Tuesday, May 27, 2014
PodcastAlley.com Versus Podcasts.com
Hola!
PodcastAlley.com (which we'll call PA from here on out) and Podcasts.com (which we'll call PC from here on out) are similar in the fact that they both allow you to search for podcasts that fit into certain genres. It seems like PA has a much larger variety in genres, but the preview aspect of each one is not as defined as it is with PC. PC has less genres to chose from, but whenever you do select a genre, you are able to visually see what the podcast is about making it much more pleasing to the eye and more likely to be chosen over PA.
After searching through the types of podcasts available on each site, I was drawn to those on the PA website more. The music section in PA is more appealing because it generalized music (i.e. world music), rather than making a podcast on one specific artist like PC does.
Danielle
PodcastAlley.com (which we'll call PA from here on out) and Podcasts.com (which we'll call PC from here on out) are similar in the fact that they both allow you to search for podcasts that fit into certain genres. It seems like PA has a much larger variety in genres, but the preview aspect of each one is not as defined as it is with PC. PC has less genres to chose from, but whenever you do select a genre, you are able to visually see what the podcast is about making it much more pleasing to the eye and more likely to be chosen over PA.
After searching through the types of podcasts available on each site, I was drawn to those on the PA website more. The music section in PA is more appealing because it generalized music (i.e. world music), rather than making a podcast on one specific artist like PC does.
Danielle
Podcast Three: Surrounded in Pittsburgh: Steel City Resistance
and for my third podcast choice, I have chosen my other weakness...news. This particular podcast is various news sessions based on a couple of Pittsburgh and Orlando-raised men's thoughts on what the most important news of the day is. If you would listen to said podcast, you would hear a variety of news stories, with the opinions of the two commentators thrown in to spice it up.
Podcast Two: World Music FM
As I mentioned before, music podcasts are my favorite, so with the second choice, I went for my favorite overarching brand of music a.k.a. the international kind. I am HUGE into foreign artists, so I love, love, love that this podcast helps me expand my knowledge in that area. If you listen to it, you will hear new music, but you will also hear commentary on said music (at least I'm guessing that's what they are talking about. I'm not 100% sure since it's in a foreign language...maybe Italian????).
Anyway, I highly, highly recommend taking a listen, if you are interested in foreign tunes, as well.
Anyway, I highly, highly recommend taking a listen, if you are interested in foreign tunes, as well.
Podcast One: Deep house collective podcast and DJ community | HouseDeelings
Hey everyone!
The first podcast I chose was the deep house collective podcast with a DJ community. I chose it because music podcasts are my favorite type, especially when it comes to music that I like to just sit back and rewind from the day with. If you were to listen to this podcast, you would find yourself immersed in a variety of blue-sy soulful music. Each addition to the podcast is along the same lines, but vary in their exact focus. For instance, the first one listed on my page via RSS feed is for Groovy 90's type of music, while the next is a DJ's choice music for one hour.
Enjoy!
The first podcast I chose was the deep house collective podcast with a DJ community. I chose it because music podcasts are my favorite type, especially when it comes to music that I like to just sit back and rewind from the day with. If you were to listen to this podcast, you would find yourself immersed in a variety of blue-sy soulful music. Each addition to the podcast is along the same lines, but vary in their exact focus. For instance, the first one listed on my page via RSS feed is for Groovy 90's type of music, while the next is a DJ's choice music for one hour.
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
My first wiki....danielleswhatsawiki!!!!!!!
Here you go:
http://danielleswhatsawiki.wikispaces.com/What%27s+a+Wiki%3F%3F%3F
Enjoy!
http://danielleswhatsawiki.wikispaces.com/What%27s+a+Wiki%3F%3F%3F
Enjoy!
A technological world is all they know
What happens when teachers get left behind? Nothing; nothing is exactly what happens because the world looses its place. There should never be a point in history whatsoever that a teacher is behind the technology power curve of her students. The author of this discussion wants to make such it never happens and gives useful tips in helping other teachers make sure to stay on top of the game, as well.
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/How+is+good%2C+but+let%27s+not+forget+the+why%21
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/How+is+good%2C+but+let%27s+not+forget+the+why%21
How to: I.D. the necessary skill sets
The Did You Know 2.0 video shocks the viewer in the opening ten seconds with the realization that the U.S. is not top of educational food chain (on the other hand, I really hope that it wasn't that much of a shock). If the U.S. is behind, then what do we need to do to get on top? This question brings one user of shifthappens to create a discussion on the necessary skill sets in the 21st century. Some of those brought up include: the ability to be an independent learner, the ability to recreate oneself (over and over again), and the need to recognize personal and social responsibility. It amazes me that someone took the time to create such a list, because it's one that I feel we are sorely in need of incorporating into the mainstream educational system.
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Skills
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Skills
Web 2.0...the Machine is Us/ing Us
Hello everyone!
I begin this week with a discussion on digital text. From the shifthappens page, I click on the discussion titled, "Web 2.0...the Machine is Us/ing Us" and watched the Youtube video it presented. What started out as a video about digital text versus written text, it soon shifts into a four minute episode on the revolution of the digital world into the mainstream. There is talk of HTML, codes, and the internet in its early days, but the author, Michael Wesch, further paints a texted picture (ha, nice pun ;O ) via talk of teaching the "Machine" through tagging, web searches, and similar user inputs. It's really quite fascinating (with some extremely catchy music to boot) if you have a few extra minutes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g
I begin this week with a discussion on digital text. From the shifthappens page, I click on the discussion titled, "Web 2.0...the Machine is Us/ing Us" and watched the Youtube video it presented. What started out as a video about digital text versus written text, it soon shifts into a four minute episode on the revolution of the digital world into the mainstream. There is talk of HTML, codes, and the internet in its early days, but the author, Michael Wesch, further paints a texted picture (ha, nice pun ;O ) via talk of teaching the "Machine" through tagging, web searches, and similar user inputs. It's really quite fascinating (with some extremely catchy music to boot) if you have a few extra minutes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Del.icio.us....wait...what?
Here the link to my page:
https://delicious.com/daniellem22
Alright, I have a hard time believing that this is a major website.
Disadvantages:
To me, there is no real creativity in the idea of this website. Yeah, it's easy to add links to your "page", but nearly every other social media or, heck, interactive website has the ability to post links to favorited websites in the form of bookmarks. I wish there was a little bit more you could do with the site in order to make it more original for its users.
Advantages:
I've never really used twitter, instagram, etc. so I hope they don't have really similar features, but it seems useful that you can add tags to the links you are bookmarking with this site. As much as others site have this linking features, it's nice to have them all listed in an easy-to-search fashion.
https://delicious.com/daniellem22
Alright, I have a hard time believing that this is a major website.
Disadvantages:
To me, there is no real creativity in the idea of this website. Yeah, it's easy to add links to your "page", but nearly every other social media or, heck, interactive website has the ability to post links to favorited websites in the form of bookmarks. I wish there was a little bit more you could do with the site in order to make it more original for its users.
Advantages:
I've never really used twitter, instagram, etc. so I hope they don't have really similar features, but it seems useful that you can add tags to the links you are bookmarking with this site. As much as others site have this linking features, it's nice to have them all listed in an easy-to-search fashion.
Flickr...fun!?!?!
Here's the link to my Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121620905@N07/
Before I even started to customize anything on my Flickr page, the "default" template was super cute! No need to mess with the design too much. :) With usability in mind, I messed with a lot of the buttons to see what was self-explanatory and what required additional research. Honestly, there wasn't a lot that I needed to look too much further on. I was pleased the amount of things you could do with each photo (tagging, sharing, editing, and view counts).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121620905@N07/
Before I even started to customize anything on my Flickr page, the "default" template was super cute! No need to mess with the design too much. :) With usability in mind, I messed with a lot of the buttons to see what was self-explanatory and what required additional research. Honestly, there wasn't a lot that I needed to look too much further on. I was pleased the amount of things you could do with each photo (tagging, sharing, editing, and view counts).
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Open Source: Mozilla
Lastly, we're going to look at the internet browser, Mozilla, as our last open source program.
I'll start out by saying that, overall, I absolutely love Mozilla as an internet browser. I realize this is opposite of the majority of people I know who are tech savy, but I'm just starting on the software journey, so I'll stick to what looks/works nicely until I learn more. :) In the past, I've used Mozilla on Air Force computers, but it doesn't seem to support all the functions we need to use on base. At home, though, I see no reason not to use it as a substitute for other browsers, such as Google Chrome.
When comparing it to other browsers, I find it most similar to the aforementioned Google Chrome. Now realize, Chrome is my preferred browser due to its usability and customization. It may be little, but I love being able to set a personalized theme to my browser and have it remember it from one computer to another due to it being connected to my google account. Mozilla doesn't have this option, from what I can tell, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have other amiable qualities. When you first download Mozilla, a video loads that goes into the seemingly selfless idea that its creators run on. Quality over profit is something almost no one can argue with a company over.
I'll start out by saying that, overall, I absolutely love Mozilla as an internet browser. I realize this is opposite of the majority of people I know who are tech savy, but I'm just starting on the software journey, so I'll stick to what looks/works nicely until I learn more. :) In the past, I've used Mozilla on Air Force computers, but it doesn't seem to support all the functions we need to use on base. At home, though, I see no reason not to use it as a substitute for other browsers, such as Google Chrome.
When comparing it to other browsers, I find it most similar to the aforementioned Google Chrome. Now realize, Chrome is my preferred browser due to its usability and customization. It may be little, but I love being able to set a personalized theme to my browser and have it remember it from one computer to another due to it being connected to my google account. Mozilla doesn't have this option, from what I can tell, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have other amiable qualities. When you first download Mozilla, a video loads that goes into the seemingly selfless idea that its creators run on. Quality over profit is something almost no one can argue with a company over.
Open Source: Moodle
Second, we are going to look at the open source software program, Moodle.
This particular work is a free way for teachers to create online learning programs for their students. Personally, I've never really had the need to create new teaching materials via this sort of program before, so I'm using it on a first-time basis. After looking up a few operating tips online, I found the bulk of it very easy to use with a lot of options to choose from. As long as you have a sustained use that justifies spending a lot of time/money on customization, I'm sure it would work wonders.
When comparing it to the like-product, Articulate Online, I find it seems to be more set up for a large scale operation. Moodle works, but the level of expertise customization needed isn't worth it if you are just using it on a few occasions, whereas Articulate is much more user friendly in being able to make it work for any size group/teaching plan. At work, we use Articulate because its so easy to cater to our individual classes and, additionally, provides transparency from our students.
This particular work is a free way for teachers to create online learning programs for their students. Personally, I've never really had the need to create new teaching materials via this sort of program before, so I'm using it on a first-time basis. After looking up a few operating tips online, I found the bulk of it very easy to use with a lot of options to choose from. As long as you have a sustained use that justifies spending a lot of time/money on customization, I'm sure it would work wonders.
When comparing it to the like-product, Articulate Online, I find it seems to be more set up for a large scale operation. Moodle works, but the level of expertise customization needed isn't worth it if you are just using it on a few occasions, whereas Articulate is much more user friendly in being able to make it work for any size group/teaching plan. At work, we use Articulate because its so easy to cater to our individual classes and, additionally, provides transparency from our students.
Open Source: LibreOffice
Hello!
First, I will look at the open source software, LibreOffice.
Maybe it's because I am so used to Microsoft Office, but it seems like LibreOffice has an user interface that is extremely hard to use and lacks a lot of key options. When it first opens, there is a short list of database types you can choose from. Once you select one, there is an option to just open a blank document or you can choose to use the "Wizard" to help you set up what you are trying to do. Both options work well, but I wish there was more labeling involved, rather than a bunch of pictures and tool bars you have to scroll through to find what you want.
Now, if I were to compare and contrast it to Microsoft Office, I would say Microsoft wins hands down. While I like that LibreOffice has a "Wizard" to run you through your project, I feel the program as a whole is just not as user friendly. Its look isn't appealing or sleek, which I believe is important these days, especially for those of us not as familiar with the behind-the-scenes of software.
First, I will look at the open source software, LibreOffice.
Maybe it's because I am so used to Microsoft Office, but it seems like LibreOffice has an user interface that is extremely hard to use and lacks a lot of key options. When it first opens, there is a short list of database types you can choose from. Once you select one, there is an option to just open a blank document or you can choose to use the "Wizard" to help you set up what you are trying to do. Both options work well, but I wish there was more labeling involved, rather than a bunch of pictures and tool bars you have to scroll through to find what you want.
Now, if I were to compare and contrast it to Microsoft Office, I would say Microsoft wins hands down. While I like that LibreOffice has a "Wizard" to run you through your project, I feel the program as a whole is just not as user friendly. Its look isn't appealing or sleek, which I believe is important these days, especially for those of us not as familiar with the behind-the-scenes of software.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Mashable, not just a trendy name
http://mashable.com/
Rather than just being focused on providing readers with trendy apps and profiles on their creators like the blog eHub, Mashable capitalizes its users attention via a combination of the rarely seen, but ever important news articles and the latest technologies.
Rather than just being focused on providing readers with trendy apps and profiles on their creators like the blog eHub, Mashable capitalizes its users attention via a combination of the rarely seen, but ever important news articles and the latest technologies.
The Simply Accessible, eHub
http://emilychang.com/ehub/
The first blog I read was Emily Chang's ehub, a simply chic web 2.0 blog designed to provide the most fascinating web applications and the occasional interview with those in charge of creating the up-and-coming Web 2.0. Here, it's easy to find everything from a freelancer (the app Frank) to cover the various beats to a trendy place focused on sprucing up your blogs and various webpages in the form of themes and templates.
The first blog I read was Emily Chang's ehub, a simply chic web 2.0 blog designed to provide the most fascinating web applications and the occasional interview with those in charge of creating the up-and-coming Web 2.0. Here, it's easy to find everything from a freelancer (the app Frank) to cover the various beats to a trendy place focused on sprucing up your blogs and various webpages in the form of themes and templates.
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