Homework assignments for Word

Practice assignments are available for those people taking the Microsoft Word series of classed at http://www.box.net.

Week 10: #23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning...

I am afraid that it is close to being the end, although I had hoped that it would be the beginning of something great.

I found the photo sites to be very interesting. I have always used Photoshop elements to edit my pictures. It works great, but the learning curve is steep. Most of the online sites were much more user friendly and I was able to do the basic photo fixes that most people need. The special effects available were great for adding zip to the pictures.

I would like to start using a blog or similar website, perhaps a wiki of some sort, to communicate with the people who take my computer classes. I would like to learn more about how (within the confines of the HCPL system) to set up a site on the web where I can post materials and have them available to people to download.

I did not find much of the material covered in the program to be of interest to me or to be very useful. I was familiar with most of it, but just never saw a reason to use it, and for the most part still don’t. After completing the program, I understand why the customers are so frustrated with technology. Some of it does not work at all, and most of the others are so picky that a minor mistake or two can sabotage the entire exercise. If you are a mature (over 40) customer, it is hard to jump and get started. I can now see why many of them get frustrated and just keep doing it the same old way.

Week 9:#22 Downloadable Media

The HCPL digital site had a fair selection of audio books in a variety of formats (OverDrive, Adobe PDF, and Mobipocket). The video selection and music selections were somewhat more limited. The free sites were largely limited to books that were in the public domain. This limited the selection available greatly. The download digital media guided tour on the Overdrive site was very informative. I found a few book that I would like to check out, (The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss, and Dark Empire I and II by Tom Veitch) but I would not check out the audio book. The print version is much more to my taste. If I commuted to downtown (as my wife does) I would consider listening to audio books, but nothing beats the old fashion print book for reading pleasure.

Week 9:#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts

I found the process of locating a podcast to be very frustrating. The podcast directories Podcast.net and Yahoo Podcasts have moved or no longer exist. Podcast Alley had a few interesting items, but it was hardly worth the trouble to sort through the hundreds of podcasts to find the half dozen or so that were of interest, or were authoritative. Adding the RSS feed to my Bloglines account was a straightforward process, however locating an appropriate library blog was another matter. I finally found one that gave book reviews. Honestly, I did not find much that I would find useful to me or the customers. In short, I just don't like Blogs.

Week #19: #20 Discover YouTube

The site is well organized, interesting, visually attractive, and easy to navigate. It has a large selection of videos and they are easy to locate. The fly in the ointment, is that if you do not have a fast connection, the videos do a lot of buffering. I also would hesitate to use some of the material at work as I am not sure what the source is (copyright issues). I liked the Killer Tortoise video. It was cute, informative, and it illustrates how a common person with little equipment can create an interesting video. Some of the videos were a little risqué for general viewing. The library website could use some more visual impact, a little more humor, and the organization could be improved.

Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

Zoho like most of the other online applications is straight forward and easy to use, but somewhat limited in the features offered. I found the limited number of fonts (and font sizes) to be frustrating. For simple document that is not of a sensitive nature they are quit sufficient. I may have missed it, but I could not find a way to export ther doucment as a web page. For more complex documents I would use Word, Word Perfect, Lotus Word Pro or a similar commercial program. It also becomes a problem working online when you have a slow connection (I am on dial up at home). I am not totally comfortable with my documents being stored on line where I do not have control of them. It is nice to have access to them from any computer with internet access, but I am not sure is worth the risk.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your own home

I looked at MySpace, Ning, Yahoo!360, Catster and Dogster. I wanted to look at Facebook, but it required me to register, and I was not willing. They looked like a group of clones. I got boored quickly looking at the sites. They appear to consist of the minutiae of people’s lives (or even worse their pet’s lives), that only a close friend or relative would appreciate. I guess I am not of the age group to appreciate the social networking phenomenon. I am not one who is willing to share intimate details of my life with every Tom, Dick and Harry who wants to place me under a microscope and examine me. If I want to make friends, I don’t think that the social networking site is the appropriate way to do it.