Chapter #3 Blog Post

Searching the Web

One of the greatest assets the web has to offer all of us is the ability to search for information with ease.  Knowing how to develop a search query, examine the results, and determine credibility of the source will help you gather information for many things such as work, school, and leisure. While searching we encounter many types of compiled information such as a directory which is a list of human compiled sites on usually a related topic, search engine which uses software that searches the web according to the query, and metasearches that often compile the results from multiple search engines. Throughout the chapter we are taken on a journey of tutorials yet again on how to utilize many search features built into internet explorer with some of them being really neat and new to me such as the research feature. 

 Utilizing the many ways to search the web and including the great qualities that are afforded to use though options like specialized searches for things like shopping have greatly increased the effectiveness of web searching.  Learning how to compile and use the information you seek can help you in many new life adventures and goals.

Go Animate

Getting started on GoAnimate was a breeze and quite fun.  After playing around in a few templates you see quickly that they would like you to upgrade to have access to many premium templates and characters.  This was too much fun being able to make your own short animated film.  Mine is of two pirates stranded on an island and you can watch below.
GoAnimate.com: Angry Pirate by ablake211

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Chapter #2 Blog Post

Basic Web Browsing Tips and Tricks

Chapter #2 is a basic tutorial guide on how to use some key features in navigating the web using internet explorer.  Much of this information is know by many users and although I use the web daily there was still much to be learned here.  One thing I neglect that this chapter addresses is the use of favorites and favorite folders.  I often will leave many tabs open at a time when I know I need information from a site in the near future.  When using favorites I can save the site so that I always have it leaving me with a much less cluttered browser and no risk of losing the site if I accidentally closed it. As well as this subscribing to an RSS feed and web slices are two other features I had never utilized before.

 This chapter had not only a great tutorial of web browser uses it was jam packed with information such as how IP addresses  work, TLD abbreviations for many types of domains, and the components of a URL.  Later in the chapter after your quick web browsing lessons you learn about web security and how to ward off online predators by utilizing such things as smart screen filter and other common safety tactics. 

Net Neutrality

I might have been living under a rock but this is the first I have heard about net neutrality but I must say the concepts and possibilities are quite frightening.   In my opinion the news and everyday opinions we are exposed to are censored and molded enough by powerful people and organizations with certain agendas and influence.  In no way shape or form would I want my internet experiences shaped or molded by the possibilities that would be presented if net neutrality regulation is not given to the government. While giving the government power can be a slippery slope as well in this case I find it necessary to keep the freedoms of the people available.  It seems like the “best” argument to anti neutrality is it being anti-consumer and hurting potential investment. I do not like this argument because in the carrier and technology business there is an abundance of competition and money being made. Where you have competition and profits there will be innovation, research, and investment.  I have displayed my opinion on this subject but below is some reading and viewing material presenting both sides of the argument for you to form your own conclusions as well.

 Anti-Neutrality

Pro-Neutrality 

Twitter

Well I had never been on twitter before today and now that I am I can see what I have been missing.  I quickly located some bands I like and tweeted links to two cars I am building. The RX7 being mine and the Impala being for a customer.

My PLN

My Personal Learning Network

After watching that great youtube video about Personal Learning Networks I can really see the value of this style of organization and utilizing resources. I look forward to molding my PLN to be a quite efficient means of learning. Throughout what we have done in this class already I have begun to structure my PLN using the following:

·         Gmail/reader/docs/calendar

·         Jing for efficient screen cap sharing

·         Symbaloo for tracking sites I use and what others use  

Jing/Symbaloo

After a little bit of practice I really have gotten to like this Jing product. To think for screen capture before I did the old print screen and past into new program, crop, then host on photobucket. This takes soooo much less time and works great. Here is a screen capture of my symbaloo account setup with some of my favorite car tech sites on there.