Dreamweaver Tutorial

As we just wrapped up lessons on using the World Wide Web, I thought it would be useful to those that are interested in establishing themselves throughout the internet to do my tutorial blog on creating you very own website.  Individuals creating their own pages for others to access, to share information with the world, and to begin online discussions is the very foundation of the Internet and how it has come to be so important to our culture in this day and age.  I think that anyone and everyone who wants to put themselves out in cyberspace should have the ability to do this on their own accord. 

One forum that allows individuals to create their very own site, to put onto the World Wide Web is known as Dreamweaver.  Just as advertised, Dreamweaver allows you to create a website without the help of a professional or without any complicated software, in fact, creating a website on Dreamweaver, as advertised is as easy as “child’s play.”  In the rest of this tutorial I will explain how to go about using this application and hopefully help and inspire any of those that wish to create their own website to go ahead and do it with ease!  Below is my mom's company website.  I created her original website using Dreamweaver and it was the basis of her company's current website now.  This just goes to show that Dreamweaver is a great tool to use for creating a website for any purpose at all, whether it is simply for fun, or for something as important as a company's online site.

 

Step 1: Upon opening Dreamweaver, you will be greeted with a menu page.  In that menu page, and click the “Site” button.  This will bring down another menu bar where you will click on “New Site.”  Name your site an appropriate name.

Step 2: Once you have done this, the site will then ask you what you would like to name your site.  This is an inquiry about the domain name.  If you are creating a new site you have either purchased one or use a new one.  Try to make the domain name relatable and recognizable to what your website is featuring.  This will allow people to easily search for your website.

Step 3: Click the Next button and you will be brought to a screen that will be the default place on your computer in which to save your files to.  Select this location.

Step 4: Now it is time to create a two-column homepage.  Click the "File" menu followed by the "New" item on the menu that appears. A new window entitled "New Document" will appear. Next, Look in the "Layout" column in the window that appears and select "2 column liquid, left sidebar, header and footer".  The go to to Layout CSS" in the right-most windoq and then click the drop-down box and select "Create New File".  Finally, click “Create” and save your work. 

Step 5: Dreamweaver will present you with a 2-colum page with its display information in it.  You will replace that content with you own.

Step 6: Begin creating you website.  You will be able to create your very own header, main content area, sidebar information and much more.  You will be able to customize the text, add pictures, and provide links and much more for your website’s audience.  Dreamweaver also allows you to add a navigation menu, which will help your website’s visitors peruse with ease.

Step 7: After customizing your website, you will have to publish you site onto the web.  Startup the Website Manager page, click on your website and then select the “Edit” button. Click "Next..." until you come to the screen with the message "How do you want to connect to your remote server?" In the drop down box, select "FTP".

Step 8: In the FTP box enter your website address.  Enter your FTP username and password next and then test the connection to make sure that you have all the information correct.  Then, select “Done.”

Step 9: To publish your website select “Site” followed by put and click “Yes.” Your website is now complete!

            I hope that this tutorial page has been helpful to you.  For further instruction I have put on a youtube tutorial to clear anything that you have questions about up.  Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBWiS6soZfs 

Database Project

   This project taught me a lot about how to operate databases and really opened my eyes to the functionality of using them to organize related information.  Although watching the lectures and taking notes may be one thing, it was a whole different experience once I began to create my own database with information that I was given.  One thing that I liked about this project was how realistic it was to the real world.  I was given a set of information that was all related and I had to create a database that would allow this information to be functional and useful at a local gym.  I thought it was really cool to be able to use different layouts such as the one that I created to show the "Recently Departed Members" because a gym would really want a database that would enclose this information to perhaps figure out a way to keep these members that they lost in the future.  I also learned how to share information from one aplication to another such as sharing information from Microsoft Excel to FileMaker Pro.  The whole project in itself was challenging, but in the end a very positive learning experience.

   One thing that I immediately noticed that would help make the creation of a database in FileMaker Pro easier was the Undo button and to be able to edit your work more readily.  Because I do a lot of work with Microsoft Word as well as Microsoft Powerpoint, I often times found myself wanting to click the undo button or to discard any wrong moves that I made.  At one point I messed up so badly and there was no undo button so I just decided to start from scratch, which kind of set my project back a little bit.  Another thing that I thought would make using FileMaker easier would be to make the Layout creator a little bit more user-friendly.  I found it to be very challenging to manipulate the Text and layout while I was creating my Form and I think that could be easily fixed.  Every time I wanted to edit the text I had to go to the top of the page and click the "T" and then when I wanted to move something around I had to once again go to the top and select the "Mouse" option to move something around.  I think that having it more simple to navigate and use would make the whole experience much easier for a user.  

Creating an Avatar

    Prior to completing this assignment, I had no idea how easy it was to access a website that allowed you to build an avatar, let alone realize how popular the notion of creating one was.  I began my Avatar creation experience at DoppelMe and I thought it was a lot of fun to try to create a mini-me.  In this site, you were given the basic options such as hair style, clothing style, eye color, accessories, etc. but I found that at times the options were limited and didn't exactly match me all too well. I tried my best to match my physical appearance with the limited options as best I could and my end product seemed to match what I thought was the best possible representation of myself.  Below is my DoppleMe Avatar:

   After completing this Avatar, out of pure curiosity, I searched through the other websites to see if I could find a forum that would allow me to create a more life-like and realistic Avatar.  I stumbled upon TizMe and I immediately discovered a site that was much more advanced that would allow me to create a more appealing Avatar.  There were much more options to work with in each category and you were presented with many more means to personalize your Avatar.  For instance, I was excited when I saw that I was able to add an IPOD as one of my accessories as well as a basketball.  Both of those things were something that I didn't see on the other website, but matched my personality to a tee.  I thoroughly enjoyed working on this site and had so much fun messing around and creating my Avatar!  It had much more options and I ultimately made a Avatar that I feel fits me better and is much more suitable for what I was expecting.  Here is my TizMe Avatar:

 Although there is a drastic difference in the way in which the characters look, creating both was a lot of fun, and something that I now realize why people enjoy to do.  I really enjoyed this assignment and look forward to perhaps using my Avatar online!



  

Presentations & Web 2.0 Project

University of Florida Club Softball Presentation       

    
      I chose to do my Web Presentation on something that I closely relate to, my Club Softball Team. I joined the team in its second year of creation, during my freshman year of college and have been apart of it ever since.  The Club Softball team is no ordinary team however, it is an organization that is completely organized and run by its members.  Aside from its development early on, the team requires a lot of maintenance and effort to keep it a function club on the University of Florida campus.

       Creating this presentation taught me a lot about how to use online tools.  Starting out I was kind of unsure about the direction that I wanted my project to take, however when I decided that my project would best be presented in chronological order, I decided that the combination of Powerpoint and Slideboom would be best for me.  The production and use of a storyboard helped me come to this conclusion and was very useful in my overall presentation.  Perhaps the most rewarding part of this project for me was not creating the slideshow itself, but making the Club Softball movie.  Although it is no masterpiece, it took a lot of hard work to gather the pictures, figure out a soundtrack, breakdown the video to use and then to piece all of that together. It is safe to say that by the end of the project I felt extremely accomplished and proud of myself for creating my very first online presentation.

    Another thing that I learned while completing this project is how easy it is to get a personal presentation online.  There are dozens and dozens of sites that allow you to upload your work and share it with the world. I was really amazed how I could create something on my own laptop and have it appear to be so professional just by using one of these Web 2.0 tools.  Perhaps one of the downsides of having so many options of where to publish your work on the internet, was having to choose one.  I scanned through various sites to figure out which would be best to use and uploaded my project onto a few other venues before I found Slideboom, the site that I ultimately used.  This method of trial and error taught me that in order to present your best work you must put work into it.  I could have easily chosen one website and gone with it, however that may have no been my best option and would have just been me settling.  I am glad that I went through various options and found Slideboom because I am very happy with the way in which it turned out.

     Probably the most important lesson that I learned from completing this project was how to deal with adversity and problems that could arise.  Throughout the process of making my presentation, I encountered various issues while trying to create and then upload my video.  Perhaps the biggest problem was when I tried to incorporate my media clips into the pictures slide show.  Although I got frustrated at times, the fact that I started early and used tutorials and advice from friends, I was able to stick it out and end up creating a pretty good final project.  I learned that when you encounter a problem you must just keep on working and find an alternative route if necessary.

Here is my self-critique of my own project:
 

Your Name: Kelsey Bodziner

	Missing or lacking	Meets the minimum but could be improved	Excellent
Is there a logical flow and sequence of content? How could it be improved?			Yes, chronological order.
Does the presenter anticipate questions and answer them in the right place? At what points did you have questions that were not answered?			Yes, nothing was really left unsaid.
Did the presenter grab your attention in the first 30-60 seconds?		Pictures aid the presentation. More could be done however.
Did the presenter ask questions and spark your curiosity?	No questions were asked.
Did the presenter set the context with a concise explanation? Is it clear what the presenter is trying to share?			Very clear what the presenter is going to share.
Did the presenter validate any claims?			All claims validated because of first-hand experience.
Did the presenter avoid inconsistencies and errors, typos and unbelievable claims?			Yes.
How well did the presenter avoid clutter?			There is no clutter, good use of spacing.
What did the presenter do to ensure readability?		Some slides could possibly be shorter,
Did the presenter say it, and then show it or did he/she read the slides?	The slides are up for the audience to read,

 






         Peer-critiquing definetly helped with my final presentation. Watching some of the videos allowed me to see what presentation tool to use and ways in which I could improve my own presentation.  For instance, I watched one of my classmates videos and realized that I wanted to add my own video at the end rather than the beginning because I felt as if it would leave a stronger impact on the audience as his did.  This project was a great learning experience because not only did I have to teach myself along the way, but I also had the opportunity to peer-evaluate and use online discussion boards on e-learning to learn too.

Here is a link to my final presentation. I hope you all enjoy it and learn a little bit about the Club Softball Team here at UF! Go Gators!

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/315501/UF-Club-Softball