Journal #3: Commercial Concerns in the Social Web

Friesen, N. (2010, December 6). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

As we looked at the data from our last class we see that technology is used daily by all age groups and the social media networks are growing year after year. Most of us would say that we join these social networks to “keep in touch” with friends and family and or to voice our opinions on what we are passionate about. Regardless of the reasons to join a social media group the creators behind the website have another agenda. When you join a social media network there is a questionnaire that asks about age, gender, location of living, interest and so on. All these questionnaires are methods that advertising agency use to convey specific ads to the user on the site. Advertisers purposely place specific ads of your interest to draw users into buying or using specific products. These social media sites are a money making site for companies. Through the questionnaires and likes on your page they have the ability to target specific groups and know that you have a better chance of selling a product. Businesses would not create network sites without being able to make money.  For example, Youtube now has short ads before beginning the video you picked. They are not just any random ads but to your interest and it might be related to the video you picked.

Technology is a great way to stay connected to our interest inside and outside of school but there are greater benefits to those who are behind the scene of these networks.

Can social networks exist without ads? No, I don’t believe that social networks can exist without ads because it needs the ads to make profit. In our society it is a profit making business and all the data that is generated from our questionnaire gives easy access to companies to sell products and services to make money.

When using these social networks at schools are students distracted by the ads or there is no effect? I think it depends on the person but to some degree everyone is affected by these ads. When we see food commercials on television we want may crave that product. These types of advertising works and does distract users. Although firewall protections on computers at schools are very high because of the unwanted ads that are inappropriate, it is very hard to avoid the ads altogether. 

Journal 2 Journal 2: Join an Affinity Group and Share Your Digg Experience

The affinity group that I joined was http://elementarytechteachers.ning.com. I joined this group this group to see how other educators are using technology in their classroom. I hope to learn new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom.  

The Digg readers that I joined were Educator’s PLN, for the love of learning, crazy for First Grade and Common Core and Education Tech. I found that it was an effective way to keep up to date with my interest. There were many different articles but also pictures and video postings. I found video postings to be very powerful and it conveys a message to the viewer. One particular video I watched was about giving and the tittle was Best. Video on Giving. Ever . by Joe Bower. It was followed by a short paragraph and asked if we are teaching the right things for the right reasons. We can only teach students about respect, honestly, trust and loyalty by showing it through engagement and real relationships in life. It was a good reminder that we need to teach academics skills as well as life skills in the classroom. The video was inspiring.

In addition, I found different lesson plan ideas and topics for my classroom. People would post lessons and ideas with pictures and templates. It was a great resource for me to find new ideas and incorporate it into my classroom. I really enjoyed the posting of pictures and videos with the articles and lessons. This is a great way for me to keep up to date with my interests as well as get new ideas.

Can you use anything your learned from the Digg site? Yes, I am able to download the videos and pictures. I can use the videos and pictures in my lessons to show my students. I can also share what I learned or ideas from the forum and share it with my colleagues.

Should students create a Digg account? I think students in middle school or high school should create a Digg account. It is a great way to keep up with current events and can be a useful tool for teachers to assign assignments. If we want our students to be well rounded then this would be a great way to keep up with society. It is easy for students to keep up topics they like as well. 

Journal # 1: Niederst Robbins Jennifer. Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to HTMP, CSS, JavaScript and Web Graphics. Sevastopol, CA: O’Reilly, 2012. Print.

Chapters 1-3

Summary: The first three chapters was background information about web designing. It went over the web professionals of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and XML. The difference between fronted and backed web development is that front web appears directly with browser. In addition, graphic design and image production, interface design, HTML and JavaScript. However the back web development deals with the database programming, context management system and programing languages. I learned that there is a difference between web authorizing and HTML editing tool. HTMP editing tool is a short cut to writing HTML and requires going to the browser to view. Web Authorizing is a visual interface for creating entire webs with CCS, Scripts and HTML. Much thought is put into designing a web page. The six unknowns when designing include accessibility, site performance, response web design, and multitudes of devices, web standards and professional enhancement. Each one is important and works together to create a “mobile web.” To test the effective of the web a waterfall chart is used. A waterfall chart evaluates site performance in the optimized process.  Many devices will need to be test to ensure the web is compatible with various devices. I didn’t know that different sheets needed to be created for various devices. I learned a lot from reading these three chapters.

Question:

What is responsive web design and is it needed? Yes, absolutely responsive web design is needed because of all the different devise. We have smartphones, iPad, desktop, laptop and various screens for all sizes. Responsive sites provide custom layouts for all devices. To apply this would require a single HTML document but with different sheet papers to provide the screen sizes to promote optimized layout for each devise.

What are the four factors web designers need to consider when developing a website? Vision impairment-making sure text can be enlarged and display a screen reader for the text. Mobility impairment-making sure people with no hands are still able to access with other devices and navigate the web freely. Auditory impairment- provides alternatives for hearing impaired. Cognitive impairment- creates a clear and simple site layout for all users. These are a MUST when creating a site so that all users are welcomed.