Posting Assignment Two

This assignment asked you to "compose a list of questions you have about any of the material that has been covered in class so far, or any material that you have questions about that we have not yet discussed, plus any other technology topics and issues you would like to see included in this course that have not been mentioned." Some of the questions are shown below:

 

Question: I am still very unclear about the concept of social bookmarking, and I’d be interested in discussing this further and maybe looking at an example in class. Answer: Social Bookmarking is a term that refers to saving and categorize a collection of websites, annotate them and share them with others. One of the most popular social bookmarking site is del.icio.us, located at: http://del.icio.us/ You can see my list of bookmarks by going to: http://del.icio.us/brrobin More info: 7 Things you should know about... Social Bookmarking http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

Question: What are some of the differences between Google and some of the other search engines? Answer: Most of the popular search engines do a good (and similar) job of finding what you are looking for; but Google offers many additional features and products that get positive reviews form users and makes it more like a software company than just an Internet search tool. Some of these products include GMail, Google Maps, Google Earth, Picasa, Google Docs, Google Gadgets and more. More info: http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2156221 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

Question: The Clusty’s search engine mentions that it uses clustering, but I couldn’t really figure out what this is or how it works. Answer: Clusty is a metasearch engine, which means it uses several other search engines and returns results from each one. "Clustering" refers to grouping the results of the search into categories or clusters of similar topics, which may make sorting through the results easier and more efficient.

Comment: I would be interested in learning more about podcasts and vodcasts. Respone: Coming soon...

Question: I would also be interested in some of the more advanced photo editing techniques, like layering and combining multiple photographs. Answer: We cover these topics in the CUIN 6397 - Advanced Digital Imaging course, which is offered in the fall.

Question: I noticed at home that when I get on the internet, I can click on different tabs to open up multiple web pages.  However, on the school computer, I cannot do this function. Why is that? Answer: It sounds like you're using different web browsers or different versions of the same browser. For example, Internet Explorer 6 does not support tabbed pages, but the newer version, IE 7 does. More info: http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wa_browser_mult.htm

Question: How can I find out the different services that are available on the internet?  For example, Flickr and Cellsea. Answer: I suggest using Google, Wikipedia.

Question: What is the difference between Netscape, Firefox, Internet Explorer and other browsers? Answer: See the second question above. More info: http://askbobrankin.com/best_web_browser.html

Question: What are the differences between DSL, Cable, T1, T3?  And which is faster and better to use for home? Answer:

Question: In reviewing some of the electronic materials, there was reference to the Canon camera best in technology for digital images/compression/ transfer. I have been taking medical pictures in clinic of anatomical anomalies and dermatological lesions with a Sony 7.2 mega pixels. The rash digital images are not quality ( especially in pigmented skin). What are your specifications for a good, quality camera for medical photography in a clinic ( for dermatology primarily)? Answer: We cover topics like this in the CUIN 6397 - Advanced Digital Imaging course, which is offered in the fall.

Question: I am collecting pictures of usual and unusual physical findings on the camera above mentioned. I would like to make a teaching file for our other teaching sites for learners to use. Is a CD format the best tool for this application? Do you have other suggestions? Answer: We cover topics like this in the CUIN 6397 - Advanced Digital Imaging course, which is offered in the fall.

Question: I used Nero Photoshop Essentials (it was already on my desktop) to practice assignment 2 ,as well as , some of the other choices listed. It worked well and had similar tool bars with essential elements for making changes on images. It did seem simpler than Cellsea but as capable. What is your opinion of Nero? Answer: I've never used the program you mentioned so I really don't have an opinion, except that I think many different programs like this are available and most of them offer basically the same set of features.

Question: I tried to change the extension abbreviations on some of the images and was not allowed. How and when can you perform this task? Answer: I'm not sure why you want to change the extensions or why you weren't' able to when you tried, so let's discuss this in class.

Question: I had some problems with compression in Word.doc. Will continue to work/practice on this function. Are there further constructions on this process? Answer: Let's review this in class to make sure that what I demonstrated in last week's class was correct and repeatable.

Question: I have one question that is related to changing the setting for viewing images. When I installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.o on my laptop, it automatically set it as the default for browsing images. I like Photoshop for editing, but I prefer something else for browsing. How do I disable Adobe Photoshop from being the default for organizing, and viewing images? Answer:

Comment: The other topic that I'm really looking forward to learning more about is how to apply audio and video to power point. This will be very useful in allowing me to create much more interesting presentations. Response: We will examine how to add audio to PowerPoint in next week's class. If we have time, we can also briefly review how to add video clips as well.

Question: How do we scan a document and make it a PDF form? Answer: Well, first you need a scanner and then you need software that allows you to save a scanned document as a PDF file. There are some programs you must purchase that do this, like Adobe Acrobat and there are some free programs, like Scan2PDF, downloadable from: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/scan2pdf.html Also, some scanners come with software that will do this so you should check the information that came with your scanner first. More info: https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/faq/pdf/pdf_info.htm

Question: How do I make a folder for this course/assignments and keep it either on my desktop or in the documents? Answer: We will discuss this in class.

Question: How do I attach pictures to a word document to submit to you? Answer: We will discuss this in class.

Question: The concept of digital radiography is still foreign to me. Do I need to purchase a digital camera for this class? Answer: Let's discuss this in class.

Comment: I need a little more information about turning pictures into JPEG. Response: Let's discuss this in class.

Question: How do you make pictures black and white? Answer: Just about any image editing software programs give you the option to change a color image to back and white. In programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements, there may be a menu called "enhance" or "adjust" and from there, you may have the option to "desaturate" an image or the more friendly, "convert to black and white." Even most, if not all, of the online image editors we explored last week, should have this option. In cellsea, for example,  once you've uploaded an image, go to the Colors menu and scroll down to Grayscale.

Question: How do you create a slideshow? Answer: There are numerous options for creating slideshows, including Photo Story (which we will cover later) PowerPoint, Photoshop Elements, and online sites such as Flickr. One online tool that I think is quite intriguing is SnapGenie http://beta.snapgenie.com/U15LF532   More info: Web Presentations And Online Slideshow Creation Tools: A Mini-Guide http://www.masternewmedia.org/presentation/web-presentation-tools/web-presentation-and-online-slideshow-creators-20070415.htm

Comment: I don't know if this is out of the scope of this class but I would like to learn something about animation and using it for education. Response: There are simple and much more complex ways to create computer-based animations. We will look at a few of the simple ones in class, such as this animated sequence that was created in Photo Story from the series of still images shown below: horse-animation.wmv

In order to participate in the online discussions, students may need to activate their accounts via the web, by going to: https://myadvisor.coe.uh.edu/act