It takes a great web designer to be able to pull off a blue and orange color scheme! I love the landing page and the page layout. I also love the page names and personal comments throughout the site. This is a great personal site because Dominic gives so much information about himself. The only comment I have is that it might be good to put a navigation links to each page at the bottom of each page since some of the page are long and require a lot of scrolling.
Shawna
I love how Shawna’s site has the bright color tabs that drop when you hover over them. You can tell how much effort Shawn put into her site. I think the thumbnail banners at the top of the page are a great touch, and it’s very accessible. This is a great professional site, and I was struck by how much fun I was having navigating around her site! I think it was a mixture of the colors and the thumbnails. My comment for Shawna’s site is that it would be good to add some into text for the sample pages. Maybe a quick overview of what each sample is or if there is any special story behind a particular sample.
Adrian
I love how Adrian created a Flash-based website. I think the flower in bottom right-hand corner is a great element that is eye-catching and interesting for the reader. I think Adrian made a bold move choosing black and orange as her color scheme. It takes skill to use these colors effectively without them looking too much like a Halloween theme. Adrian did an excellent job of using this color scheme. I would suggest making the font size on the home page a little bigger.
Carie
I think Carie did a great job on her site. I especially like her biography on her Instructor page. She gives great information about herself. I wish I had a site like this, especially the podcast on passive voice when I was an undergrad in the beginning technical writing class! This is a great resource for students, and I think that Carie’s students will get so much information and help from this site. The only comment I have is that if the Syllabus page could be a web page version of the PDF syllabus with a link to the PDF syllabus. I think having the PDF syllabus is great, but it would be a useful tool if there could be a web page version too. You could link to major assignment descriptions.
Melody
Melody did a great job with her site. It is very impressive. I especially like how she linked to other pages, such as the Gardener’s Rake, on her biography page. I think it helps the visitor get to know Melody a little better and really get to know what her hobbies are. The only thing I would suggest is maybe having a page specifically for samples of her work. I know there are some links throughout the site that take us to her research, but I think it would good to have separate samples page for ease of searching.
Rebecca
I think Rebecca did a great job adding personality and fun to her professional site. I liked how she has pictures of herself on every page. It shows her talent as a professional, but still lets the visitor get to know about her on a personal level. This is an excellent mixture or Rebecca as a person and Rebecca as a professional. The only thing I would suggest changing is the hosting environment just because Geocities pops up all these extra menus. However, I do not think this is too big of an issue. The strange this is, I didn’t notice much when I was in an IE browser for class on Monday. I didn’t really notice it. But I noticed it tonight when I was in FireFox.
Brett
I think Brett has a great landing page. The oPhone is a great concept and idea. It is very creative, and I know it made me want to enter the site to take a look around. I think it is an informative site with a lot of good information. I like how there is a mix of personality with professional content. I think it is important to liven up the material! The only suggestion I have is making the top menu with the name of the site and links a little bigger. It seems small in comparison with the rest of the page. Or maybe separating the site name from the menu and making the site name bigger to put more emphasis on Brett.
Monica
I think Monica did a great job on her site. I love the usability of the site, especially how on the page links you can click the text or the box below. It makes it really easy for the user to navigate around the page. I think it is an engaging site too with all the visual stimulation that occurs on every page. The only change I would suggest is to fix the text on the home page with the Left-brain, right-brain text. Since it was justified, there were a lot of huge gaps when I opened it, and it started to run on the MW graphic.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
5376 Week 8 Post
3 Podcasts I found interesting
It took me a while to decide on which podcasts to choose for my 3. This first one is a podcast I found on podcastdirectory.com called The Presentation Sidebar. It is from a PowerPoint presentations series. I thought this would be a good one to include in my blog because it is a PowerPoint presentation turned into a podcast. I like that it has bright colors. I think that brighter colors are better podcast videos. Since it’s a smaller screen, the video needs to ‘pop’ more. All dark colors tend to blend in together. Here’s the link to the podcast:
http://www.maniactive.com/templates/SideBar.ppt#266,3,Answer:
The second podcast I found is from the Adobe Creative Suite podcast series. I was unaware that Adobe had a podcast series, so when I saw the link the Adobe library, I had to go and take a look. This podcast is about using SmartView in Dreamweaver CS4. I really like how it is mimicking a live demonstration of the functionality like a short training video. However, I was not very impressed with the initial quality of the podcast. It starts out with a Talking Head of the instructor, Terry Quinn. The audio is not synched with the video. I do think it is an informative podcast though, and I really like the overall format. It is very helpful.
http://cdn4.libsyn.com/cspodcast/podcast-DW-pssmartobjects.mp4?nvb=20090301022753&nva=20090302023753&t=05538c84fb43bf663369a
The third podcast I chose is from the PhotoshopUser TV series Episode 174. It was one of the top results in all my podcast searches, so I decided it must be worth checking out. Plus, it has instructional podcasts, which is what I am most interested in since my podcast is going to be instructional. I really like this podcast. It is very sharp. There are opening credits with an announcer who introduces the 3 speakers. It then opens with the speakers sitting in at a desk and talking to the camera. It reminds me of ESPN SportCenter or something like that. I really like the presentation. It is original and engaging. This podcast is long – 30 minutes, but I think the TV show format of the podcast makes this length doable for a viewer. The podcast toggles between the speakers and then their computer screens. They do an excellent job of switching between the two views. It is really neat how they are able to demonstrate how to perform an action in Photoshop, while still keep it light and fun with banter and interaction between themselves and with the audience. I think it is very well done.
http://www.photoshopusertv.com/
My Podcast
My Podcast is going to be a video version of a portion of a Business Communication course I gave at my job. I am choosing a small part of the course about giving effective presentations. That was a lengthy session, so I am breaking down to cover creating effective presentation visuals. I could foresee creating an entire podcast series of my entire course. It is valuable information, and I love podcasts because they are so easy to distribute and access.
It took me a while to decide on which podcasts to choose for my 3. This first one is a podcast I found on podcastdirectory.com called The Presentation Sidebar. It is from a PowerPoint presentations series. I thought this would be a good one to include in my blog because it is a PowerPoint presentation turned into a podcast. I like that it has bright colors. I think that brighter colors are better podcast videos. Since it’s a smaller screen, the video needs to ‘pop’ more. All dark colors tend to blend in together. Here’s the link to the podcast:
http://www.maniactive.com/templates/SideBar.ppt#266,3,Answer:
The second podcast I found is from the Adobe Creative Suite podcast series. I was unaware that Adobe had a podcast series, so when I saw the link the Adobe library, I had to go and take a look. This podcast is about using SmartView in Dreamweaver CS4. I really like how it is mimicking a live demonstration of the functionality like a short training video. However, I was not very impressed with the initial quality of the podcast. It starts out with a Talking Head of the instructor, Terry Quinn. The audio is not synched with the video. I do think it is an informative podcast though, and I really like the overall format. It is very helpful.
http://cdn4.libsyn.com/cspodcast/podcast-DW-pssmartobjects.mp4?nvb=20090301022753&nva=20090302023753&t=05538c84fb43bf663369a
The third podcast I chose is from the PhotoshopUser TV series Episode 174. It was one of the top results in all my podcast searches, so I decided it must be worth checking out. Plus, it has instructional podcasts, which is what I am most interested in since my podcast is going to be instructional. I really like this podcast. It is very sharp. There are opening credits with an announcer who introduces the 3 speakers. It then opens with the speakers sitting in at a desk and talking to the camera. It reminds me of ESPN SportCenter or something like that. I really like the presentation. It is original and engaging. This podcast is long – 30 minutes, but I think the TV show format of the podcast makes this length doable for a viewer. The podcast toggles between the speakers and then their computer screens. They do an excellent job of switching between the two views. It is really neat how they are able to demonstrate how to perform an action in Photoshop, while still keep it light and fun with banter and interaction between themselves and with the audience. I think it is very well done.
http://www.photoshopusertv.com/
My Podcast
My Podcast is going to be a video version of a portion of a Business Communication course I gave at my job. I am choosing a small part of the course about giving effective presentations. That was a lengthy session, so I am breaking down to cover creating effective presentation visuals. I could foresee creating an entire podcast series of my entire course. It is valuable information, and I love podcasts because they are so easy to distribute and access.
Friday, February 20, 2009
5376 Week 7 Post
Pause & Effect pages 212-222. Think about the third paragraph on page 212 as you work in your blog this week: "Action is the highest form of thought." What does this mean? It might mean something from a writer's perspective, from a user's perspective, and from a student's perspective.
When I think of ‘Action is the highest form of thought’, I think that it is because actions stimulate your brain more than stationary or passive things. To take an action, you usually have a trigger such as an instruction, instinct, etc. In terms of a website, I think actions would be more appealing to the user. It would draw the user into the site and make them engaged. Engagement makes you more inclined to browse more and return to the site.
I agree with Meadows comment that we don’t fully understand something until we’ve done it (212). It is about experience. I think of think of those new Hulu commercials with Alec Baldwin. He repeatedly says ‘You never know until you try it” and “You won’t realize what you’re missing until view TV on your computer”. I think that is a very clever use of interactive narrative. It creates a sense of intrigue. And that intrigue is likely to lead to an action – the action of going to hulu.com.
A writer would use action to draw the reader in. If the reader remained passive, it would not be as engaging of an experience for the reader. If the reader isn’t excited or engaged, they are more likely to put the book down, exit the website, turn off the TV, etc. The writer needs to use action to gain the loyalty of the reader.
The user needs action to fully process the concept and purpose of the site or book. The action stimulates the user. I have struggled with creating action for the user in my site. I tend to get stuck on the only action as being clicking on links and opening pages. I feel there is more to do to make a website more engaging for the user, but it is hard for me to apply to a professional portfolio site. I can think of good mechanisms for a more informal site, but not professional. I think that in order for my site or any site to be successful, the user has to be engaged and want to explore and return to the site. It’s a lot harder to apply than I originally thought.
From a student, I refer again to Meadows’ comment on page 212 about comprehension relating to action. I can think of a perfect example of Meadows’ principle applied to this class. I can’t fully understand podcast creation until I create a podcast. I have never made one before, and while I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, I am discovering all these things I didn’t know or think of. It is a complex process, and there is so much that goes into creating podcast that I didn’t dwell on before. So the action of creating a podcast is instrumental in my learning to create one. I could learn some of the same things reading a book about podcast, but I would miss some of the more complex details and nuances that I find as I take the action of creating a podcast. The action is a great teacher.
When I think of ‘Action is the highest form of thought’, I think that it is because actions stimulate your brain more than stationary or passive things. To take an action, you usually have a trigger such as an instruction, instinct, etc. In terms of a website, I think actions would be more appealing to the user. It would draw the user into the site and make them engaged. Engagement makes you more inclined to browse more and return to the site.
I agree with Meadows comment that we don’t fully understand something until we’ve done it (212). It is about experience. I think of think of those new Hulu commercials with Alec Baldwin. He repeatedly says ‘You never know until you try it” and “You won’t realize what you’re missing until view TV on your computer”. I think that is a very clever use of interactive narrative. It creates a sense of intrigue. And that intrigue is likely to lead to an action – the action of going to hulu.com.
A writer would use action to draw the reader in. If the reader remained passive, it would not be as engaging of an experience for the reader. If the reader isn’t excited or engaged, they are more likely to put the book down, exit the website, turn off the TV, etc. The writer needs to use action to gain the loyalty of the reader.
The user needs action to fully process the concept and purpose of the site or book. The action stimulates the user. I have struggled with creating action for the user in my site. I tend to get stuck on the only action as being clicking on links and opening pages. I feel there is more to do to make a website more engaging for the user, but it is hard for me to apply to a professional portfolio site. I can think of good mechanisms for a more informal site, but not professional. I think that in order for my site or any site to be successful, the user has to be engaged and want to explore and return to the site. It’s a lot harder to apply than I originally thought.
From a student, I refer again to Meadows’ comment on page 212 about comprehension relating to action. I can think of a perfect example of Meadows’ principle applied to this class. I can’t fully understand podcast creation until I create a podcast. I have never made one before, and while I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, I am discovering all these things I didn’t know or think of. It is a complex process, and there is so much that goes into creating podcast that I didn’t dwell on before. So the action of creating a podcast is instrumental in my learning to create one. I could learn some of the same things reading a book about podcast, but I would miss some of the more complex details and nuances that I find as I take the action of creating a podcast. The action is a great teacher.
Monday, February 16, 2009
ENGL 5376 Week 6 - Reflection on Previous Posts
I decided to create a new blog to reflect on my past posts in addition to adding comments to my previous posts. I wanted a plus where I could type up a complete summary of my thoughts and experiences thus far in the course and assignment.
The post I made that strikes the most is where I gave examples of what I want my site to look like. I had a lovely idea for the design of my site, but I have had some issues recreating it that 'vision'. I can't seem to marry my Photoshop mockups to the Dreamweaver reality. I know I can still create something similar to what I want, but I did realize that I aimed a little high.
The only sites I have created before were for work, so I have now learned that that translates to 'I have no website experience' because it is a different when it is creatively and artistically your own. And this really impacted me when I tried to upload the site. I was not expecting loading my site to be problem - in fact I considered it to be the easiest part of the assignment, but then when I went to upload my site last night, nothing worked. I chose a free host and upload service - mistake 1. The previous 3 websites I have uploaded were through work, and I got to pass through so many steps to do that. It was easy, and it did take 5 minutes. So I estimated that the extra steps I would have to take for this site would add maybe 10-20 minutes to the process at most. I tried to get my site up for 4.5 hours yesterday night. And it is still not up and running. So I am really disappointed at that and very mad at myself. My sense of comfort is that at least it was for the draft showing that I couldn't get it up and not for the final submission. It also makes me want to kick myself for not trying to upload it sooner, but I am control freak/perfectionist who does not like to have 'unfinished' work up. So that's why I had not done it. Now I know better.
Over all, I do think I am holding true to a lot of the thoughts and ideas I had expressed in previous blogs. And I do think this experience is great because it helps me begin to learn a skill I really want to have as well as make me think about communication in a new way.
The post I made that strikes the most is where I gave examples of what I want my site to look like. I had a lovely idea for the design of my site, but I have had some issues recreating it that 'vision'. I can't seem to marry my Photoshop mockups to the Dreamweaver reality. I know I can still create something similar to what I want, but I did realize that I aimed a little high.
The only sites I have created before were for work, so I have now learned that that translates to 'I have no website experience' because it is a different when it is creatively and artistically your own. And this really impacted me when I tried to upload the site. I was not expecting loading my site to be problem - in fact I considered it to be the easiest part of the assignment, but then when I went to upload my site last night, nothing worked. I chose a free host and upload service - mistake 1. The previous 3 websites I have uploaded were through work, and I got to pass through so many steps to do that. It was easy, and it did take 5 minutes. So I estimated that the extra steps I would have to take for this site would add maybe 10-20 minutes to the process at most. I tried to get my site up for 4.5 hours yesterday night. And it is still not up and running. So I am really disappointed at that and very mad at myself. My sense of comfort is that at least it was for the draft showing that I couldn't get it up and not for the final submission. It also makes me want to kick myself for not trying to upload it sooner, but I am control freak/perfectionist who does not like to have 'unfinished' work up. So that's why I had not done it. Now I know better.
Over all, I do think I am holding true to a lot of the thoughts and ideas I had expressed in previous blogs. And I do think this experience is great because it helps me begin to learn a skill I really want to have as well as make me think about communication in a new way.
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