WordPress is a mature environment that has long been used for creating unique and functional web sites. Its ease of use has contributed to it being the go-to solution for small and medium businesses, and several developers use it to create robust web solutions with little or no programming.©
This is a link to Google.
What do you think? Is there a step-by-step formula for getting creative juices flowing?
http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/11/how-to-think-creatively.html
I have seen this statement on bumper stickers for years, yet never really thought about what it might mean. I certainly never really gave much thought to how it ties into design, the web, or any of the other all-consuming things in my life.
Having essentially taken the summer off, (except for teaching a WHOLE LOT of summer camp! Check out my chronicles of some of those adventures at http://astrobiology.weebly.com and http://summerquest2011.weebly.com), I have had several weeks in which to ponder a great many things. One of which is remembering who I wanted to be.
Notice, I did not say WHAT I wanted to be, but WHO. How often do we forget, in the pursuit of the almighty dollar, who we wanted to be? Have we done design for companies we find distasteful or unethical? Have we sold our soul to the highest bidder? Have we pursued whichever road seemed to be the most lucrative – as opposed to the one that fed our soul?
This may all sound quite “touchy-feely” however, the research bears out the necessity of being happy with who we are and how that manifests itself in our world. Since we spend more awake time at our jobs, be they freelance, hourly or salaried, we need to feel good about the decisions we are making there just as we need to feel good about the other parts of our lives. Wherever our path leads us, there should be some joy and significance in it. Who did YOU want to be? And is that who you are?
Help The Victims of the 8.9 Earthquake in Japan by Spreading Awareness and Aid. Visit http://goo.gl/wjZQz to donate.
2011 – The year that mobile app and site development took over the world! Mwah ha ha ha!
OK, seriously, though – have you all noticed the uptick in demand for mobile developers? Suddenly, all the job boards I follow have a listing or two per week for mobile developers. Sometimes iOS specific, sometimes more general, but always with an eye to the mobile market. How did this happen?
1. Purchase an iPad or smartphone. That will likely answer your question.
2. See #1
What an incredible machine you have in your pocket! I am currently the smugly proud owner of an Android device, and I love it! I even managed to use it to help convince my mother to get a new computer, by pointing out that my phone had more power than her ancient desktop.
These things are magnificent! Browse the web, order items, check bank balances, all without having to track down a hotspot! No more lugging around an 8 lb behemoth just to check your email! Good gracious, I even use an app that integrates with Google Docs to take attendance! The possibilities are endless, and so are the opportunities.
So, this summer, I will be stepping up my app development training. The future is here, and you can use it to order pizza!
How about the rest of you? Anybody else either already doing mobile app development or thinking of heading that direction? What tools do you use? I plan to post information about my journey on this blog, so keep posted!
Recently, The New York Times ran an article about online learning. Many prestigious universities have made some of their courses available for free, including supplemental and support materials. There is even an article online profiling the best online university offerings available.
Let me begin by stating that I am a community college and homeschool educator. As a community college educator, I have a lot to lose if the completely automated, computerized lesson becomes the de facto method for education. As a homeschooling parent, I also have a lot to gain. Looking at this issue from both sides has given me a unique perspective into the possibilities and shortcomings of this method, which I shall detail below.
Pro: Education anytime, anywhere, for all
Well, this speaks volumes. The idea of democratizing our educational system is nothing new. There is an entire movement within the United States based on the Sudbury Massachusettes model. Children get to decide what they will study, and when. As a result, the child who does not express any desire to learn mathematics will suddenly decide that Algebra is exactly what they want to know one day (perhaps they will get frustrated at not being able to calculate when their toy car will collide with the toy train at the end of a ramp?)
I think there is something to the idea. People tend to learn best when they are motivated to do so, and not just by the promise of a new toy or of a good grade. When they feel that there is a legitimate need to learn some piece of information, people will do so. Online education is a wonderful tool for those self-motivated learners, who have the time and resources to follow through on what they learn online, to determine what knowledge they need to go out and internalize before grasping the concepts presented in their online course, to follow through on any subsequent learning activities that will cement that knowledge into their long-term memory in a usable way, and to be able to prove their acquisition of said knowledge to skeptical future employers and formal educational facilities in such a way as to make their manner of acquisition a moot point.
However, what of those who are just trying to absorb as much as possible in a desperate scramble to remain relevant in their jobs? What about students who lack the skills, knowledge or resources to determine when they are in over their heads – and what to do about it? Are they forever destined to slog through podcast after podcast, hoping to find a “quality” instructor – that is, one who speaks to them in a language they can understand? Or do they need a mediator for the information? A person who is well-versed in the discipline they are studying, enthusiastic about sharing it with others, and interested in mentoring those who perhaps possess the talent or interest, but lack basic skills?
I would pose that online education should not be developed as a means of replacing human educators. I think that it can be a great leveling tool – one that allows the first kind of student mentioned above to proceed at their own pace, to seek out their own avenues, to garner all the knowledge they can, and to prove it quickly and easily using online assessments that allow them to check their own progress and not bog down an educator with what is really a great task for a computer – analysis and computation. It can also allow for greater customization of education for those who are at opposite ends of the learning spectrum. It is much easier to identify a struggling student when the bar is set high and someone is really struggling to meet it. That person might be flagged using an algorithm within the software, and an actual person would contact the student to assist as much or as little as is required. In addition, students could put in requests for appointments with their instructors, so that even students who find the material to be quite easy to follow could ask for more challenging assignments. There could be virtual areas for students to communicate with one another, as well as their instructors, and everyone could do it on their own time – with guidelines in place regarding due dates of assignments, progression through material, etc.
You will notice that the human element isn’t removed from my scenario. To the contrary, I think greater teacher involvement might be the way to allow this type of education to really thrive. Teachers would likely need to be paid more money, due to the extra time commitment involved. However, the tasks that can be automated (grading of certain assignments, preparation of class lectures) should be and doing so might make larger class sizes more feasible. (I don’t know for certain. Are there any educators out there using this type of model who wish to weigh in?)
As a homeschool parent, I am finding myself most drawn to online education scenarios with actual human interaction. I think that there is a large benefit to being part of a greater whole, to receiving input from others – even if you choose to dismiss what is suggested. In most fields, collaboration is a really big part of the job, and certainly the online environment should be conducive to this practice. We have tried software that is completely computer-driven and found that there were gaps and places where my child’s lack of knowledge of a subject was hidden by a high score on an assessment. A living, breathing teacher might have noticed lack of participation or the confused look when a concept was presented, even if via webcam. Repeating a concept the student struggles with later in the course might have ensued – ensuring that the idea was actually taking root, as opposed to being memorized for the assessment then discarded.
And perhaps that is the ultimate issue – our idea of education has been reduced to scores on exams. We no longer cherish the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake. This is what online education in its current incarnation brings to the table. If we, the educational system, wish to continue to be relevant, we need to remember this and integrate the idea of knowledge acquisition for its own sake in our classrooms.
Except this time, it’s Dumb Little Man doling out the advice. Enjoy!
I have been an educator for the better part of 12 years now, and have made some observations about the processes by which we as humans learn.
One important lesson I have learned is that your visual artists tend to be visual learners. Seems like a *duh* statement, but I have to confess that it hadn’t really occurred to me.
Why is this important? Well, there are a variety of reasons. One is that we need to realize this about ourselves, and ensure that our educational opportunities reflect this. In other words, audio podcasts are likely to be less useful to us than video ones, we are more likely to succeed in doing online courses (assuming that we possess the other skills required, and don’t also have the tag-along spatial characteristics!) and we tend to have an intuitive feel for what is visually appealing vs. that which is not.
It is also important because we need to realize that not everyone in the world is visual. Some people require auditory stimulation to understand a concept, or some sort of tactile or motor input. That means that when designing for the general public, we need to make sure that our message is getting through loud and clear to people who might experience the world in different ways. This is especially challenging given that designers tend to be producing items that are mostly experienced in a visual way.
Multimedia is one way of integration sound into a web site. However, it is key that any audio is easily controlled by your user – while some may find it helpful, others will find the sound to be a distraction. Does it enhance the message? Or is it just background noise requested by your client because they think it’s cool? What about podcasts? If your website uses them, are they only available in audio formats or can your site visitors also check out a cool video? Is your site interactive? If more kinesthetic people need to follow a line of reasoning that involves clicking, moving, or doing something else hands-on, they may have a better grasp of the information being presented.
How about you? As a designer, how do you ensure your message is received by your entire audience? How do you convey this need to clients?
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