Creating a Web Presence!! Increasing my digital footprint.

Hello Guys, I just wanted to add my Weebly site address.  It's not finished but boy did I have a time loading up pictures and making comments.  This has been a very large learning curve for me.

http://skoolmarm27.weebly.com/

Starting the Journey

My blog journey has been interesting and exciting.  The more I read about being a blogger the more drawn in I have become.  Even one of my other classes has a blog site for us to use pertaining to the class. As I was Tech Playing with the features of the blog I realized it offered many differing hyperlink technics that I can add on as I go along.

The new class assignment is to create an e-portfolio.  The amusing thing about this is that just two years ago the university where I work offered all students and faculty/staff the opportunity to develop their own web-portfolio. I went to two workshops and even set up a site through Weebly but felt I was not ready to embark on that journey.  It made me feel overwhelmed even though I was very curious about the prospect for doing one.  Always I let myself talk me out of doing it right now.  What could I possibly need it for was my initial thought. Oh foolish scholar! Just since I began reading the articles and the sample e-portfolios I’ve come up with two ideas of how I could use this excellent tool.  At that time I had a chance to check out five or six different sites.  Today they have even more; I discovered the pros and cons of each along with sampling them out. Strange, I was still too frightened to actually start one of my own. Since I have started this doctoral journey many of my views have changed. This is what I have discovered:

First, it is the kind of tool that can give you a basis for showcasing your accomplishments and those things you plan for the future.

Second, it is a ready description of your life’s path that you can reflect upon as you continue to update and improve your site.

Third, never put yourself in a box and say “I’ll never need or use this or that” As long as there is life there is possibility for change and the desire to improve one’s self.

The sites that I have reviewed and their pros and cons are:

 

Weebly & Yola

http://www.weebly.com

https://www.yola.com

 

Pros

·         Both of these sites give you drag and drop templates

·         Free with ability to upgrade service

·         Ability to export site

·         Ability to edit CSS & HTML

·         Fastest and cheapest tool

Cons

·         Designed by the manufacturer

·         Limited design options

·         Words “Weebly” or “Yola” appears in the web address unless you purchase the upgrade (when you upgrade you create your own brand)

WordPress

https://wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

Pros 

·         WordPress is viewed as a more sophisticated tool

·         Free with ability to upgrade

Cons

·         Difficult to format

·         Limited to preset template unless you upgrade

Muse

https://www.muse-themes.com/

Pros

·         More Flexible

·         Similar in features to the other

Cons

·         It is design driven and not best for large sites

DW (Dream Weavers)

http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html

Pros

·         Most design flexibility

·         No need to know code

·         Ability to host under own name

Cons

·         Cost is expensive

GoDaddy

https://www.godaddy.com

Pros

·         Inexpensive

·         Integrates products well

·         Has good security features

·         Good support and little down-time

·         Hosting is current on the latest technology

Cons

·         Uses a custom hosting panel which some may not like

Squarespace

https://www.squarespace.com

Pros

·         Large selection of templates that are heavy on photography

·         You can put in your own photographs

·         You can truly make it yours easily

·         Excellent security and data export

Cons

·         Can be difficult to edit and publish homepage

·         Can also be difficult to figure out design edits and setting up analytics

 

There are ten top sites listed through google and I did not go through all ten sites, I limited my reviews to the one I had heard the most about; but here are their names. Several of these listed I have never heard of being used by limited proficient users.

·         WiX.com - Comments: real-time site dashboard

·         Web.com – Comment: Enhanced build-it-for-me options

·         eHost.com – Comment: Simple all-in-one solution

·         Weebly – Comment:  Intuitive drag-and – drop builder

·         Bigcommerce -Comment: Best online store solution

·         Site123 – Comment: Build a custom, responsive website as easy as 1,2,3

·         Duda -Comment: Built for professionals

·         Register.com – Comment: Expansive domain search engine

·         Sitebuilder.com – Comment: Great starter website builder

·         Imcreator -Comment: Ready-made, responsive templates

All-in-all this process of building an eportfolio seems as if it’s going to be an amazing adventure of learning and discovery. Let’s hold on for the ride!

Tech Play 1 – Blogging

Definition-

A Blog (also called a weblog or web log) as defined in a lifewire site by Susan Gunelius is a “website consisting of entries (also called posts) appearing in reverse chronological order with the most recent entry appearing first (similar in format to a daily journal). Blogs typically include features such as comments and links to increase user interactivity.  Blogs are created using specific publishing software.” The person that writes a blog is called a "blogger"


https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=define+blog


 I had no idea exactly what a blog was and I thought that I had never read one.  But after several conversations with my children I discovered that I was more familiar with a blog then I knew.  I enjoy Quora and Pinterest, much to my surprise these are all blogs.  Next, I thought that they had to be filled with antidotal comments; again, much to my surprise they can be both funny or very serious.  They can contain pictures, videos, and links to other things.  It is just an online journal.  That seemed easy since I keep written journals of my day to day life.  They are a good source of stress relieve that help me cope.


Comparisons-
How do other forms of computer websites differ? Each of the following tools offer the user differing ways to interact through the social media.


Glog - Short for graphics (or graphical) blog, glog is the name used to describe a publicly accessible graphical blog. A person or organization's glog is actually an interactive multimedia image that looks similar to a poster, but readers of a glog are able to interact with the content. The individual that glogs is called a "glogger."


http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/G/glog.html




Vlog- a blog in which the postings are primarily in video form. The individual that creates and maintains a vlog is called a "vlogger"


http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/vlog-video-blog

Discussion Boards-A discussion board (known also by various other names such as discussion group, discussion forum, message board, and online forum) is a general term for any online "bulletin board" where you can leave and expect to see responses to messages you have left. Or you can just read the board.


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/discussion--board


Web pages-a single, usually hypertext document on the World Wide Web that can incorporate text, graphics, sounds, etc.


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/web--page


Website - is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server. A website may be accessible via a public Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, or a private local area network (LAN), by referencing a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies the site.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website

Finding a Blog Site-

There were many sites to review and since I knew nothing everything seemed to be exactly what I wanted until I looked further and found that many had a cost associated to them. I asked around after that for recommendations and quite a few friends and college students where I work suggested to use WordPress.  It too had some limitations and came with a cost that I was not sure I wanted to invest in. What I wanted was a free site that was user friendly and easy for a novice to navigate. Blogging does not seem like something I will want to continue except to complete my course study.  I have reservations about putting all my thoughts out there in the World Wide Web.  Especially knowing that they will never go away, they are just sitting there waiting.

How would I use it? -

I am a retired teacher and have very little contact with students in a daily classroom setting.  I’m sure if I were in a classroom there would be many opportunities and possibilities to develop this skill.  I have noticed that a lot of young middle school children are encouraged to start and maintain blogs. As active educators I can see this being a tool to help young people to express their feelings and to share their thoughts with others on many subject areas.  The more I find out about blogging along with the articles I have read I can definitely see it being a worth while educational forum for young minds.  Reading from my fellow classmates’ comments, who have regular classes, they seem to have many ideas that would work  in a classroom.

I work in a museum and I have been trying to figure out uses for blogs in my current position.  We have a Facebook  page that we maintain information about openings and closings of the gallery along with notes and pictures of different meteorites. We spotlight a different type of meteorite in our collection once a week.  But that is done through the Geology department interns. Maybe I can blog about my visitations to schools and special events where I show the meteorites. I can see this giving me many affordances there that will offer me an opportunity to maintain and keep a blog. Maybe there are some  other affordances that I would want to address dealing with this forum. This could open a whole new world of interactions with the schools I visit and corresponding with the classrooms as to what I am currently doing.

TPACK Model–

Content - When using this technique and following the TPACK  model I want to make sure that my blog content keep students involved by asking questions through the blog that would make them think more about meteorites, their origins and value to research. Meteoriticst are constantly studying meteorites to give them insight about our universe. There are so many facets to this area of study that can't help exciting students to  wanting to learning more about it. The more the blog can give them more creative ideas and reasons to evaluate and analyze their thoughts on a higher level who knows where it might lead them. I might be able to give them simple activities to do at home similar to 'Bubble Life."


Pedagogical - In J.J. Gibson's theory about affordances  it showed how these things can add to a person's perception of the "visual world." In his definition of affordances he stated that "action possibilities" are latent in the environment, independent of individual's ability to recognize them. This venue can offer many ways to assist a teacher in enhancing him/her ability to transfer knowledge and information in a very informal and relaxed setting.  This learning can be fun; but fun work!


Technology -is an innovative tool that is only growing by leaps and bounds.  Probably faster than most can keep up, but it is an excellent tool to keep young minds involved in the learning process without even feeling like they are learning in the traditional old ways. Research has shown that the use of technology is an excellent motivator of minds.  The curiosity of this type of learning is stimulating and exciting. Through the research of Hereford and Winn (1999) and Jackson, et al (1999) this interaction with technology gives the student the "ability to act on the environment experimentally" and not just read or observe it from afar.

Obstacles related to this –

To embark on this would require more familiarity and comfort with blogging.  But we learn by doing.  So, the obstacles that I might encounter will be worth the skills that I will be able to add and share.  Just maybe, I’ll be able to pass this knowledge on to others in many different learning/teaching opportunities. I have not identified any obstacles just yet and I feel that I will have to start this journey and find out my obstacles along the way.