Music-Podcast

Week 8- The Sound of...Podcasting

This week we learned about Podcasting.

Podcasts are media files, such as text, audio, video, etc. that can be played on the computer or downloaded to MP3 players. Users typically subscribe to a Podcast channel and download the content to their computers. Additionally, once subscribed if new updates are added to the podcast channel the material is automatically downloaded to the subscribers computer. Since its inception, podcasts have become easier to use and thus more popular.

We also learned how podcasting is being used in the educational setting. Duke University gave iPods to a incoming class and on those iPods were podcasts of orientation. Also lectures can be downloaded on them so one can listen to it multiple times. Podcasts would help students catch up or stay on track if they were out sick for an extended period of time. Teachers could also assign students to create their own podcasts which would help them learn and become familiar with the material and to learn how to effectively communicate the material. Studies have shown the podcasts have dramatically helped in learning another language.

However, there are some drawbacks, one must get permission to use a certain content before one incorporates it into the lecture, some material may be inappropriate for students because anyone can put anything on a podcast. Teachers must be taught how to record their lectures and turn them into mp3s. Students or even teachers may not have access to the equipment needed to listen or create podcasts as well as enough space on their hard drive to support all the mp3's they have to download. Additionally, some students are not auditory learners, they need to see the content, whether in text form or through graphs, in order to really comprehend the material.

While audio podcasts may not be very useful in the telecommunication field, video podcast are. One can upload their videos for others all over the world to see. Although, using audio podcasts is a little similar in that once the material is recorded, one should go back and edit the material. As a telecom production major, we have to edit our video and audio material all the time. When the levels of audio are to low we have to go in and raise them in a program such as final cut. We also have to make sure that when recording or in the editing phase that there is no outside noise to distract the listener from the important message we are trying to get across.

This video I found on Youtube breaks podcasting down in simple terms. It covers what it is, why it is popular, and how easy it is to use. It shows how traditional media, is time dependent -where one has to watch and listen to a show at a certain time whereas podcasting erases the time element and makes listening to your favorite shows easy to do anytime and anywhere.

Week 7- Digital Technologies

In class this week we learned about digital technologies.

In today's society more and more of technology is becoming digitalized. However not too long ago analog technology was all that was available to us. Information given to us in analog form is a copy of the information and can be electronic, chemically induced, magnetic, or vibration sensitive. Digital on the other hand, is taking the original material and converting it into binary code(1's and 0's). Digital technology has become handy in many areas, including photography and video.

Digital photography uses a device called a Charged Coupling Device which converts image being capture into numerical data by capturing light. The more pricey camera which have better resolution have a larger CCD than a small point and shoot. However the better the resolution means having more pixels which means that the image you captured will take up more room wherever you decide to store it on your computer or memory card. There are many advantages though, remember when you had to develop the film to see if your picture came out okay? Well with digital photography one can immediately view what they have shot, there are no developing charges, manipulating the image is easier, and at a low resolution, you can store a lot of information.
Digital video is described in the powerpoint as electronic storage of moving images using numerical data. By using the numeric system, one can easily take the video shot straight from the camera and begin editing. If more space is needed, videos can be compressed. This means that certain information in the video, like color, motion, etc. is removed. Unfortunately, when this occurs the video losses quality.
PDA's or Personal Digital Assistants have a multitude of functions, but act as a small computer, phone, organizer, of data storage device. PDA's can help access the internet from a variety of locations, collect and graph real world data, etc.

We also learned about Podcasts which are digital media, audio, or video files that are released periodically and different audio file formats such as uncompressed, lossy, and lossless compression.

As a telecommunication major we have to be up to date on all the newest digital technologies. We had to learn all about CCD's, resolution, pixels, and compression in class. We also record digital video only on an analog medium, tape. This means that when editing, we have to go through the whole tape(log and capture) and can not just jump around and choose to edit shots in the middle of the tape. Back in the day when analog was used, it had to be processed in a dark room so not to disturb the video that was captured on it because the film was light sensitive. Digital has certainly made things in my field a lot easier and faster.

The first article I found gives a little more detail to the difference between analog and digital and how analog is a continuous stream of information while digital breaks up the information.

Digital vs. Analog

The second article is interesting because it compares digital and analog in terms of audio. It discusses how analog and digital have affected recordings of songs. The article uses examples of classic vinyl records and how you can hear noise in the analog recordings.

Music-Digital vs Analog

2nd Blog Check Start -Week 6- Visual Literacy and Digital Storytelling

This week we learned about visual literacy as well as digital storytelling.

We learned that in order to be visually literate one must first know the basic elements of visual communication. Some of these elements include: dots, lines, shapes, direction, value, hue, saturation, texture, etc. The article discussed how even cave paintings, while today we may see them as primitive, held a special cultural and significant meaning to the artist who painted them. These painting encouraged visual literacy because although there were no words to read, one could infer what the artist was trying to say through understanding the symbols. Over time these paintings and symbols gradually turned into the alphabet as we know it today.

Digital storytelling is similar to visual literacy only it uses "computer based tools" to convey a story. With the computers help, one can use videos, music, text, etc. to help bring their stories to life instead of the traditional way of still images and voice. There are some similarities between digital storytelling and the traditional way however, both tend to focus on one specific subject and come from one point of view. Any subject can be told thorough this media, whether it be educational, such as a history story, or just for fun, like an old fable. Digital storytelling has been very popular in the education setting. It draws the kids out from their passive textbook and into a world where they can actively learn. When using digital storytelling to educate the videos tend to be around 2-10 minutes. Any shorter and one can't convey the message, however too long and the child may lose interest.

Digital storytelling is very much related to telecommunications. Telling a story or message is exactly what my major is about. Whether it's creating a public service announcement or a movie, I would be using the same elements like text, point of view, video, and music to convey a message. The only real difference would be that sometimes the videos I make may be longer than 10 minutes.

The video I found uses digital storytelling (video/images/clips) to explain what digital storytelling is and how it can be a learning aid in a classroom.

Week 5 - Media & Information Literacy

In this weeks assignment we learned about visual literacy.

Visual literacy is being able to recognize commands in the form of pictures(visual encoding) and interpret what actions to take based on those images(visual decoding). For example, if you see a picture of a dog with a red line through it outside a restaurant, one can interpret it to mean that dogs are not allowed inside the building. It is interesting to see how much we use visual literacy in our daily lives! Driving almost entirely depends on it with all the different signs that mean certain things.

Visual literacy is important if I were to use my telecommunication degree to produce videos, tv shows, or films.It is a very big taboo to have a character explain to the audience things in the show. Therefore visual literacy is needed so the audience can follow along and not be confused at why a character is doing what they are doing. For example, instead of a character saying to another character " I have to be careful around this cliff cause rocks could fall on me" I could just film a close up of the falling rocks sign and the audience would be able to interpret the meaning.

In this video, the message that is discussed is that visual literacy is very important in interpreting advertising, signs, etc. It shows that while images may relate in content, the interpretation of those images may be totally different. It provides many examples where visual literacy is needed. It even goes on to suggest that not only do different visual images affect our interpretation of them, but the cultural context in which we are exposed to them, the medium they are shown in, etc.

Week 4- Designing Instructional Media

This week in class we discussed designing instructional media.

There are four main points to keep in mind when creating media, such as powerpoints, that are intended to educate. The first point is contrast. Contrast deals with the brightness of text against its background. It is good to use a dark background with lighter text or vice-versa. However, when using colors it is important to keep them consistent throughout the presentation. The second point is repetition. By repeating the same font types, bullets, and boarders the viewer can focus just on the content being taught and not get distracted by the different stylistic changes in the presentation. Alignment can also be a major factor, if the alignment is off(not in the standard left to right), then the readers have to use their cognitive abilities to decipher the text and will not fully comprehend it. Finally, proximity is also a key factor. Associations between related things should be in the same area where they are not too far apart but not too close together. It is also good to keep the number of words on the page down. Just use the key facts.

When it comes to using graphics, one should not interrupt the text to use decorative graphics that don't enhance the learning process. It is important not to over use animations and transitions between slides on PowerPoints that may be distracting as well as having backgrounds that are very busy. I also learned that there is a natural path that the eyes follow which is starts in the left middle of a graphic and circles around. So the important information should be place at the beginning of the arc first.

At the end of your presentation, it is good to sum everything up and perhaps conduct follow up activities that drive home the lessons that you taught.

While I do not think that I will be giving presentations on a regular basis like a teacher might, there will probably be some times where I, as a telecommunication teacher, may have to pitch an idea I've had to an executive and want him to remember me out of the other presenters he is going to listen to. It was interesting to learn that while PowerPoint applications give you multitudes of templates, bullets, etc. The best way to get information across is by keeping it simple and just using the key facts.

The video below gives a humorous approach to how NOT to use a PowerPoint. It covers many of the topics that we learned.



The next video is a more serious approach to effective instructional media that really focuses on the content of the presentation and not as much the slides itself. It also provides extra tips like instead of putting your main/biggest point on the bottom of the slide, it is better to put them at the top where the audience will most likely read and see it.

Week 4- Copyright Law & Plagiarism (Extra Post)

In this weeks lesson, we also learned about copyright. Copyright, designated by the symbol to the left, gives the creator of visual works control over when and where his/her art is used. These types of work includes text, videos, pictures, etc. If the work is used without the creators expressed permission, plagiarism, then a heavy fine is placed on the violator. However, copyright does not include, slogans, names, common knowledge, or any other non tangible work. Eventually copyrighted material can be used freely once it reaches public domain. Public domain takes effect 70 years after the creator of the work has passed and the copyright was not renewed. Nonetheless, some materials that are copyrighted may be used within limits for educational purposes.
With the advent of Web 2.0, a new kind of copyright has been created called Creative Commons. This allows the creator to share their work with others and allow it to be altered as long as credit to the original author is given.

How is copyright related to telecommunications? Well all material that is created by the user whether it be in the form of a video or screenplay should be copyrighted. It is easy to write a story or make a video that you think is original only to find out that someone has already copyrighted it and that if you publish it or share it with anyone you are in violation. In specifically the movie industry, there is an ever-growing issue with piracy. Piracy is a violation of copyright. With the advent of technology it is easy to burn movies and shows to a blank disk and distribute them/sell them to others. This severely hurts the motion picture industry and so they are rallying for stricter anti-piracy laws. It also not only hurts the creator of the work that has been pirated, but also those who worked on the film. Why would people pay to see a movie when they can watch it online or on a bootleg copy for free? All the hard work and money put into making a film is wasted because it does not make any profits upon its release.

This is a link that does a good job of giving teachers tips on how to prevent plagiarism and why it occurs. It goes into intentional and unintentional plagiarism and even how plagiarism in view in more collective cultures. These days it seems hard not to plagiarize someones ideas because a lot of students believe that their ideas are not as eloquent as those found on the internet and so they like to copy in hopes of getting a better grade. It is also easy to research something and them when you go to write about it use the authors words thinking that you came up with them. It is very important teach students to always cite their sources so they get into the habit of doing it.
Why Students Plagiarize

Week 3- WebTechnology

In class this week we went over what Web 2.0 is.



Web 2.0 first began in 2004 and is a new type of interactive media on the internet. It allows users from all over the world to customize and share content with other users. It allows users to be more active in their involvement on the web by adding their own insights instead of passively reading what is given to them. This customization has led to the development of social networking sites such as; facebook, myspace, blogs, etc. It has allowed people all over the world to connect, whether it be for social, personal, or work related reasons. We also explored different applications using the Web 2.0 technology. These application are very diverse, ranging from creating your won music with others to cooking, and everything in between.

Using Web 2.0 technology would be very helpful in telecommunications! It would allow me to post my videos online and have user feedback on them . It would also help be find people in my area (and around the world) interested in the same things I am and have them help me out when I am creating films or projects. It would also help me to see what others are creating and the new ideas and technology being used. It might help inspire me to see others' work and encourage me to take risks in my own projects.

This video I found does a good job of showcasing Web 2.0. It shows many different aspects and sites that use the Web 2.0 features and explains how the content is controlled by many and not just one person. In fact YouTube, the site where the video is posted, is a Web 2.0 application that allows others to comment on the videos. So if you like the video you can either leave a comment on YouTube, or on this blog which allows comments with Web 2.0 too!

Week 2- Educational Technology

This week in class we learned about the development of the internet and Macintosh computers.

The mililtary began testing out the ARP Anet to link different military bases at differnt locations and still be able to communicate. Gradually this connection moved into universities, and eventually in 1989, the World Wide Web was introduce by Tim Berners-Lee. We also learned some internet vocabulary such as the URL, Web Browsers, etc. In addition to that, different communication types were discussed, such as, Asynchronous Communication, which sends and receives information not in real time (ex. list-serves, and bulletin boards) versus Synchronous Communication which allows two or more people to connect in real time(ex. chat rooms and instant messaging).

Being a PC user all my life, it was interesting to learn the Mac computer created by Apple. It was (I'm not going to lie) a little difficult as well with having things in different places, such as having the dock at the bottom of the screen and using the finder window. We also were asked to watch Frontline: Growing up Online a video from PBS. It was interesting to see how the internet has changed the way people communicate. With facebook, e-mail, and instant messaging, we no longer need face-to-face interaction anymore. The internet has also become a place for kids to express themselves in video blogs (Vlogs), photos of themselves, etc. However, with all the good that the internet brings, the video does a good job of showing the negative side effects. These range from cyber bullying to sites that show how to commit suicide.

Well, in terms of my major of telecommunication the internet is essential. It is a place to publish any videos that you have created and allows others to see them. This can be extremely helpful in terms of possible getting your work out there for the right people to see. We also use Final cut Pro in editing out videos for school. This program can only be done on a Macintosh so it is essential that I learn as much as I can about them.

I choose this video because I think it explains one of the new problems with kids on the internet. People forget that a lot of the time what they post on the internet can be seen by others all over the world. Even on sites that are popular, such as Facebook, people are looking at photos of the users. While some people looking at the photos may be predators, now some companies look at their job applicants facebook to see what kind of person they are. Do they like to party? Are there a lot of photos of the person drinking? Is this the kind of person they want to represent their company?