The World is Flat

Friedman says that with advances in technology and communication, a new globalization has occurred that levels the economic playing fields for both advanced and emerging societies. He mentions certain so-called “flatteners” that push this flattening of the world’s economy. Here are some related to technology:

§  Web Browsing – anyone who can use a computer and has an Internet connection can use web browsers to easily interact with entities across the world, regardless of age or country. This allows for an entirely new marketplace and instant communication channels. This flattens the world because on the web, a single person can have the same presence as a multinational corporation, and entire firms can exist solely on the web.

§  Outsourcing & Offshoring – outsourcing allows firms to split their operations up and allow external sources to handle the processes to other firms. Offshoring puts business operations of a firm overseas where costs are lower. Combined with the boom in technology (fast data transfer and instant communication across the globe), this flattens the world because it spreads companies across the globe, and allows for emerging countries to excel because of cheaper workforces.

§  Web Searching – people across the globe can find cast information in a few milliseconds with a Google search. This involves people across the world in events and issues, as well as educates global societies with almost unlimited information.

Friedman is certainly a pioneer in technology and innovation. It was interesting to listen to him speak, after hearing so much about the book and reading exceprts and reviews, it is neat to see the man behind the message. On a more personal note, I appreciated how humble he is!

CAPSTONE REFLECTION

1) In what ways have you developed skills and/or changed your view of your the web and technology while building your ePortfolio? 

Building my ePortfolio has been a great way for me to build my career "tool belt" so to say.  Companies today want employees (especially recent college grads) to be proficient and competent in many areas and technology seems to be the most important, followed closely or perhaps tied with healthy communication skills. Many universities equip their students with multimedia know-how and I am glad to see that Saint Mary's is recognizing the need for tech skills by graduation. My opinion of the web has not changed, as I have tried to keep myself up-to-date in terms of the internet and new opportunities present with the ever-changing web.
 

2) How has working on the ePortfolio helped you to think about and demonstrate your strengths and skills and become a more self-directed technology learner?

The nature of the course was very independent and that independence allowed for us to explore the different applications that we were assigned to use in projects. The ePortfolio is a good example of the creative freedom that we were given as students. Google does an excellent job of laying everything out and ensuring that their products are very "user-friendly".  Becoming acquainted with blogger is a good first step into the world of google sites.   I believe that much of the internet is designed to be user-friendly, you just have to be open to learning! I have to admit, for so long I was intimidated by Youtube and the whole ordeal of making an account and uploading video - I learned through this course that it is incredibly easy and designed to be quick and painless.

3) What themes and patterns emerged from your ePortfolio?

My ePortfolio really turned out to be an interesting project for me to complete. Beyond becoming acquainted with the technology, creating the ePortfolio challenged me in a personal way. I was challenged to create the web 2.0 version of my professional myself. I put a great deal of thought into what the site should look and feel like to reflect who I am and what I am like. I chose a simple background with simple text. Though I am not by any means "simple" in reality, the clean format allowed me to express myself in my text and projects. The added dimension of voice in my screencast and webware tutorial helps my online audience to get to know me better. 

4) What impact has making an ePortfolio made on you academically, professionally, and/or personally?

My ePortfolio is the web 2.0 professional version of myself.  I anticipate that my ePortfolio will be viewed by individuals that I would consider "professional" connections. While my personal and professional identity really do not differ very much at all, I have reserved the social details of myself for a venue such as Facebook. I hope to use the ePortfolio to advance myself and my career. It is a good tool and while I do have an HTML website; www.nd.edu/~mmcdouga, the ePortfolio is easier to edit and change depending on the purpose I choose for it. It is a great tool that I hope will help me in my career opportunities.

Reflection: Movie

Well this assignment was a pretty good experience but one that came with a good deal of frustration, to be honest. The folder that held my Networking 101 PPT file was deleted because the computer automatically cleared space for a big download for another class (it was more involved and complicated than that but thats basically what happened, combined with a bit of sheer stupidity on my part) so after a number of failed attempts to screencast the entire production and play the video at a certain point, I have to post the video separately.

The video, however, was a very fun experience! I used a great site called xtranormal.com and I was able to make a video depicting a good networking conversation between a professional and a college student. The tool is wonderful and I have already shared it with the kids I babysit. It is a great product and I am pleased that it is available for free online right now. I recall some programs like this one that were available when I was younger but they were software and therefore, not available for free.

I had a wonderful time creating the script and storyboard, it really allowed me to flex my creative muscle and I absolutely enjoyed that aspect. Further, this has been a hard, but very good lesson in file maintenance and backing up files to save in different places incase something happens to a file you will be working on in the future. I have since been uploading my documents to dropbox.com- a great tool for saving and accessing work anywhere.

All in all, this has been a good experience! I hope my video is entertaining, informative and persuasive!

Movie Script

Jennifer: Hi Mrs. Clayton. Thank you for inviting me here today!
Mrs. Clayton: Absolutely, Jennifer. Your aunt tells me you are looking for a job after graduation. What is your area of study?
Jennifer: Yes, I am looking for a job by May. I am studying Marketing and Spanish.
Mrs. Clayton: I have a friend with a multicultural marketing agency in new york. Would you be interested in a job with her?
Jennifer: Yes! I would! Thank you.
Mrs. Clayton: Great, I will pass along your resume.
Jennifer: Thank you!
Mrs. Clayton: My pleasure. You have a lot of ambition and will do great!

Movie for Networking

Flowchart for movie

FATP and Storyboard for movie

Form:  Movie within slidecast (How: Slideshow, Video, Essay, Letter, Video, etc.)

Audience: individuals interested in networking after college to find employment

Topic: Networking skills for college graduates, how to have a good networking conversation, connecting with professionals

Purpose: To entertain, inform, persuade people to consider networking as a great way to find a job

Good Imovie tutorial

Slidecast

Networking 101

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Podcast Outline

The following is an outline for my podcast. I intend on following this structure and adding in details as I go so that the podcast is a natural progression, kind of like a conversation. I am comfortable with the material and think that by choosing a conversational format, my audience will enjoy listening!

-Intro/greeting: My name is Mary, college student, South Bend, Indiana

-What is Networking? (CC image worked on by me) Any activity designed to utilize interpersonal relationships

-Why network? 72% of jobs attained through networking. Tough job market, need to stand out

-Who to contact? (CC image, worked on by me) family, friends, professional connections

-Good impression – (CC image, worked on by me) be outgoing and excited, show interest, appreciate wisdom

Follow up- after the event, follow up with a thank you and show your appreciation

Give Back- offer to help the person helping you in any way possible

Know your goals- know what you want out of this contact so that you do not waste the persons time

Thank You!

Image credits slide

Review: Slidecast

Well, it would be great if I were able to get slideshare to work to upload my masterpiece! All this hard work and every time I try to sync my audio with the slideshow, it comes back as an error on behalf of Slideshare. As soon as it works itself out, I will post the final product.

Producing the podcast, along with remixing music was much easier than I had imagined it would be. With Mac's Garageband and a good apple lap top, anything is possible. Garageband is extremely intuitive and user friendly. I enjoyed the process of finding free music samples to remix and used some of my own recorded music as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Garageband laid out the tracks for me to play with, edit and cut. After trying audacity and comparing it to my experience with Garageband, I am definitely a fan of the latter!

The whole process of creating the slidecast (though I have not been able to sync the two) has been a very good one. In my future career, I am certain that I will be engaging in public information sharing in one way or another. This tool is definitely one that I will use in my career. It is really applicable to any area of life too. For example, a slidecast would be a great way to share information about life changes (wedding, baby, retirement) in a storybook form. My fiancee recently suggested doing an e-announcement of our engagement (not sure if we will end up doing that) but this would be a great way to spread the news! These are just a few fun applications that this skill could be used for. I am pleased that we were given this assignment and I look forward to adding my audio to my slideshow!

Podcast: WXPN 88.5 FM

Growing up, my family had music playing throughout the house from the early morning hours until bedtime. We listened to an array of music ranging from the likes of Bob Dylan, CSNY, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell to classics such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Billie Holiday and a myriad of underground eclectic alternative rock bands from all over the world. You could always guarantee that there would be music playing in the McDougall house.

When I was young, my parents discovered an alternative radio station called WXPN 88.5 FM, which was located in nearby Philadelphia. WXPN played a wide range of music - so many genres that I cannot begin to name them here. WXPN was essentially the soundtrack to my life. When I left home, to head out to Indiana for college, my WXPN days were over...or so I thought. After a year or so of WXPNless life, I stumbled upon the WXPN podcast. The podcast played all the music as well as the news. I downloaded a number of programs to my ipod and it continues to be a favorite of mine today!

Slideshow: Networking 101

Networking 101

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Slideshow Reflection

My slideshow focuses on some essential tips to remember when networking professionally. As a college student myself, looking to get out into the professional world, I have come to understand the role of networking in personal and professional endeavors. Networking is absolutely crucial for creating and maintaining good personal and professional relationships and opening new avenues for potential opportunities.

My slideshow reflects what we have covered in Web Communications. Using few words and placing an emphasis on images and graphs, I have created a slideshow that requires the human connection to understand. For my presentation, I will explain the meanings behind the images and text – this is done so that the audience will have a richer experience listening to the presentation, instead of reading words from a screen. The speaking portion of my presentation is crucial to an effective delivery of the information on my slides.

The process of creating this slideshow was must different than ones I had done in the past. I have been conditioned to write key facts as bullet points and to use few images. In fact, the whole concept of this project is entirely new to me. It will be interesting to present my supporting information and facts in front of the class without having bullet points. This method, however, will require that I know my material well and that I will not rely on a slide to read. I am looking forward to the challenge!

Flowchart: Networking 101

In order to effectively organize my thoughts and ideas for my networking slideshow, I used a great webware flowchart creator called Lovely Charts. Lovely charts allows you to map out a flow chart so that you are better able to plan your presentation.  It is a great resource, easy to use and very intuitive! Just remember to watch the 90 second tutorial before beginning - it has some great tips and helpful advice.

Check out my Networking 101 Flowchart to see how I have mapped out my presentation!

FATP: Slideshow

It is time to start thinking about and planning my slideshow.  To help organize my thoughts, I have completed the "FAT P" process...here is what I am thinking:

• Form - The information conveyed will be in the form of a slide show. I will likely use keynote or powerpoint, depending on my access to either
  
• Audience - I will write for my class (18-22 year old female college students)
• Topic - I will focus on simple ways to network when you arrive to a new city (either to get a job or build a network)
  
• Purpose - to inform my audience (mostly people who are looking to start careers soon) of the best way to go about building a great network!

An example of a good slideshare

Visceral Sustainability

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The presentation above stood out to me as one that is quite informative, interesting to look at and generally well-designed.  While some images are a bit grotesque (i.e. the road kill!) the images are really what gives the presentation depth in terms of visual stimulation. The speaker moved along nicely and everything he said connected to what was on the slide at the time. I liked how the slide show was not completely informative - it challenges the reader to question. By simply stating words or phrases, the listener wants to know what it all means. Therefore, they will tune into the speaker who holds the information.

Further, I really liked the speakers tone of voice and pace of speech. He was informative, interesting and energetic. He engages the audience (me) constantly and it is easy to pay attention to his voice.

The design of the slide show was simple and clean - two important aspects of a good slide show. I liked that the slide designer used sans serif font because it is easy to read from a distance. I will definitely use sans serif in my upcoming slide show!
  

Picnik

Picnik is a web-based photo editing site which allows the user to upload, edit and add items to photos in a snap.  The webware is incredibly easy and so much fun to use!!  I initially learned of Picnik from people's uploaded photos on facebook (all of which were bedazzled and decorated with hearts and wild fonts).  I was surprised to find that so many of my younger friends (the ones decorating their photos like so) were competent in photoshop!  Little did I know, and later learned, that they were doing these impressive photo edits on Picnik. I thought I would try it out.. The image tbelow is the original photo. I took this photo in the summer of 2008. I always wanted to edit it and fix it up but never really had the time to learn how to really fix it up.

I uploaded the photo into Picnik and in a matter of 8 to 10 minutes, I had a finished product! (see image below) All I did was change the exposure, soften the background, highlight the flower in the foreground, zoom in a bit on the foreground flora, and add some fun text. It was incredibly easy and I had to peel myself away from the computer to stop myself from spending all of my time editing old photos!!

What do you think? Try out Picnik for yourself!

Reflecting on Screen capture/Screen cast

The screen capture/screen casting assignment was a great way to give back to the internet. So often, I use the internet for my own good, to search recipes, workouts, tutorials, directions etc. and I never contribute as much as I take from the web. This project was a great way to see how easy it is to give back to the other web users. In this way, I have experienced what it means to be a "prosumer" or producer and consumer. It was wonderful to learn how easy it is!

Providing feedback and tutorials for both Seashore and Remember the Milk has taught me quite a bit. I learned how to effectively shoot a tutorial video from my laptop and how to review web products. Luckily, these products were well-worth my time investigating because they are two great tools that I have use for everyday!

When I brainstormed for this project, I chose to do a mindmap to organize my thoughts. The mindmappng process has been an invaluable tool in the creation of all of my web based projects because it helps to organize thoughts in a visual format. I found the mindmap to be most useful when deciding which areas to include in my screen casting of Seashore. There are so many tools to use and adjustments to make, choosing just a few basic ones was essential to fit the video into the 5 alloted minutes.

Lastly, going into this project, I thought that this would be another typical assignment. It really was the exact opposite. Like I said, giving back to the internet is a really wonderful feeling. Hopefully this will start a new trend within me to be a more active prosumer and exchange some of my consumption of the internet with producing new works for others to learn from.

Freeware: Seashore (Mac OS X)

Seashore is an open source image editor for the Mac platform. Created by Mark Pazolli, it strives to be an easy-to-use program - perhaps for those individuals who are looking into image editing as a hobby or for a profession but do not want to jump right into the complex world of photoshop. Seashore, however, is not to be understood as a watered down photoshop, it is in itself, an image editing freeware program.

Seashore has some great features, including:
- brushes
- multi layer support
- text input
- gradients
- cloning
- stamping
- simple copy/cut/paste

Almost every feature (where applicable) has adjustment capabilities. This creates for easier customization and creativity. Really, while it is relatively basic, Seashore is packed with some very essential and just-for-fun tools. In my opinion, it is easy to use and with a few web tutorials, you will find yourself creating custom works of digital art in minutes.

Further, for those individuals who are concerned with downloading freeware for fear that it will bog down their computer system and slow operations while it is in use, Seashore takes up only a small amount of space.  In other words, it leaves a "small footprint" on your computer. Seashore is a straightforward program and is worth a try!

For help getting started, please check out my screen casting of Seashore for Mac OS X.