Thursday, February 23, 2012

Camtasia Presentation Assignment (Due Tuesday)


AGED 4143
Electronic Communications in Agriculture

Camtasia Presentation Assignment
Look through your assigned department’s web site. Identify a topic that is currently on the site but not represented well (too much text) or not enough detail. This should be a topic that deserves attention and could be better presented through a visual/audio presentation.  Your final product will be a video which could be integrated into the department’s web site. Begin by selecting a topic. You may work with your partner(s) and graduate student to identify topics. Be sure that you and your group member are not covering the same topic. Once your topic is identified, create an outline for your presentation. The outline should include thumbnails for the entire presentation, and a script for speaking components.  Once you have your outline and script, build your basic presentation using PowerPoint. When possible use actual photos. If you do not have photos that directly fit your outline, locate a place holder photo and incorporate it until you can acquire a photo. 

By the beginning of next class, have your outline, script and basic presentation complete. Bring all of these items to class, so we can begin working in Camtasia. You may utilize Flickr, USDA, or the stock photos on the T: drive for your presentation until you obtain actual photos. Use the PowerPoint resources on the T drive as well to assist you.     

*Graduate students - Graduate students should also complete the assignment, but may choose to cover a topic specific to their student organization web site since they are responsible for more than one group.

T-Drive

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tuesday's Assignment (Due Friday)

o   Please select two of the following photo composition terms (rule of thirds, framing, leading lines, contrast, simplicity, symmetry, colors). These are not all of the composition concepts, but this is a good start.
o   For your two terms explain what the composition term means, and locate a photo which is representative of the each term.  Post your images to your blog and include an explanation of how each photo relates to your term. (Ex. The river serves as a leading line guiding our eye toward the snowcapped mountain.)

You post must be made by noon on Friday, February 24.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Blog and Class Assignment (2/7/12)


Please visit the new release for the Bumpers College website and review the content. Dean Vayda has requested specific feedback from you all regarding “the student perspective” of the college site. The site can be found at http://uark.edu/ua/pkulkar/BumpersCollege/

1)      Please prepare a type written version of your evaluation be turned in at the beginning of class on Thursday. Use the evaluation tool provided earlier in the semester to assist you in identifying specific questions to address.  
a.       Undergraduate students should focus on academics, future student and current student pages. Graduate students should focus on graduate student and alumni pages. Both groups should evaluate the homepage.
b.      Your typed summary should include the following headings for evaluation: 1) design, 2) content, and 3) usability. You do not have to address accessibility in this assignment.
c.       Your summary should address the overall site and individual pages.

2)      Post a brief summarization of your “student perspective” on your blog.
a.       Your post should address the site as a whole and include a summary of 1) design, 2) content and 3) usability.

You blog post should be made before class begins on Thursday (2/9/12).

Monday, February 6, 2012

Twitter and Style Guide

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I have two more helpful links to share with you.

The first is a post from Mashable, and it lists four ways to tweet as a business. Random updates about what you're eating may not be the best way to capture the public's attention. ^_~ Many people forget that a company's identity must be incorporated into social networking sites.

 > 4 Ways to Tweet as a Visual Brand

The second is a new article from Newswire regarding the U of A's website style guide. Not only does the article discuss the importance of a style guide, but it also provides a link to the new one being used by the U of A. Make sure to bookmark this page for quick reference! It will come in handy when you are designing your website.

> Web Style Guide Promotes Consistency and Usability Online

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Web Design Resources

While randomly searching the internet, I came across some pretty helpful sites!
  • HTML 5 Coding > This link leads to a great example of what good coding looks like. It also includes labels that help clarify the parts of code. Definitely worth printing out!
  • For web design, Smashing Magazine is probably one of the best online resources! Their articles cover EVERYTHING related to web design, including tools of the trade and ways to become a better designer.
Enjoy!