My online learning experience has continued to grow throughout this semester as i have become confident in using blogger and various internet programs explored throughout this course. I like the fact that i can easily link sites to my blog and i-web page because of the knowledge i have gained. I have also discovered things within the online community that i never thought existed, I have learnt the basics such as what an internet server is- (It is a computer that holds your website and other files. When you 'publish' you tranfer your files and webpages to the internet server), I also have learnt about FTP- a file transfer protocol tool. (FTP means the sending of data between two points using the internet. This promotes sharing of files and the transfer of data reliably and efficiently.)

We then moved on to look at Counters and RSS feeds which were very confusing when i was first trying to use them but now i am confident in creating a blog or web-page and including a counter and adding RSS feeds, although I did experience a problem trying to create an RSS feed from my Google Reader to my blog, it just wouldn't work. Counters have been interesting to look at, i like the fact that i can just explore the web and find a counter i like and easily copy its code onto my site and there it is! I also like knowing how many people have viewed my blog and my i-web site and i can see how this would come in handy for many people who have online businesses etc that need to see how popular their site is. Technorati also comes into this, it is defined as a blog digest that specialises in searching all blogspots with RSS feeds! It ranks blogs and gives them a number called Authority. So i have also added one of these to my blog!

My i-web site has developed into a website that i am proud of. I enjoyed creating it as it was a simple program to use but it did get confusing when publishing at times. I added my own text and photos, links to my flickr account, blog and delicious account, i set up an RSS feed from my blog so i can see all my blogs information on my i-web page and i added various pages that contributed to the overall theme and design of the site. I spent time changing my theme and creating a look that i really liked, so i am happy with the outcome.

Overall this semester has given me a deeper understanding of how the online community functions as well as how to create a website and add elements such as RSS feeds, Counters and Technorati. So i think it has been very successful, i know more about the web then i ever have!

Read Users' Comments ( 2 )

This has been an easy program to use as far as editing is concerned, it is easy to drag photos in and to choose your favourite template and add whatever original elements you wish! The hardest part is just publishing which became a bit confusing for me at one time..having the 'fetch' program is also necessary for this to work so i was thinking maybe it's easier to just create a webpage via a simple internet program? Oh well...i'm good at the design part just get a lil confused at the technology part (eg what programs are out there to help design webpages- i should research that i think!).

Here's a link to my Webpage .

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

RSS uses a variety of web feed formats to publish frequently updated information like blog entries, news headlines etc. .You can subscribe to an RSS feed that you want from any site that has one, this becomes very helpful as you don't waste time looking up sites for information you could have 'sent' to you in one area (eg- your blog). I have a feed from my blog to my i-web page which means every time i have updated this blog it will automatically update on my athene account (i-web)!

How it works: The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URL or by clicking an RSS icon that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads and any updates that it finds.

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

This week we have learnt all about Technorati. It's all very exciting lol Basically it's a blog digest that specialises in searching all blogspots with RSS feeds! It ranks bogs and gives them a number called Authority, this is determined by the number of blogs that have linked to yours in the past 180 days. I added a technorati button thingo so press it and make me no.1!

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

Counters are used on websites to count how many times a site has been viewed. It's often located at the bottom of the page and displays the number of hits to that web page/site. Some counters don't seem very reliable as every time i clicked on the page another hit would be recorded. I think i will need to browse for a better counter on my i-web page!

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

FTP is a file transfer protocol tool. So it's a piece of software used to transfer files to an internet server. It can be described as a file management program because it manages the files from your PC or network to the internet server. So what's an internet server? It is a computer that holds your website and other files. When you 'publish' you tranfer your files and webpages to the internet server.
In the simplest way FTP is sending data between two points using the internet. This promotes sharing of files and the transfer of data reliably and efficiently.

Using the FTP protocol can be unsafe because a password must always be entered for the transfer. The password is transmitted over the Internet without encryption. Despite the fact that FTP is one of the oldest and most widely used Internet protocols, there are security risks when using it. Also when using an FTP connection, the transferred data could "stray" to a remote computer and not arrive at their intended destination. Others can then download data from the remote system to their own computers, or existing data can be viewed and edited. This is very risky, particularly when transferring company confidential information. FTP can also be used to determine the passwords of individual users, since the password is transferred in clear text when logging on. As a result, even those with unauthorized access to this network can record the password information.

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

In doing mpi-104 I have gained a deeper understanding of how and why we use the internet for various purposes. I have actively set up my own blog according to my interests and what I think is visually appealing. I have also followed other people’s blogs, not just those within my class, mainly artists and photographers, who are interested in the same subjects as me. Exploring various blogs around me has been a great learning experience in seeing how others communicate to the online community. Gaining inspiration from the expression of others and the layout of their blogs has been of particular interest. Also learning about what a blog actually is has been of great importance to the overall role of my own blog. I consider my own blog to be a personal online diary with links to my favourite sites such as Flickr, Purevolume and Deviant Art. I define blogger as being a ‘publishing system’ which is maintained by an individual through the uploading of media such as photos (photoblog), videos (vblog) or text. I focus on the textual aspect within my blog by expressing myself and what I have learnt in this subject.

The aesthetic look of my blog has come from my love of design and so I researched all of the available templates until I found a simple, yet interesting layout that depicted my own character and did not make my information too hard to read (busy). The colours grey and pink work well as the text is easy to read and the pink highlights the titles of posts and the linked words making it easier to access the desired link/information. The photos stand out as both colourful, interesting and expressive against the light grey background. I customized the layout and rearranged some page elements so that my photos were on the right and my text was separated to the left which is a layout I believe works well in the overall reading the blog.

In doing these online activities I have learnt about HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) which is the language that describes the structure of text-based information like links, headings, paragraphs and embedded images. I have learnt about CSS which means a change in style can be achieved while content does not change. The advantage being you don't lose content and you have improved accessibility. I have learnt about posting and how to link within a post which has been a very important aspect of this course and one which I have enjoyed.

*******************************
I have 9 posts on my blog, some are long and each have a link to the site I am writing about. This is a link to my more interesting posts on my blog.

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3

Comments I have made to other blogs have been based on what I have found interesting, inspiring or helpful on various blogs. These are some comments I have made on some people’s blogs and posts.

Comment 1
Comment 2
Comment 3

Using tags has helped me to categorize information into specific areas which I can recognize so it is easier for me to find what I need to find. Tags help us find photos etc which have something in common. So it’s a keyword or term attached to a piece of information. It’s a kind of metadata (data about other data), that helps describe something and allows it to be found again.
Here's a link to the tags i have used on my delicious site.

Del.icio.us

I have created 15 bookmarks in my delicious account. These include mainly blogs and Flickr accounts which I have found to be really helpful or interesting. I find photography blogs of particular interest because I am doing a photography course so I can gain inspiration, contacts and helpful tips from different photographers. I also have enjoyed looking into fashion blogs and Flickr accounts and I have uploaded my own fashion photography to these. I like being able to share my work online and especially to my fashion groups on Flickr. Also finding a Christian Flickr site has been encouraging as I can express my faith with others on the site and join in fellowship in that way.

My 3 favourite web pages are:
Flickr: ‘Christian Photographer Fellowship’
Flickr: ‘Fashion and Style’
'New-Art Blog’

Flickr
I have 55 images uploaded on my Flickr site, ranging from my digital photo shoots to film photo shoots and personal photos. My 3 favourite images are

BishopAmanda01
Mandy Photography 148
Lips

Read Users' Comments ( 2 )