Additional LinksNew media resources and tools (including links to freeware) Materials on web development including some basics on simple. old fashioned HTML. |
Resources
This page includes links to some resources about various aspects of professional communication. Some links here have been around a while, so let me know if you run across any that are not working or that go to the wrong place. Thanks!
Free Trial Software
Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended Get the 30 day trial when we work on Photoshop activities.
Adobe Flash Professional Get the 30 day trial when we work on Flash activities.
Techsmith's Camtasia. Get the 30 day free trial when we work on Camtasia activities.
Zing Free tool from Techsmith
General/Multiple Media
The Internet Archive. Lots of TV, full length films, images, cartoons, and other stuff.
Tools and Downloads
Prezi. The new, cool presentation software.
Blogs
Short for "web logs," these are user sites that allow people to post various sorts of materials. Bloggers can customize the appearance of blogs, can permit other people to comment on their posts, and can add advertising that may generate revenue for the blogger. Many people use blogs for self expression and to share information with family, friends, and communities. Some blogs have developed significant public followings.
Google's Blogspot: It's free. (My site on Blogspot)
WordPress: Big blogging site where you can start your own.
OpenSalon.com: This is a blogging site that I like. Also free to join and start a blog. (My blog on OpenSalon.com: http://open.salon.com/blog/merc8tor)
DailyBlogTips: Focuses on WordPress, but may useful articles for any blogging.
"Blogging Tips for Beginners" from Problogger: Lists a number of things to consider when creating a blog especially for people who want to generate profits from one.
Mashups
Mashups put together functions and data from different sources through "application program interfaces" (APIs) that most often require some programming. Newer tools include "pre-packaged" APIs that regular people can use to make mashups. Some big players like Microsoft and Google had initiatives to help make it easier for "regular people' to develop mashups, but it looks like for the time being they are taking a step back. This is a trend to watch and understand. Technical communicators, who are most often not programmers, need to be able to weigh in on issues such as design and usability.
ProgrammableWeb.com: Lists of links to mashups by type, APIs, ideas, and how-tos. You can register and get a "wiki" space.
Podcasting
Podcasting is pushing audio out to subscribed users the way same way as Really Simple Syndication (RSS, see below). Video podcasting, or "vodcasts" are also becoming popular. Though the technology started with ipods, now you can use other handhelds and computers to hear/see casts. But you do need a reader.
Podcast Alley: A lot of good resources and examples here. (What is a Podcast?)
ECU Podcasting information: They have a basic tutorial that includes urls for additional sources.
Learning in Hand: Some useful information
PowerPoint
PowerPoint Debate: There's an interesting debate in professional communication and visual rhetoric about PowerPoint. I've provided just a couple of links representing different views. What's interesting, especially about Byrne and the Pecha Kucha movement is the rethinking that might be done with some tools that we take for granted. "Old media" becoming new again??
David Byrne (ex-Talking Head band member) works in PowerPoint
NPR Interview with Byrne about PowerPoint
"PowerPoint is Evil" by Edward Tufte (in Wired)
Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down (in Wired)
RSS Feeds and Readers
"Real Simple Syndication" that allows you to use readers to collect headlines from sites you want to follow and feeds to make your headlines available to others. Here's a quicky but cool presentation about RSS.
Social Networking
So many forms, so little time....here are a few. While these are considered "social networking" tools/sites, the use of them for other kinds of activities is proving interesting.
FaceBook (Obviously. Please friend me, but don't expect much.)
Twitter (You can follow me-- d_j_kain --but I don't do anything. I'll be happy to follow you)
delicious: (Social bookmarking--you can book mark pages and share bookmarks with others)
Flickr: (Share images)
SecondLife: This is a virtual world where a lot of interesting things are going on, including education. We'll spend some time here later in the semester. ECU actually has a "campus" there.
www.linkedin.com/ Professional networking tools.
Video
Video comes in all shapes and sizes these days from videography with great editing and production values, to animated/screen capture pieces made with tools such as Zing and Camtasia, to down and dirty right-from-my-webcam-to-you bits. The range of complexity for producing video also varies tremendously.
YouTube: (Broadcast yourself)
Videora: Free conversion tool
Vimeo: Video sharing site that has some tools for working with video
Techsmith:
Screencast: Free video file managing and sharing
Zing: Free desktop recording program
Desktop_Video_Guide : Information and links to resources.
Wiki
Wikis allow collaborative writing. With a blog, you may be able to comment on someone else's work, but you can't actually alter it. With a wiki, you can. Of course Wikipedia is probably the most famous wiki now. You can start your own wiki. Try:
Wikispaces (I started one you can play with at http://justaprojection.wikispaces.com/)
WikiSandbox: You can play and test things without making any permanent changes. Good test bed.
Examples, Tutorials, and other stuff
Most of what I have listed below provide examples of interesting uses of technology in various ways. Some links go to articles and discussions of related topics. Some are tutorials. I have some references listed by category (). See also "New Media Tools.")
Photoshop Contest.com tutorials. Some good ones.
Alan Emrich Central. Discussions of game design, project planning and other interesting topics.
Webquests : Webquests are K-12 learning experiences using the web. Some are very interesting.
The British Museum COMPASS: Online museum experience. Users can personalize and save to folders.
Colonial Williamsburg Online Exhibits: Look at "Mapping Colonial America"
Cybermuse: Art Education site
Dr. B's On-line Lessons & Resources: A list of links to some interesting resources.
EDTEC 670: Exploratory Learning through Simulations and Games. This a course website that includes interesting examples and ideas.
The Elements of Digital Story Telling.
Hypertext, Cybernetics, Cyborgs & Virtual Realities (University of Iowa): Links to articles and discussion of cyborg culture, gender and cyberspace and other cultural studies issues related to new and multimedia.
Jo's One Stop Shop List: Some of these resources are specific to a particular university community, but scroll down because she has some good links to material on web and video production.KAIROS: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
The Miniature Earth: Multimedia presentation (argument?) to promote global sustainability.
MONKEYmedia: Very cool uses of Flash
The PoMo (postmodern) English Title Generator. Why? Because it's there (and a friend of mine created it)
Project Based Learning with Multimedia. This site is geared to K-12 and has some interesting examples.
Seventh Sanctum: Though this is mostly just a lot of fun, consider it in relation to discussions of gaming and writing.
Smithsonian Institution: Some interesting uses of multimedia in online exhibits.
Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab: The whole focus of this research group is the persuasiveness of technologies. They coined the term "captology" as a way to describe technological persuasiveness. Definitely check it out.
Tag Clouds: Examples of
Teaching and Learning with PDA's. Jo Meyertson discussion of using small interfaces.
Think Quest Library. Presented by Oracle.
Verizon: New Bill Change: Click on "Take a Tour" for a presentation about how to read a phone bill.
VoS (Voice of the Shuttle) Media Studies: VoS is a huge listing of resources, including some of new media.
Web Lab. I'm not completely sure what to make of this initiative, but the idea is to create opportunities for interactivity on the web.
WebMonkey: Lot's of tutorials about all kinds of things including multimedia.
W3C Multimodal Interaction Use Cases: These are useful for considering how to create a use case.