Final Exam

Google Living Stories is different from other news sources because they update all content and give you the whole story, so you don't have to go back and dig for old news. Also they give you timelines, audio, and video all in the same place.

I think that this approach is good for learning all about the news and getting everything in one place. If you get confused about something in the news, you can always go back and see the old story to clarify and questions you have.

I think that Google Living Story should add stories from other sites to their page to show how the news differs from place to place. Also I think a comment section would be nice so people can add their opinion to the stories.

Walt Disney

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Black Friday Events

Online Shopping
-Almost all stores have online black friday deals and some stores even have deals that are only available online.
-Some of the stores with the best online deals are WalMart, OfficeMax, Home Depot, Game Stop, J&R, and many many more.
-Almost all online deals begin at around 2am on Thanksgiving Day, which means that you could get all of your holiday shopping done before people even begin lining up in the stores!

Online Vs. In Store
-Some of the pros of online shopping:
-No waiting in long lines
-No need to wake up really early
-Don't need to worry about cart-jacking
-Some of the pros of in store shopping
-The best deals are almost always found in the stores, not online
-It's always more exciting to fight your way through the store to get the best deals
-It's much easier to return things bought in the store then things bought online

My Black Friday Plans
-I will be one of the ones fighting my way through the stores on black friday in the wee hours of the morning. I find shopping on black friday to be a thrill and feel that it would just be boring to sit at home and do all of my shopping.

Cloud Computing

Indicee-This service allows you to upload your files, spreedsheets, and data exports directly to the site. You can upload these things whenever you need to and you can put them in your own file. Indicee also allows you to ask a question and get a report. You dont have to deal with all the technical language to get what you need to know. You can even share your reports with anyone you want, whenever you want. Indicee even gives you step by step instruction on how to use the site to your best advantage.

Cube Tree-This service is a microblogging site, kind of like Facebook or Twitter. It allows you to update your "status" and let your coworkers know what your doing or thinking at the time. It also allows your coworkers to comment on what your doing so its almost like a chat room between you and your coworkers. Its much more convienient then email and there are many more services that are provided within Cube Tree that can make your experience even easier.

DocVerse-This service allows you to send all Microsoft word, powerpoint, or excel files directly from the program. This eliminates attaching files to emails and trying to send them to whoever you need to. DocVerse sends all files directly to its website so anyone can view them and whenever you save a file on DocVerse it will automatically update on docverse.com.

Caspio-This service allows you to create database-powered applications without programming. You can build web forms, data searches, reports, and web applications. Caspio is an affordable data management service that allows you to execute your ideas quickly.

Social Bookmarking

1. What is Social Bookmarking?
It is a method for saving, sharing, organizing, and managing bookmarks for websites, all on the Internet. It is a way to remember and share websites.
2. Who is using social bookmarking services?
Anyone can use social bookmarking services but it is most commonly used by teachers and students.
3. How does it work?
On whatever social bookmarking site you use, you are able to save links to web pages that you want to remember and use later. Social bookmarking is generally public so that others can also view what websites you have saved.
4. Why is it significant?
It allows you to find other people that share your interests, see what things interest your friends, and it allows you to share information with others.
5. Where is it going?
Social bookmarking may become something like the new Google. With the ability to save, share, and explore with social bookmarking, it may become more effective then just any old search engine.
6. How can it be used by teachers and students?
It can help teachers save websites that they want their students to view as well. By saving these websites using social bookmarking, students have an easier way to view what their teacher wants them to.
7. What are the downsides?
Everything that is being bookmarked is done by people just like you and me. People make mistakes which can cause things to be misleading (for example, spelling errors, miswording, saving things with wrong tags, etc.). You can also run into spam, meaning people making you think that you are going to one website when in reality they are taking you somewhere else.
8. What are the benefits compared with traditional bookmarking methods?
Social bookmarking allows you to save all of your favorite websites and web pages all in one place. You can organize your websites according to subject, content, etc. and you can also share what you've found with other people.
9. List 3 popular Social Bookmarking sites that you have explored and tell us which one is your top pick.
Three of the top social bookmarking site that I found are 1) del.icio.us 2) digg and 3) reddit. My favorite out of these three sites was probably del.icio.us because it was the most organized and least cluttered and it was easy to follow and understand.

PowerPoint List

I chose to do my powerpoint on Walt Disney. The main topics I included in my powerpoint are facts about his life, his awards and achievements, and also some of his movies. Here is my to do list for turning my powerpoint into a screencast.

1. Finding the right tools and software: For my screencast, I will be using Jing which I have already downloaded onto my laptop. I will be using my laptop and the microphone installed in my laptop for recording.

2.My audience: I plan for my audience to be students that are interested in learning about one of the greatest and most imaginative people of all time (in my opinion of course). Also if there are other people who are interested in learning about Walt Disney, I would encourage them to watch my screencast :)

3. Writing a script: I have already wrote a rough draft for my script, but I believe that it needs to be developed a little more. It's a pretty good outline in my opinion but I think some ideas need to be more focused on then others.

4. Rehearsing: I plan to rehearse my script as I work on my rough draft, because I think it will help me to figure out what points are more important in my powerpoint. Also, after I have a final draft, I will need to rehearse so i can be more comfortable with what I'm going to say.

5. Recording: When I record my screencast, I plan on recording at a friends house because my house isn't always very quiet and with the quality of my microphone I need my surroundings to be as quiet as possible.

For the most part I am ready to begin recording my screencast. I just need to develop my script more and maybe get some input from other people on what they think should be most important in my screencast. I also should rehearse my script before I begin to record.

Screencasting

About Screencasting

~These three links tell about how screencasting works and how it's being used today.
-An Introduction to Screencasting
-Screencasting: How to Start, Tools and Guidelines
-What Is Screencasting?

Different Screencasting Programs

~Camstudio
-What is Camstudio?
-CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn AVIs into Streaming Flash videos (SWFs).
-My experience with Camstudio
-I found Camstudio very easy to use. It has many different functions that help to make you more comfortable using it. It's made to fit your needs. I learned how to use it very quickly and it also downloaded very quickly to my computer. Plus it's totally free so that's really cool too. It also comes with a movie player and a SWF producer.
-Visit the Camstudio website

~Jing
-What is Jing?
-Jing is free software that allows you to capture a screenshot or video right off your computer and then allows you to share with anyone you want right online.
-My experience with Jing
-I found Jing really easy to use an to understand. It took a really long time to download but it was really easy to set up. It has many different features and I actually found it really interesting and fun to use. I highly recommend it :)
-Visit the Jing website

~Wink
-What is Wink?
-Wink is a Tutorial and Presentation creation software, primarily aimed at creating tutorials on how to use software (like a tutor for MS-Word/Excel etc). Using Wink you can capture screenshots, add explanations boxes, buttons, titles etc and generate a highly effective tutorial for your users.
-My experience with Wink
-I couldn't get Wink to download on my computer. It's free but doesn't work. Don't recommend.
-Visit the Wink website

5 Alternatives to "Office"

1. Ability Software

-Ability Office is an easy to use and an easy to afford software suite. It’s perfect for use in the office, home, or school. Ability Office is available in three different suites, each designed for specific users. I think that Ability Office is a better alternative to Microsoft Office because it has many of the same features. It’s supposed to be easy to use and it’s so much cheaper than Microsoft Office.

-Visit the Ability Software website.



2. Applixware

-Appixware is a much cheaper alternative to Microsoft Office yet it has many of the same features. The full-featured suite includes modules such as a word processor, a real time event driven spreadsheet, a programmable vector graphic tool, a database interface, and much more. It’s designed to work in Windows as well as the UNIX/Linux operating environments.

-Visit the Applixware website.


3. StarOffice Software

-StarOffice is also a much cheaper alternative to Microsoft Office with the same features. It has powerful and integrated word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database capabilities. It can also read and edit Microsoft Office files. You can download this software directly off the StarOffice website for $34.95. You also get a free PDF import and export capability. A new feature for this software is that it can be supported Macintosh OS X as well as several other operating environments.

-Visit the StarOffice website.


4. Google Docs

-Google Docs is a much better alternative to Microsoft Office because it is totally free and it has the same features as Microsoft Office. Google Docs is a web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form application. You can create and edit documents online while having other Google Docs users review your work.

-Visit the Google Docs website.



5. OpenOffice

-OpenOffice is as easy to use as Microsoft Office but the best part about it is that it is totally free. You can download it straight from the OpenOffice website and you can download it in any language. It can also read files from almost any other office programs. You can also put OpenOffice on as many computers you want. You can make copies of the program and give them to family, friends, students, or anyone you like.

-Visit the OpenOffice website.