a day without technology.

The blog that we read (http://withoutmedia.wordpress.com/) kind of freaked me out a bit. People are literally addicted. And in no way am I saying that I accomplished putting away my technology for a 24 hours time-span. But in this article, people talked about fidgeting, and feeling lonely, etc.

Not being able to use any form of technology for 24 hours is indeed a huge task to ask of a college student today. When I attempted it, I woke up on the morning of Wednesday Februrary 29th, to my alarm clock... on my phone. I remembered that I was attempting to use as little technology as I could that day, so turned my alarm off, and set my phone aside. I was waking up early, to meet with a group member, to work on our research paper... on my laptop. During this meeting, I consciously tried not to check my phone at all, unless it was for the time. Unfortunately, I received a text message from the person whom I was meeting with directly after my research paper work. He needed to switch locations. When I finally got home from these meetings, I had a few hours free. I was at home, and my initial instinct was to grab my laptop and look up an episode of the latest show that I needed to catch up on. Then I caught myself. Rather, I headed to my room, and picked up the book that I have been reading (Hunger Games, of course). That was the first rash decision I had made all day. .... Until later. I found myself with my laptop open, half watching the show my roommate had turned on, and playing a game on my phone. Seriously? stupid. Needless to say, I failed the challenge, as I knew I would. But it also just did the little favor of reminding me to check my surroundings, recognizing if i can be doing something, anything, else rather than using technology.

I will say though, I spent a 6 weeks this past summer volunteering at a Young Life camp at a remote location on the Coast of Canada, and there is ZERO cell service, a satellite phone (that you have to pay to use, and it has an awkward delay.. so i never used it), and internet (only for the full-time employees). I accomplished going a full 6 weeks without using my cell phone, facebook, email... nothing. and it was liberating, and fabulous. I truly couldn't have loved it more. When you need someone, you go look for them. You ask around. Mind you, we're all at a camp, so you truly can't get very far. but it was fantastic! on my way home, we got back into the states, and I was dreading turning my phone back on. I didn't want to receive the text messages, or voice mails. I wanted to remain in this simple life i was living, with no technology, and lots of conversation and activity.

So, in the end, although I failed this particular challenge last Wednesday, I have accomplished it at other times, for much longer periods of time.

six sense technology.

This blog is only going to make sense to you if you take a few minutes to check out these vids:

http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

 

This is RIDONCULOUS! I honestly don't even know what to say in response to these videos. Except that I'm hating this idea. I think the creator is a genius, no doubt about that. But this is seriously just ridiculous. It's hard for me to even have my iphone around all the time, because information is at the tips of my fingers at all times, I don't have to wait for anything, I don't have to wonder anything, because it's there. google is always seconds away. I feel like my thoughts are scattered with this topic. I know that I don't like the idea of this technology, but I can't put my finger on exactly why. 

Maybe because it removes us so far from interpersonal interaction. Farther than we've already become. Everything is just connected. The way he was able to grab information from a textbook, put it onto his tablet (piece of paper) and then print it, it's just too much. There's just a line, where certain things shouldn't overlap, and that crossed it. It blows my mind. I can't understand how it works. 

When the creator makes comments such as it will "help us stay human", or "to stay more connected to our physical world" or even "it will help us avoid being machines sitting in front of other machines" ... honestly makes me laugh. Are you kidding me!?

WIX.

The past couple of weeks, we've been working on a group website project where we have to create a website that has something to do with our campus at Western or the surrounding city (Bellingham). My group and I decided to do "Western Secrets". (You can check out the finished product at www.wix.com/meganrunkel/western-secrets). - We had a choice between using the website building sites, Wix or Weebly. We decided to try out Wix. It's a very simple website to use, making it easy to import pictures, and change or input text. The only difficulty we ran into, was the fact that we had a lot of text, and wanted to make it slideshow somehow, and couldn't figure it out too easily. In the end, we decided to cut the amount of info we had down, in order to take away some of the text so it wasn't too overwhelming.
All in all though, i really enjoyed using Wix. They have so many pre-done designs that you can choose from. Then just throw all your info in, and wham! done. It's fabulous! check it out at www.wix.com.

social media & networkz.

Before starting this blog, I was asked to watch this Youtube video. check it out real quick. It changes my ideas a bit regarding social media. We're on this earth to interact with one another, not to waste away behind a screen. A screen can't comfort you in your hurt, give you a hug, listen to your problems, laugh with you. I'm sure you can make it "do" all of those things... but it's not the same. and instead we are wasting away behind a screen. It's an unfortunate existence. these screens, whether it be social networking or games, are ruining relationships. One of the main things that helps us survive. In a blog in The Economist, the author wrote,  "...effective social movements require sacrifice, which is built on strong bonds between people—the kind where you can demand real participation from each other. Social networks, on the other hand, are good for building and maintaining thousands of weak relationships—the kind where you can get people to "like" your cause or re-tweet your message, but not show up to an actual protest." - I really liked this quote a lot, it speaks a lot of truth to me. In my own opinion, social networking can be extremely healthy and helpful, but when it gets to that point, leave it there. Don't let it reach an unhealthy level, where obsession gets into the mix. that's when it starts to worry me about the incredible growth it's had in this world. There are so many more life-giving things in this world waiting for us to enjoy, we just need to step away from our facebooks, twitters, blogs, etc. and find them!

references:

"The Social Media Revolution 2012 - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs>.

R.A. "Can You Social Network Your Way to Revolution?" The Economist. 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <https://courses.wwu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_26206_1%26url%3D>.

podcasts yo.

Well, as mentioned previously, I can be a little heckno-techno-challenged at times. But this week in class we started working/experimenting on our podcasts and are using a little program called Audacity (go ahead and click that link if you wanna check it out), and it appears to be fairly straight forward and easy to use. If you're interested in using sound effects in your podcast... check out this site, PacDV.

Here's a site that provides quick and easy steps to making your podcast, Creating a simple voice and music Podcast with Audacity.

I'm really looking forward to experimenting more with Audacity in the next couple weeks, so when I've worked with it a bit more, I'll update with some tips and tricks.


References:
"Creating a Simple Voice and Music Podcast with Audacity." Audacity Wiki. Wikipedia. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Creating_a_simple_voice_and_music_Podcast_with_Audacity>.

Principlez of design & layout.

The physical layout and design of anything (a website, invitation, brochure, etc.) is extremely important for grabbing your readers attention, and keeping them interested in what you have to say. Here are a few sites that are helpful to me, and hopefully will be helpful to you too:

This site talks about design and color, the elements of design and the important principles of design: http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm

 This site will help you in deciding your color scheme. Colors are oh so important, so make sure you're picking ones that accent one another, and don't overwhelm your reader: http://www.sitepoint.com/principles-of-design-colour/

And this site is a "crash course in typography". Typography is also something that's very important in design, most people don't consider the great affect different fonts can have on a reader, making it easier or harder to read, to more visually appealing. Take a couple minutes to check this out & enhance any design: http://www.noupe.com/design/a-crash-course-in-typography-the-basics-of-type.html

Lastly, I discussed a these in my "do's and don'ts of website design" entry, but remember these 4 VERY important rules of design. C.R.A.P. - Contrast, repetition, alignment & proximity. If you need a quick remind of what those consist of, scroll on down. :) ... (or check out this site http://maddisondesigns.com/2009/03/the-5-basic-principles-of-design/).



References:

Chapman, Cameron. "A Crash Course in Typography: The Basics of Type - Noupe." Noupe - The Curious Side of Smashing Magazine. 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. <http://www.noupe.com/design/a-crash-course-in-typography-the-basics-of-type.html>.

Farley, Jennifer. "Principles of Design: Color." Sitepoint. 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. <http://www.sitepoint.com/principles-of-design-colour/>.  

Horton, Anthony. "The 5 Basic Principles Of Design - Maddison Designs." Professional Web Design & Development - Maddison Designs. Maddison Designs, 27 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. <http://maddisondesigns.com/2009/03/the-5-basic-principles-of-design/>.

Lovett, John. "Elements and Principles of Design." Watercolor, Watercolor Painting, Watercolor Lessons, Watercolor Instruction, Watercolor Technique, Watercolor Techniques, Watercolor Tips, Learn Watercolor. 1999. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. <http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm>.

Photoshoppp.

This week photoshop gave me a weeeee bit of a headache, to say the least. LUCKILY, i'm not the only one is this particular boat. also, luckily, we have a little thing called the world wide web, that helps with oh so many things. as to why, i found some tips and tricks that helped me figure out a couple basics on photoshop.

First off, this website is going to come in handy all too often this quarter, lots of helpful basics...
http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/35-basic-tutorials-to-get-you-started-with-photoshop/

This website helped me learn how to flip a word (after much frustration)...
http://photoshop911.typepad.com/help/2004/01/mirror_images.html

And, i know this video is long (24 minutes) it gives you the basics on your photoshop project...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SafSh_u1FF0

Lastly, this video is just one way to show all that photoshop can do. As well as, give all of us a boost of self-esteem, because those "models" dont always look as good as we think... :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Good luck photoshopping!

top 10 rulez of website dezign.

here are "10 rulez of website dezign" that i think are extremely important:

1. PROXIMITY - group related items together. this shows a relationships. physically move related items closer together, so they are seen as a cohesive group. items that are not related together should not be close in proximity. this gives the reader a sense of organization and visual cues on the page.

2. ALIGNMENT - when items are aligned specifically on a page, it results in stronger visual appeal, as well as a cohesive unit. alignment tells the reader that even though the items are not close in proximity, they belong to the same piece.

3. REPETITION - repeat some aspect of your design throughout the whole piece. this provides something for the reader to visually recognize. it can be bold font, thick lines, bullet type, color, proximity, etc. allows your reader to know they are still on the same website.

4. CONTRAST - (this is my personal fave in design). this makes your reader want to look at your page. ket to contrast = don't be a wimp! contrast must be strong. this is created when two elements are different. if two items aren't the same, make them different, very different. use: font size, color, texture, lines, graphics, etc.

5. COLOR - use complimentary colors, (blue & orange, red & green, yellow & purple), often with one being the main color and the other being an accent. use a color wheel to find appropriate uses for different colors. use a triad, (a primary triad or a secondary triad) using three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel.

6. FONT TYPE - recognize the difference between sans serif and serif fonts. serifs have the little feet on them (like times new roman) and sans serif, meaning without serif, do not have the feet (like arial).

7. TITLE & BODY - since this is a website, you will not want to use a serif for your body text, it is more difficult to for our eyes to read serif fonts on a computer screen, you will want to use sans serif. on the other hand, for your title, it's larger, and a serif font is okay to use. plus that adds more contrast between your title and body, which is a good thing (like we talked about earlier).

8. SCROLLING - don't make your visitor scroll sideways. end of story.

9. READABILITY - use shorter line lengths than you would use on a paper. don't make your type go all the way across the page. try using a table to put your text into. it's more appealing to read something shorter.

10. ALL ABOUT TYPE - this advice, you can apply to your life as well. the relationship between types can either be: concordant, conflicting or contrasting. concordant happens when only one type family is used with variety in size, style and weight. this can be dull. but also appear as formal. conflicting is when you combine similar typefaces in size, style and weight. visually they are disturbing because they are not the same, but they are not different either. they conflict. contrasting, ding ding ding! occurs when you combine different typefaces and elements that are clearly distinct from one another. this is visually appealing and exciting. try it!


hope this helps you out when designing your website! good luck!

some ideas from this blog came from: Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice. 3rd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2008. Print.

this is who i am.

Welp, I'm Megan Runkel. I'm not the most tech-savvy. But I'm giving it a good ol' college try. Here in my emerging communication technology class, I'm learning. And we're blogging. So, here's my blog.