My Journey to Becoming a Techie

Crossing the Finish Line

2008-07-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

Phew, I made it. Somehow, I have managed to cross the LIS 2600 finish line even when things were looking grim. It's been a bumpy ride tackling these new technologies this semester, but I am so excited about everything that I have learned. I would definitely be remiss if I didn't thank those who took time out of their busy schedules to post helpful hints/directions on the class discussion board. So, THANK YOU ALL - I would have never made it without the help.

Signing off until next term...

Portfolio - DONE :)

2008-07-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the portfolio of all of my work in LIS 2600. If there was ever a need for an emoticon, it would be now - :)

http://Yazmine.Albarran.googlepages.com/portfolio_albarran

Thoreau Fragment 2 - DONE :)

2008-07-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

After adding a navigation menu, hover text, and a text effect, here is what my Thoreau Fragment 2 assignment looks like:

http://www.pitt.edu/~yma3/thoreau_fragment_2.html

And here is its externally-linked CSS stylesheet:

http://www.pitt.edu/~yma3/thoreau.css

I AM a Techie!

2008-07-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

It's official - I am graduating to the realms of techie-hood. Not content with how my annotated hyperlinks were set up on my Thoreau Fragment 2 assignment, I started searching the Web for ideas on how to edit the HTML code so that the annotations would appear as "hover text". Two days later and I have actually managed to insert code that results in changes when the mouse hovers over the hyperlink. Specifically, the link changes to another color (red) and the annotations pop-up in a small text box. I consider this a huge victory and am weirdly excited to go further with these skills. I kind of enjoyed reading about pseudo-classes and SPAN tags and I can't believe that HTML code is finally making sense to me.

Move Over, Wikipedia?

2008-07-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh. Looks like Google has decided to step all over Wikipedia's toes with the creation of their latest service, Knol. Knol is just like Wikipedia except its articles are written by a combo of individuals and experts - not the anonymous masses that contribute to the articles in Wikipedia. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, right? Maybe so, but there is buzz that Knol may just be a Wikipedia killer. Gasp.

For more info, check out::
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/wikipedia-meet-knol/index.html?ref=technology

A CSS Tutorial That Works

2008-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

I finally have some good news to report. I found a CSS tutorial that is actually written in layman's terms! I googled "simple CSS stylesheet" and the second hit was for this site:

http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/011/firstcss

It is the perfect tutorial for the non-techie like me. It was short, sweet, and simple - exactly what I was looking for and I could follow along with ease. I am astounded at the result of the web page that I was able to create with this tutorial and am almost ready to post my Thoreau Fragment 2 assignment. I am literally brimming with happiness :)

Running around in circles...

2008-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

I just keep going around and around when it comes to this Thoreau Fragment 2 assignment. I have tried every which way to get the code for the internal stylesheet (of my KompoZer-generated web page) exported to a CSS file - and it is not happening. After 2 WHOLE DAYS of this, I am ready to accept defeat and move on to another beast - modifying and linking a pre-existing stylesheet. Raise the white flag.

Where the heck is the code?

2008-07-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

So, I completed my Thoreau Fragment 1 assignment using KompoZer and I have to say that I really enjoyed this particular application - especially after meeting some obstacles using Google Page Creator and Amaya. Consequently, I thought that it would be easy to link my internal stylesheet as an external stylesheet and then export the code to a CSS file. Boy, was I wrong. I have followed the directions in the Help area of KompoZer but I keep coming up empty. Every time I open the CSS file that I have created, I feel like screaming because there isn't any code listed - just a header that says "generated by kompozer". Aaargh. I know that people have asked about this on the DB and yet, no responses have been posted. I really hope to figure this out because I want to avoid modifying and linking a pre-existing stylesheet. Seeing how my tech skills are still pretty limited, that's a box I just don't want to open.

Thoreau Fragment 1 - DONE :)

2008-07-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

After much stress and hair-pulling, I am happy to report that I have completed the Thoreau Fragment 1 assignment. Here is the fruit of my labor:

http://www.pitt.edu/~yma3/thoreau_fragment_1.html

FTP Jackpot

2008-07-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

So FileZilla was a bust for me. I tried every which way to use that program to upload my Thoreau fragment to the Pitt server and nothing. I even had a friend try to walk me through it over the phone but my display was different than hers and so, I must have been in a different interface (no, I couldn't figure out how to toggle to the right interface). Feeling desperate, I opened up the Help files on my PC and the IT gods must have been smiling on me because right there in the Help files was a simple explanation of how to FTP files to a server. I honestly let out a whoop for joy as if I had won the lottery. It was so simple - no fiddling with permissions or anything.

It feels so good to be be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

HTML, CSS, FTP, UNIX - ?%*@!!

2008-07-19T19:18:00.001-07:00

Woe is me. It is Saturday night, 10:30 p.m., and I am in over my head with this Thoreau assignment. I am not a dense person but I just don't understand what to do. I have been playing around with this stuff for two days STRAIGHT and while I have scored some small victories, it just doesn't feel like I am ever going to be done with this. I don't even want to post a question on the DB because I don't understand the answers that the TA's are posting. What they say is like a foreign language to me (and many others I am sure). Learning web design basics by way of "sink or swim" instruction - well, let's just say that I am counting down the days until this is over.

Thoreau Headaches

2008-07-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

OMG - I honestly don't even know where to begin with this assignment. I am in a sheer panic because web design is a foreign language to me. I have looked at the CSS tutorials and am no better off. Inline styling techniques, external style sheets - insert Charlie Brown's teacher's voice here, "waa-waa-waa-waa"...

I am so desperate right now that I have spent my morning reading ALL of the DB posts related to this assignment AND I have cut and pasted the posts/reponses into a neat little Word doc for handy reference. I understand the gist of the assignment and have pasted the Thoreau fragment into a page in Google Creator. But, making it look "old" seems to be impossible considering the application only gives me an option of 6 fonts. And how do I change the background? Pray for me.

WebAnywhere: Assistive Technologies Get A Boost

2008-07-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

As a future school library media specialist, I am always concerned about ensuring universal accessibility for all my students. So, I was tickle pink to read this article about an open source Internet application that has been developed to make web surfing accessible to the blind on any computer:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-technology/20080716/TEC.TechBit.Blind.Web/

Called WebAnywhere, it is a browser that will link to and then read aloud any web page. And since this browser is web-based, there is no expensive software to buy to be able to use it - which is great considering the limited budgets of most libraries.

Koha Virtual Shelf

2008-07-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to my virtual shelf on Koha:

http://pitt1.kohawc.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/bookshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=93

And here is a list of the 25 books on my virtual shelf - these books are all about information literacy as I plan to become a school library media specialist:

1. Information literacy instruction for educators: professional knowledge for an information age

2. Developing an information literacy program K-12: a how-to-do-it manual and CD-ROM package

3. Teaching information literacy using electronic resources for grades 6-12

4. Using pop culture to teach information literacy: methods to engage a new generation by Linda D. Behen

5. Resource-based learning activities: information literacy for high school students by Ann Bleakley

6. Collaborating to meet standards: teacher/librarian partnerships for 7-12 by Toni Buzzeo

7. Information literacy: essential skills for the information age by Michael Eisenberg

8. Information literacy: search strategies, tools & resources for high school students by Zorana Ercegovac

9. Teaching information literacy skills by Patricia Iannuzzi

10. Information literacy toolkit by Jenny Ryan

11. Teaching & testing information literacy skills by Jane Bandy Smith

12. Information literacy and information skills instruction: applying research to practice in the school library media center by Nancy Pickering Thomas

13. Information literacy and the school library media center by Joie Taylor

14. Building information literacy using high technology: a guide for schools and libraries by Roxanne Mendrinos

15. An educator's guide to information literacy: what every high school senior needs to know by Ann Marlow Riedling

16. Hands-on information literacy activities by Jane Birks

17. The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy by Daniel Callison

18. Information literacy: a guide for the library media specialist by Sherry R. Crow

19. Information literacy instruction: theory and practice by Esther S. Grassian

20. Learning to lead and manage information literacy instruction by Esther S. Grassian

21. Digital literacies: concepts, policies and practices

22. Digital literacies for learning

23. Information and IT literacy: enabling learning in the 21st century

24. Information literacy instruction handbook

25. Proven strategies for building an information literacy program

iPhone Sales Strong

2008-07-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Wow - in its first three days on the market, the newest iPhone has reached sales of over a million! Apple, Inc. has set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008 and despite server problems that plagued the launch of this latest phone, it looks like they are well on their way.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-technology/20080714/TEC.Apple.iPhone.Sales/

FastTrack Weekend

2008-07-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Phew - FastTrack weekend is over and it feels good to be home. While it is great to see all of my friends in the program, it is always nice to be done with the hecticness that is par for the course during this weekend. I still can't believe that I left my hotel room Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. and didn't return until 10:00 that night. Talk about a busy day. Dr. Biagini's mulitcultural tour of Pittsburgh was a blast but I was disappointed about the turnout for Dr. Tomer's lecture. I thought there would have been more 7.5 cohort members in attendance. Oh well, their loss.

Anywho, although I am one tired traveler, there is no rest for the weary as I returned home to find my 2 year old daughter suffering from a stomach bug (I'll spare you the gruesome details) AND I still have to get going on that Koha assignment. So, off I go back to the IT trenches.

iPhone Launch Goes Awry

2008-07-12T19:29:00.001-07:00

Poor iPhone users :(

The launch of the new iPhone turned into an IT nightmare as server problems caused a total shutdown in service. You think that Apple would have been more prepared for this launch considering the problems that plagued the last launch. Check out the full article at:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-technology/20080711/Apple.iPhone/

More on Jing

2008-07-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Found myself in an interesting predicament tonight. I needed to incoporate a Google map into a Powerpoint presentation and someone in my group suggested using of all things, Jing. I thought to myself that it was a great idea and fooled around with trying to capture a decent screencast. What an interesting and effective way to tackle the problem. I can't wait until I can turn a newbie onto its versatility. The only thing that I don't like about Jing is the inability to fast-forward/rewind when previewing a video. All in all though, I give this application much props.

Jing Rocks!

2008-07-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am dancing my happy dance because I just finished my Jing demo on how to install and configure the Firefox extension for del.icio.us. Only took about 15 takes, lol! That Jing application is so much fun to work with. Of all of the tools that we have learned to use this semester, this is the one that I think that I will get the most use of as a school librarian. Enjoy!

Here is the link:

http://screencast.com/t/2TdqErL0H

And here is the video:

How People Use Media

2008-07-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

Here is another interesting article that focuses on how NBC is using the Olympics as a research lab to get a sense of how people are using different media platforms:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-technology/20080707/OLY.Olympic.TV.Research/

Dial-up Users Don't Want Broadband

2008-07-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just read this interesting article about a study that suggests that attitude rather than availability may be the key reason why more Americans don't have high-speed Internet access. It always comes down to the almighty dollar, doesn't it? The full article can be found at:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-technology/20080707/TEC.Broadband.Study/

Cool Gadgets

2008-07-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

I have happy cell phone news to report - I just went out and purchased a new Palm Centro. It has a billion applications that I thought I would never need but am enjoying immensely. The QWERTY keyboard rocks and it is just plain cool. Now the keyboard buttons might be a little small for those with big hands, but they fit me just right. Thank goodness that I can finally retire my old piece of poo Motorola. Isn't it sweet?

Blowing off steam

2008-07-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

So I know that it seems as if all that I do is vent in this blog but taking a IT course online is very stressful. I feel like I have a question every 5 minutes and finding an answer often requires sifting through a ridiculous number of posts on the discussion board. Aaargh. I feel like I am working really hard and not receiving any feedback is quite maddening. I don't blame the TA's - god knows they must be drowning in grading these assignments. But I would like to feel for just one minute like I get things. Sigh.

Scopus - WoS

2008-06-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am not even sure were to begin this post. Part of me is very happy that I have learned a crazy new set of technological skills during the Scopus-WoS assignment. Exporting, importing, ref sharing - all cool tools. But part is me is frustrated because of the feeling of having to go it alone with so little direction. I thank the power of the cohort with their advice and help in getting me through the work!

RefShare Rocks!

2008-06-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Man, am I jealous of the undergrads of today. The worst part about every undergraduate paper that I had to write was the bibliography, hands-down. I would always have references written on scraps of paper and then I would spend hours finding the scraps, assembling them, and trying to figure out the proper format. Sheer agony. Playing around with RefShare this week was an eye-opening experience into the wonders of information management tools. Gosh, it just makes managing your references so clean and easy. It stinks though that I won't be able to use it much as I am at the end of my graduate school career (only 6 classes to go). Ah, so it goes.

And the winner is...

2008-06-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

Zotero! What a cool way of aggregating a set of references. I absolutely love its sensing function and how you simply click on an icon in the address bar to "grab" a reference. All in all, I thought del.icio.us was great for bookmarking the stuff you come across during typical Internet surfing and that Zotero is great in the scholarly citation arena. Would I use Connotea in the future? That remains to be seen. I thought it was kind of "clunky". Regardless, using these applications was a great lesson on the importance of information management and an eye-opening experience about the value of some of the newer web 2.0 technologies.

del.icio.us vs. Connotea

2008-06-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

So I am back in bookmarking mode as I try to pick up the pieces of where I left off prior to my horrific computer crash. I am totally digging bookmarking with del.icio.us. It is fun, easy, relatively brainless - basically right up my alley. Connotea is ... well, let's just say it is more of a challenge. I am sure though that I would appreciate it more if I was trying to manage a boatload of references. It probably doesn't help that I tried to bookmark 40 things using Connotea in a single afternoon (a desperate attempt to catch up with my classmates). It will be interesting to see now how Zotero stacks up against these two.

Back in Business

2008-06-16T19:39:00.001-07:00

Wow - suffering through a computer crash is the most stressful thing ever. It has literally been a two week process to get my computer diagnosed, buy a new one, take back new one because of faulty drive, buy a 2nd new one (yes, you read that right), recover old files and pictures, and re-download needed applications/programs, etc. I am officially back in business, so to speak, and plan to spend the next few weeks working diligently to catch up in this class. Oh and big props for the boys at Geek Squad who recovered all of my files and pictures for a mere $99 - a bargain considering I was actually stupid enough to not have back-up copies.

Bookmarking Blues

2008-05-29T13:55:00.001-07:00

Last night found me tackling the first of my juggernaut assignments for this class. Bookmarking 120 items on information technologies using Connotea, del.icio.us, and Zotero seemed much easier on paper. 1 day later and I only have 25 del.icio.us bookmarks to show for my effort. Maybe I am being too picky in my choices. I am still not sure how to aggregate the tags into a single collection via RefWorks. And I have barely put a dent in the assigned readings.

Ah, deep breath in.

I know that I will get this all sorted out at some point but the June 8th deadline is looming and I am getting panicky. If only there were more hours in a day.

Negative Vibes

2008-05-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.....I am getting the vibe that this IT class is going to be structured more along the lines of teaching yourself the ropes. This does not bode well considering my lack of knowledge concerning all things techie. I just got my textbooks in the mail and they are adding to my growing fears of succeeding in this class. Wow, do I feel over my head. Thank the powers that be that I have friends in this program that are in the same boat as I am. Hey, misery loves company, right?

My RAM Headache

2008-05-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

You know, I really am becoming a techie as evident by the morning spent researching what is ailing my computer. I was attempting to chat via Skype last night and my computer kept crashing big time. For the past 2 weeks, in fact, it has been locking up, running slow and having problems shutting down. Needless to say, I have been feeling totally frustrated. I have been blaming it on the programs/apps that we have had to download for this IT class, but my research has led me to believe that I need more RAM for my system. Normally, I would call in my handy big brother for computer assistance but this class is giving me the confidence to try to fix it on my own. Now that might not seem like such a big deal, but trust me, when you are as technically illiterate as I am, IT'S A BIG DEAL. So, off I go to Best Buy to purchase RAM and attempt a self-installation. Yikes.

Baby Steps

2008-05-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

So after getting this blog up and running and after playing around with some of the options, I finally got a chance to step back and admire my work. Not too shabby. Dare I say I am a little proud. I even feel like showing it off - ha ha. Seriously though, I can't believe how easy it is for non-techie people to achieve technological feats like blog creations. I guess this is the joy of a user-focused Web 2.0. I am mostly excited at the prospect of adding these skills to my resume. I have dreams of creating an e-portfolio that will knock the socks off of my future interviewers. Feels good to start taking baby steps toward that goal.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

2008-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ah, the vicissitudes of life. One week ago, I was basking in the warm sun and turquoise waters of the British Virgin Islands and this week, I am in full-on tech mode as I prepare for my first IT class. Let's just say that I am already daunted by the requisite accounts and software for this class. My computer is none too pleased either. She has been having hissy fits as of late and the prep for this class is not helping. It has taken me 6 hours (!!!!) to complete the required account setups and program downloads with 2+ hours wasted on trying to download programs/apps for Firefox using Explorer. Yes, I can be that dense. Maybe once I am a techie, I'll be able to laugh about it but right now, I am feeling slightly panicked. I may be out of my league here...