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.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
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.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
5376: Week 5 Post
Pause & Effect pages 154-179. Meadows lists three principles of interaction (page 39). How do these three principles relate to the projects you're working on for class? Can you trace, for instance, oberservation > exploration > modification > reciprocal change (page 44) in your work?
I think that the three principles interaction relate to different elements of each project. For the personal website project, I would relate the input and output principles to that the site does what it is supposed to – it’s functional and there aren’t any error screens. The personal website needs to educate the reader further. In my website’s case, it needs to inform the reader of my professional skills and history. To make the experience more realistic, I will have samples of my work. These illustrate my skills and give my words credibility.
For the artist’s site, I would like for the user to have an interactive and engaging experience. I think that to help the artist gain publicity and viewership, the website would need to capture the reader’s attention. The easiest way to capture attention is with interaction. I could see a feature like an interactive gallery really drawing from the Input/Output, Inside/Outside, and Open/Closed principles.
Observation>Exploration>Modification>Reciprocal Change
I think these four concepts bring interesting depth to a site. For my work portfolio site, I would see the following model:
- Observation: Reader looks and the homepage of my site and decides whether or not
they want to delve further into the site. - Exploration: Reader goes to each page and looks through the material.
- Modification: Reader clicks thumbnail to open portfolio sample
- Reciprocal change: Site opens the sample in PDF viewer
This is a basic level of how my site would utilize these concepts. However, I plan to incorporate my podcast into my site, and I would like to add some Flash elements to the site as well.
For the artist’s site, I would see something like the following:
- Observation: Reader looks at the homepage of the site and sees different options such as Interactive gallery, etc.
- Exploration: Reader goes to each page and looks at the content.
- Modification: Reader goes to the interactive gallery and launches the slide show. (I would like to incorporate select/deselect options so the reader could customize what work they see in the slideshow),
- Reciprocal Change: Site compiles and launches the slideshow.
Reflection
I am having difficulty with my portfolio site. My first issue with my portfolio site is my work samples. I created these materials at my job, so I have to carefully edit and anonymize the snippets of work I put out there. My second issue is now that I have my skeleton created, I do not like my concept, etc. I seem to have hit a brick wall creativity and motivation wise. I spent a large portion of today coming up with a new theme for my personal site if that gives you any indication of how things are progressing at the moment! I am feeling discouraged, and I keep wondering if I should switch tracks now while I can. I know we have a draft due next week, but I know I would have a good draft ready of my new concept by the 16th. It might be more complete than on my portfolio site will be. Is anyone else finding themselves in the same situation? Or did you find yourself in this situation in the beginning of the project?
Question for the Week
Which do you think is the most effective principle of interaction and why?
I’ll get it started! I think that Inside/Outside is the most effective principle of interaction. I really like how the text referred to it as inside the skull and outside the skull (pps. 40-41). It’s really important to ensure that your site has value. The reader wouldn’t linger at your site if they weren’t learning anything they didn’t know. And it’s important to create an environment that is engaging. It captures the reader’s attention. If you can attract and capture the reader’s attention, readers will browse through your site, return to your site, and recommend your site to others.
02/16 Post Addendum
For this post, the concepts we were supposed to compare really made sense to me after class. Whereas in this post, I was still confused. And in response to my rather dismal reflection about my site, I did get that issue resolved!!!
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