Our final lecture was focused on the future of social media. Shane asked us to split into groups and had a few questions he wanted us to discuss. He asked us "Have we accomplished Tim Berner Lee's vision of a semantic web?", "What will come next?" and "Who will take us there?". We all had different ideas on the matter and it was very interesting to listen to other people's opinions. We then had another group exercise in which we were to discuss which social media tool do we think will evolve in the next 6 months, what is the long term prospect of this tool and what three major ideas do you think holds for social media in 2020. Again, we all had different ideas and I was fascinated to hear valid of others. I believe that by 2020, Facebook will still be the leading social media site. I also believe that social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, Yik Yak etc. will begin to fade.
We finished the lecture by talking about the group projects and our individual blogs which are to be completed by Friday and Monday respectively.
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Week 11
This week we focused on ethics. We split into groups at the start of the lecture and Shane asked us questions to discuss. Firstly, he asked 'Is monitoring employees via technology ethical?' Secondly, he asked 'Under what circumstances is it ethical for customer's data to be shared?' Finally, he asked 'Is it ethical for Facebook to display news feed stories that increase your mood?'
In my opinion, I think it is unethical to monitor employees via technology and share customer's data. As citizens, we are entitled to privacy and our personal information should not be shared. However, if these people are involved in criminal activity and authorities believe that by monitoring their information it would lead to their conviction, then I believe that there should be some form of monitoring citizens. Thus, it is ethical to monitor employees computers and share their data if there is a chance of unveiling the truth.
Shane explained that there are several forms of ethics, e.g meta ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Shane then reminded us of our quiz on Friday at 9am and wished us the best of luck.
In my opinion, I think it is unethical to monitor employees via technology and share customer's data. As citizens, we are entitled to privacy and our personal information should not be shared. However, if these people are involved in criminal activity and authorities believe that by monitoring their information it would lead to their conviction, then I believe that there should be some form of monitoring citizens. Thus, it is ethical to monitor employees computers and share their data if there is a chance of unveiling the truth.
Shane explained that there are several forms of ethics, e.g meta ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Shane then reminded us of our quiz on Friday at 9am and wished us the best of luck.
Week 10
This week had a guest lecturer, Lucie Bohmova. She is from the University of
Economics in Prague and discussed the importance of social media for businesses.
She also explained the 4 C's: Creativity, Creation, Community and Connection.
She then explained that a good social media strategy should have four main
goals. Firstly, get people to know your brand. Secondly, get people to like
your brand. Thirdly, get people to trust your brand. Finally, get people to buy
the products in your brand. At the end of the class, we formed groups and
discussed what we thought social media would be like in 2020. We all had
different and unique ideas. I found it very interesting to listen to other
people's suggestions.
As part of my learning for this week, I read a blog created by Donné Torr who provides reasons for why social media is important to business. Torr explains that social media must be present in businesses in order learn more about customers and connect with your audience. He expalins that it is now very easy to learn about your customers thanks to social media sites like Facebook. It also allows you to further understand the needs of your customers. He also explains that social media is important to improve customer service, improves brand awareness and helps expand your businesses professional network. This article was very interesting and I encourage fellow students to read this blog. A link is provided below to read this article.
This week we had our final group meeting. At this meeting we finalized both the app and the marketing aspect of the project. We also completed the various other aspects of the project that must be completed. We were delighted to have finished the project in good time and we were happy to have worked together.
Why is Social Media Important for Businesses
As part of my learning for this week, I read a blog created by Donné Torr who provides reasons for why social media is important to business. Torr explains that social media must be present in businesses in order learn more about customers and connect with your audience. He expalins that it is now very easy to learn about your customers thanks to social media sites like Facebook. It also allows you to further understand the needs of your customers. He also explains that social media is important to improve customer service, improves brand awareness and helps expand your businesses professional network. This article was very interesting and I encourage fellow students to read this blog. A link is provided below to read this article.
This week we had our final group meeting. At this meeting we finalized both the app and the marketing aspect of the project. We also completed the various other aspects of the project that must be completed. We were delighted to have finished the project in good time and we were happy to have worked together.
Why is Social Media Important for Businesses
Week 9
This week's eLab was to set up a Flickr account and upload photos and videos. We had to add titles and descriptions to the photos individually or as a batch. We also had to organize them into sets, add tags and share them with groups. Tags are very useful as they allow you to access your photos with ease and sets allow you to create collections of photos. I enjoyed participating in this eLab and I will definitely use it again in the future as I found it to be very similar to Instagram that I personally use frequently. Below is a screen-grab of my completed Flickr account.
This week we had another group meeting. At this meeting we had a chance to view the completed app. We were delighted with the outcome and began to finalize the marketing aspect of the project.
Week 7
This week's lecture focused on the idea of mash-ups. A mashup is an application that
combines data from two or more different external sources based on the theme of
the project. This would benefit group projects in terms of the marketing
aspect. We then discussed the three features of mash-ups which are combination, visualization and aggregation. We were then split into groups to discuss any
mash-ups we may have completed in the past and what mash-up we would create if
we were given the opportunity.
An interesting article I read this week was about mash-ups by Daniel Nations (Author of previous article). Daniels explains that a mash-up is just an application that takes information and shows it in a unique way. This definition allowed me to easily understand what a mash-up truly is. He went on to discuss how a mash-up is built and explains whether a mash-up contains or does not contain data from multiple sources. A link to the article can be find below.
In our fourth and final lab of the semester, we were given the task of creating a mash-up using Google Maps. The title of the mash- up is Heritage Oak Trees of Ireland and it shows all the locations in Ireland in which these trees are located. Each location is signalled as a pin and when a pin is selected, information about the tree is selected. Below is the completed mash-up.
What is a Mash-Up?
An interesting article I read this week was about mash-ups by Daniel Nations (Author of previous article). Daniels explains that a mash-up is just an application that takes information and shows it in a unique way. This definition allowed me to easily understand what a mash-up truly is. He went on to discuss how a mash-up is built and explains whether a mash-up contains or does not contain data from multiple sources. A link to the article can be find below.
In our fourth and final lab of the semester, we were given the task of creating a mash-up using Google Maps. The title of the mash- up is Heritage Oak Trees of Ireland and it shows all the locations in Ireland in which these trees are located. Each location is signalled as a pin and when a pin is selected, information about the tree is selected. Below is the completed mash-up.
What is a Mash-Up?
Week 6
This week we looked at communication through video. We discussed about synchronous
and asynchronous communication. Synchronous communication is direct
communication. For example, telephone. Asynchronous communication is the
transmission of communication without the coordination of sender/receiver. An
example of this would be an email or blog. We then discussed the
characteristics of a podcast. These include a series of digital media files,
audio or video and they are usually released and downloaded. We then discussed
the uses of a podcast. They can be used for general use, business use,
education use, entertainment use and for the news. We then focused on screen
casting. This is a digital movie in which the setting is partly a computer
screen. Tools of this would include Screencast - O - Matic, Copernicus and
Jing.
In this week’s e - lab, we were set the task of creating a screen cast video using Screencast-o-Matic. Screencast-o-Matic allows users to record the screen on their computer. This can be useful for people who want to show a step by step video guide on how to do a specific task. We were assigned the task to make a video of a simple Google image search and upload it onto our Youtube channels. I added a back track to the video. Below is the completed video.
In this week’s e - lab, we were set the task of creating a screen cast video using Screencast-o-Matic. Screencast-o-Matic allows users to record the screen on their computer. This can be useful for people who want to show a step by step video guide on how to do a specific task. We were assigned the task to make a video of a simple Google image search and upload it onto our Youtube channels. I added a back track to the video. Below is the completed video.
Week 5
This week we discussed designing and presenting content effectively which will hugely benefit us in completing our group
project. We were shown several different tools that can be used such as Prezi,
Mind Meister, Easel etc. We were then shown how to complete the process of
making info graphics using Gliffy. Its goal is to highlight the main points of
particular information to the reader rapidly and efficiently. We then ended
class with a short pop quiz which asked questions about the information we
learned in the last few weeks.
This week I read a very interesting article about Prezi written by John Orlando. (A link to the article can be found below). Orlando explains that Prezi is a more appealing and exciting method of distributing information then PowerPoint. Prezi allows us to create a single canvas of text, images, videos etc. He explains that the 'theory behind Prezi is that our ideas are not linear, but rather bundles of interconnected concepts that are better captured as whole with many parts.' I think this perfectly illustrates Prezi. I would normally use PowerPoint if I was doing a presentation. However, after the lecture, reading this article and participating in the eLab, I will definitely use Prezi for future presentations.
We also met for our third lab in Newstead G80. In this lab, we designed our first Prezi's. I have used Prezi many times and was delighted to further enhance my knowledge of this resource. Shane provided us with a list of steps in order to complete. We were told the importance of Prezi and how it can be used to convey information effectively. I chose to do my Prezi on this module, Social Computing and Media. A link to the Prezi is provided below.
This week we had a group meeting. At this meeting we gathered all the information together and began to create the app. We had a broad idea of what we wanted the app to look like so we had no problem using MIT Inventor. We then discussed the marketing aspect of the project and set tasks for each team member.
Prezi: A Better Way of Doing Presentations
My First Prezi
This week I read a very interesting article about Prezi written by John Orlando. (A link to the article can be found below). Orlando explains that Prezi is a more appealing and exciting method of distributing information then PowerPoint. Prezi allows us to create a single canvas of text, images, videos etc. He explains that the 'theory behind Prezi is that our ideas are not linear, but rather bundles of interconnected concepts that are better captured as whole with many parts.' I think this perfectly illustrates Prezi. I would normally use PowerPoint if I was doing a presentation. However, after the lecture, reading this article and participating in the eLab, I will definitely use Prezi for future presentations.
We also met for our third lab in Newstead G80. In this lab, we designed our first Prezi's. I have used Prezi many times and was delighted to further enhance my knowledge of this resource. Shane provided us with a list of steps in order to complete. We were told the importance of Prezi and how it can be used to convey information effectively. I chose to do my Prezi on this module, Social Computing and Media. A link to the Prezi is provided below.
This week we had a group meeting. At this meeting we gathered all the information together and began to create the app. We had a broad idea of what we wanted the app to look like so we had no problem using MIT Inventor. We then discussed the marketing aspect of the project and set tasks for each team member.
Prezi: A Better Way of Doing Presentations
My First Prezi
Week 4
Social bookmarking was the theme of this week's lecture. The goal of social bookmarking is
to share content. We learned that bookmarks are sometimes
accompanied by metadata descriptions and are used to represent, organize,
share, manage and search for resources and information. Shane went through
several websites that use social bookmarking, for example, Delicious, Diigo,
Reddit etc. Social bookmarking can be very useful to us as they manage our
information by adding links found and shared by others to our own collections.
We also discussed the concept of social tagging. Both social bookmarking and
tagging can greatly improve an organizations page rank on search engines like
Google. It was a very informative class and will be very useful for completing
our projects.
This week we had to set up a Pinterest account and follow steps to complete our first board. We also learned how to pin, re-pin and like other boards. Pinterest is a very efficient and beneficial application and can be very useful for future projects.
We also had to set up a Diigo account and learn how to bookmark other information. I found Diigo to be very confusing at the start but I eventually discovered how to navigate properly and I now believe it to be a very beneficial and trustworthy site. Below are two images highlighting my progress in both applications.
This week, we had another group meeting. It was at this meeting that we finalized our idea and put it into action. We decided that we would create a student deals app which will allow students to view deals from a wide range of categories, e.g. clothes, transport, drink. We set a date for completion and organized a meeting for next week.
This week we had to set up a Pinterest account and follow steps to complete our first board. We also learned how to pin, re-pin and like other boards. Pinterest is a very efficient and beneficial application and can be very useful for future projects.
We also had to set up a Diigo account and learn how to bookmark other information. I found Diigo to be very confusing at the start but I eventually discovered how to navigate properly and I now believe it to be a very beneficial and trustworthy site. Below are two images highlighting my progress in both applications.
This week, we had another group meeting. It was at this meeting that we finalized our idea and put it into action. We decided that we would create a student deals app which will allow students to view deals from a wide range of categories, e.g. clothes, transport, drink. We set a date for completion and organized a meeting for next week.
Week 3
This week we had our second face to face lab in Newstead G80. Again, we invented an application which we called Magic8Ball. Shane
provided a step by step guide which would help us complete the task. I found
this task to be very easy due to the fact that I was familiar with the design
and block tabs and was able to use my experience from last week’s lab. The only
difficulty I encountered was resizing the image to fit the page perfectly.
However, I overcame this obstacle and successfully completed the task. Below
are two images of my progress in the MIT Inventor App I made.
Also, in class we discussed online reviews in small groups. Me and my partner admitted that we never wrote a review online but we have considered doing so. We had few reason why we never wrote an online review. Firstly, we never had a genuine reason to write an online review and secondly we did not feel like our review would make any real difference in the matter. However, after the lecture, I began to feel more obligated to write future online reviews if I feel dissatisfied with the product or service I received.
Also, in class we discussed online reviews in small groups. Me and my partner admitted that we never wrote a review online but we have considered doing so. We had few reason why we never wrote an online review. Firstly, we never had a genuine reason to write an online review and secondly we did not feel like our review would make any real difference in the matter. However, after the lecture, I began to feel more obligated to write future online reviews if I feel dissatisfied with the product or service I received.
Week 2
This week's lecture focused on the 3 different types of communication, i.e. traditional communication, semi-traditional communication and social media. Traditional communication is regarded as face to face communication.
Semi-traditional communication is best described as through the use of email
and finally social media which is communicating primarily through an online
resource such as web conferencing. This progression shows how we are trying to
return back to face to face communication with web conferencing. We also talked
about communication power and in particular, gatekeepers.
This week we had a face to face lab in Newstead G80. We learned how to create an android application with the MIT App Inventor. This would be very beneficial in the completion of our group projects. We were giving a list of steps to complete in order to successfully finish the HelloPurr app. After familiarizing myself with the design and block functions, I was able to successfully complete the task. I found this to be a very indulging and valuable lab. Below is a screen grab of my completed HelloPurr application.
Week 2 was also the first time our group met up to discuss the group project. We organized a Whatsapp group to communicate freely and decided what we would do our project on. We also assigned tasks to each member of the group.
This week we had a face to face lab in Newstead G80. We learned how to create an android application with the MIT App Inventor. This would be very beneficial in the completion of our group projects. We were giving a list of steps to complete in order to successfully finish the HelloPurr app. After familiarizing myself with the design and block functions, I was able to successfully complete the task. I found this to be a very indulging and valuable lab. Below is a screen grab of my completed HelloPurr application.
Week 2 was also the first time our group met up to discuss the group project. We organized a Whatsapp group to communicate freely and decided what we would do our project on. We also assigned tasks to each member of the group.
Week 1
This week we had our first lecture of the semester with Shane McLoughlin. Shane discussed how the module is divided. He explained that we had a group project and we were introduced to our group members. He also explained about the ePortfolio we have to complete. In the ePortfolio we have to provide feedback on what we learned every week including our lab material. He explained that we would have a lab some weeks on Friday at 9am. He then proceeded to talk about social media sites and discussed Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. He provided us with several statistics about the various social media sites.
The first week was focused on understanding what is expected of us for the module and setting blog to record my information experiences during the semester. Instead of a face to face lab I had to set up a blog on Google Blogger outside of class. This was very easy to do and is helpful in future blogging. Firstly, I set up my account on Google Blogger. Secondly, I created a blog and used my name and student number as the title. Thirdly, I selected my privacy settings and invited my lecturer, Shane McLoughlin, to be a participate so he can grade my blog. I also had to complete an E - Tutorial on How to Collaborate Effectively and How to Create a Wiki on Blackboard.
This week we were also given the task of not using any form of social media for a day. I knew I would struggle and would probably fail this task but I tried decided I would try it on the Sunday of this week. I chose this day as I would need my phone to communicate with others during the week in college. To my surprise, I was able to complete the task. There was times when I felt like giving up but I stuck to it and lasted the whole day. I learned that I rely too much on my phone and may have a slight addiction to social media sites. However, I was delighted that I finished the task.
I discovered a very interesting article about Web 3.0 by Daniel Nations. (A link for the article can be found below). I found this article to be very informative and related back to what we learned in our first lecture. He explains that Web 3.0, or Semantic Web, has not yet begun and he describes what it might be like. He informs the reader that unfortunately Web 3.0 will most likely be used as a marketing term. He shares various other scenarios of what Web 3.0 could be. I found this article to be very interesting and helped me better understand the concepts of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.
What is Web 3.0?
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