ENSI: The redesign

I have faced many challenges as I have been trying to redesign the ENSI website. I believe this has happened for two reasons. The first is that I am unfamiliar with Google Sites. The second is that I picked a particularly difficult and complicated site to redesign due to its extensive information and endless amount of links to other pages. I found it nearly impossible to create another page for every existing page and edit content. Therefore, my site mainly redesigned the structure and the links open to the already existing page. It is out of character to

Although Google Sites is a useful resource for starter sites, I do not find that any of the existing templates fit what wants and needs for the ENSI site. I decided to go with a blank template to end the confusion and hassle of changing headers and titles only to find that one cannot be renamed thus ruining the page. Although I was able to reformat the overall structure and navigation, I found that Google Sites did not leave me much room for my own creativity and design (background colors, animation, etc.). 

As previously stated, the main element that I redesigned for the ENSI website was the navigation/structure. Instead of listing all of the websites content on the homepage, I included it all in a tool bar to the left. I also removed the announcements from the home page and provided an “announcements” tab on the tool bar. The home page, which was extremely busy before, now includes the name, logo, and history of ENSI. In my opinion, the layout of the website has benefited from the redesign. 

SNS

The privacy issue concerning the popular SNS, Facebook, is a popular issue in todays society. I have been a Facebook user since I was a sophomore in high school, once I decided Myspace was “uncool” and no longer for me. Back then, I did not pay much attention to privacy settings and wanted everyone to see my profile. As years progressed, I began editing my settings to limit my presence. Today, I find myself utilizing every privacy setting offered and rejecting friend requests. 

My experience with Facebook reflects the points that boyd and ellison make and differ from my experience with myspace and the article I selected. Similar to the information Boyd and Ellison provide, I joined Facebook in high school after administration allowed me access to my network but was not able to completely share my profile with the public. On the other hand, I did not join Myspace because of bands and musicians but for the simple reason that everyone was doing it. My experience with Myspace, however, differs from some of those explained by Boyd and Ellison as well as the article I selected. I was not a victim of another adult predator nor was I assaulted. Instead, I used the advice given by Myspace and used internet safety and common sense to the best of my teenage ability.

Although Boyd and Ellison incorporate “Hacking” into their view on privacy, my main concern has always been others viewing my profile and obtaining my personal information.  The article states that “ The term "Friends" can be misleading, because the connection does not necessarily mean friendship in the everyday vernacular sense, and the reasons people connect are varied (boyd, 2006a).” I agree with this statement that Boyd makes because I experience it daily. When scrolling through my friend list, I do not know half of the people on it and I know I certainly do not have a few hundred friends. 

Mapping out ENSI

ENSI SITE SNAP SHOT:



ENSI site map


Current ENSI map

 Edited ENSI site map

Tollett and Williams: ENSI site

According to Tollett and WIlliams principles, the ENSI website is successful in one area known as repetition. The website uses constant repetition in stating the “ENSI” title, reminding the reader of the topic. ENCI’s use of repetition helps each page to look like it belongs to the same web site, company, and concept. The colors used as well as the font are also repeated and constant which tie the web site together.

The contrast of the ENSI web site are a major downfall for its design. Although the web site uses different colors, graphics, and arrangement, they do not work in favor of the visual appeal. The colors are very bold. Tollett and Williams suggest that, “If two elements, such as type, rules, graphic, color, textures, etc., are not the same, make them very different-don’t make them almost the same.” The ENSI web site does this, regarding color. However, it does not look good.  The colors do not complement each other or the background color, light blue. ENSI does include a focal point that is their logo on the top left of the page. When entering the web site, this logo may capture some readers attention, but can be instantly distracted by the bright yellow background on a news entry.

The ENSI website follows one rule in alignment which is using choosing one and using it on the entire page. The general alignment of the page is centered. Although the search bar is centered along with the rest of the page, it is separated by a line and located on the left. However, Williams and Tollett, discourage that beginners center everything on the site. ENSI’s website also uses borders around all of its writing. The overall proximity of the ENSI website creates confusion for the reader. Everything on the page is crammed together, making it a very unappealing visual.

Check out the site at: http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/

Bullock: ENSI site

The purpose of the ENSI website at Indiana is to inform its reader about the Evolution and the Nature of Science Institutes, which is what ENSI stands for. The website includes various links including general information, the people, the lessons, teaching unites, archives, resources, papers and articles, a talk to us section, a site map and guided tour, and other links to further the readers knowledge on the topic.

The audience of ENSI website are those who support, wish to support, or are interested in the program thats goal is  “to improve the teaching of evolution in High School Biology courses by encouraging teachers to teach evolutionary thinking in the context of a more complete understanding of modern scientific thinking” (Website). This is clear through the extensive informative information provided.

The genre of the ENSI website is a profile that both informs and summarizes the programs history, current and past work, and goals. ENSI uses a serious and passionate stance in their writing. This is evident due to the informative information along with the evidence and hard work they provide on the website. Although the websites design needs much work, a lot of valuable information is present.

Media and design is a weakness of the ENSI website. In fact, the media/design choice uses mostly a textual modality with the exception of “The People” tab where it uses photographs of the faculty and groups. It also uses animated pictures every so often, however, utilizing a wider range of modalities would greatly benefit the site and capture the readers attention. 

Check out the site at: http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/

Wikitravel Postwrite

After editing the information ecology, Wikitravel, it is fair to say that my previous conceptions on information ecologies have changed. I am all for the ability to share knowledge and learn from others. However, after reading the example of "keystone species" on the prompt and reviewing Nardi and O'days article on "Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart," I got a bit annoyed. 

The prompt provided a hint stating that, "As a hint, there are a couple of such roles/keystone species: 1) the defender of the page (each page, often has someone who is very protective of edits and changes to a page--wikipedia is even more protected and territorial--if you try to make a change that individuals will continuously hit the revert button and return the page back to it's original constitution); 2) the editor who revises all the content that others put on the page." This caught my attention because of a personal experience when I was creating my Wikitravel. First and foremost, I made the mistake of underestimating how serious these keystone species are about the editing of certain information ecologies. I learned this the hard way when I edited the Florence, Italy, Wikitravel, according to my own personal experience after living there for four months. Apparently, my advice did not "make the cut," so to speak and was revised and deleted off the page. 

Nardi and O'day argue that presence of these keystone species is crucial to the survival of the ecology, however, after my personal experience, I have to disagree. After all, these people fall into this category, they are not assigned to it. In other words, who are they to decide they are important enough or the most knowledgeable on the topic published on the information ecology itself.  And, how do they know what type of information the reader is searching for? I disagree with Nardi and O'day for the simple reason that these keystone species do not know. They are not mind readers, but everyday people with no higher rank than the next man. 

Due to this, I still support information ecologies but believe they should be worldly knowledge, as the creators of wiki intended them to be. Nardi and O'day state that "Ironically, their contributions are often unofficial, unrecognized, and seemingly peripheral to the most obvious productive functions of the workplace." I agree with this statement. The contributions are unofficial and unrecognized, this is a known fact to both editors and readers of the information ecology. So, then it should be left at that. If you want to feel important, go get published, otherwise, learn to live with the fact that an information ecology is open for additional information and worldly knowledge.

Modalities meet blogging

All types of writing incorporate different types of modalities, depending on the genre. When looking over my process blog, I use the textual modality, whereas my Enthusiast Blog, Ciao Italia, includes animation as well textual modalities. Blogs are a multimodal writing platform and it is possible, as well as beneficial, to include multiple types of modalities. After examining my blog, I wish to utilize and experiment with different types, to give posts and thoughts more meaning. 

The ability to communicate through multiple modes such as pictures and text is a strength, especially for the online writing genre. Pictures have the ability to make or break a piece of writing. While surfing the web, a simple picture or text can capture the viewers eye. The text has the ability to gain interest. In this sense, pictures and text work harmoniously hand in hand.

Information Architectures and Wikitravel

     Changes to “information ecologies” impact “information architectures” by providing a broad variety that include data, information, knowledge, wisdom. Since the writing is open for the public to change, the reader is benefits because all architectures are incorporated. If anything, Wikitravel should be considered more beneficial due to the fact that anyone can create content. 

     As previously stated, this allows for different types of information architectures to be incorporated into the site. As the founder of Wikipedia explained, it is a place to share knowledge and aims for world knowledge. The people contributing to the creation of understanding are capeable of affecting change to how we organize information, data, knowledge, and wisdom because these people are the ones organizing  and editing the information they provide to give readers a better understanding of the subject matter. With increased online activity, they are changing the way in which society researches. Much research is done online, taking away from travel books.

"On the wine trail in italy"

The way in which the blogger presents and executes "On the Wine Trail in Italy" is exceptionally strong. The blog can be found at http://acevola.blogspot.com/. "On the Wine Trail in Italy" combines personality, humor, knowledge, and real experiences, in a playful yet professional manner.

Similar interest, different "about me"

While surfing through different blogs, specifically those related to Italy, I found a variety of different personality types. Two blogs caught my eye. The first blog is titled "American girl in Italy." It is easy to see why I can relate. At, http://americaninitaly.blogspot.com/ the blogger creates a personal blog with a personal about me including her interests and what she will be writing about. Since this is similar to my tone, I found the about me powerful. However, I also found another blog that takes a more serious tone. The author describes more professional experiences on his blog "On the Wine Trail in Italy" at http://acevola.blogspot.com/. I also found this about me powerful because of its quick but in depth background and description. 

What's this all about, anyways?

When thinking of the topic of my enthusiast blog I decided on Ciao Italia! Ciao Italia is meant to be exactly what it says, Hello/Goodbye Italy. The purpose of writing this blog is to summarize, if possible, my experience traveling abroad. I want my readers to connect and understand the importance of experiencing new cultures, learn from my experiences, and inspire them to go out and learn on their own whether it be studying abroad, which of course I highly suggest! or getting involved in a new community. My audience is anyone interested in learning new culture, Italy, those interested in studying abroad, and those who may be currently studying abroad. I invite all to tag along and experience my journey from start to finish. Although it is up to me to create a compelling blog, I know that the experience and italy will sell itself. Throughout the blog, my tone will be personal and somewhat playful. Starting a new blog has been similar to starting my journey in italy. Nerve-wracking, confusing, and exciting. 

Looking in from the outside: A look at different blogs

Through the gypsies eye interests me personally because my enthusiast blog is also about traveling. I enjoy this blog because of its pictures and real experiences, which I find are two of the blogs strengths. It also offers a variety of different destinations which can attract a larger audience. The weakness I find in this blog is the description. With such an interesting topic, the blogger could get a little more creative and excited about describing the blog. Overall, I am in favor of this blog and can see my self following it.

The future is interesting because it is a mysterious topic that most people wonder about. It is also interesting because the blogger relates what could be considered "out there" to current economic troubles. I can see my self also following this blog but can also see why others may not be interested in the topic.

Stitched personae is not a blog that appeals to me. Although it may be an interesting topic to some readers, I did not want to sit and read through it. I found it too informative as if I were sitting in lecture. The about me is extremely long. However, the photo's included in the blog make it more interesting.

All of the "about me" sections include the bloggers goals for the future which I find beneficial. The blog that had the most powerful about me is The Future. It was short and simple but held much detail at the same time and was very creative. After reading this "about me," I am beginning to explore ways to improve my own "about me" statements.

A blog about blogs

The blogging world is extensive. Some may consider it over populated for the reason that blogs about almost everything and aything exist. I learned this the hard way, a summer internship, in which one of my many assignments was to compile "Blog Lists." With so many blogs out there, i.e the "over population", it was an overwhelming task at first. However, with blog data bases such as http://theblogfrog.com/ and the blog section on Google, my assignment became easier and increasingly interesting as I surfed through the various blogs to find a match.

While searching through the wide variety of Blogging topics, from Daddy blogs, to Book blogs, to Pet blogs, I found that there is not a specific blog that should be universally known. Who are we to tell someone what blogs to keep up with? The power is in the hands of the reader. At first,  I was in awe that people took the time out of their day to sign onto a blogging program and pretend to be their pet but soon discovered this type of blog was as popular as say, fashion blogs, an interest of mine. Personally, I enjoy any blog that shows personality. Regardless of how ridiculous I find the content, a sort of light bulb lights up when I discover and unfold the bloggers personality through their posts.

Different blogs call for different organization. I found that many blogs include soley writing, writing and photo's, and even just photo's. The blogs containing photo's spark the most interest for me. Just as it is nice to put a face with a name, it is also beneficial to put a photo with a topic, for the simple reason that it keeps the readers attention. Let's be honest, it is easy to get distracted when reading.