First, choose the best three sources found in the previous task.
Using whatever software or tool you think appropriate, record the following information about those sites:

• URL
• author
• institution
• blurb/ summary / screen shot (this can be a direct copy of an appropriate abstract or introductory paragraph on the site: but make sure you record and reference it as such)

Again, using any useful software you have downloaded, or utilising your existing software, record this information on your computer in the way that you think will be most useful to you in terms of preparing for your third assignment (that is, in terms of how easy you will find it to access, retrieve, understand, contextualise and recall why you saved it - and with what!).

* LOG ENTRY:
Record this information in your learning log, and also detail how you saved this information, what software you used and why. (Allen, n.d.)

The previous task was a search of our choosing. Mine was a query for “winter dreaming” film screening and the best 3 sources are as follows:

1. • http://www.eucalyptproductions.com/winterdreaming
   • Stephen Curtain
   • Eucalypt Productions
   • 
     Screenshot from
     http://eucalyptproductions.com/winterdreaming

     This page is self-promoting the debut of Winter Dreaming, a film by Stephen Curtain. It includes a preview, a film synopsis, cast and crew summary, and a list of screening dates and venues for 2008. Also listed are target audiences and several potential purposes for usage of the film as an educational resource. The author, cameraman, and producer has a swag of credentials including various photographic and editorial jobs for the BBC, ABC, Australian Geographic, The Age, Wild and Rock magazines. He has works in the fragile environs of Antarctica and around the world, and as an environmental - outdoor education teacher.
     http://www.connotea.org/article/e54e62c1196ecacfae6e518224af6d8a

2. • http://www.fallscreek.com.au/telemarkfestivalgreatsuccess
   • unidentified author
   • Falls Creek Resort Management
   • 
     Screenshot from
     fallscreek.com.au/telemarkfestivalgreatsuccess

     This commercial website caters to Australian snow enthusiasts. Telemark is the form of free-heel skiing promoted annually at the festival. This report from the latest news on the mountain, has no author listed, but photo credits go to festival organiser, Justin Hams. The article starts with a sales motive, then an overview of a successful festival, mentions the interest in the screening of Winter Dreaming (which was over 3 years in the making) before moving on to details of the racing results.
     http://www.connotea.org/article/0cf6e4e2bce4ea7478e9e821943ce3ed

3. • http://www.mountbawbaw.com.au/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=37&Itemid=19
   • unidentified author
   • Mt Baw Baw
   • 
     Screenshot from
     mountbawbaw.com.au

     This is a dedicated calendar event page for the Winter Dreaming screening. Full details of the event time, location and admission are specified, along with a contact email address for further information. Both this and the Falls Creek website are supporting the Keep Winter Cool initiative and both have an environment page. Although it is also a commercial snow resort, Mt Baw Baw’s website includes a Green Visitor page and more than a cursory splash on it’s environmental information. That being said, both the resort web pages fail to make the connection between the film screening advertisement and the initiative they are all supporting.
     http://www.connotea.org/article/0c7ab70ac4a9bf7c0003687beb1dc437

I like CiteULike but my search query isn’t exactly an academic paper. That’s why I used Connotea instead to store all these annotations. It can easily grab the HTML title based on the input URL. Connotea is simple and straightforward, even if the interface could be updated to web 2.0 standard.

Initial belles lettres

I’d been writing my own travel diaries and sending postcards to loved ones during my sojourns around the globe. Naturally I took up blogging, once I was aware of it. Way back in March 2005 I was about to start the next venture into a mysterious culture… Japanese! I started writing in the (Google hosted) blog o vfowler during preparations for my first work gig as an English language teacher. In 161 posts, such as Ending of Sleepless in Brunswick, and bike police, I began to indite some of my misunderstandings and musings for the next year and bit.

Fulfilling a personal multi-purpose

As a public travel diary, my first blog served several purposes brilliantly. First, it allowed me to communicate with family and friends back home. Second, it gave me a place to practise writing and publish some news style articles combined with my photos. I’d started my flickr account at the same time, so it was a great tie in. Third, my travel narratives sufficed as the base script upon which I proudly produced my DVD trilogy - something like a slide-show on steroids.

This blog that your reading right now, vfowler blog, didn’t have a lot of direction initially. Mostly it was my laboratory for experimentation in what was possible on a self hosted WordPress powered blog. With the bells and whistles of additional media formats (audio and video), mapping, tags, categories, search, monthly archives, RSS, podcasts and vodcasts, interactive polls, calendars, communications and so on… I guess this is a web 2.0 blog. Currently vfowler blog is doubling as my required course blog for NET11.

Blogs for others

I kicked off a blog for my English students to practice writing with a real audience. At http://hawthornenglishclass.wordpress.com is where most of my class first understand the term blog - I still find this amazing. Thanks largely to my best friend, I’ve come to learn the flexibility of WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) and have been punching out a couple of sites for friends using it.

Citizen Journalism - unlikely

http://www.nowpublic.com claims The News is NowPublic.com, albeit with a by-line of Crowd Powered Media. Generally I agree with James Farmer’s post Citizen journalism sucks, that there ought to be a level of professionalism associated with the term journalism. (Farmer, 2006) Sadly, I’d also concur that the average citizen is not very good at the skills involved. Only through teaching English as a second language have I come to realise how poor the average punter is with his/her first language. I studied photography at university and have some awareness of what makes a better photograph. Now the odds of the average camera wielding person producing an acceptable shot are improving. Still, my preference is to see the kind of photos that get into Lonely Planet publications rather than the rubbish that comes from my mobile phone camera. Needless to say, it frightens me when garbage is published.

Content is king

Whilst the average citizen isn’t skilled enough for publishing to a broad public audience, there are no fewer than millions of high calibre blogs out there appealing to our many niches and interests. Blogs are at home when new content is frequently published. Just like newspapers, one way to measure the quality of the content is by readership. The really great content is always forwarded on to others, similar to the way we discuss news articles that have impacted upon us. Although, how far reaching a blog post is, may be less important than reaching the right audience.

References

Farmer, J (2006 , October 5). Citizen journalism sucks. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from The Age Blogs website: http://blogs.theage.com.au/media/archives/2006/10/citizen_journal.html

So you still use Internet Explorer for your everyday browsing? Ah… Why? Would you keep eating poo if you knew you could be eating honey in your sandwich?

Get Firefox and see for yourself how it compares to Internet Explorer

Still using Outlook? Try Gmail and set it up nicely in Firefox with the GreaseMonkey add-on and the Top 10 Gmail scripts. Like that? Lube up your browser with more GreaseMonkey scripts at http://userscripts.org/ where you’ll find a dab of oil for flickr, YouTube, Facebook, Hotmail, and much more.

Welcome to smoother than ever sailing around the web. Although you may wish to hear both sides of the fence. Digital Planet had an interesting discussion on Firefox 3.0, and also on the psychology of Facebook. (24th June 2008 episode) Take a moment to listen (26minutes 30 seconds).

Firefox flies

Firefox 3.0 exceeded 10 million downloads within days of its release, but will it break into the corporate world?

As the latest open source browser goes online Digital Planet asks if it will ever replace Internet Explorer as part of the desktop in big business.

Mozilla Firefox
IT Blogwatch: “Firefox 3.0 delights and frustrates in equal measure”

Check out Professor Kerim Friedman’s comparison of Firefox versus Safari.

Read the rest of this entry »

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