Meta-narrative

The first assignment was of course, to get our web-sites up and running. Throughout the length of the semester I have been working constantly on updating and trying to make a site that is both enjoyable and informative. I used a neat graphic that I personally made as the homepage designator. I did this about five weeks into the course, and from there I took a mini sabbatical on my webpage due to the mounting assignments that were coming up. But after the main brunt of assignments, I definitely went back to work on it.

Throughout the semester I found that there were a few elemental design ideas that I enjoyed more than others. One thing that I really liked was the element of blog design. It is simple, yet suggests technological aptitude. I enjoyed the blog feel so much that I used that as a motif for my entire web-site. I think that the blog look adds a distinct feel my web page. I also enjoy the fact that I have been getting really good at using the expression web software. It was a challenge, but the program is actually really easy to use once you get the hang of it. Overall, I think that my web-page is my strongest piece, but it is still a work in progress, and I have a few more things to edit on it.

The ordered and unordered list assignment was more of a research experiment, I found out. By looking at the websites that were really terrible, it was easy to spot elements of design that really worked. I found that for the most part, simple is better. By adding too much to web pages it makes it generally have a tacky image. By researching what works, it definitely made it easier to work on my own web-site. The list itself was generally easy to assemble, that’s all that one had to do is take a look at the link on the Writing 501 website that had some of the worst design elements known to man.

With the rhetorical analysis assignment I found myself looking for design elements that did work. I found a website called Catbytes, which is a biannual publication put out by the Chico State department of Journalism. It takes a look at the nightlife scene and activities for the students around town. It was a good website for those in the area. It definitely let on to places to go, best places to eat, and what sort of drink specials there were. As far as design goes, it was pretty well put together. After I had written this assignment, I found sites that were better, and had less design flaws, but this one captured my attention due to it’s easy to use page. Navigation was a little tough, though, as it didn’t really point you in the directions you needed to go sometimes. Also, there was a weird thing with whenever you ran over the navigation bar the buttons would temporarily disappear.

For my technological autobiography I decided to go in a little bit of a different direction from most of the class. I felt that, while adept at programs such as word and power-point, my skills would be wasted on such a rudimentary way of looking at my autobiography. I decided to use a program that I was fairly adept at. By putting my autobiography in Adobe Illustrator I could have a little more free range as far as the look and feel of it. I decided to go with a comic book motif, seeing as how I feel it is an underrated form of media. We’ve discussed in this class different types of media, and how they affect the perception of those that read them. I tried to incorporate a little humor, which I find is the easiest way to connect with people for me personally. It sort of comes across as tongue in cheek, which is the way I wanted it. The only thing that I don’t like about this type of media, however, is that it is hard to reach people with disabilities because there are no words for programs such as JAWS to scan over. As soon as I figure out how to separate the panels I think that I will be able to go back and make the autobiography a little more user-friendly.

As far as the work, itself, I chose to show a gradual progression from rudimentary images drawn in Adobe, to pictures that were altered through the program, to plain pictures. I used this as a way to show that, I, like humans through the ages, have learned and progressed. The images become clearer, and we are not surrounded by the fog of confusion. I personally enjoyed this project because I got a chance to stretch my creative legs and see what I could accomplish.

The podcast, in my personal opinion, was my weakest work. There were many things that affected the outcome of this podcast. Mainly it was due to the fact that I lost a lot of information some time about a week before it was due. My computer, the constant arch nemesis that it seems to be, decided to quit. I'm talking pack it's bags, grab its pink slip, and quit. So, I had to overcome that barrier. From there I had an original version of the podcast which, for a beginners try, wasn’t that bad. Then, somewhere along the lines I lost it, or thought I had anyway. So, after another week of bad luck and trying to get my podcast to work with audacity,

I was finally able to edit and get everything done with my podcast. But saving is a whole other story. When I went to save it, it would only save the first half (I later went on to find out that my Z drive was full to capacity and fit in as much as it could, which doesn’t really help me at all).
Needless to say, I was frantic. But lo and behold, even I get a break sometimes, and the first podcast I had created was still hanging around, I just couldn’t find it. This is, I believe, the true definition of bittersweet. But I found my podcast and went with it.

My contribution to the class publication was another way that I feel I could stretch my legs a little and be a little more creative. I decided to write some poetry and write an article concerning a few movies I enjoy. The article was actually fun to write, so I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the fact that I had to think about images and their correlation to copyright, and had to make sure that I wasn’t infringing on anybody’s rights. The whole copyright section I was extremely interested in and felt that I learned a lot about. I think that in the future knowing about this will help me right for mass publications a little bit better, or at least make it easier. I felt that I could have written a little more, but in the end I was extremely happy with it. My favorite part of the assignment, however, was the poem. I feel that poetry is something that every good English major should at least dabble in. It made me extremely happy to be able to write something that was posted, and not on my own web-site.

The main thing about the class publication that I learned was that it opened up a whole new world for me as far as web logs go. I had never even dealt with blogs before this assignment, and this showed me that sites such as Blogger.com are easy to use and extremely easy to set up. I liked the thought of blogs so much that I even changed the motif of my personal web-page to mimic that of a blog. I enjoy the thought of chronicling my personal thoughts and works online, and it is a great outlet for doing so. I enjoy the raw feel of technology that it puts in your hands. The blog sites are set up for simplicity, and to put emphasis on words, not pictures. Somehow they do this without seeming too lacking, and it is a design element I feel I can learn from greatly.