Thoughts for Autism blog postings

Blog Ideas:

1. What is Autism?

2. The difference between a complete diagnosis of Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

3. Strategies for adjusting to hearing the diagnosis of Autism for your child

Social Networking

Social networks have become a part of today's culture. This constantly growing trend has made its way into the lives of millions of people who now use these sites on a daily basis. The networking sites once meant for specific purposes, business profiles, school experiments, etc, have become a global phenomenon. As a daily user of networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, I can honestly say I do not remember why I was ever on the internet for long periods of time before these sites were created. Networking is now part of our lifestyle. People are curious. Websites like facebook give people the opportunity to peek into another person's life through their profile.
Social networking sites are now important tools in spreading news or messages. It's a great way to get people to support a cause or attend an event. Even schools have begun to integrate spcial networking websites into their classes.
I think this is a smart move considering high school and college students spend the majority of their internet surfing on one of these websites. If teachers can make some of their work accessible through these sites, the students may be more likely to do it since it is a website they would be visiting anyway.

Google Sites

Google has yet again made the internet much easier to manipulate. This step by step online program creates a very simple way to create your own web page. They keep everything very straight forward. There is no "computer talk" that only the technologically inclined could decipher. This is a site that even I would be able to use to create a web page and that is saying something considering I am inadequate when it comes to computers. The video tutorials also prove how easy this website is. From what I've seen Google can do no wrong.

Calvitto's Pizza Visual Design...or Lack Thereof

Contrast:
The website for Calvitto's Pizza lacks contrast. It is simply a boring black and white. The only hint of color viewers see are the tiny clip art pizzas, breads, cupcakes, and Italian flags that the web designer added. It is not appealing to the eye and is not likely to draw new customers in. Their actual logo in person is much more welcoming. They should at least incorporate their logo so that people know what to look for.

Repetition:
One thing that this website seems to has working for it is repetition. The entire website is one page and that page consists of their menu set up in a table chart format. Everything is clearly stated and each section is titled with a large bold text. Each section is tied together by different types of clip art, which although may not be very affective artwork, still ties things together so that customers know which section they can find certain items in.

Alignment:
Almost everything on this website appears in the center of the page. There is a lot of space left unused on the page.

Proximity:

The website does have a sense of order to it. There are separate sections for each type of item they sell, however, they do not go into detail about any of their products and there doesn't seem to be any particular reason why the sections are placed in the order that they are in.

Scrolling down the page we see pizza first, this is an obvious choice because they are known for their pizza, next comes the bread/rolls, then pastries, and then calzones. Maybe it's just me but aren't calzones basically just a folded pizza with different ingredients? I think they should be directly after pizza followed by the bread and rolls, and leave the pastries for last since people would normally think of dessert after they have eaten their main course which in this case would be a pizza or calzone.

Purpose, Audience, and Tone are very important aspects of websites. They each go hand-in-hand. Your purpose will have an affect on the audience interested in your work, your tone will narrow this audience even more. Website designers should try to express their opinions and beliefs but not in an offensive way, try to keep your website neutral enough so that audiences with opposing ideas will still want to see things from your perspective. Use your own voice! Don't try to sound like someone else, it will backfire! People want to be able to relate, they want to feel like the author is talking to them not at them.

Web Design

As this chapter says, it is important to state information in an organized fashion. Information should be clear and simply stated. I find navigating websites to be one of the most important aspects to look at. Wed designers should make sure everything makes sense when putting all of this information together. There should be a certain flow to how and where the information is placed on a website. Personally I prefer websites with a hierarchical design. The scaffolding effect will allow those visiting the website to understand the depth of the subject. They will find everything from general background information all the way to small specified topics.

I live in Bonnet Shores in Narragansett, RI. We have mentioned in class that this website is a mess. I have become frustrated many times attempting to navigate this site. Another poorly designed website is www.miauk.com this is the website for music artist MIA. the site is too bright, with too many graphics on the home page. It makes me want to leave the site very quickly. Yet another poorly designed website is www.unofficialroyalty.com. This website was originally pretty well designed however it was renovated and unfortunately has downgraded. The site is boring. The font is small, the titles do not stand out. The first thing you see when visiting the page is a box with the word "DONATE" in it with a list of credit cards they accept. People do not want to immediately see that a website wants money. This was a bad design idea.

Information Ecologies

This chapter gives a very interesting view of places people use everyday. I would never have thought of a hospital as an information ecology before reading this. There are so many places around us today where technology plays a large role and requires people to contribute their own parts as well.
Wiki travel could be considered its own information ecology because it is dependent on people having a computer with internet, and it also needs knowledgeable people to fill in the site. People from around the world can come together in this one place to create web pages. If someone makes a mistake, there is always someone that comes along in a matter of minutes to fix the error. It's a system.
I can also see ways where Wikitravel may not be considered an information ecology. the website does not need more than one person in order for it to work. One person could fill out entries on their own without help from anyone meaning there was no collaboration involved. Also, some people add things to Wikipedia and Wikipedia as a joke. They are not helping the cause, they are creating a distraction from it.

The first thought that popped into my mind before it was even mentioned in the chapter was school. School is definitely an information ecology, especially today. Students are constantly learning about integrating technology into classrooms and that it is "the way of the future". Just last semester one of my classes had a guest speaker through video chat. It is true that schools worked just fine before technology entered the classroom but today, I'm not sure how schools would go on without it. The technology like computers, projectors, smart boards, email, etc, keeps everyone at the school connected. We can get text message alerts when school is canceled. It seems a bit crazy but it makes things convenient.
The author's mention of Kinko's reminded me of my latest trip to the copy center at Staples. They have a self serve station with paper, pens, staplers, and tape among other things but they also have the counter you can go to for help if you are having trouble. What I see in this chapter is that everyone in a local information ecology, which we find ourselves in everyday, comes together for a similar cause and work together with the now integrated use of technology.

Wikitravel

My first thought when hearing about the Wikitravel project was to add to the existing entry on Narragansett. I work for the DEM during the summer so I have information that could be added to the things to do section, particularly in the outdoors and beach categories. However, I'm afraid that the information I have may not be enough seeing how much is already on the page. My second choice was to add to the entry on South Kingstown. I could definitely add to the descriptions of most sections on this page. My third choice would be to create an itinerary for RI. Although it's my last choice, I know it is the better choice. I would not want to commit to one of my other choices only to find out that I did not have enough information to add to the entries. By writing my own itinerary, I can write about whatever I want, in the way I see RI.

Wikipedia

I think it is smart of Wikipedia to start checking edits before allowing them to show up on the website. There are many people that would, and have taken advantage of the opportunity to edit information. If people are searching for a certain topic it's clearly for a reason. They want to know factual information. They do not want to be directed to a page about Elvis and have it tell them that he was abducted by aliens and currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The article gives an example of a Wikipedia entry that had been edited with false information and that information ended up in the newspaper. The founders of Wikipedia must create some sort of barrier for "amateur editors" so that these slips do not happen again.
I constantly search things on Wikipedia. My searches tend to show Wikipedia as one of the top choices of websites. My teachers throughout high school and college have stressed to my classes that we are not allowed to use Wikipedia as a source of information for our papers. This is unfortunate since it would make researching topics very easy. I understand the reasoning why it is not a reliable source though. As a future teacher, I probably won't want my students using this website either. If it were reliable, and if edits were checked maybe people would think differently about researching information from Wikipedia.

Response to Wurman

As a Secondary Education major, this article was something I could relate to. Being an information architect requires many elements including a specifically chosen order of information and perspective. As a teacher, I will have to use these elements in the classroom. I will have to chose which information I teach my students, when I decide to teach certain pieces of information, and the level of importance of everything they will be expected to know in my classroom. I will also have to be conscious of the fact that each of my students will be looking at my lessons from a different perspective. They will see things differently than me so I will be responsible for making the information accessible to all. This seems to be the main idea behind Wurman's section on "L.A.T.C.H." You have to be able to group things together in an interesting way, but also be able to change it once in a while, mix it up a bit. As an information architect you cannot be monotonous. Variety is key to keeping people interested. Along with that, you must have a voice and personality. Wurman says that it doesn't matter if you have every single piece of information 100% accurate just as long as you display it well. If you are concerned with being completely accurate, your voice in the piece will be lost. It is better to share what YOU know and YOUR opinions rather than speak of ideas and thoughts that others had. Simply stating what others have already concluded is boring. and leaves others uninterested. You must find yourself in all of your endeavors inside the world of information and out.

Blogs as Clubhouses

After reading Suzanne Stefanac's piece on logs as clubhouses, I began to think about how they really are great ways of bringing people with similar interests together. People can share their views on topics, and already know they have something in common otherwise they wouldn't be on that blog in the first place! As Stefanac says, it becomes a community, no matter how big or small it may be. A blog might reach 10 people or 10,000 people but either way, the authors of blogs have a passion. Mr. Jalopy does not update his blog just for the thrill of seeing the number of views on his page increase, he simply likes to do it. If you are not passionate about what you are writing about, and your voice on the topic does not stand out, your internet audience will notice. Well-known blogs became such due to the author's presence in each of their posts. If amateur bloggers hope to get their blogs noticed they must be true to themselves and write from the heart.


some topics for my enthusiast blog include the following: Disney World, interesting vanity license plates I see, the experiences of being a wedding singer, the trouble with tourists, things other states may not know about RI

Response to Weblog History

It's interesting to think that weblogs picked up popularity in 1999. I was ten years old and do not recall hearing the word "blog" until quite some time after that. Just the year before, my parents bought our first computer for our house. So it would be a while before I became familiar with the world wide web. I've never had a blog myself, but thinking about the ones I follow online, it seems amazing that they are recognized internationally, whereas there are millions of bloggers around the world who may always go unnoticed.
Blogs seem to be the way of the future. As an Education major, I have been finding that there is a great emphasis on using technology in the classroom, blogs specifically. Many classes are now requiring a blog as part of course material. It seems to be a way for people to really express themselves at their own comfort level and on their own time and it is something I would consider continuing after this semester.