Brochure

The brochure is actually not as hard as I expected it to be. Just the format of the brochure is a little confusing, but after seeing a few examples I got the hang of it. I'm about 75% done with it, which is good.
I had to re-do my cover page and my itinerary. The original ones were so much better than my remakes, because for my cover page, I had to copy and paste the PDF cover page (which I have a link to on one of my previous posts) to a new Pages document and it looks all weird. :(
Now all I have to do is update my work log, and bibliography (lots of pictures = lots of citations) and my introduction, which I had on my original cover page but was erased after those "computer wizards" came in to "fix" them.
Ok, I have to go. 
Cheerio! 

Self Assessment

I think I am progressing fairly well in this class. I certainly know how to do a lot more than I was able to before I took Multimedia class. 
I've learned how to save documents as PDFs, but still, I do not know whether the things I've learned in this class will benefit me in the future. 


- A blog is short for a weblog, and it is a written online and accessible to users on the Internet. I'm just going to guess that blog is a noun. 
- An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego. The term avatar comes from the incarnation of a Hindu deity, especially Vishnu, in human or animal form. 
- Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Netiquette (or Internet etiquette) is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks. It is important because if you don't follow the rules of Netiquette you may get yourself in trouble - with friends, with other people, and even with the law. 
- Pages is an application the Mac computer that creates documents in many different formats. 
- Royalty-free is a term employed in negotiating the right to use creative content, such as photos, video or music. The term royalty-free means that once the content is licensed under a set of guidelines, the license is normally free to use it without paying extra royalty charges. Stock photography is a term that refers to photographs that can be licensed for public or commercial use, which are usually found on professional stock photography websites. 
- A citation is a source where you got specific information. For example: Hanson, Mark. "Holy Trinity Church 1." stock.xchng. N.p., 31 Oct. 2009. Web. 22 
Stock Photography Citation

These are important because it gives the author of that work credit when you use their work. A lot of times it's hard to make citations down because of not enough information, such as the author's name. 

- PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format developed by Adobe as a means of distributing compact, platform-independent documents. It is superficially similar to HTML; a PDF document may contain images and text, as well as hyperlinks. However, as PDF is based on a variant of PostScript, each document is self-contained, packing text, graphics, and fonts into a single file.

I need to review all of this before the test on Thursday. Ugh, now I'm going to re-do the work those people who "fixed" (not really) the computers.

Ta-ta! 

Disaster!

Okay, so I came to school today, and EVERYTHING was gone! My itinerary that I worked SO HARD on creating, my Introduction that I spent so much time on, EVERYTHING. I strongly despise the people who came and worked on these computers and deleted everything I worked on. 
This is horrible! My precious itinerary is gone! :( :( :( 

Self Evaluation on Pages Project so far:)

I especially liked Pauly D's project because of the cover. It just grabs my attention. A lot of the other blogs I checked didn't have their project linked so I couldn't look at them. Asian Leprechaun had hers correctly linked also, and hers is great, but it needs more images. Also, the colors of her brochure don't match the design style. I wouldn't mind, but our multimedia teacher would :P 


Here are the links to my comments 


Asian Leprechaun Comment

Pauly D's Comment

Now, I'm supposed to self-evaluate the first part of my project using the rubric provided. I have a feeling I won't do as well as I hoped I would. 


Crossing fingers... 


General - I think I'd get a 2. I didn't use a header or a footer (I don't even know what those are!)
Cover - Probably a 4, because I did have a title and an image related to my country (England) and it is consistent with document's design style (which I only have a vague sense of what that means)
Table of Contents - A 4, because it is well organized, with accurate page #s, and it is consistent with the design style.
Work Log/Initial Design - Either a 2, 3 or 4. I'm not really sure, because I don't have an explanation of the designs, but my work log is consistent with the document's style.
Bibliography - A 4, because the document is consistent with the document's style. Citations are in proper MLA format and in alphabetical order (I think...)
Bibliography Citations - A 3, because even though I have more than 12 citations, they are in Noodle Tools, not the actual document. I was meaning to add my latest citations to the document, but too late for the actual rubric scoring.... :(
Professionalism - A 4. This is the easiest, EASIEST part. I hardly ever make spelling/grammar mistakes. 


Not as well as I hoped, but not too bad, either. Now I have to start on my brochure because it's due next...it's not going to be easy, since I have no clue how to use the brochure format on Pages! Wish me luck! :) 

Reflections for Today

I had to upload the document containing my cover page, table of contents, work log, and my bibliography. It was as easy as cake. I had no trouble at all (my work log will say it was a little difficult, I had put that BEFORE I uploaded it as a PDF document, haha) I could do this easily. I'm going to continue on my itinerary, add some more pictures maybe) and I really don't want to start on my brochure, but I probably should as I'm already done with my assignment for today and I had at least an hour more in this class (I really want to play Vertical Drop on Kongregate though). I may play a LITTLE bit...or a lot...

PDF Document

Today I had to upload my cover page, work log, table of contents and bibliography. I'm not NEARLY done with either the work log or the bibliography, but I was supposed to upload it anyway. I'm not sure why, but that was my assignment. I'm not going to complain more about it. 


Here is my cover page

Edited Cover Page

Feel free to view my work and comment on this post with your thoughts on my work so far! :) 

Itinerary

I'm finished with my itinerary! YES! 
Ok, now that I'm done with the easy part, I have to start on the harder part, which is the brochure. I also have to do an introduction, which I hope won't be too hard. I despise the Mac application Pages very much. I like it and I despise it at the same time. Pages is easy to work with, but at the same time it's a pain. 
I'll continue this post later. Time to go to another class. Cheerio!

Starting the Project

Today I created the cover for my project, my table of contents, I started on my work log (I put my plan designs there) and I made three citations in my bibliography. I'm far with my itinerary now and I say that this is very good. 
All in all, I'm working hard and I get what I need to get done completed.

Reflections

I did everything I was assigned to do for the class period which was to create a plan for my brochure/itinerary and take a picture with Photo Booth and fix the picture with Photoshop and upload it onto a new post. It wasn't too difficult after my friend Pauly D helped me using Photoshop since I had never used the program before. I believe I accomplished more than enough today.
Creating the itinerary took longer than the brochure because I went really in depth with it. I know exactly where I want to take someone in London and other places in England. The brochure was very simple and nothing like what I have in mind for the final product. The final product will be colorful and detailed. I just simply sketched out the main things I plan to have on the brochure. I'm not such a great drawer so it's not a good drawing.
Sorry if you can't see the brochure/itinerary clearly. The paper was sort of see through and I wrote as dark as I normally do but maybe it wasn't dark enough to see clearly. I was sort of too lazy to go over it in pen since I wrote a lot. If you have good eyes maybe you can :)

Itinerary and Brochure Plan Sketches

Page 1 of Itinerary Plan

                                                             Page 2 of Itinerary Plan
                       

                                               My Travel Brochure Plan (it's not that great) 


I wanted to add Leeds to my itinerary because I heard it was a decent shopping city, and we would go by train because it is not too close to London. This day would be between Days 5 & 6. And Dover will not be the last day. We'd take a train from London to Eastbourne around 3:30 P.M and arrive back in London by like, 10:30 PM on the last day in England. 

Thoughts about Pages Project

My post today is supposed to be about my initial thoughts on my country, England, and the Pages project I'm going to do (create an itinerary and a brochure) 
England is a great country and I'd love to revisit, so I know where to go and what to see in London and nearby cities such as Bath. Stonehenge is a must, and so is Windsor Castle. 
I'm kind of nervous about photoshopping my brochure/itinerary plans because I've never used photoshop before. Wish me luck!

Plagiarism, Stock Photography and Public Domain

Plagiarism is passing off somebody else's ideas or work as your own. 
A really good way to avoid plagiarism is to first read the paragraph, and without looking at the paragraph, jot down some of the main idea in your own words (but remember to cite the source where you found your information) and after, check for accuracy and be sure that your paragraph doesn't sound too similar to the one on the website. 
On my itinerary project, I will be using the MLA format to cite my sources. 


Here are two sources I may use for my project


"Things to do in the UK ." Destination 360. N.p., 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
     <http://www.destination360.com/europe/uk/things-to-do>


For the source above it was a travel website so I couldn't find an author's name for the description of places to go in the UK. I looked everywhere on the website. 


Hainsworth, Martha. "Martha Hainsworth's England Travel Tips." Metanoia . N.p.,
     n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. <http://www.metanoia.org/england/
     sights.htm>

I liked Martha Hainsworth's England Travel Tips better than Destination 360 
because Destination 360 is a travel company 
and they want people to book their trip with them, and they only put the basics of England. 

Martha Hainsworth added A LOT and put some personal recommendations - 
where to stay, where to eat, places you SHOULD not go to. 

Stock Photography is a supply of photos collected to use instead of hiring a photographer.

It's not a good idea to copy random images off Google because it could be possible that you

copied a copyrighted image, and the company could contact their lawyers and 
it could turn into a court issue.
 It's also not very professional, and it's not worth the risk. 

Items within the public domain are works that currently have no intellectual property rights

within the country of your residence. 

The image above is Big Ben in London

Domiwo. "Big Ben, London." stock.xchng. N.p., 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
     <http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1157550>.

New Project

My Multimedia teacher assigned us a new project today. We're supposed to choose a country, and make an itinerary to that country to promote cultural understanding for teenagers.
I chose England, because I've been to five countries in Europe, England included, and it was one of my favorites (besides Italy, of course), and Italy was already taken when I had to choose my country, so I chose England. This project will be easier because I've already been there (I'm a whiz at English history - I had been obsessed with it for nearly 2 years) and I'd definitely go again. 
The trip I'd organize would take approx. 20 days, and it would focus on London, but of course I'd include Windsor Castle, Bath, Dover (to see the famous White Cliffs), Oxford, Manchester, and Eastbourne (I went to Eastbourne when I went to England with my mom and loved it) - Eastbourne isn't a city that you HAVE to go to while in England but it's definitely a nice city, and it's accessible to go to by train from London (the train ride duration would be a little more than an hour). I'd include Stonehenge in my itinerary, because it's something you HAVE to go to while in England. Also, in my itinerary I'd include a tour of Shakespeare's house in Stratford upon Avon. In London, we'd get from place to place by London Underground or double decker bus or the hop on/hop off bus, and maybe the tour group would have a luxury bus with a driver when we're going to places out of London. Some excursions out of London we'd go to by train, others by luxury bus.
In London, I'd include in my itinerary FOR SURE:


- British Museum
- London Eye
- Tour of Buckingham Palace
- Tower of London
- Westminster Abbey
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- As a fun day, I'd include the London Dungeons in my itinerary
- Boat tour 
- Night walk on 3 nights in London through the parks (for example, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park, St. James Park, etc)
- Spend an entire morning in Harrod's on Knightsbridge (you could spend FOREVER there)
- And more if possible 


I'm really excited for this project. I love to travel and it'd be fantastic to actually create an itinerary for somebody! :) 

Netiquette

Today, my assignment is to learn the rules of Netiquette and answer the following questions.




Scenario #1 – A student sends a harassing e-mail to another student. The receiving student
retaliates with a “flaming e-mail.” Is this the appropriate response? If not, what would be?
No, this is not an appropriate response. They should've waited a day to respond so both of them could've had time to cool off and put the issue in perspective.


Scenario #2 – When hanging out with friends, one of the students makes a call on their cellphone and carries on a conversation while still within the group. Is this ok? Why or why not?


Making calls and carries a conversation with someone else while you're with other friends is not ok. It's very rude. 


Scenario #3 – A student logs on to a free file sharing website and downloads a song they just heard on the radio. Is this ok? Why or why not?


I don't think its okay because I believe that's downloading music illegally. I'm not sure on this one, though. 


Scenario #4 – A student follows a questionable link to a website and downloads a malicious script which releases a Trojan Horse virus on to the school network. Is the student to blame? Why or why not?


Yes, the student is to blame. They shouldn't even be following a questionable link or downloading anything on the school network in the first place.


Scenario #5 – An hour before class, a student remembers that a writing assignment is due. The student goes to the library, logs on to a website, and copies/pastes the information. Is this ok? Why or why not?


No, it is not okay. Taking somebody else's work and calling it yours is plagiarism and it's illegal.


Scenario #6 – At home, a student uses a software package to copy movies and games from DVD’s for his or her friends. Is this within fair-use laws? Explain.


It's not within fair use laws because copying movies and games and giving them to other people is pirating and it is illegal.


Scenario #7 – A student logs into the school website to download the syllabus they lost. Are they breaking any rules or laws? Explain.


No, they aren't breaking any rules or laws because I'm assuming the teacher has the syllabus on the school website for a student to print out in case they lose it. 


Scenario #8 – Students spend a good amount of time in class creating a web page for a school sponsored fundraiser. However, there website is not usable by certain individuals with disabilities. Was this disrespectful or wrong of them?


It was wrong of the students to not make the website, say, large print for people who have trouble seeing to read, because it's not including everybody, and it's disrespectful. A fundraiser is to raise money for a program or an organization and anybody who wants to give money to the fundraiser should be able to, and because of the way the students made the website, people who have disabilities cannot. The school fundraiser may have lost some profit because of that. 


Netiquette is important because just like people use proper etiquette in real life, etiquette needs to be used on the Internet, too. The Internet is not an escape from using proper etiquette. I think we're dedicating class time to this concept because Netiquette is a big part of using the Internet and it's important that we learn the rules of it. 
I've gotten so many "flaming" emails and people have asked me personal questions or questions that made me uncomfortable. From the websites I looked at (http://www.uni.illinois.edu/library/computerlit/netiquette.php) and (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/parents/cyberethics/practice.aspx), I now know what to do in those situations. 

Self Evaluation

My post today is about evaluating my blog. 

I did my best on it, and it was actually fun to make my blog look cool and still meet most of the rubric requirements. 

Here's my evaluation of my blog based on the rubric. 

• Template - I think I would get a 4 because I did change the layout, advanced settings and the background (I really like my background. It's so cute).
• Design Tab: Gadgets - I think I would get a 3 on this because I did have an avatar but just one gadget. 
• Settings Tab - I'd get a 4 on this because I changed the time zone and I made a description for my blog. I thought that I was supposed to write a description on the time-zone because that's what it said on the rubric but then my teacher explained to me that it means the blog, not the time-zone. Silly me. 
• Protecting Your Identity - I'd probably get a 4 on this because I don't believe I posted anything to reveal my identity. I really hope not either, because I don't want someone to stalk me. 
• Posting - I think I would get a 4 because I did comment on 5 posts (Guera's, Alaan79's, Phamalot's, Asian Leprechaun's, and D@%%Y P's blogs) and I have the links to those comments on my blog. I also have the computer hunt posted as a page. 
• Blog Entries - I would get a 3 on this because I don't think I discussed what these computer skills could be used for. I think I did explain what improvements I could make. I'm not really sure about that though. 
• Commenting - I would get a four...I think. I'm not sure, because I did hot-link the comments, but they are all spread out, not just in the second post. I don't understand why they have to be in the 2nd post. 
• Professionalism - I would get a 4 on this because I did not have spelling/grammar errors, and my language is appropriate. I also avoided slang and technical jargon. It has a complimentary color scheme as well.

All in all, I would get a 30 out of a possible 32 points in my evaluation of my blog. I hope I will, too, because I worked a lot on my blog, at school and at home. It wasn't like it was torture setting up this blog, though. It was entertaining :) 
I'm proud of my work. 

Other Cool Blogs

All my classmates in Multimedia have a blog, so I'll post the links to a few of them. Check them out! :) 

D@%%Y P

Alaan79's Blog

Phamalot's Blog

Asian Leprechaun's Blog

I commented on D@%%Y P's and Guera's and Alaan79's blog-post. Here's the link for them.

Comment on D@%%Y P's Post

Guera's Blog Spot Comment

Alaan79's blogpost