EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES #3

For this emerging technology post I chose to experiment with Microblogging. I have always told myself I would never make a Twitter account because I thought it was silly, but I had a change of heart and decided to make one for this class. After creating an account and exploring the website I understand more about Twitter and the advantages of having an account.  For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter (I am sure there are not too many of you) it is considered a form of Microblogging. According to Geeks.com Microblogging is the act of posting short messages to the web. This is a new emerging technology and millions of people throughout the world partake in this form of communicating. My experience with Twitter, although short, has been a very easy journey. It was a very simple two-step process to set up my account, and I even have a few followers and I have figured out how to follow some of my friends.  I uploaded my photo, posted my first tweet, and voila! I am officially a member of Twitter. You can follow me @whitneywestfall ! My only suggestions for creating a Twitter account would be to remember what you are posting will be read by everyone, and please keep your creative juices flowing (reading boring tweets will get old fast).

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES #2

For this emerging technologies assignment I experimented with digital scrapbooking.  Digital scrapbooking is a form of scrapbooking online. An internet scrapbooking site, in this case Smilebox.com, is used to create a digital scrapbook that can be shared with anyone who has the ability to connect to the internet. In other words it is another way of capturing memories, and preserving them. With new technology, the computer and internet are now another way to store your photos, instead of simply putting them in a photo album or making a physical scrapbook. Digital scrapbooking provides all of the fun backdrops and lettering, but it is simple and less messy (I must note I still enjoy actual scrapbooking in my free time, and feel that both ways are beneficial in some way or another).  This emerging technology has allowed families to communicate and share photographs in a fun way through the internet.

I feel that my choice to use Smilebox turned out well. It was a very simple program that broke down the steps into simple categories. I would say that this program can be easily navigated, even for beginners. My experience was quite fun considering the chosen topic, which for me was my Italy trip last summer. It provided simple, yet creative backdrops that let me drag my pictures I already had loaded onto my computer into a slot it already had created. It even allowed simple text to be added to the pages. I tried to add a song of choice from iTunes but it didn’t allow that unless I paid for the monthly fee, which was disappointing, yet understandable.

I feel that everyone should try this program. My tips are to load your pictures onto your computer before you begin creating your scrapbook, and to have fun while you are doing it! It was a blast revisiting my old photos and I plan on making another scrapbook to send to my family that I have not seen this summer!

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a55354e7a67784d6a46384e546b784d6a41354f44673d0d0a&sb=1&campaign=email_receipt_directurl_makeyourown

Podcasting

For this blog I had to experiment with podcasting. I was very unfamiliar with podcasting and had absolutely no idea how to do it. Through this process I learned that podcasting is an online recording of audio that can be displayed publicly. It is sometimes associated with radio, but podcasting can actually be used in more ways than a radio broadcast can be. A podcast can be recorded and listened to whenever one feels, or has time to view it. Podcasting can be used in so many different settings. Many teachers use podcasting as a means of communicating with their students and it is beneficial in many other professions that require communication. For me personally the anticipation of the podcast was worse than the actual creation. Reading that I had to do a podcast irked me for a few days, but then I actually took the time of doing one and it was quite simple. My tips for learning to podcast is simply find a program that works for you. I used Yodio, and it was quite easy to follow the directions and simpler than the other programs I viewed which fitted my needs perfectly. I look forward to trying out more podcast in the future.

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/wdwestfa/yodio.htm

Delicious

Below is the link to my delicious account. I have never used, or even heard of the program and have struggled to figure it out. Please be courteous and remember I am a second year college student who does not have much experience with the computer. I hope that some of my resources I tagged will come in handy in your future studies.

http://delicious.com/cgbballwhit01

!Greeting Sunflowers!

Hello Everyone! Welcome to my blog! My name is Whitney Westfall and I am new to the blog scene.  I am a nineteen year old, Secondary English Education Major at IUPUI. Given the assignment of creating a blog for an online course initially frightened me due to the little problem of me being technologically challenged, but after the process is complete I am thrilled with the outcome and look forward dipping my toes into the blogging world.  Before this project, I was unfamiliar with blogs and the reason behind their creation. I have heard of numerous blogging websites and fellow student’s chatter about their blogs, but I remained uninformed to their purpose and chose to stick with my pen and paper ignorantly thinking blogs were for journalist majors, and internet junkies. I see now that this is not the case and there is a significant importance and hint of fun in the creation of blogs.  My blogs genesis began with the initial view of the template I chose. Immediately, ideas of flowers and nature popped in my head and I moved on from there. The ideas were there, but the ability to create this masterpiece remained foreign; that is until I spent two hours searching, and reading blogs on this incredibly hot summer day.  I finally decided to do the guess and check method and see what happened. I went through three different layouts, and many pictures and ideas, but then settled on what is before you.  Although I understand my blog may be primitive in the expert blogging world, it remains a success to my spirit, and I have every intention to continue working on this piece to make it a masterpiece. My advice to any new bloggers or classmates; the guess and check method will rattle your patience, when in doubt take a break, drink a glass of hot tea, and revisit your work. =)