The Super Viser

Thank-you and farewell

2008-07-24T09:55:00.005+10:00

Well, I'm moving along to another department and would like to say thank-you to all the participants who made the last year fulfilling for me as a trainer. I very much appreciated all the hard work and entertaining days working with those who embraced the world of Blogging, as well as the range of productions we worked on through-out the year.

I'm sure many of you will be developing your career steps and be having fun planning your future goals. I will be continuing to Blog but with a new Blog which you are welcome to read or subscribe to. It can be found here. I hope that the Bloggers in the group continue to Blog and feel free to leave any comments on the new Blog if you have questions about Blogging or any social media, or just to say hello.

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."

C.S. Lewis

Career Planning

2008-06-23T16:35:00.002+10:00

Here are some steps we took today to research some of our career options. I drew up a simple table outlining.

Study Career Industry Wage

1. University Photography Music $15.22

2. TAFE Technical Support IT $18.77

3. Trades Plumber Council $18.67

4. Own Business Furniture Maker Own Business $17.30

5. Private Courses Hairdresser Film and TV $17.08

6. Defence Electrician Manufacturing $19.19

I looked for the Payscale information at Work Place Authority.

From this simple table we are able to begin our research on careers and keep in perspective the pay and industries we may be heading towards. The next step is to find out a little about the job we are after.

Student Diary 2009 Cover Design Competition

2008-06-02T15:31:00.000+10:00

Okay, so let's have a crack at this, here are the specs.

Artwork needs to be in colour and the requirements are strictly as follows:

3MM bleed all around the borders
300 DPI
Save as high resolution PDF
Leave 10MM on left edge for spiral binding
Colour CMYK

Entries close at 5.00pm on Friday 25th July 2008

MCards and Blogging

2008-05-21T14:55:00.003+10:00

So we've finished off some major projects and now I thought we'd relax a while into some more Blogging while we begin on our MCards (Mobile), VCards (Virtual), DCards (Digital), ECards (Electronic) or whatever term we want to use. Let's discuss next week some more on our distribution strategy as far as QR (Quick Response) 2 Dimensional Barcoding, and 3GP formats. Today we discussed some of the reasons people Blog ...

1. Personal Opinion.
2. Social Media.
3. Promoting Business.
4. Self-Branding.
5. Jibber-Jabbering.
6. Social.
7. Geographical.

Of course there isn't anything profound or spectacular about why people Blog and I suppose that this is the point, Blogging is a networking media run by individuals, and as a simple tool for expression, there lies its wonder.

We talked about some places to find Blogs ...

1. Buggerall.
2. Google Blogsearch.
3. Technorati.
4. Ice Rocket.

Don't forget that Blogs are perfect places to keep notes and host your graphics, drafts of, and final outcomes.

Web Forum in Review

2008-05-06T15:42:00.002+10:00

Thanks to everyone who attended our informal web forum on Unemployment and Depression. Unfortunately we started twenty-minutes late due to technical difficulties, the plug-in not being accepted on my computer but the issue was resolved by removing the downloaded plug-in file and then re-installing it. The conversation was all really good between everyone, and although we didn't really have a formal procedure I felt that the time we spent using an Online Web Conferencing tool was beneficial.

Other issues to remember in future was the uploaded PDF files not being readable and next time we do a project like this I will rectify that by using larger font.

We certainly could have gone on for longer, I think that just with text the forum was a bit jumbled and perhaps the benefit of several Webcams and keynote speakers might have ordered it a bit more precisely.

I think the topic also may have been too general and our subject matter concentrating on either Depression or Unemployment. Probably Unemployment as Depression is a difficult subject matter to discuss but I think that being aware and even discussing it on the level we did can only help bring awareness to the matter.

Once again, well done everyone, and if you have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Animator vs Animation

2008-04-30T14:42:00.001+10:00

Here a short video I thought the class might be amused and entertained by.

No Rain. No Rainbows. Web Conference.

2008-04-28T12:20:00.004+10:00

We would like to invite you to view our Digital Flyer for the Web Conference we are holding on the themes of depression and unemployment at http://www.dimdim.com/ on the 6th of May (Tuesday) at 2pm. The details on how to attend are shown on the Flyer, please feel free to embed this Flyer into your own website or email the link to friends and colleagues you feel might be interested in attending.

| View | Upload your own

Hope to catch you there!

What is a Meme?

2008-04-15T14:57:00.003+10:00

A Meme "consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another." (Ref: Wikidpedia) - In the Blogging world Memes are passed around and usually contain questions that Bloggers can answer to inform us about themselves or their ideas on things. A Blogger who recieves a Meme will then Tag several other Bloggers and that is how the Meme is passed along. The instructions of the Meme are posted along with the answers and the Bloggers Tagged are done so with links. I have created a Meme here to do with setting career goals, I would like us to have a go at doing this Meme.

Instructions for the Career Meme.

Please answer the questions below as a post in your Blog, link the person who sent it to you and Tag three other Bloggers to do the same thing. Keep the questions with your answers.

1) What is your dream job.

2) What would you do if you couldn't fail? Why?

3) If you could be anyone in the world who would it be? Why?

4) If you only had 2 years to live but were healthy until you died what would you do?

5) What do you want people to remember you for when you die?

I tag Anthony, Faith and John.

No Rain. No Rainbows. (Further Work)

2008-04-14T11:04:00.004+10:00

Here are two PNG pictures that on participant has Photoshopped for the Flash card to upload onto Powerpoint.

And ...

After BETA testing DimDim against WebHuddle the consensus was for DimDim as the Web Forum meeting venue. I have changed the date also because I realise that we will probably need a bit more time to finish our Digital Flyer and write up our Intros for the Keynote Speakers.

No Rain. No Rainbows (May 6th 2008 at 2pm)

The meeting name is: No Rain. No Rainbows.
The meeting room ID is: kangankrew

Voted Quotes

2008-04-08T10:56:00.004+10:00

Well, we had a tie-in for our chosen quotes and they are ...

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss!

and

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” - Oscar Wilde

But we can use both these quotes, the next objective is to design the Flash Card for Powerpoint, I will upload two pictures we can use in this post.

Oscar Wilde above and ...

The charming "Cat in the Hat" character from the 1930's as drawn by Dr Seuss.

No rain. No rainbows.

2008-04-01T14:46:00.011+11:00

These are just some of the quotes we have sourced for our Digtial Invitation, inviting people to attend and participate in our Web Conference.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. "

Both Winston Churchill

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss!

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” Oscar Wilde

"In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer." Albert Camus

"Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity." - Proverb

Work for the Dole participants talk about the reasons and causes of depression in relation to unemployment and the relationship between unemployment and depression. What we have decided to do is take Beyond Blue's program guide for setting up a Forum in our community about depression and do it Online by means of a live Web Conference.

Three conversation leaders will guide us through some topics that focus on challenges faced by those suffering depression in the job seeking world.

* Isolation/Patterns/Habits
* Nothing/Leisure
* Activity/Anxiety
* Status/Labels
* Independence/Dependence
* Suicide/Sickness

The rest of the participants will share their research and experiences through presentations.
We encourage everyone to participate in this frank discussion, and hope that people find it encouraging and useful to engage with our perspectives.

Join the web conference No Rain. No Rainbows on the 6th of May at 2pm.

Beyond Blue

2008-03-31T13:34:00.005+11:00

Conducting an Online forum is an exciting venture. Using WebHuddle we can offer Internet users the opportunity to join us in a discussion on depression for National Youth Week if we meet the week deadline between the 5th - 13th of April but more then likely I imagine we'll go beyond this date so best if we keep to the "employment" theme. If not we'll conduct a general discussion in support of Beyond Blue.

Here are some of the points I wrote on the whiteboard in regards to "How to organise a public forum on depression in your community"

1) Form a working committee (That's us)

2) Set a date (Tentatively the 14th of April)

3) Determine the format of the forum/speakers (Four people can have themes of Major Depression, Dysthymia, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder - or - work, job hunting, career themes relating to how depression concerns us in these matters)

4) Briefing the speakers.

5) Venue (WebHuddle).

6) Microphones (Four).

7) Publicity (Digital Flyers).

8) Invite community - send out invitations with Digital Flyer to embedd on Blogs and Websites).

9) Materials available @ forum (Links to Beyond Blue, DepressionNet etc).

10) Running sheet.

11) Feedback form (Electronic).

12) Gifts for speakers.

13) Photographer.

Remember, we are not running this forum as experts on depression. Rather it is an opportunity for people to share their thoughts on topics and have an open discussion. This is a good exercise on public speaking and research.

Ride2Work

2008-03-31T09:28:00.005+11:00

Well done everyone on brainstorming and designing our Ad for My Planet Ads supporting Ride2Work, just one program run by Bicycle Victoria. The link is ...

Ride2Work

Go and have a look, cast your vote or watch the video below, but don't foget to vote, you'll need to click on the above link to do that.

Pension Book

2008-03-19T16:01:00.001+11:00

Thinking about Social Utilities in the future ...

Bicycle Victoria

2008-03-17T15:47:00.002+11:00

Now that we've chosen Bicycle Victoria as our community organisation to support for our Digital Advert for My Planet Ads we need to start considering the type of advert we may want to create.

Remember that we looked at the four different adverts, the first for Honda which showed the parts of the car all disseminated but connecting with each other in a moving sculpture - this advert showing the use of imagery and action over text and speech. The second was the PC versus Mac Vista security advert which was a dialogue that showed a literal interpretation of Vista's security issues. The third was direct to camera Greenpeace advert, very emotive with the boy talking to the adults about his future on the planet. Lastly the sketch with the punch-line performed by Stephen Fry promoting Twinnings.

Researching ways of communicating is part of breaking down the process of creating a project. If we examine the methods these very different adverts use in order to get their message across, it will help us formulate our storyboards for putting together our own adverts.

Keeping mind that we are selling an idea rather then a product.

Our Planet Ad Project

2008-03-11T15:56:00.004+11:00

Here is the design brief for our environmental adverts.

1) 30 second ad (can be up to 170 seconds if need be).

2) Digital Story Format (Text, Sound, Speech, Video, Images).

3) Blog your ideas or write them on paper.

4) Using Jumpcut as our Online editor.

5) Which environmental charity do we donate the $500 award to if we win?

Let's put our heads together and get creative. We need to work in a team for this project so those who have areas of expertise put your hand up so we can use your skills.

Blogging makes you feel better

2008-03-11T09:40:00.002+11:00

A research Media Release from Swinburne University tells of a research paper on the benefits of Blogging. Some of the positive points on Blogging were:

1) Blogging helps you feel less isolated.

2) More satisfied with friendships.

3) Less anxious, depressed and stressed.

You can read the Media Release here.

Good computer habits

2008-02-19T11:15:00.004+11:00

You may not realise or notice it but bad computer habits do cause long term injury if continuously employed when operating a computer over a long period of time. If you apply some good computer habits you will minimise this danger and also feel less weary after having done little else then sat using a computer.

It is suggested that you:

1) Position your thighs horizontal with your knees at about the same level as your hips. Rest your feet comfortably on the floor or on a footrest if you need one.

2) Keep you wrists straight.

3) Locate your workstation away from sources of glare such as windows.

4) Adjust the lighting to prevent the screen from flickering.

5) Have the monitor about one arm's length (20 to 26 inches) away.

6) Wrists: Hands are in straight lines with lower arms.

7) Relax your fingers and hands between bursts of typing or mousing using a flat, straight wrist posture.

And of course take frequent breaks to look away from the screen and focus on a distant object, adjust your monitor for contrast and brightness, try and avoid a flow of air past your eyes from a draft or air vent.

Monetizing your Blog

2008-02-12T15:31:00.001+11:00

I know I have talked the talk as far as inspiration in adding revenue in your pockets with Blogging but before you slap adverts on your Blogs remember to allow at least six months of establishing where you are going with it. Those who wish to dip their feet in the pool of wealth are encouraged to have a look at:

1) Adsense

2) Sponsored Reviews

Only for starters, obviously this step involves having an established readership, it wont happen by luck unless you are like the New Zealand Neopet Blogger who made her living from careful analytical research on her topic. Even then her income is relatively small, to stay sane when Monetizing your Blog consider the rule that by dilegently plying your trade or wares will eventually see you bringing in a steady stream of adequate opportunity.

Blogging those first steps

2008-02-06T14:47:00.000+11:00

A Blog like any worthwhile venture matures with age, that is think of creating your Blogs as the first step to a communication channel that will be open to you for the rest of your life. The first stages of setting up your Blog might be to think about these points.

1) What function does your Blog have? Is it a resume, a journal, technical information, professional business, fiction, or a diary of events.

2) Name of your Blog and what design (outlay) did you have in mind? That is, what feel does it have, how will it present etc.

3) Who is your audience? Contacts, friends, networks, or a general readership.

Remember the three golden rules of thumb.

1) Post

2) Comment

3) Link

Blogs will not grow of their own accord, they must be tendered and taken somewhere. Some of that will be done by you, some of it by your readership. Stick with it and you will find that opportunities will arise, most likely not overnight, but think of them as nest-egg opportunities. Down the track after your two hundreth post you get an email from another Blogger and suddenly, bang, an opportunity along with it.

Digital Story Dimensions

2008-01-21T09:04:00.000+11:00

When constructing your Digital Story there are some factors you may wish to consider when designing it. The size of your images is important to watch as often an uploaded image may end up being cropped or blown out, sometimes squashed, therefore keeping to a relatively proportionate scale for all your images will benefit the outcome of your slides.

One resolution option is 500X300.

When choosing images of a particular file size, try and keep larger then 30K as it is much better to reduce then to blow up and risk losing resolution on your image.

If you want to use images that are rectangular and vertical remember that the Digital Story application will probably crop the top and bottom of the picture or reduce the file to fit the screen making it seem out of place with the rest of your slides.

Using the most readable kind of fonts is very important as your Digital Story is a moving object and even though people can pause the story, it is most likely they will watch it in motion. So you want font that can be digested within the time frame of each slide which may only be 6 seconds or so depending on what you've set it to.

The colour of your font is also important as some colours are easier for the eye then others. There are 216 "browser-safe" colors, but you may also want to keep in mind that if you wanting to keep it simple then a white background with black text is easiest to read. The colour yellow is the most strenuous colour for the retina so make sure you use it wisely.

Here is the Colour Wheel again to help you reference your colour choices.

Online Animation Sites

2008-01-16T13:09:00.000+11:00

Sites for creating animation for those who are interested in using animation for their Digtial Stories. Now I haven't actually explored these sites much so some researching on each one might be useful, keep in mind these factors when researching your sites.

1) Can you embed your finished product and where?

2) Is the user interface friendly? Easy to use, does it allow enough tools for your project?

3) Is it free?

4) What is the upload limit for material (very important!)

One of the best ways to research an Online application site is to look at the Gallery and see what and how other users have made their projects.

1) Fluxtime

2) Animine

3) Gifsun

4) Animation Online (Trial)

5) Aniboom

6) Imator

and lastly this site isn't animation but allows you to do some video mashing etc, it is pretty silly but fun for a while.

7) SmashMash

The Facts of Second Life

2008-01-15T15:13:00.000+11:00

Here are some figures from 2007 regarding "Second Life".

* $35 Million Dollars US (exchanged between users)
* 7.7 Million users (June 2007)
* More then 55% users from outside US.
* Over 60 schools and universities.
* About a dozen or so companies recruiting.

Design Brief - Digital Story & Second Life

2008-01-15T11:27:00.000+11:00

Okay everyone, here is the final design brief for our upcoming project. To design a Digital Story relating to "change" somehow in your views, life, goals, visions, dreams, whatever it be, but in some way, "change". Pretty broad. The Digital Stories will be created using any number of Online Slide or Video editing application.

The second phase of this project is then taking our Digital Stories into Second Life and holding an exhibtion. We'll talk more about this over the weeks but some exploration and setting up will be required in order to achieve this.

I suggest we aim to hold our exhibition in the Sandbox on ABC Island. This Design Brief will develop as we go.

Week Starting 7th Jan

2008-01-08T09:12:00.000+11:00

Welcome back everyone! Here is a list of the applications to trial for making a Digital Story as we discussed yesterday. I want you to start drafting some ideas on your Blog possibly mapping out your thoughts on what you are going to design. Concentrate on formulating the idea first, then how the idea goes, and finally the general way you want to say it.

1) One True Media

2) Rock You

3) Slideroll

4) Toondoo

5) Kerpoof

6) Tabblo

And some new ones ...

7) Toufee

8) Slideshare

9) Animoto

10) Scrapblog

11) Comics Sketch

There is no lack of choices here, so browse a few and get a sense of what you want to do, then choose your application and begin the design process.

Week Starting 17th December.

2007-12-17T14:14:00.000+11:00

Another fun or useful application I came across of note is Cameroid which allows you to snap photos with your web cam and add effects Online - post to your Blog, MySpace etc.

It's our last day tomorrow and I want to wish everyone a good few weeks off, some Christmas cheer, and festivities. You have been great sports over the last six months, and those who are leaving the program I wish you well in your endeavours and hoped you picked up some useful knowledge, and the others returning, I look forward to having your company in 2008.

2007 Teaching and Learning Forum

2007-12-11T09:50:00.000+11:00

This presentation will soon be linked to Zentation with video but for now I am hosting it here in Slideshare.

| View | Upload your own

Media Snackers

2007-12-10T00:18:00.000+11:00

Work for next Monday 10th December

2007-12-04T09:56:00.000+11:00

Encouraging a social protocol for your Blog network is an important move towards really using the ideas behind Web 2.0 but it starts with the simple 'link' - for next Monday when I am away at the Teaching and Learning Forum I would like you to add seven links to your Blog as we discussed in class on Monday 3/11/07 ... keeping the self-branding concept in mind. How do you represent yourself on the Net, what is your Online presence, and embodying the cyber-you.

1) Friends

Friends may be other Bloggers you would like to communicate with further or have been. They may be a Blogger with a similar topic of interest to yourself or just somebody you like or would like to get to know.

2) Employers

Employers would be either Blogs or websites that relate to your vocational area or a vocational area of interest to you. Usually they would be a company or business.

3) Associates

Some related to your interest but perhaps the link may be of benefit to others arriving at your site. Passing on useful resources to your reader.

4) Contacts

A Blogger or personal website of someone who in having a link to may be of benefit to you down the track. They may also be a professional you know but have had little to do with.

5) Networks

This link would be an organisation or group of people that relate to your topic of interest or your vocational area. A Network may be an association or support group for your industry.

6) Groups

More casual then 'Networks', groups represent an unofficial body of people who share the same interest.

7) Communities

Communities are much larger then 'Groups' and may fall under the category of forums, radio stations or other media types that support your interest and then share it with a wider body of people.

Now this should take a little while as you may have to research a fair few Sites and pages before finding the ones that are suitable to link to. Enjoy this process as it is investigative and encourages research skills. Rather then trauling through a regular Google or Yahoo search, try these search engines to find your Blogs and Websites ...

------------------------------------------------

Can someone also buddy up with 'Travelling Around' and take him through the 'Settings' section of Blogger.

Those of you who have not signed excursion forms for the 18th of December could you please do so. I need a map telling everyone how to get to Queen's Park so perhaps some people could work on this and I'll print it out on Tuesday.

Thanks Rupert - see you all Tuesday or next Monday.

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Web 2.0 Awards

2007-11-27T14:09:00.000+11:00

Great Web 2.0 sites you might like to explore in your own time.

Toolbox Objects

2007-11-26T15:37:00.000+11:00

I have listed here the Objects we might consider including in a Toolbox as we brain stormed this week.

1) Understanding Centrelink obligations (flow chart)
2) Change of career (psychological profile)
3) Strengths and weaknesses
4) Glossary of technological terms (Computers, Software, Internet etc)
5) Vocational research

Next week we'll begin storyboarding each one as we develop further the ideas.

Designing our Toolbox (Week of 20th November)

2007-11-20T09:19:00.000+11:00

Here are some programs we may find ourselves using when designing a Toolbox, have a look at them and make some assessment to their functionability and whether we can use them in a constructive way for our production needs. They are free to download and use.

1) Coffee Cup (html editor)

2) Delux: My Colour is an Online colour picker using interiors as a template for colour selection.

3) Movie Maker is a free video editing software but we might end up using Jumpcut which is an Online editing tool.

4) Photo Story create Digital Photo Stories but once again we might take advantage of the multi-functionality of Slideroll.

We need to brainstorm what exactly six hour participants would need in a Toolbox. Some of the things we might think about is:

1) Digital Activities that are useful and informative.

2) Digital Activities that can be completed as an alternative to a six hour day.

3) Activities that are relevent to the participant.

4) What kind of look and feel falls into that demographic.

How the world has changed

2007-11-16T22:14:00.000+11:00

Here is a fun little list that has been circulating the web ...

You know the world has changed considerably when….

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list.

And now, you’re laughing at yourself.

Practical Internet Accessories (13th November 2007)

2007-11-13T15:27:00.000+11:00

Being net savvy means having the ability to manage your tasks anywhere anytime without coming up against the old "software isn't installed on this computer" dilemma. So here are few programs you might find useful in your day to night net lives, making your skills transportable and your resources nifty.

Snipshot allows you to edit images Online using basic tools like crop and rotate etc. It is handy for fast editing where other programs may not be available or you feel doomed to clunk through Paint (as much as I still use it) in order to edit your pictures. No download it necessary, only an upload or edit from a particular image address.

Screenhunter is a small program that will allow you some capability in taking a screen shot of your work. Whether you are collated a montage for a web portfolio or need to save a screen shot as an example, Screenhunter will perform the tricks as it is able to portion out areas, delayed captures on video, and zoombox.

Survey Monkey easy, easy way to create Online surveys.

Image Bolt is a media hosting site for multiple media types such as Flash, video, audio and images. Store you soft copy!

Google Docs is an incredibly handy storage space for revising, updating, editing documents such as Word, PDF, Exel, and Powerpoint files. Great for backing up files or having them at short reach. You can share them via email, post straight to Blog, or even have a document with its own web address - perfect for resumes!

Now to over load you with fifty different ways to tell a story, check out CogDogRoo, Alan Levine's fifty reviewed tools for putting together your stories - I'm slowly going through them all but will post afresh the best that I think in useability and design, but not only that, also function for your content and the publicising of.

Keyboard Jedi (Week 5/10/07)

2007-11-05T13:07:00.000+11:00

Keyboard short cuts lets us speed up our computer use, troubleshoot scenarios where your mouse might stick, break or just conk out, and allow us to drive our computers with efficient manual dexterity. Here is a list of short cuts I have written up for us to give us that edge with using our keyboards. The link below is a little utility called Keyboard Jedi which you can download for free and on your own computers at home practice becoming artful in the way of fast striking your way around your operating system.

Keyboard Jedi

SOME USEFUL SHORT CUTS FOR PC

F1: Help
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
ALT+F4: Quit program
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently

CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic

F2: Rename object
F3: Find all files
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+V: Paste
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection
Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection
Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
F5: Refreshes the current window.
F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

One Hour Session

2007-10-25T08:28:00.001+10:00

Here are examples of three different kinds of Flexible Learning Toolboxes.

Toolbox Example One

Toolbox Example Two

Toolbox Example Three

Each one uses different modes of interactivity, some more non-immersive than others yet principles of sequence and multimedia are equally as used to cater for the modality of the learner.

Smart Thinking

2007-10-15T09:52:00.000+10:00

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It is important that we keep on thinking of initiatives. I know that many people will not seek alternative transport when it comes to moving about the place such as catching trams, trains, buses, or using vehicles like bicycles, skateboards, or rollerblades - so if we can manage it, thinking smart about what kind of car you drive can make all the difference.

Now this isn't a promotion necessarily for Smart Cars, as I realise that many other car companies are heading down the greener road but as far as zip goes, a compact Smart Car will have you parking in no time, bumper to bumper baby (As Grace Jones might yawl) and when it comes to Gridlock (Ever seen the Italian Job?) then just do what a Mini might do and take the footpath - well don't actually as that is a major public health and safety risk - but let's face it, big cars are fuel guzzlers and you may think you have all that horse power but when you're sitting in traffic for half an hour waiting only to move three meters, what good is all that power - bugger all - especially when the trams begin over-taking you.

If you are the type of family that needs two cars then wouldn't it be better to have two cars that more so equal one? His and Hers? Matching Smart Cars with intials spray painted on the bumper bar. I know it sounds daggy but so is having a bubble shaped people carrier for the whole Brady Bunch.

So what is behind the Smart Car anyway that makes it so environmentally caring? This is what Smartville has to say about Smart ...

"From vehicle development through production in smartville to the recycling of many components. smart is more than a car. smart is about specific outlook on life. Whether in jack black or in light white - essentialy, every smart is green. All outsourced parts and components are developed and built in accordance with uniform ecological criteria. Instead of waiting for the problem of taking back and dismantling vehicles for subsequent recycling to come to us, we tackle it during the development phase."

That's my wrap on thinking Smart this Blog Action day, now I have to go and do write ups on my other Blogs.

BLOG ACTION DAY!

Power is in the eye of the beholder ...

Writing an article for the Wiki (1st October)

2007-10-01T13:55:00.000+10:00

Writing an article for the web is quite different than what you might expect with an article typically written for a magazine or newsletter. Web users have millions of places to go on the Internet, countless of things to be doing like emailing, checking their social utilities or watching YouTube videos. To target your article for those not searching for your particular topic you might like to keep a few of these things in mind ...

1) Your article title should be SEO (Search Engine Optimized) because that is what is going to spring up when someone is typing for something in particular. So make sure your title tells us what to expect in the article.

2) Write an introductory paragraph using several key points on what you are going to be covering and for whom. It is essential to summarise at the beginning because a page click is faster then a page flick, so you want to draw in your reader right from the start.

3) The main body of your article should be around two or three paragraphs depending on how much information you are handling. Remember that on the web we have "hyper-links" so referring readers to other sites mentioned or particular words that may need defining is extremely useful to the reader. The nature of the Internet is one of usable design as much as it is about stylistic layout so using separated headers or points is a very functional part of its writing.

4) The closing paragraph may contain an index of links for further reading or a finishing picture to sign off the story.

Finally be concise ... these are not hard and fast rules but they will help you write with brevity and make planning and executing an article or letter easier as you practice.

Blog for the Dole

2007-10-01T09:52:00.000+10:00

Here is the Digital Story we developed for The Knowledge Tree using Slidecast.

I'd like to say a huge thank-you to everyone on the program who participated and helped to create this great little digital story - your enthusiasm and good natures really made it a wonderful piece and very enjoyable to present.

Edition 15 of the Knowledge Tree ejournal is now pulished.

Some questions (18/09/2007)

2007-09-18T13:42:00.000+10:00

Here are some questions I posed to Blogger's for the Digital Story we have created for The Knowledge Tree.

1) When you began this program what were your expectations?

2) What possibilities did you feel Blogging opened up for you?

3) Can you name some definite skills obtained from having began Blogging?

4) How has Blogging effected your outlook on your goals and future objectives?

Week starting Monday 10th of September

2007-09-11T16:10:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone! I know we've had a rather slow couple of weeks tinkering with monetizing information and adding widgets to our Blogs, as well as some basic design for jazzing them up. I will post some more information about making money from Blogging later on but would rather leave it for now because before your Blog will become a rich source of extra income for you, the important steps need to become routine, and they involve the three basics:

1) Post regularly

2) Read and comment on other Blogger's Blogs.

3) Link

As I have stated before Blogging is a networked environment and we have talked about using other social utilities such as Myspace and Facebook for gathering momentum in readers for our Blog content. We have also touched upon using it in conjunction with virtual spaces like Second Life and Home. So, let's all keep these things in mind when developing our hubs in the netsphere.

Next week we are about to embark on creating a Blogument or I suppose a kind of Blogumentary on the work we are doing. This will be for submission to the final edition of TKT (The Knowledge Tree) for 2007. The Knowledge Tree is an Online e-journal and web page about "learning innovation, enabling the sharing of research and innovation in global e-learning practice", in VTE (Vocation and Technical Education) and we have been presented with the opportunity to share our views and express what this program has offered us - as a communication device, a networking tool, and a way of learning how to deliver information in a non-linear way.

I will talk more about it next week but we'll be launching straight into it after break.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Any questions, just leave me a comment.

Requesting an interview/or permission to write story

2007-08-28T13:15:00.000+10:00

1. Write a salutation trying your best to address it to the person most appropriate: in a scenario where it seems too confusing or you just can't find the contact name, "To the Editor" will suffice.

2. Put in a subject heading requesting an interview or for permission to be granted so that you may proceed with your story.

3. Write a small paragraph outlining your situation: that you are currently working on a community focussed Weblog with a team of writers, and in this case it is Community Canvass.

4. Describe your issue: You may want to explain that you are after specific details or just a general permission to go ahead and write the article.

5. Tell them why you chose that particular story and that particular community organisation.

6. Suggest a solution: Telling them that you would like access to using a photo, logo from the site, conducting an interview via email, and/or the permission to quote text.

7. Tell them what kind of things you have in mind for the story, what kind of angle, focussing in on what kind of issues.

8. Tell them what the information will be used for: In this case an Online gateway/hub for community events and community organsations.

9. Describe how this would be good for their organisation.

10. Tell them the action you want to take if you are planning on sending them interview questions and/or the deadline for when the article will go live. Don't forget to tell the Wiki address also.

11. Write a polite ending: Thank-you very much for your time, Yours Sincerely etc.

12. Add your name, email, and mobile phone number if you wish.

Week of 20th August 2007

2007-08-20T14:48:00.000+10:00

This week you all should be considering signing up to our Community Canvass, the Wiki hub for our projects. A Wiki is like almost completely like a Blog with the main differing function in that it does encourage multi-authors to contribute and edit existing posts. On our Wiki I have disabled this function to contain our contributors within the program. You can visit the Wiki by either clicking on the Community Canvass link in my Blogroll (Link List) under "Community Canvass" or clicking here.

The aim for your contribution as "writer" on Community Canvass is to source community organisations that are web-based or have a strong web presence and in investigating current updates or news within that organisation, contact them requesting permission to do a write up on Community Canvass. For now we will concentrate on written articles with photos or graphics, remember to seek permission to use any material taken from their site, and also to link back to that organisation you are writing about. Down the track we will incorporate audio and video to our posts.

I don't mind if the Community Organisations are sourced from elsewhere and relate to your own specific interests or something that interests you as long as they are Victorian organisations and are non-profit for the community.

Any questions just leave a comment on my Blog and I will help out.

Burning Feeds 14/08/2007

2007-08-15T10:14:00.000+10:00

When you've set up your Blog and you want to start broadcasting your ideas to the world wide web you may consider using a feed burner. A feed or web feed very simply is a bit of data that allows news services or "feed readers" (called aggregators), search engines, and blog directories know that you have updated your Blog - with Blogger you already have two feeds aligned to your Blog (Atom and RSS) which Blogger uses for such search engines as Google but a feed burner will cover more search and reader services and incorporate a "ping" for you which is alerting even more services and letting them know you've posted some fresh text.

The feed burner we have been using is Feed Burner which will allow you to simply set up your Blog for "pinging", just follow the steps and if you are experiencing any difficulting leave a comment on this Blog or ask me in class.

Free Range TV

2007-08-13T15:30:00.000+10:00

Black and White version.

Blogging tips #1

2007-08-07T14:53:00.000+10:00

When you first start Blogging it may seem overwhelming how much may be needed to be done in order to get the results and the Blog you want to have, but remember, at the heart of Blogging lies the post. Keeping your posts updated even if you are tinkering with the layout or looking to add extras to it will enable you to get used to devoting some time to communicating, and will encourage readership giving you a stronger foundation upon then which to build, and also fuel motivation from having an audience upon which to respond to.

Here is a list of some of the outcomes you will realise from the Blogging process.

Regular Blogging will improve your general writing abilities just by application.

Time management and responsibilities towards your readers will encourage effective organisational skills.

Communicating effectively is a much required prerequisite for working with others.

Gathering and ordering information will become second nature.

The internet is a huge resource and as you become familiar with the tools used on it, you will find that researching and collating data relatively easy.

Blog Directories

2007-08-06T13:09:00.001+10:00

Week beginning 6Th August activities

Adding your Blog to directories is all about inviting traffic (i.e. readership) to your Blog, it is just another way in which to promote your voice across the vastness of cyber-space. A Blog directory may house its own community or simply be a list of Blogs filed under different categories.

There are probably hundreds of Directories, some worthwhile submitting to and others a waste of a minute or two. It is worth taking an hour to search out those that seem to you like happening spaces (i.e. possibly include a ranking system, voting system, community of users, or frequently updated news aggregator).

Here is a list of some of the Blog search directories we used to submit our sites to. To submit your Blog simply go to each of these sites and find the "submit site" link - remember that it will make inputting your site easier if you have already prepared a description for it and can paste that directly into the "description" box. Most Blog Directories will ask you to have a "return link", and this usually provided as a tracking box the code given to you after you have registered with their Directory. They sometimes give you an option of a graphic of text link, and even sometimes a widget to place on your Blog - it is important that you do this as it will allow the Directory to communicate with your Blog and keep traffic coming. Just open the "add page element" of your Blogger layout editor, then "add HTML/JAVA Script" and paste the code in, saving the element and moving it to your desired spot in your sidebar.

Bloggapedia

Blugdup

Welcome

2007-07-25T14:40:00.000+10:00

I'm the Super Viser - like a charged compass dial. This Blog is a community networking Blog that covers all areas of e-communities. Our main hub is a Wetpaint Wiki called Community Canvass where Bloggers are covering events and making reports on Online community developments. Keep tuned as this burgeoning project expands, based in Melbourne Victoria.