IDT Blogity Blog

This week I discovered new ways to research information. I visited three different websites that proved very helpful: YouTube, technorati and SlideShare.

When I think of YouTube, I think of wedding music videos, dancing babies, dogs “talking,” etc. In the list of words used to describe YouTube videos; amusing, silly, stupid, strange, unique, scary, musical and more, I never would have included educational. I typed in the topic I was searching for and found a number of related videos from multiple sources; podcasts, news clips, recorded business conferences, and so on. Most of them were very useful. The downside: I still found myself in the YouTube Triangle within  a matter of minutes. I am referring to the phenomenon that occurs in YouTube when you start out doing a simple search for a movie trailer and then three hours later you’re watching a hamster open a door inside a house made of legos. Oh, yeah, it exists, and here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE_fgW4-pwk&feature=PlayList&p=76F2D756EEDB1FE0&index=14&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL

technorati is a totally cool site for looking at blogs. I mean, like, millions of blogs. Go ahead, pick a topic, someone is blogging about it. Don’t believe me? Okay, here is a link to a blog all about finernails, yes, FINGER-FREAKING-NAILS! http://yourfingernails.wordpress.com/  I did find a lot of great information that I can use. It is also great to see what other people have to say about a topic and get a different perspective. Isn’t that what learning is all about?

Fianlly, SlideShare is probably my favorite. This site allows you to search through slide presentations, pdfs, etc. that other people have put together. I love that it has information about current topics and I really love that I can steal design ideas for my PowerPoint slides! You can also share your stuff with people, get it slide SHARE. Yeah, its clever.

So, not only are these great sites, but it’s nice to know that for a research paper I don’t have to dread the research part as much. Of course you have to have the usual, credible journal articles, but using these other sources are a great way you can get a different perspective on your research topic and how it is being used in everyday applications.

Okay I have a new favorite thing to talk about…Skype! I was able to try it out this week for an IDT class. A group of us were able to have an online conference call to discuss our final paper abstracts. Delightfulness ensued.

Skype is a super user friendly tool that allows you to call, video call or chat with other people online, and it’s FREE!!! Just a download away! You need a microphone to use it or a headset if you prefer. Download Skype and create your user ID. Then it helps you test your speaker settings and your mic settings. If you have a web cam you can test that too. You have a contact list that works a lot like email. You have to type in your contact’s user ID, then if you want to instant message or chat you click on the person’s name and start typing or press “call.” You can even call landlines and mobiles!

It is a great way to connect with people for free. It was also very helpful for this online class. I felt so connected with the students in my group. Email can only get you so far, but a voice on the other end of the computer is so comforting. I think it can really take online learning to the next level.

Downside: With more than two people talking (there were 5 in my group) at times we started to all talk at once or talk over eachother. When someone is talking the bar with their name in it lights up, however there is no way to know when a person is going to talk or wants to talk.

If you have not tried Skype, I strongly recommend it, especially to anyone teaching an online class. Check it out: http://www.skype.com/

So, I re-visited my SecondLife as Leigh Edenbaum, and I gotta say, still not my cup o’ virtual tea.

I did receive some additional help this time. I did a search on “How To… something” and up came Orientation Island! Not the most clever name for a help station, but at this point, obvious works. Very nicely done. There are different stations or levels where the user is given directions to complete a task that will help them learn how to do something in SecondLife. For example: There was a ball on a shelf-like thingy, (as a matter of fact that is the technical term) The directions tell you how to pick up and move the ball. Then you actually pick up and move the ball. Then you move onto the next station. I was able to finally change my “girl next door” attire and don a standard jeans and t-shirt ensemble. While this was a nice feature, it was very basic and I still have not figured out how to get a job or build a house or do any of the things I would imagine keep people coming back to SecondLife.

I can also say that a likely reason I don’t spend much time on my stints to SecondLife is that people keep bothering me. This one guy actually came up to me and said, “Can I bang that fine ass!!!?” What am I supposed to say to that? “Oh yeah, let’s bang!” Becuase only a totally awesome guy would approach me like that. Sure, you don’t still live with your mother.

Though repulsed, it made me think of a research paper topic if anyone is still struggling: Sexuality and how it is used in real life compared to sexuality and how it is used in SecondLife, or some variation on that. There is currently loads of information about identity online and its effects on how one communicates online. It might be interesting to look into.

As for me, maybe one more shot at my SecondLife. If it turns out good, perhaps I can start building a SecondLife, if not, peace out losers! JK,  avatars are people too, not really, but kind of…right?

The other day I joined SecondLife, the virtual world in which you can work, play, build, interact, and do pretty much all the things you can do in real life and more. Plus, you can fly.

The initial set-up is pretty easy. It involves registering with an email and picking a name and avatar, your virtual self basically. Now for some exploring. The toolbar in the SecondLife viewer allows you to do a search. There are other applications as well, including a map, live chat and, my favorite, the fly button. I wanted a different outfit so I searched clothing. Several options came up, one was the Mall. If you click on the description of something, you are usually given the option to “teleport” there. So, I teleported to the Mall. Then I was lost. It was a really vast space with walls of images, which I assume is how you browse things. I had no clue what to do, so I just clicked on something. Well, just like in real life, you have to pay for things in SecondLife. So, I was out of luck there. Thankfully, a nice girl must have seen my avatar struggling and came over to help. She took me to a freebie store, ( I guess we both teleported?) where I was just as confused, but she really did her best to try and assist me. I had some internet issues and my computer kicked me off.

So, that was my first Second Life experience. Not so great. What I did not like: people continuously IMing, not sure who is addressing me or talking to someone else; Not very user friendly, for me anyway; I was left with a ton of questions like how to earn money, how to get a job, what is a skin, etc. What I did like: Flying Overall, I’m not too impressed and I have a hard time understanding why some people become so engrossed in this virtual environment, but that’s why I’m going back. So, stay tuned to find out more about my adventures in… DUN DUN DUN….SecondLife!

I have had the unfortunate pleasure of being thrusted into the ever-growing phenomenon that is Twitter. Personally, I would never venture into the online mass text-messaging venue on my own. I was forced into the 140 character world because of my job and having to keep up with the Jones’ in this social networking revolution. So, I struggle on a daily basis with my own contempt for the service and having to use it in the best way to benefit my place of work.

In terms of business and profitablity, I have not found Twitter to be some money making prize horse. It is one tool that can be used to network, make announcements, post pictures, let constituents know what you are doing, etc. In a casual sense, it’s an easy way to keep a lot of people informed. Recently I used it as part of my promotional efforts to get people to attend our Open House event along with press releases, our website, facebook, on-air appearances and the usual media. What my main complaint with Twitter is: It’s touted as a mass texting tool that will save time, faster and easier than email because of its limited character space. However, with the amount of tweets I receive within a minute I could spend half the day reading and replying and “retweeting.” The other side to it is if you don’t follow up or take the time to interact, then it really becomes pointless.

Overall, I don’t think Twitter will continue to thrive like it has been. It’s more of a burn hot and fast kind of thing, and I see it fizzling out soon. This is really just my experience, but here read more!

http://edu.blogs.com/

Jing is my thing! If you haven’t used this cool tool yet, give it a shot, http://www.jingproject.com/download/ 

It is a totally free download and it is super easy to use, even for people like me who still can’t change my answering maching message.

I had to use it for one of my classes this week. Here’s how it works. Once you download Jing, a round, yellow icon sits tucked up in the middle of your desktop. It looks like a sun. When you scroll over the “sun,” three “rays” appear. Each one will help you perform a different task in Jing.

Jing allows you to take screen captures and make notes on the screen. It also allows you to take a five minute video recording of your screen along with audio! Great for short tutorials. For example, if you wanted to show someone how to create a slide in PowerPoint, open PowerPoint then click on the “sun.” A cross section appears on your screen. Move it over the area you want to take video of and click the record icon. Then Jing records your screen and the actions you take in PowerPoint, plus your personal narration! Just save the file and email it or post it to your website or blogpage. So easy! And what a great teaching tool!

I will also add that because Jing is so user friendly, it will give you confidence to use other software programs that might otherwise be intimidating to you. Plus, people who don’t use it will think you are super tech savvy!

Enjoy! Blog out!

So, as I mentioned, I am very new to blogging. I really want to share my experiences here so that others, maybe on the same level as me, won’t feel so hopelessly alone. In other words, I’ll tell you how I screw up, you learn from my embarassing attempts at technology and look like a pro doing things right! Sound good? Great!

What I learned today: Choose your blog background theme BEFORE you upload a cute, personalized header that you spent an hour on. Why? If you upload a header then choose a background, your header disappears and you are left with just the pre-designed background and, surprise surprise, NO CUTE HEADER! 

That is my lesson for today. Thank you for your time. Keep on bloggin yo!

Hey everybody! Here is my first blog post on my new blog site. I was able to create my own, personalized header. Very exciting! I am still trying to get the hang of this so just bear with me. I will make another post by week’s end with more detailed info about my adventures in blogging. Stay tuned!