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Information Design—Week 1, Assignment 3

Propose three possible concepts for your final project based on your existing interest or knowledge. Post one developed paragraph on each of your three possible concepts. Consider the concept content and media and suggest which type of interactive media, you will use for your three concepts.

1. Index of newsminerextra.com
   A project that I’ve been considering undertaking recently is to create an index of all content located on newsminerextra.com, my employer’s Web site for special projects. The index would include a written list of sites located on the domain and include a brief description of each. Sites could be given a higher priority with graphical refers and introductory text toward the top of the page.

2. Addition of hierarchical photo galleries to akbourne.com
   Determine a logical order for photos I’ve taken over the past several years to be added to my personal Web site, Bourne in Alaska. Also, investigate possibilities for other methods of organization, including folksonomy (tagging).

3. New Web site for akbirthcenter.org
   akbirthcenter.org is in need of a redesign. The information conveyed is scattered, unorganized, and difficult to navigate. This concept would propose an outline of the same data restructured to make it more accessible to the user, emphasizing those areas that are most popular.

Information Design—Week 1, Assignment 2

What is the relation of the printing press to the Internet?

The Internet’s existence, or at least its arrival in the 20th century, can be credited in large part to the creation of the printing press roughly 550 years earlier. Had not the printing press existed, the subsequent scientific revolution that it promoted could not have occurred, and the exchange of ideas would have continued in less efficient methods, such as hand-written letters. The Internet owes its existence to the printing press, its relatively ancient ancestor.

How have they both created information revolutions?

The printing press and Internet both represented fundamental changes in the way people accessed information. The printing press shifted ownership of printed materials from only the elite to the masses. It made available written information in mass-produced books and manuscripts that revolutionized society through broader availability and ubiquity of knowledge. In much the same way, the Internet made information available to the masses, but to an exponentially greater, unprecedented degree than did printed books. Virtually any information became available to anyone who chose to search for it.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press#Impact_of_printing
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web#Sociological_implications

Information Design—Week 1, Assignment 2

How does New Media differ from interactive media? And how do they both incorporate interaction design?

New media refers to any media that has been “recently” made possible due to advancements made in digital technology. It is a very broad term that can apply to anything from cellular phones to e-mail to the Internet. This is a very loose definition, which allows many forms of media to be included. New media—audio CDs, for instance—are not necessarily interactive.

Similarly, interactive media has been enabled by technology, although this is not a requirement to be classified as a form of interactive media. Interactive media is simply any medium that accommodates and establishes two-way communication. Board games, for instance, require users to make decisions that affect the outcome of the game; the user chooses where to go next.

Ultimately, new media and interactive media are not mutually exclusive, but they are distinct in their definitions. Both, however, also incorporate interaction design. Interaction design is the process of creating behavior of systems—technical, biological, environmental and organizational. It defines the way a system responds to its users over time.

New media devices such as cell phones adapt to user input. Take the directory functionality for example. As a user inputs contacts into her phone, the phone’s menus change to reflect the new data. A shopping cart system on a Web site is a good example of interactive media implementing a form of interaction design; as a user adds items to his shopping cart, the software stores the specific choices he has made, thus interacting with the user.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_media
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaction_design

Information Design—Week 1, Assignment 1

Hello, my name is Jon Bourne. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska, with my wife and daughter. I work at the local daily newspaper managing the company Web site. I also own and run a local Web design company.

I attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks for two years in the Computer Science program pursuing a bachelor’s degree. I was hired out of my sophomore year by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks’ local daily newspaper, where I have worked for four years as the New Media Manager.

I desire to further my education to better serve my employer as well as to learn more about emerging technologies and make myself more marketable to other potential employers. Through this course—and ultimately the Interactive Media Design program here at AIO—I hope to pursue that goal.

My favorite “information tool” would have to be Firefox. There is no application in the world that can convey more information than a Web browser. Also, I love its extensibility and consequential flexibility, as well as the fact that it is open-source software and has a great rendering engine.

A few of my interests:

• spending time with my family;
• designing and developing Web sites—
  • Web standards,
  • XHTML,
  • CSS,
  • PHP,
  • MySQL,
  • Ruby on Rails;
• playing electric or acoustic guitar.

Well, classes started back up at the beginning of this week on Monday, but I’m just now getting into the one class I’m taking this semester because of some tardy enrollment paperwork and fees I didn’t know about.

This semester, I’ll only be taking two classes due to the impending arrival of Daughter #2 early next month. I didn’t want to be swamped with homework when she was born, so I decided to cut my course load. The way AIO divides its semesters, this schedule means only one class at a time, which is easily manageable.

So, I’m taking IMD 121. I can’t remember offhand what the course for the next half of this semester is, but I’ll inevitably post it here eventually. It’ll even have its own category.

Anyway, assignments to follow.

Well, finals are over. I have the next few weeks off before the winter ‘07 semester begins. I survived the first semester, and actually managed to get pretty good grades.

In Strategies for Online Learning—which was, I think, the dumbest class I’ve ever taken—I received a 91.84%, a solid A minus, with 349 of a possible 380 points. I can’t remember dreading homework as much as in this class. I think I even enjoyed high school biology more (and I didn’t like high school biology at all).

I fared slightly better in History of Popular Culture, with a 94.27%—329 of 349 possible points. I think I should actually have 10 points more than that, and I am contesting my grade. The instructor graded the final assignments before the end of the 24-hour school day and before I turned my assignment in. She gave me a zero for the 10-point assignment. So, if I were given full credit for that assignment, my final grade in the class would be 97.13%, with 339 of 349 possible points.

History of Popular Culture—Week 6, Assignment 2

Since 2000, there have been two major developments in American music: the so-called “bubblegum pop” genre and garage rock bands. Bubblegum pop is a genre of popular music that usually includes catchy melodies, simple musical progressions and harmonies and repeated hooks or riffs. It is popular among preteen and young teenagers, and often features less-than-meaningful lyrics. Garage band rock is characterized by its raw, unfinished sound.

But more has changed in the technology of music than in music itself since 1999. MTV is no longer the only music-centric television or cable channel available. Apple Computer’s iTunes Online Music Store sells millions of songs each year, eliminating the need to buy whole albums by a single artist. Music production is almost strictly digital now, replacing tapes with hard drives and mixers with computers in most recording studios.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_trends_in_music_%282000-present%29
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States_%281980s_to_the_present%29
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubblegum_pop
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_rock

Strategies for Online Learning—Week 6, Assignment 2

Table of contents

• Career goal
• Vision statement
• Career portfolio
  • Samples of Web site design work
  • Transcripts of education
  • Writing samples
  • Diplomas, degrees, certificates
  • Newsletters

Career goal

It is my ongoing goal to work in the field of Web design and development—either as a self-employed business owner or a full-time employee.

Vision statement

I desire to further my education to better serve my employer as well as to learn more about emerging technologies and make myself more marketable to other potential employers.

Presently, I am employed in my field of study, and have been for the past 4 years. I enjoy my work, and am pleased that I am currently pursuing education that will better equip me to better and more efficiently accomplish the daily tasks before me. However, with more knowledge, both broad and deep, in my area of expertise, I will be able to market myself more effectively to other potential employers. It will also enable me to better serve customers in the event that my own personal business grows large enough to wholly sustain my family and me.

In some ways, the reality of what I currently do at my present job matches my expectations; I wish to work in Web design, and that is what I do. But at the same time, there are areas where I know I need improvement. It is frustrating to me to know there is a way to do something, but not know how.

I plan to move my present reality toward my goals by continuing through The Art Institute’s Interactive Media Design Program. I also plan to continue to research and learn about emerging technologies through other online sources—blogs, news sites, research, etcetera.

Career portfolio

Samples of Web site design work

• http://newsminer.com/
• http://newsminerextra.com/2006/iraq/
• http://newsminerextra.com/2006/election/
• http://newsminerextra.com/2004/senate/
• http://newsminerextra.com/quest06/
• http://akbourne.com/
• http://school.akbourne.com/

Transcripts of education

• Unofficial transcripts from University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Transcript from Frontier High School

Writing samples

• The God-shaped Hole: a Christian look at Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious
• Knowledge of the Heart: a study of the futility of human wisdom
• The Joy of the Lord

Diplomas, degrees, certificates, awards

• May 2001 — Diploma, Frontier High School

• May 2005 — Society of Professional Journalists award for public service Web site

  Alaskans win media awards

  Staff Report

  The staff of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner earned an honorable mention in the 2005 Northwest Society of Professional Journalists Awards for its single-day comprehensive coverage of the Boundary Fire. Four staff members earned additional awards.

  In addition, Fairbanks public radio station KUAC-FM and the Anchorage Daily News earned several awards, which were announced Saturday.

  News-Miner online coordinator Jon Bourne took second place in the public service on the Web category for the News-Miner’s “Senate 2004” Web site.

  News-Miner photo chief Sam Harrel earned third place in the spot news photography category for his photograph, “On thin ice.” Staff photographer Eric Engman earned honorable mention for “Wired for a fight.”

  And news editor Chris Talbott took third place in the environment and energy category for “Born to burn” about the black spruce tree.

  KUAC reporter Dan Bross took two awards—a pair of third places, in spots news for “Pogo” and “Oil tax” in investigative. Fellow KUAC reporter Sara Neal took second in the investigative category with “TIFs in Fairbanks, Alaska.” Coast Alaska Radio News’ Ed Schoenfeld made the investigative category a clean sweep for Alaska, taking first with “3-11 Plasma burner.”

  Among the Daily News’ award winners was former News-Miner sports writer Josh Niva, who earned second place in the business category for “A penchant for parties.” The ADN staff won for its Web site while George Bryson and Tom Kizzia picked up first-place awards in education and personalities respectively.

Newsletters

• Company-wide newsletter mention for Web site traffic record

History of Popular Culture—Week 6, Assignment 1

You’re in the last week of this course and have learned a lot about American Popular Culture from 1900 onwards. How has this information helped you, and how will you use this information in your particular area of interest in the arts and entertainment industry?

In my field of work and study, Interactive Media Design, it is important to know the history of elements of visual design that might be incorporated into my work. This course has shown me how visual design has affected popular culture and vice versa. Also, knowing where popular culture has come from visually helps to know where it might be headed.

What suggestions can you make for the betterment of the course?

Actually, this course exceeded my expectations. I don’t think I would want to see anything changed. Obviously, though, the course will need to evolve with popular culture as it progresses.

Strategies for Online Learning—Week 6, Assignment 1

Discuss how you might have adapted the techniques described in the text to work best for you. Next, summarize how the techniques may best work for you in an online environment.

I have always been a realist, which I believe differs from a pessimist: a pessimist expects the worst while a realist simply accepts the worst as a possible outcome and plans accordingly. While I do set goals, I try to make them as realistic as possible. Realistic goals increase the probability that they will be attained.

For school, I use a calendar to schedule my assignments on their due dates. These small weekly accomplishments are realistic goals that I can achieve. With each one successfully completed, I have finished a small goal for that week.

Use at least two specific examples of how you can turn “up to” goals into “through” goals. These can either be goals you’ve already presented in this course or different ones that come to your mind.

But just getting my assignments finished and turned in on time is not enough to achieve true success. Granted, this technique will help in getting a good grade in the class, but psychologically, all that is accomplished is the accomplishment itself. After that, there are no goals.

What I need is a shift in my thinking. I need to see these small “up-to” goals as part of a much larger “through” goal to move from an assignment-to-assignment mindset to a class-by-class, and eventually a year-by-year mindset. Ultimately, this could become a degree-by-degree mindset.

Transforming my “up-to” assignment goals into “through” goals could involve aligning them with my professional goals. For instance, learning to use Ruby on Rails, a Web software design framework, to streamline my Web development work is a professional “through” goal. It can be achieved through smaller, more palatable “up-to” goals such as completing assignments in a class in Ruby on Rails.

It’s kind of like the movie “What About Bob?” where Bob is encouraged to take “baby steps.” Bob’s ultimate goal may be to get home, but it is easier for him to do that if breaks up that goal into smaller pieces, ie. baby steps out of the office, baby steps to the elevator, baby steps out of the building.

Another “through” goal involves my children. Daily, small “up-to” goals can be simple things like reading at least one book to each child or talking with them about their day or my day. Larger goals can be to have good communication with them. My ultimate, “through” goal is to raise my children well, which all of smaller “up-to” goals support.