PDF's and Web design

Why PDFs Suck!
By Henny Swan.

This is an interesting article on PDF use on the web, and how design changes could have a positive impact on accessibility.

http://www.rnib.org.uk/wacblog/pdf/why-pdfs-suck/

New Computers

Hooking up a new computer is always so much fun-not! I have a Gateway laptop that has served me well (about 9 years old) but as you can image it doesn't have enough memory and it's just way too slow even to start it up let alone work with any current applications. So I purchased an HP with Vista (I have been very happy with XP). It's a slimline and very attractive. I opened the box hoping to find detailed installation instructions, and as long as someone is picture literate I guess everything works out just fine, but I really prefer words when it comes to installation. I finally hooked everything up. Now if I can just figure out how to integrate it wirelessly into my home network. I'm wired in right now but I'd like to be wireless. Do I need a wireless LAN antenna?

Web Design

Our next set of assignments pertains to web design, and one of the assignments is to create an HTML page which represents a portfolio of our assignments. The readings are from W3 Schools. After I've read and studied their tutorials, I should have a beginning foundation in web design. Once again I am utterly amazed at the quality of free resources available on the web. I'm looking forward to constructing my portfolio.

Jing video for del.icio.us add on for Firefox

Exciting time for educators and librarians.

There are so many exciting applications available on the web that educators can use to enhance the learning process. Instructors that encouraging their students to utilize applications as simple as a blog or a wiki; try a brainstorming session on bubbl.us, or a media application such as Jing or Voicethread, can move students beyond the tedium of a traditional classroom and may even create a sense of enthusiasm for a learning! These applications have the power to engage students, encourage collaboration, and in time build knowledge in a way that will tend to remain with them far longer than traditional teaching methods. These same applications can be used by libraries to build traffic on their website, instruct patrons to effectively use the library, build a spirit of community, and more.

Secure VPN tales of frustration

Of course I’m trying to beat the deadline on an assignment, and I only have a small piece of it to finish, so it was put off till the last minute because I thought it would only take a few minutes to complete. Well it took hours! For some reason I had a terrible time logging in to the VPN. It took multiple attempts. Then the database I was using moved sooo slowly, and then it would freeze up. Result: start over again. All the log ins must be repeated. The search has to be re-entered only to have the database move sooo slowly and then freeze again and again. Then it started to storm and I just knew I would lose power. Well I finally finished it, and I think everything was done correctly.

Jing

Too much fun! We have an upcoming assignment asking us to use “Jing”. It’s hard to believe such high quality and incredibly useful applications such as Jing are offered free to users. If you are unfamiliar with Jing, it’s an application that allows you to “grab an image or record a video”, then you can annotate and share your captured image or video. Pretty neat way to present instructional materials, or help a friend understand how to navigate an application. Here’s the url. Check it out for yourself. http://www.jingproject.com/