Final Comm Tech Blog

For this week's blog, reflect on the quarter and what you've learned.

Be creative and try to include outside sources (websites and vids).

Also, reflect on maintaining a blog - discuss your experience with blogging this quarter.

Thanks so much for your efforts on this assignment! 

This quarter I have learned a lot of things about the Adobe Suite. I have never worked with Photoshop,  Dreamweaver, or InDesign so while working with these it was a little difficult to start some of them but I still had an enjoyable time. While photoshop has been great for some things, I do want to caution the use for updating your own photos. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBiA5d77HTg 

This is a dove commercial that gives an example of how you can change how you look using photoshop. 

I enjoyed writing this log but I missed a few blogs with my varying work schedule and I am not sure if I will edit this blog and keep it going in the future or not. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens. 

If you haven't seen this vlog then I hope you enjoy it. Go Jenna Marbles! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYpwAtnywTk  

What is Your Sixth Sense

For this blog, summarize your reactions to the videos.  Then please provide some of your thoughts and feelings on this sentiment: Are we tuning out the physical world?  Are we moving closer and closer to living digitally?  What are the benefits and drawbacks of living in a digital world?

When I was watching both of the sixth sense videos I was wondering, "so where is this amazing technology since it has been almost 3 years." I grew up in a household that did not have a computer with internet access until I was a junior in high school and needed it for school. I didn't have exting on my phone until college, and when I go home to visit the highest degree of technology in my parents house is the 32" Sony TV. The world I grew up in is going to be far different from the world that my nieces and nephews are growing up in, and I can't even imagine what will be out in the world in the next ten years when I will most likely be having a family of my own. 

The world is moving to be more and more digital and there are some amazing advanteges and priviledges that come along with this digital era. Ever since the invention of the smart phone, we no longer have to sit and wonder what that person's name was in that one movie, or what is the capital of that one country. We can simply whip out a smart phone and google it. When it comes to sharing information or needing information this technology has become greatly appropriate, but I do wonder if this digital world is moving too fast. Even from the differences I have seen when my niece (8) is on the computer and completely shuts me out, or when she are playing on my sister's Ipad, the digital is keeping her from living in the physical.

While we will continue to keep inventing and producing, I believe that we need to start trying to live in the moment of the physical real world. The digital is amazing but it should just be used for the necesity of information sharing and receiving and to make our lives easier. We need to make a concentrated effort to live physically whenever possible.

Podcastnation

 

This week on Alli's Tech Talk we will be exploring the world of podcasts.

 

When I was starting my research process on podcasts I found this video on Youtube which is a tutorial about how to make a podcast using the program Audacity.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrBbczS9I0  

This video was a very helpful if you are a beginner to the audacity program because it gives examples of how to edit the sound, and post to multiple online databases.

 

Another website tutorial about how to successfully accomplish making a podcast is

http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/00-podcast-tutorial-four-ps.htm. This webpage breaks the podcast tutorial into four basic steps that will allow for an optimized podcast. These four steps are:

1. Plan
2. Produce
3. Publish
4. Promote

During the planning stage of the podcast the website describes figuring out the actual message you want to share before you even get started. It also delves into the structure of the podcast in timing and formatting so that each podcast is similar for your listeners. This webpage literally takes you through each step of creating a podcast so by the time you have hit the last page you could have a fully functioning podcast.

Many times when you want to add sound effects to podcasts it is difficult to find useful information. This website provides a variety of sound effects that can be used for podcasts.
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/where-to-find-sound-effects.htm

 

 

 

 

More Internet CRAP

This week we are examining internet CRAP. While this may sound like a load of bull, CRAP is actually a technique to make website design more intriguing and interesting. We have been discussing this in the while in the process of setting up personal websites in my Communication Technology course. As we learned in class C.R.A.P. stands for contrast, repition, alignment, and proximity.
With contrast:

• make different things different
• bring out the dominant elements
• mute lesser elements

With repition:

• repeat design throughout interface
• be consistent
• create unity

With Alignment:

• create a visual flow
• visually connects elements

With Proximity:

• group related elements
• seperate unrelated elements

As I am creating my webpage www.chrisbondsconstruction.com, I am going to be using CRAP to make my website interesting and easy to use. I am going to layout all of the links together for proximity. I will be making each page easily managed with alignment by visually connecting close things near the scroll bar. I will show repition with each page on the website. I will finally show contrast in the font choices and important parts of the webpage.

To futher advance my knowledge on website design I have found some other sources that I will also draw from while creating and updating my page. 

From http://www.grantasticdesigns.com/5rules.html 

5 rules of web design

• Your web site should be easy to read
• Your web site should be easy to navigate
• Your web site should be easy to find
• Your web page layout and design should be consistent throughout the site
• Your web site should be quick to download

From http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/current-style/ Ben Hunt describes that modern web design is all about simplicity and on this blog he describes and shows what modern simplicity is.

The University of Albany Libraries posted an excellent tutorial about basic website design at http://library.albany.edu/imc/webdesign/.
The Table of Contents for the tutorial is

How this Tutorial Works

Defining a Web Site

Identifying the Purpose of a Web Site

Identifying Who will Visit the Site

Serving the Needs of the Client

Basic Web Design Concepts

Proximity

Alignment

Repetition

Contrast

Navigation

Fonts

Page Size and Layout

Tables

Tables vs. Cascading Style Sheets

Browsers & Multitasking

Tips, Tricks, and Questions

All of these websites and many more compliment the CRAP model of website layout and design.  

Top 10 Rules of Web Design

1. Simplicity is key: keeping your website clean and organized helps your audience find what they need easily without overwhelming them.
2. Consistency is important: being consistent with the set up on each and every page allows your audience to easily manuever your sight.
3. Design is crucial: When your audience visited the website for the first time it is important to create a great first impression.
4. Be careful with color choice: Too many colors can be overwhelming and can make your website seem confusing.
5. Make sure the websites goal is obvious: You don't want your audience unsure of why they are at the website.
6. Navigate with ease: Be aware that your audience can easily navigate and find what they are looking for on your website because they will leave if they can't find what they want right away.
7. Font Choice is Important: Too many text fonts can be overwhelming but making sure they are easy to read is important for all viewers.
8. Make sure your site runs on multiple browsers.
9. Check your website for errors to ensure your credibility.
10. Update your website consistently and listen to your audience for what they want to see.

"10 Rules of Web Design." Sharpened Productions . N.p., 2011. Web. 4 Jan 2012. http://www.sharpened.com/web/about/rules.html.

Bram, Thursday. "10 Web Typography Rules Every Designer Should Know." Web designr Depot. N.p., 09/02. Web. 4 Jan 2012. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/10-web-typography-rules-every-designer-should-know-2/.

All About Alli

 My name is Allison Isaacson and I am a senior at WWU majoring in Communication. 21 years old and enjoys spending my time working, and spending as much time with my family and friends as possible. This is how I spend my free time:

How I Met Your Mother Addict:

Family and Friend Obsessed:

Sports Nerd

This blog is part of a communication technology course at Western Washington University