Twitter.com

Today I finished one concept (no.7 Netiquette) and then lost the plot, got bored and slightly torpid.
My obtuse wanderings took me to places of interest, but with no relevance whatsoever to my concepts assignment!
Apart from learning a bit about new technology, I spent most of the afternoon between Twitter.com, facebook, YouTube, WebCt and my personal email account...enough said!
At first I thought Twitter was very quiet, but usually everytime you send a tweet you get either a visible (to everyone else) reply or a private message - sometimes from people whom I'd never heard of.
So I don't need to write how fascinating that was, as well as looking up the people who are following you to see if you want to follow them!
For various reasons I decided not to follow a few people, so most stopped following me.
There is still one guy on my list I think.
I'm totally cool with that.
In all, I think searching for my concept references and writing one up *completely* just left me a bit wrung out.
You know - no creativity left - so I had to do something but couldn't be bothered moving from the computer, so looked up some old favourite songs from about 20 years ago, that always left me feeling refreshed or made me feel like crying (an extremely creative state!).

Both songs are by Amy Grant:
'Raining on the Inside'
and one of my ultimate favourites 'Say Once More'.
I have downloaded them from iTunes onto my iPhone - my original copies are on cassette.

Okay. It's 12.50am and I really need to go to bed so I have enough energy for the rest of the assignment...a very fascinating day :)

Twitter, Facebook and Linked Tags/Words - I Rule \0/

I rule. Totally!
Today I successfully wrote a post in html.


\0/
This post has also been written in html.
You can check out the coolness yourself by clicking Tess Rules.


it works. It *works*! Just as well, because I need it for my Concepts Assignment!


Follow me to Yeehaa!!! I apologise in advance - it was the best of the meagre offerings available...enjoy! \0/
Oh, I almost forgot - I joined Twitter today. So far, it's just like Facebook but quieter.

Module 3 HTML - Passed Validation \0/ Yeehaa!!!

Thanks to Amy, Peter, Christopher, Cynthia, Rob, and a host of others, I have finally managed to Pass the Validation for my HTML Page \0/ Thank you!!! Following, please find the W3C 'Passed Validation' Pages, followed by my Web Page, and finally, the Certified Seal of Approval :)

The errors I made were both silly and profound.

The silly ones included one spelling error (centre instead of center) and omitting one quotation " mark from a numerical attribute - but it only takes one minor blooper to unravel your whole page.

My more profound (because they were initially beyond me) errors included not writing amp; after an & (amazingly, when I wrote on the WebCt discussion board, the 'amp' did not appear after '&' even though I wrote in text and not html - weird!)...incidentally, this last error increased my incompatibility rating, to in excess of 30 errors.
I also omitted the Declaration (about what language I used) at the outset of my HTML Page.
All my images also needed an
alt="description"
so that when you scroll over a photo it has details and is therefore more meaningful.
I'm sure there are more things to be thankful for, but at the moment they're escaping me.

A H U G E Thank You!!! to Everyone that has helped me finish my page \0/
Now I can concentrate fully on my Concepts assignment (I can't have half-finished things hanging over my head: It's *All* or nothing...and I prefer *All*) \0/

http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group141/index.html

5 Most Important Rules for writing online
1. Write for 'scanning' in an 'F-shape'. Highlight words. Make important words larger.
2. 'Chunk' your paragraphs to break up text
3. Use colour and pictures...but be aware of adding alternative text for the pictures and be aware that a certain percentage of the population may suffer from some form of colour blindness
4. Don't make your posts too long (which I am guilty of!)
5. 'Link' - place links unders words to help expand your ideas

Copyright
This is a huge issue that, if not heeded, could deprive the owners of an image/music/text of income.
It could also potentially harm a business or individual, if an image/text/ or music et cetera is used without permission.
I didn't use any logos illegally on my page.
All the photos taken were mine.

Blogs
There are so many types of blogs and so many blogs to peruse it's mind-boggling!
I didn't even know what a blog *was* at the start of this course, December 2008.

Having looked a almost a hundred different blogs now, I feel that it is a great way to be able to have your say about something you feel passionate about.

I've seen blogs about technology (not very interesting to me personally, but for learning purposes - they're great), businesses, fetishes (you know: love of shoes/handbags/clothes/food/films), hobbies, internet gaming, health, politics.

Being a verbose person who has filled over 20 Diaries in her lifetime, I *want* to do a personal blog: about my life and passions.
This may be boring for some people to read, but it is *me* and I feel that writing things down will help me to move forward and progress on my life journey...it's also a fantastic stress-reliever!

I am currently 'playing' with two other sites (not on blogger) to see which format I like, and have already plotted some blog-lines for release on Easter Sunday 2009 \0/

Web 2.0
I must admit that I still don't understand all the fuss about Web 2.0 - I'll have to read more.

To me, Web 2.0 is a way of making the internet a more interactive place where participation is encouraged in order to make the internet full of virtual communities...like Wikipedia maybe?

I really need to read more about it.
Way over my head!

Added New Features to my Blog

As I was fiddling with all the buttons today, I found new gadgets that enabled me to add one picture, so I did - and added two instead of just one!

Will need to keep searching, because I would really like to add a slideshow of just my pictures (found plenty of gadgets that allowed a slideshow of other peoples pictures!).

Have also installed a Map of the World that enables Google news from other countries... hopefully I won't find it difficult to navigate away from my page now :)

Update on Sunday January 18th...it now takes ages to load my page when I first navigate to it...mmm...unsure if adding three photos and extra gadgets was really the smartest thing to do!

Module 3: My thoughts on HTML Vs. Blogging

I have only had extremely limited success with HTML (currently more problems than actual success stories in this area), and have been blogging almost continually, but for only one month.
However, I do feel that my limited experience allows me to conclude that both HTML and Blogs have pros and cons that need to be considered before attempting a choice between both.

At this stage of writing I am personally more comfortable with my blog on 'blogger.com', as I have had relatively few problems.
Each day I have learnt something new by either clicking all the available Tabs on my page, by viewing other bloggers pages, and also from following tips left behind from our tutor Peter or classmates.

Having said that, I also believe that with more time and experience, I should become comfortable with the basic aspects of creating and publishing a Web page via HTML tags through the use of Notepad.

Ultimately, whether you choose HTML or Blogging will depend upon your goal and reason for publishing.

HTML Pros:

* Can design the page to *completely* reflect your needs
* Could possibly reach a wider audience, especially if the Web page produces a high number of hit's when people search your particular topic.
* More freedom to do what you want

HTML Cons:

* The need to be aware of the 'Invisibility of difference' while creating your page, so people with differently configured computers will still be able to view it's contents as opposed to navigating away
* Addressing *specifically* but *briefly* what your page is about through the page title - which is likely to return more hits and views than if labelled improperly
* Not understanding how to use the software adequately (my main problem!)
* Your page can be viewed by *anyone*, so content, especially personal content, should be guarded closely.

BLOG Pros:

* Your page is already set-up according to a template - which you choose
* There are choices which allow you to decide who will ultimately view your page (eg 'all internet users', 'registered blogspot users only', 'only those who you have allowed access to'.
* there is a choice to write in text or in html. Thus far, I have only tried text. My html ventures have come back with angry red writing that says: tag not closed (I wanted to make a word bold by using the bold tag). It looked perfectly fine for me, but I will obviously need to work this peculiarity out!!!

BLOG Cons:

* If you don't understand how to do something, the process can be difficult (ie no 'help' menu)
* If a wider audience is needed, it would be essential to check your permissions page - or your blog may become 'hidden'
* Internet users with no blogging experience may not know how to navigate to your page (I'm a major example of someone who had *absolutely no* experience with blogs prior to the start of this course (!) - whereas a random web page can be easily navigated to if the search criteria typed in, connects with the search parameters (set by the words typed in) of that Web page.

Module 3 HTML - the continuing project: Stay Tuned \0/

I was able to put the validate icon on my HTML Page - even though it does not like the Google links I put in (which were directly copied then pasted into my tags.

Is this bogus or what????

By the way, when you click on the W3C Validator, it takes you to a page that says it could not find the URL - I'm sure this is because the WebCt is behind a firewall.

My main concern though, is if it was this easy to download the W3C Validation Icon - how many other "Bogus" pages are out there?
Does anyone police/regulate this?

My other concern, is that the major problems were with an http:// link that I merely copied and pasted - I didn't write the html code for it!
Bogus!!!

Posted on : January 22, 2009

A Problem I am currently experiencing, is that when my page is expanded to fill the whole computer screen, it shows four copies of the background photo - instead of just one that fits into the entire screen.

Unsure how to fix this.
May have to post my question onto the board.

AUSTRALIA DAY LONG WEEKEND \0/

Thanks to Amy, I was able to fix my page by centering the photo *and* I was able to remove some html text that had been placed inside my title section - thank you \0/

I also worked on my other photo uploads, and was able to add some html tags underneath words...which worked :)

All that I have left to do, is validate my page...more searching required here, as I must have glossed over that section/not understood it...so I have no clue where to go!

That will be today's task.

Meanwhile, enjoy the 4 photos I took of my finished page \0/ Woohoo!!!

This post will be updated as I progress further with my html page.
Please stay tuned :)

Module 3 HTML Success at 2:17am :)

I've finally had success at uploading a page with a photo on it :)

Massive thanks to Amy, Chriso, James, Louwna, Monique, Peter and the whole tribe at WebCt - I'd buy you all a round of drinks if I could :)

It turns out that I didn't accidentally delete *all* my attempts from Jan 12th.

One page was still lurking under the saved pseudonym of "mybackground.jpg" and I'm unsure how that misnomer came about but it doesn't matter - I still had evidence of Monday's work on my computer. I found it when I went to check my photo prior to uploading a newer version. phew!

My error is as follows:

* I saved as index

* This only saved the file as .txt

* I ignorantly believed that the notepad program would automatically add '.html' to the file in a similar way that word programs automatically save as '.doc'.

* After re-reading *ALL* the posts on the WebCt under 'Module 3 HTML Task', I realised my error.

* Thank you in particular to Amy, Chriso and Peter for suggesting that 'index.html' should be typed into the 'file name' area.

Again, many thanks - it's still a work in progress but I know what I'm doing now (can't believe I managed to upload the 'Blue Page' at the beginning of last week but couldn't remember the steps a week later - woeful!).

Will be re-working the page with renewed vigour from tomorrow...yikes!

It's after 3am in Sydney!!

Good Night :)

Module 3: HTML: Creating a web page...more problems

It's been a few days since my last entry (starting to sound like a confession...) due to the fact that I've been trying to re-do the html task...and having a zillion problems.

Firstly, I saved it at lesson 1 or 2 or 3 (can't remember *exactly* when) and then, as I added more to the page I re-saved...except that when I went to upload my beautiful page (and it really was going to be b e a u t i f u l ! ! !)...it only uploaded the writing that would have been evident at the very first 'save as'!!!

Duped.

I then posted my problems onto the discussion board and haven't been back yet.
Will go after this post, to see if anyone has responded.

I haven't tried to re-do the page for the third time yet either.

Maybe tonight or tomorrow.

That's all for now - feeling just a little bit despondent :(

Music on my Blog

WooHoo...I've added an mp3.com control onto my blog.

Try it out!

My favourite is 'Sunshower' but we couldn't figure out how to just load *that* one without the others coming too.

All songs are by my partner (yes, one of his favourite caves to retreat to is his home music studio).
His name on mp3.com is 'Armchair Musician' (very appropriate for his ambient style).
One of his other 'hobbies' is writing for film/TV/corporate videos...so if you need a composer, let me know!

I seriously think there should be one called 'Tessa'...do you agree?

Am off to see if I can somehow create my own playlist, so that hopefully, only those songs come up.

Stay tuned :)

Module 3: Cybertextspace by Dr Karin Wenz

The more I read the article, the more I understood.

In fact, the content helped me to understand what was written on the Module 3 tutorial notes page - seriously!!!
I was so unimpressed by the text (on the Mod 3 page) that I couldn't concentrate yesterday.
Maybe I was in a flippant mood 24 hours ago.
Unsure.
Anyway, I must've had my thinking cap on today.

Perhaps the best idea from the article (for me personally), is that each person has their own set of beliefs, experiences, and background knowledge - so any information received will ultimately be influenced by these variables, and in turn, will affect what they choose to do with the information.

I think Dr Wenz was trying to describe the internet and the content it holds - however, she kept referring to the game Myst, which I have, but which I played about 10 years ago (and haven't played since).
A check of references showed that the most recent article used dated from 1997 or 1998.

However, despite the age of the article, I don't think the basic way the internet works today is any different to the way it worked back then...except, of course, that it is much vaster and computers are more powerful, making access and ease of access, more immediate and astonishingly quicker.

Another valid point mentioned, was that due to the speed with which information is generated today, the way people experience the world has changed.
It's the internet that has promoted this change.

Hypertext and linking to other sites or explanatory notes (which Wenz used in almost every sentence...and which annoyed me excessively until I realised that each of these 'links' was actually just another point along the linear list on the home/contents page) can also affect what the reader learns or takes away with them.

Wenz's explanation reminded me of the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books popular with pre-teens in the late '70's-'80's (which allowed children choice in the story).
The hyperlinks in an online text allow the viewer the options to:

1. read in-depth about a particular point

2. skim ahead to the next point

3. jump to another site

4. close the window!

As a result, information gleaned will depend not only on the depth of information read, but also on the paths taken to read that information, as well as the personal background and experiences which the reader brought with them prior to reading.

In all. I found the article 'voiced' many things I already knew, and quite a few which I hadn't previously considered.

Well worth the effort!

Blog Features Used: Edited Posts and Labels

This morning I edited all my blog posts to reflect:

TITLE: I changed these to reflect the Modules where the task was requested.

e.g. "Module 1: Telnet Task"

then I added 'Labels' so that all tasks could be accessed easily when my blog is submitted for assessment:

LABELS: These included "Module 1", "Telnet", "Optional Task", and any other 'markers' I thought would enable a viewer easier access to my page.

Of course as I progress further and learn more, I may edit again.

Module 1: Telnet Task B: http://www.blinkenlights.net/

http://www.blinkenlights.net/

Module 1: Telnet Option: blinkenlights

As I was browsing through other students blogs today, I came across a screen shot of something done with blinkenlights on Evelyn's page...I've been reading about this on the discussion board but thought it was, yet again, something that was beyond my understanding and therefore way beyond my reach: WRONG on all accounts!

I googled it (because Evelyn asked if anyone knew when blinken lights first began) and found this:

http://brepettis.com/blog/2008/09/29/blinkenlights/

which is an informative page about the latest blinkenlights project currently showing on a *building* (true) in Toronto. Each window of the building has been wired to be one pixel in the blinken program...totally fascinating!!!

Further down the page, it says that blinken lights first began in 2001 to mark the 20th anniversary of a group called chaos computer club in (I think) Berlin.

To top it all off, the founder of CCC died, so the group members decided to do something really special, and ended up having an exhibition in the Berlin Congress Building and in addition, remodelling the nearby (and apparently landmark) Teacher's Building...into a giant TETRIS screen!

Now *that* would have been AMAZING!!!!

RSS FEEDS

THIS PAGE WAS MEANT TO BE BRIGHT GREEN (the screen shot of my web page, that is)

Learning Curve!!!

I just discovered where the RSS feeds I have subscribed to are appearing...under the 'Posting' tab.

Will now have to work out how to scroll back and read evreything I've missed out on!!!

Might spend a bit of tomorrow clicking on classmates blogs before trying to correct my trashy web page (won't use colour this time...I think that's what undid me).

I'm sure my 'nesting' technique was logically and technically correct.

Stay tuned...hopefully, a screen shot of my pathetic first attempt will appear somewhere in this message...

Module 2: Chat Task

Tonight I joined a chat group on ICQ that Brett instigated: THANK YOU BRETT :-)

At first I wasn't sure how to join in (5 mins late), but Kobi sent me an invitation and I worked out (after the 2nd invite...she sent 3 in fact) that all I needed to do was click it.

It was a bit hectic initially, with about 5 conversations going at once (from 'Hi' to 'what job do you have' to 'what are you studying' and few other introduction/get-to-know you-type things).

We finally got around to answering whether people like MSN or ICQ or other chat types like Face Book. To be honest, I have always veered away from any sort of chat contacting except via sms.......Now I'm *hooked*!

What I liked most, was that it is in real time.

Sure, it took 20 minutes or so to do introductions with over 10 people on board, but it was no different to a similar sized group meeting for a few drinks at the local - except for the drinks bit and no loud music (for me anyway).

I also started a 'NET11 SP4' Group in ICQ:

http://groups.icq.com/groups/index.php?act=show_group&group_id=10526

and so far we have about 6 members and counting.

A picture of the page is somewhere in this message.

So, to wrap up my first chat experience:

I LOVED IT because it was in real time and extremely interesting.

Thanks again to Brett for organising it...looking forward to the chats on Sundays at 7pm.

Module 3: HTML: Thanks James - Success!

I am eternally indebted to James for helping me to sort out my error...I just labelled my file incorrectly!

Once I re-labelled it, my pathetic excuse for a page was uploaded in milliseconds :)

Needless to say, I will have to go back to the drawing board to reassess where I went wrong...mmm...

In the meantime, please enjoy my blooper, which has been uploaded to the presentations section because *I can*.

Module 3: HTML Upload Problems and Going Bananas

I'm really starting to lose it...have tried re-reading the curriculum, task pages, and discussion board for Module 3 but nothing seems to be able to help my decrepitly technology-challenged brain.

The best solution was to post my mishaps onto the discussion board and ask for help.

I really thought I had conquered all 26 Tutorial steps.

What a shock to the ego!

By the way, one of my fumbles showed me what my web page was like - and it's *not* what I was expecting!

Only half my text came out!

Deleted it in disgust (the pop-up that is), but in hind-sight, should have printed the screen and put in here for all the world to see.

Stay tuned...

Module 3: HTML: Creating a web page

WELCOME TO DUDSVILLE!

I just spent 6 hours progressing through the 26-step tutorial, then trying to upload my fantastic (well, it's only black and white at the moment) web page...only to find that I am doing something wrong.

It didn't work.

Will have to go back and re-read the tutorial and Discussion Board to see if anyone else has had no luck :-(

I'll try and upload a screen shot of my Note Pad preview here (don't be surprised if it is posted *above* this text instead of *below* it):

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wishing my fellow classmates and tutors all the best that 2009 has to offer - it's going to be a *great* year :-)

I have had a couple of days off due to celebrations and festivities, and am tidying-up a submission for another course (due this arvo)...so will be able to post from tonight or tomorrow (depending upon how a headache I have had for 3 days is going...).

Catch you all soon!