Amber’s Blog

Over the course of the Online Communications class, I have learned many new and helpful things. Some of the new things I have learned are how to use Windows Movie Maker, Microsoft Encoder, and wordpress sites. I was able to obtain knowledge that will help me in college and the future.

Before coming to this class, I was unsure on how to add hyperlinks or successfully write information online. After completing this class, I am now able to hyperlink words and write in HTML code. By working on wordpress blogs, I was able to learn how to add text widgets and place code in the widgets so that they portray exactly what I want them too. I can now also create links out of a single word so that the extended link does not clutter up the page.

I also learned new programs. I can now make video tutorials easily and use Windows Movie Maker to create slide shows and movies. When I began using Microsoft Encoder, it was a challenge to record the entire tutorial at the same time. However, my group and I found a loophole and we were able to pause the encoder at intervals. I can now successfully make tutorials. Before this class, I relied on friends to help make movies for school. Now however, I can make my own movies by using Windows Movie Maker. Using movie maker, I was able to make a Technology Autobiography. I was able to take pictures and record my voice about how I was able to use technology over my life.

In the future, I will be able to use the skills that I learned in this class to create more advanced projects, blog and be able to communicate with my teachers. I can now make movies instead power point presentations. I can send tutorials to my parents when they do not know how to use certain applications on the computer.

I am very proud of my advisors website. I was able to add many applications and set up different pages. I was able to use all of the skills that I learned to complete the project. I also was able to make a site that my advisor enjoys using and that the bookclub will be able to use to continue over the summer.

I enjoyed taking this class and I am looking foward to using my new found skills in college. I can now do many new things on the internet and I am planning on creating another website for my mom’s book club.

I really liked working on this communative project. My advisor and I worked well together and I was able to turn out a well designed website. It was difficult however to meet with my advisor during class time since I was unsure when we were going to learn something new or expand on something we had learned the day before. However, I was able to get a lot of my project completed during class time and the tutorials on work days were very helpful.

I am very proud of my front page and books page.

On the front page I was able to add headings, links and images. I tried to add a table to put my images in but I was unsuccessful. The front page is very informative and easy to read.

On the Books page, I was able to hyperlink all of the titles of the books to summaries on the Barnes and Noble website. This way, students can read about the books while looking at the book list. I also added an image of books which really brings the page together.

I enjoyed working on this project and I hope that the book club will like it.

This week, I added a text reader and more images to my blog. I also signed all of the book club members up and I am just waiting for them to sign in to add them as contributers. I also got more information from my advisor and will be putting that on this week.

Next, I plan on editing some of my pages and setting up contributers. I also need to put one more picture on the page and I will be taking a digital picture of the media center this coming week for the about page.

My long term goals are to set up how to use the blog for my advisor and also make video tutorials for the site. Most of my blog is complete, there are just a couple of small things that need tweaking.

I really like this project because I am making a site for future years and for the book club to use over the summer.

This week I worked mostly on my advisors blog and it almost completed. All I have left to do is add another image, beef up my about section and develop my last category. My advisor seems to be really happy with the blog and I am setting up the users now so that the book club can start blogging.

I do need to catch up on a few things. I wasn’t in class when we learned how to insert tables and polls. I had an issue with placing a picture on the site but I wasn’t quite sure how to put a table to place the picture in. When I figured out how to make the table, it didn’t work the way I wanted it to, so I went back to what I had done before.

I am very happy with where my blog is going and I can’t wait to see the final product.

This week I added an audio reader to my blog. It was fairly simple to set up the second time. The first audio reader I tried to set up did not work very well because I had tried to set it up on my advisors blog which did not have any posts for the audio reader to read.

I was unable to learn how to make a table however since I was out sick for the remainder of the week so I will need to catch up when I get back to school on Tuesday.

This week, I was able to give all of the book club members edublogs usernames. They need to log in so that I can add them as users.

This coming week, I am going to add them as users and also put a text reader and audio reader.

I am also going to add a discussion page that is going to be a forumn.

This week I wasn’t able to get much done because of AP testing. I was not in school on Monday because of an illness and then not in school on Tuesday for my AP Chemistry test.

I was able to meet with my advisor this week and she really likes the website. We decided on some ideas to add to the site which I am planning on completing this coming week. She really likes the site and all of the things I have done so far.

I have some work ahead of me with this website but it is coming alone. The actual website portion is almost done and now I have to work on tutorials and discussion things.

This week, I met with my advisor and made some changes to the site. We added more text to the front page and decided on more things that I can do this coming week. I am going to add a Voki to the front page and a discussion page. I also emailed all of the members of the book club and told them what I was going to make their usernames.

Make sure to look at the front page of the blog. It is more colorful and easier to read.

Next, I plan on working on adding a Voki and adding a discussion page. The discussion page is going to be where questions can be asked and students can respond. I am also going to make usernames for all of the members of the book club so we can start blogging.

My to-do list:

• Resize the picture
• Figure out a way to make the discussion page a forumn

This project is really coming along.

This week I learned how to put a google calendar onto my blog. I also learned how to add images and how to place things in a text box.

This week was very productive. I was able to place widgets in my blog and learn about how to add things to my blog to enhance the blog.

I enjoy learning new things to place in my blog and they are really helping to enhance my blog and the blog for my advisor.

This week I worked on adding more things to my blog. I added a google calendar and pictures of the cover of the book to the front page. I also worked on making the blog more usable and easier to navigate.

Make sure you look at the google calendar. I edited it to make sure that it fit within the parameters of the page and I also added dates to the blog.

Next, I plan to email the members of the book club and set them up with usernames. I am going to add them as contruibuters.

My current to-do list for the blog is:

• add the members as contributors
• place the blog on the media center and foran website
• center the picture and make the site more usable

I like this project. I feel like I am really accomplishing something with this project.