Week 5 reflection

Today's conversation led to some interesting point of views, especially about the way Pink describes the new "conceptual age". I could relate to what the class was saying about the left brain vs the right brain. But what fascinated me most was the web 2.0 video that Dr. Foreman showed us. I went to the sight myself as the mini-movie was playing so I could get a closer look at what was really being said. This allowed me to really see what was going on. It was the idea behind web2.0, which brought up the debate of concept before context and vice-versa. It is like the old question 'what came first; the chicken or the egg?' The film was developed on a linear approach. It started with the old paper and pencil way to communicate in which we humans were the machine; we did the thinking and calculations and spitting out the answers with paper and pencil. Then the eraser added to the next step in technology which was the ability to use a computer program to write with. If you made a mistake a simple key stroke and you could re-write anything at a moments notice. You could even add stuff to the current page. All of this allowed us to be one with the machine. It did what we told it to do via programming. However, is it the event of all this redundent editing on paper the cause of the development of these word programs, or is it the creativity to design new ways of doing things that has allowed us to work smarter?

Like the film showed in text, web2.0 is a portal that has become a social tool that allows us to be a part of a system that is universal and forever changing. It is not static. Therefore it forces us to re-think how we think and look at things. I believe that web2.0 is an icon for diversity since it is a communal port that allows us to share our experiences and reach out to others regardless of our backgrounds, where we come from, what we believe in etc.

All I can add to this is, when it comes to technology and web2.0 there is an unprecedented amount of opportunity for growth. The sky's the limit (not really...)

A Whole New Mind...

A Whole New MInd sure does put things into perspective, while explaining the current economy of our country right now. More people are unemployed or have been placed in different socio-economic classes based on the end of the L-Directed Thinking. It opened my eyes as to why I have been replaced with overseas employees. Why pay me $50 hr to layout PC boards when someone in India can do it for a fraction of the cost. As far as Pink's comment on spirituality coming forth in this new generation, I believe it has to do more with the effects of 9/11; more Americans got a wake up call and all of a sudden we are making meaning of our lives. Maybe this is why he also why his six senses concept is relavent to the 6th sense and that is supposed to be connected with spirituality. (just my 2c)

Who am I?

My Wiki

my everyday thing

“My Everyday Thing”
By: Mary Lowery

The item I have chosen as my “everyday thing” is my house phone. I chose this device due to the features that it shows on the phone but does not give you any clue how to operate those features. For instance, one of the buttons shows LOUD/SEARCH with four arrows in the NSEW directions; you would think that by pressing the arrows it would change the volume and / or some kind of search capability. It does not, no matter which arrow direction or button you push, so I would have to say that the mapping sucks, because the buttons fail to operate as expected.

The ‘hold’ button does not put a call on hold, instead when pressed, it reads ‘press extension to call.’ When pressing the ‘conf’ button instead of a conference call as expected, you get ‘save directory.’ So as you can see, although this phone works if you just want to utilize the number buttons or speakerphone. The affordances of this object have constraints. Conceptually, the phone features did not function / work as I expected them to.

Now, what I come to believe is that these functions only work when you are actually on a call. So to see if this is true, I used my cell phone to call the house phone and began to push these feature buttons to see if they did indeed work. The conceptual model of this device had good intentions, however if you wanted to change the ringer volume by hitting the volume button, it does not work. The volume button is actually to turn up or lower the amplification of the earpiece.

In conclusion, this phone does not meet the criteria of Norman’s design of everyday things.

my flickr page

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlowery/

week 1 post

Look at me... I am here!
Hey fellow classmates. Wow, I finally made it onto the blog. Wow this was a tough one, I hope the class is easier! LOL! I hope all have enjoyed the winter break. Now we must get serious again. Oh peachy puff, oh peachy puff how I miss my peachy puff!

See you in class!

Mary

Cool Tool for long URL's

Here is a link to a tool that will take a huge url and shrink it to a small one.

http://tinyurl.com/

Reflection week 3

This week's class was not only a refresher for previous information, but it tied ID together through learning theories and instruction theory. It is exciting to finally get to put what we've learned so far to use in a project. This class also enhances what we are learning in 801.

Mary

web 2.0 reflections week 2

I was impressed with the presentations given tonight. I felt that all the presentations had something to offer. However, I agree with Nora in regards to accessibility to the deaf community about podcasts / vcasts (video casts.) There is so much that is out there and so much more that is being developed as I type this. Web 2.0 in itself is a social environment as well as a learning environment. I can't wait to take on our projects. I will reflect more when I read the articles.