Unit 2: Get the Look You Want

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATBgLbzja5r5ZGM2eDk2bXNfNmYzd3Q3NA&authkey=CP2_25YM&hl=en_US

 Research Pages for you to use........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typograhpy
   wikipedia is a good place to start

look at the fonts in Word, serif and sans serif

Look at the fronts used by cooltext.com

  Mistakes in Web Design
   http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html

Web Style Guide
   http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/ 
 

Your Projects:

    Project 2 Using Source Code, Saving Graphics Graphics (pesky red X's), Making Tables (2 grades: table duplication, avatar creation)

   Project 3 Typography

   Project 4 On-line Web Editors

    Project 5 Wiki w/ Me

Project 6 Revenge of the Blogs

How to Comment Like a King—or Queen

By Vicki Davis

The following entry on techniques for effective blog commenting was excerpted from coolcatteacher.blogspot.com.

1. Write a meaningful comment.

"Yeah" or "Right on" may make the author feel good, but of more interest to conversation participants is, "Why do you think it is right on?" If you don't care, don't comment. But if something resonates with you, and you have something to share, do it!

Sometimes authors (like me) feel like they are only posting to themselves. You can actually influence those you admire with a meaningful comment—blog writers change their opinions all the time. You can also reinforce opinions you agree with when you have real-world examples.

I think commenting is one of the most meaningful tools we have to show experts where they need to focus. It is like having a vote: When you comment, you are saying, "This is important."

You'd better believe that when a blogger receives an incredible number of comments on a post, he or she is going to be writing more about that topic. If you want more from them, tell them. In so doing, you draw attention to your own blog.

Remember this: Most bloggers read the blogs of those who comment on their posts. I want to know more about the person. I want to see who they are, what motivates them, and what they are writing.

But, although the bloggers and other readers will read your work, that is not why you comment. You comment because it is part of joining the conversation—the right thing to do when you care about a topic.

2. If you have written about it, hyperlink to your post.

I have posted several comments on Kathy Sierra's amazing blog Creating Passionate Users. She has a box on the right of her blog that shows recent comments.

[Editor's note: Sierra received much media attention recently for being targeted by bloggers leaving hateful comments on her site—some even made death threats toward her on their own blogs. Her case has led to renewed interest in creating a set of codes for proper blog behavior, itself a controversial idea.]

Each time I've worked to make a meaningful post on Kathy's blog, I've received hundreds of people following the trail back to my blogs. I would like to think that my comments have hit on a vein in the readers of those comments, and they'd like to know more about me.

But remember the motivation—I don't comment on Kathy's blog because I want traffic. I comment because I have something meaningful to add to the conversation, and I care about the topic. (Sploggers, a.k.a. spam bloggers, comment to get traffic to their blog. Bloggers comment to converse.)

To hyperlink, many times, you have to type in the hyperlink by hand. Read my post explaining how to do this in detail.

3. If you have a blog, share some information about yourself.

When you post anonymously, you lose so much potential benefit for your blog and for the conversation you care about.

So much of my traffic comes from commenting, it's amazing. You will totally miss out on it if you do not set up profiles.

4. Use a comment tracking service.

This is for more advanced bloggers who really want to harness the power of the conversation, as well as to keep copies of comments they've made.

Have you ever made a comment and checked for days to see if the author or someone else replied? I can go to my coComment site and see all of the places where I've commented and read recent comments to those posts.

I can also create tags for each comment and coComment creates a "tag cloud" (a paragraph of words with the larger words being more frequent in my comments, for example), which makes it easy for me to go back to my comments on a certain topic.

5. Don't be afraid to comment.

It is common for a beginner to think, "Well, I won't comment until I know more." You have an important perspective (see my post, "The Power of a Newbie") that should be shared.

Beginners who comment will receive the feedback that will keep them blogging, push them to excellence, and will maybe even make them one of the Technorati Top 100 bloggers of tomorrow. I honestly believe that there is someone reading this post who will far surpass me and will do amazing things, but it all starts with a comment.

6. Teach commenting.

Children have a need to converse and will improve their performance when people comment on their work.

7. Remember the power of words.

Each of us, as an educator, has the power to build up or the power to tear down. Oh, the harm we can cause in our classrooms by a misplaced word.

I believe that there are people who are so abrasive and unhappy with themselves that they retreat to the Internet to wreck havoc on unsuspecting souls.

I say this to warn newbies of the villain you will soon meet if you are a prolific blogger: "Darth Commenter." (I'll call him DC for short.)

My first encounter with DC was really an eye-opening soul-searching one.

When you meet DC, you will be forced to ask yourself a central question: "Why am I blogging?" Ultimately, it is the blogger who decides if they will indeed remain a blogger. We have the ability to leave the blogosphere as quickly as we entered it, and many do.

As you meet DC, you will emerge with your own calling. Without a calling, it is difficult to keep up with the blog and it just becomes a nuisance.

Darth Commenter is out there and his goal is to steal your enthusiasm for blogging with his light saber of unkindness. Do not feel compelled for some "noble" reason to post his comment. Delete Darth and never look back.

8. Criticize Kindly.

While I delete almost all abusive comments and every single comment with profanity, I do allow people to disagree with me on my own blog. It is important that we model for children the right way to disagree on a topic and to show that we can do it while remaining civil and not attacking the other's right to their opinion.

Here are my guidelines before countering a blogger's perspective:

  1. Will it make a difference? Is this a blog that encourages meaningful debate?
  2. Is my perspective already shared in the comments?
    If so, you can echo the comments of others. If not, I feel that I must post if it is a topic of meaning.
  3. Start by genuinely complimenting the blogger in some way and point out where you do agree.
  4. Point out each area of disagreement and why in a brief, non-rantish, professional manner.
  5. NEVER: Be sarcastic, rant prolifically, curse, or personally attack a person. Commenting is part of this global conversation. People who make meaningful comments understand that the Internet is about discussing our common concerns and coming up with solutions in a more expeditious and helpful manner that does not exclude anyone.

Some people are afraid of commenting because they don't want to give away their secrets.

Well, guess what? If you died today and didn't share "your secret," it will die with you. And you will miss the chance to leave behind something far more important—a legacy.

Blogging, if you truly inhale its essence, will give you a calling, renewal, and purpose as you've never seen before.

Vicki Davis runs the Cool Cat Teacher blog. Visit it at www.coolcatteacher.blogspot.com.

       

Layout and Design

Good use of white space

Space things around the page.  Not too tightly placed, no big gaps

Font

          Use only 2…3 max.  Try to keep in the same style.

For example: It’ll look to busy and child-like, messy, confusing

 

Serif vs sans (w/o) serif

          Serif means little feet

If doing a title, use sans serif fonts (no feet)  clean big letters

If doing smaller article text, use serifs.  This helps the eye travel from one word to the next.

COLOR

          Stick to a theme of color.  Keep it simple!!  Appeal to your audience. Check out a big name website that is appealing to the same audience and see what color scheme they are using.  They paid to find the “in” colors.

Text color

          Make it visual.  Can it be read?? White text on a dark background will work.  SIZE MATTERS!!! BIGGGGG

SHAPES

          “FEEL” of the web site. In shapes for every year.  What’s in??? Go to the web sites that hit the audience you want to hit. Choosing different shapes will give your web site different feels.

Make sure you include shapes….buttons, frames for your information/sections.  Frames around pictures and banners.

FRAMES

          These are ways of matting your graphics to bring attention to the item you want highlighted.  Makes the document easier to read if used properly.  Add a visual punch and a “feel”

Some frames remain stable of the pages of the site, others move location on each page.

UNDERLINE

          Use a basic line to separate items w/I a frame.  Should NOT be noticeable to the user, unless they are analyzing your layout and design.

NEVER unline text.  The unlined text is a universal symbol of a hyperlink!!

BOLD

Bold text is easily read. Punches everything up.  Posted web sites seem to be less vibrant than when viewed through your web editor. 

NUMBER OF ELEMENTS

          Elements are items to view, be it text or shapes.  NOT TOO BUSY!!  NOT TOO SIMPLE!!  Basically, keep text to a minimum.  Add visual interest. Don’t make people read to much.  Web serfers are lazy!!  Cater to them!!

PICTURES

          Too many make your site load too slowly.  Too few, it’s boring!  Watch out for copy write violations.

Save all pics as gifs and jpeg format

          Jpegs:  Losses a bit of resolution each time it’s edited.

          Gifs can be made transparent

GO BARS/LINKS

USE Them!!! Buttons make a link look really professional.  Try not to link words or web addresses. Drop down menus!

Put your go bar in a frame, on top, bottom, right or left.

Choose your color and design shape to coordinate with your web “feel”  Must hang together.

Once your go bar is developed, copy and paste on every page.

Goal:  Anyplace to anyplace in 3 or less clicks

CONTENT

Don’t be BORING!  KISS  Appropriate.  Should not have someone ask “WHY” when looking at your site.

Hangs together.

AVOID THE “TOO’S”

          Too cute, too busy, too colorful, too flirty, too stupid   

Videos on Topography

Eleanor Rigby

Abbot & Costello

Your Task: Project 3 Typography    

What do you hand in for grade???

Making A Poster Rubric : Web Site Design Elelments
Student Name:     ____________________Project # ______________
CATEGORY
4
3
2
1
Planning Sheet
Well developed idea with evidence of brainstorming and research
Evidence of research or brainstorming, but not well developed
Some evidence of pre-thought
no planning sheet submitted
Graphics - Relevance
All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.
All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.
All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation.
Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.
Attractiveness
The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.
The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.
The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.
The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Use of Class Time
Used time well during each class period. Focused on getting the project done. Never distracted others.
Used time well during each class period. Usually focused on getting the project done and never distracted others.
Used some of the time well during each class period. There was some focus on getting the project done but occasionally distracted others.
Did not use class time to focus on the project OR often distracted others.
Grammar
There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster.
There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster.
There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.
There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.

Date Created: Feb 02, 2007 07:49 pm (CST)

Teachers.org

 

Project 4:  Web Page Design using Internet Templates

 

 OK, by now some of you are saying..."enough theory, when do I get to make a web site!"

Project 2 is a break from learning more theory, but be sure to apply all that you have learned thus far!

 

Discusion Questions:

What are on-line web templates?  Examples?  Why use them?  Why not? Tell me about Domain Names.  Tell me about web ethics.  

Note: The links used in this exercise have a "6th Degree of Separation" from sites that you should not see or use.  It is your responsibility to stay safe! Do not dig for dirt!

 

Task

 

ETHICS!!!  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SAFE USE OF THE INTERNET!!!

DO NOT RANDOMLY SURF THROUGH MEMBER PAGES

 

Copy and past the information below to WORD.  NOTE: this is a quantitative Rubric

 

 

Web Page Design using Internet Templates

 

 

 

Name___________________________________________

For this project, use these good on-line web editors, with templates and free blog hosting:

 

I may look at your monitor to grade this project and/or review your links via  http://jotform.com/form/7371656401 where you will go and record your project information.

 

 

                                                 

Create 2 Web sites using, any of the free host sites listed below. List the Web Site Template Used and the URL

 

Project 6 Revenge of the Blogs (see detailed instructions above)