Web 2.0...What's it all about?

Digital Story

jdrew4 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:56:36 +0000

I recently used Windows Movie Maker to complete a digital story. A chose to research and present on th 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. I wanted to ensure that I envoked emotion in my viewers while also educating them on how tragic the natural disaster was. The process of completing the video was more time consuming than I would have originally thought.

First I researched the event in as much detail as possible. Then I searched the internet for pictures that were not copyrighted. I found the majority of them on Flickr. The hardest part of the whole process was editing my voice and adding sound. I had two voice clips that I needed to merge together and then I had to add background music. Finding the music was also difficult. I finally found a public video on UTube. I was able to save the link and then run it through media-converter to extract just the mp3. In the end it was a fantastic learning experience!

Please visit my video at http://web.utk.edu/~jdrew4/TsunamiVideo.wmv

Social Bookmarking

jdrew4 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:16:11 +0000

I started using Diigo as an exercise in class. I went about 2 weeks without revisting the site. Recently, I was working on a research project for a different class and was saving the sites under my favorites at home. I needed to work on the project at school so I was going to export my favorites…until I remembered Diigo. I added bookmarks to the pages I was using and saved them on Diigo. I didn’t think I was going to use this resouce but it turns out I did and it made things so much easier!

RSS Feeds Revisited

jdrew4 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:31:27 +0000

I created a RSS feed a few weeks ago. Since creating it I haven’t really used it. I check it about once a week but find most of the the information unimportant. If I selected different RSS feeds the information might be more relevant. This would be a great resource if you were working on a project and needed to collect specific data on a topic. In a sense I feel like RSS feeds could cause information overload.

I understand how useful this tool could be to people that follow certain sites. My biggest problem is that I don’t use the internet for personal use that often. I use it mainly for school and research. I did add a RSS feed from UT that provides up-to-the minute alerts. That is the most useful feed to me at this point. Check out the other feeds I am subscribed to in the screenshot below.

Enhanced Podcast

jdrew4 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:48:52 +0000

I created an enhanced podcast about “How to use Blogger.” I took step-by-step screen shots and add commentary on how to create a blog. Please check it out at http://web.utk.edu/~jdrew4/EnhancedPodcast.mp4

Podcast

jdrew4 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:22:05 +0000

This is my first podcast. It is the story of Corduroy which was written by Don Freeman. I recorded my voice and then uploaded the file to mediaconverter.com. Once the file was converted to a .mp3 I imported it into Audacity. I was able to edit the file to take out pauses and mistakes I made when I was reading. I was also able to adjust the volume of the recording so it wasn’t as loud as when I started.

You can listen to my podcast here: http://web.utk.edu/~jdrew4/Corduroy.mp3

Scavenger Hunt Photo Collection

jdrew4 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:14:29 +0000

Last week a classmate and myself went on a scavenger hunt. The purpose was to get acquainted with taking digital photos and uploading them into a presentation using Google Docs. We were really successful in our hunt. Although we found a lizard we couldn’t get a picture so we substituted a koi fish instead. In addition to our list we found a bunny. All the pictures were taken at the UT Botanical Gardens here on campus.

After saving the pictures I manually changed the resolution to 96 and cropped each picture so they are roughly the same size. I then created a new presentation in Google docs. After adding the pictures I changed the theme to a natural setting that would enhance the photos while staying with the over all concept of the presentation. Please feel free to check it out at:

Nature_Savenger_Hunthttp://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dwhjjbn_4d8wvc9ds&hl=en

Flickr-Bugs

jdrew4 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:08:44 +0000

I created a slide show of bugs using Flickr. All the images were found from www.morguefile.com and are completely free. I downloaded them images and then imported them into PhotoShop Elements. I changed the resolution of each picture to 72 and re-sized them all. I had difficulties resizing some images based on how they were originally uploaded, but they look great together. After I edited the pictures I uploaded them into Flickr and created a new set for them. Creating the set allowed me to then make a slide show using the pictures. Please take a look at it at Flicker Slideshow

Holy Bejesus! I’m Tweeting!

jdrew4 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:35:01 +0000

After reading the article on Twitter, I joined. So far I am following Oprah, Ellen, Arnold and P.Diddy. It is hilarious to read what they tweet about. Oprah went to a play and cried and Ellen was getting coffee at Bean. I have to wonder if this level of connectedness is healthy. Twitter would be a great resource for idea sharing, exchanging of resources and real time tweets about political/governmental issues. The level of personal connection you feel towards the tweets you following is pretty cool but in a way I feel like a stalker! Do I really want to know what Oprah is doing every few hours? I’m not sure I want to know what anyone is doing all the time. That is just to much togetherness!

Twitter Article

jdrew4 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:56:46 +0000

I recently read “How Twitter will Change the way we Live” by Evan Williams. Prior to reading this article I have a vague understanding of what Twitter is all about. Now I feel I can actively communicate with Twitizens. Beyond telling people what I had for breakfast, I can have conversations about politics, entertainment and technology. Williams makes an excellent point when he said “a customized newspaper will be compiled from all the articles being read that morning by your social network.” The educational and political advantages of using Twitter are endless. If a teacher needs to announce an assignment last minute they can Tweet about it. If students are working on a group project they can Tweet about questions or reaching deadlines. Twitter can be used as a search engine. Students can find articles, papers and opinions from experts. Imagine being able to Tweet with a Professor from MIT about advanced mathematics. The resource of people and information is robust and expansive.

RSS Feeds

jdrew4 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:02:29 +0000

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndacation. What does that mean? When you create a RSS feed to a site the information on that site comes to you. You don’t have to go looking for it. Example: You read a blog everyday by going to the blog site and checking for a new post. Well that is so five minutes ago. Now all you have to do is create a RSS feed with the blogs you read and then the you will be alerted, through your RSS reader, when there is a new post. This technology makes the compliation of information extremely easy and accessible.

I have RSS feeds to The Knoxville News Sentinel and The Buffalo News. You can view them to the right!

One great benefit for educational purposes is that students can each create a blog and then link to their classmates blogs. If they have questions or want to discuss anything about class, this is a great resource. Also, the teacher can follow the blogs and keep tabs on where each student is.