11/18 Learning Reflection

Last week, we learned how to use Adobe Photoshop CS6 to make a web banner. The banner is used for our Web Design's wiki-spaces pages. Within Photoshop, we learned how to cut out images from their backgrounds using the Magnetic Lasso tool. Also, we learned how to change the order of layers (by dragging the layer on top of the others) and how to hide layers (by clicking the eye next to the layer). 

11/8 Learning Reflection

This past week, I've learned more about HTML. In HTML, pairs of tags are used to structure a web page. An HTML page could be made using a free software, Notepad++. I made a basic HTML page using the Notepad++ software. To further improve my knowledge of HTML, my web design class turned to Codeacademy, a website that teaches web design. I am wrapping up on the exercises, which taught me more about the formatting of webpages, more attributes to modify the tags of a webpage, and more.

10-17 Learning Reflection

Our Web Design class split up into teams, to create presentations. The group I was in, Team 1, made a presentation about the history of the Internet, along with other topics such as the first computer. The team members contributed many of their own ideas to the project, so no one person did all  the work. 

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Learning Reflection

• I've learned much in the past week. The first thing I've learned how to do was how to customize my blog, from changing the font of the Blog Title to adding RSS feeds and other widgets. The other thing I've learned how to do was how to record and embed a podcast to my blog. 
• This will help me in real life by being able to help others who have trouble doing these things for themselves. By knowing what I've learned in the past week, I'm able to teach others what I know.
• I had trouble with embedding the podcast into my blog. What I did to address the problem was to ask  my teacher for help. She performed a search engine search, using the query "upload podcast to blogger." She came across a handy tutorial, which told me to upload the MP3 file of my podcast to archive.org. Once I did that, I was able to embed the podcast to my blog. 

Welcome podcast

Web Design

• Web design is the field in which one learns how a website is structured and how to build your own website. Websites are programmed in HTML, which stands for Hyper-Text Markup Language. The HTML determines the layout and arrangement of a website. Besides HTML, there exists CSS, which is an abbreviation for Cascading Style Sheets, which make the website look pretty. The HTML of a website may be seen as a skeleton, and the CSS as the flesh of an organism. The two are parts of a larger whole. Additionally, there are programming languages and plugins that supplement these, such as JavaScript and Adobe Flash Player. Provided by third party companies, these plugins spice up websites with some extra flair. Both JavaScript and Adobe Flash Player add interactive content to a website, such as video-players, games, or animations. However, in recent times, a new version of HTML, HTML5, added native support for these.  
• I have not designed a website from scratch. However, I did open a Wiki-spaces page: http://ahmadabdo.wikispaces.com/. It taught me how to add links to a wiki page and how to generate animated text graphics.   
• I hope to learn how to build a website from scratch. This is something I've wanted to learn for a while, because in today's connected world, websites are more relevant than ever, and I think it will only increase in the future. There are various people out there who need a website, when ether it be for business reasons or personal reasons. With the ability to design websites, I will be able to answer the growing demand for websites. 

Netiquette

Netiquette is the etiquette of using the web. Similar to etiquette in the real world, netiquette governs how one should behave. Some forms of netiquette include:

1. Being oneself on the Internet. Behind a computer screen, it becomes easy to one to say things they wouldn't say in real life. One should make sure what they say on the Internet is consistent with what  they would say in the real world.  
2. Being clear on intent. Sarcasm should be used sparingly, if at all, because reading text on the web could be misinterpreted, since there's no body language to back up the intent of what one's saying. 
3. Not using all-caps when sending an online message. Proper punctuation and spelling should be used at all times.

One would use netiquette when engaging in an e-mail for professional purposes, such as listing a complaint to  customer service. My own netiquette is fairly good, but could use some improvement. I make sure to use proper punctuation and capitals where necessary, even outside of professional purposes. This has the side effect of me sounding too formal when sending text messages to friends.

Positive Digital Footprint

• A digital footprint is the result of a search engine search when one looks up another person's name. Employers typically do search engine searches to find out information about their potential employees. As a result, it is important to maintain a positive digital footprint. To maintain a positive digital footprint, the potential employee has to make sure the results of the search engine search say pleasant, professional things about them. The potential employee could do that by maintaining a professional blog under their name, signing up for a professional social network, or removing unflattering content from their existing social networks. 
• As of now, this blog is a part of my digital footprint. I could improve it by making it more visible to search engine searches.
• It does matter who you are associated with online, because your digital footprint could show up when an employer searches up, say, a friend's digital footprint. If the footprint is a negative one (containing unflattering content), then the employer could turn you down later on when you apply for the same job. 

Academic Intergrity

Academic integrity is the commitment to keep academic work free of plagiarism. Before I further explain academic integrity, I will define plagiarism, which is when a student takes other student's work and claims it for them-self. It is important to uphold academic integrity because if a student keeps plagiarizing other's work, the student them-self does not learn anything. They start to depend on others for work they could have done themselves, and when the time comes for them to depend on themselves, they will not be able to. If a student is having trouble coming up with their own ideas, it IS okay for them to use others work. How is this so? By using citation. Students may cite other works, either by quotation or paraphrasing. As long as the original creator of a work is credited, students struggling to come up with something may use others' work to aid themselves, while maintaining academic integrity. 

What is a blog?

• A blog is an internet tool, which enables people to share information about a certain subject. Blogs could be about anything, about fixing cars, ice cream, or personal thoughts. In a blog, the owner is the main poster, while others viewing the blog can only comment or in certain cases, submit content. In an academic environment, blogging could enhance learning. For example, the teacher of a classroom could have his or her students type a summary about what they learned that day, reinforcing what the students learned. 
• Blogs usually have content that readers enjoy. For example, I could have an interest in baking. From there, I can perform a quick search on the Internet to find baking blogs. The results of the search are:
• http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/ 
• http://sweettreatsbakingblog.blogspot.com/ 
• http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/
• http://www.bakingholly.com/

         My favorite of these is Sweet Treats Baking Blog (the second one), because it has the          recipe for cupcakes that look delicious.