Friday, November 21, 2003
Hi class.
This week I'd like you to look at Spin Doctors II. Please browse through and see what has improved, what works and, again, what does not work as well as it might.
You can find it at:
Spin Doctors II
I would also like to talk a bit about user-centred design and usability. The work off Jakob Neilsen is terrific in this area. His ideas should help you as you move forward with your own projects.
Please read both articles that you will find here:
Top Ten Mistakes Revisited
This week I'd like you to look at Spin Doctors II. Please browse through and see what has improved, what works and, again, what does not work as well as it might.
You can find it at:
Spin Doctors II
I would also like to talk a bit about user-centred design and usability. The work off Jakob Neilsen is terrific in this area. His ideas should help you as you move forward with your own projects.
Please read both articles that you will find here:
Top Ten Mistakes Revisited
Hi Class:
For next class I'd like to take a look at Spin Doctors II and we can talk about what got better and what didn't. Please browse through and note the design changes and think about how they improved things or how they missed the mark.
You can find it at:
Spin Doctors II
I'd like to spend some time on user-centred design and usablity, though our discussion will be brief.
Please take a look at Jakob Neilsen's work at Alertbox.
Read the two articles here on top ten mistakes and mistakes revisited. I think you will find them very interesting and helpful as you move forward with your own work:
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990502.html
For next class I'd like to take a look at Spin Doctors II and we can talk about what got better and what didn't. Please browse through and note the design changes and think about how they improved things or how they missed the mark.
You can find it at:
Spin Doctors II
I'd like to spend some time on user-centred design and usablity, though our discussion will be brief.
Please take a look at Jakob Neilsen's work at Alertbox.
Read the two articles here on top ten mistakes and mistakes revisited. I think you will find them very interesting and helpful as you move forward with your own work:
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990502.html
Hi class. Here are the project rules provided by Jolene. I think you'll find them helpful.
New Media Project Rules
1. Define your site (team folder) in Dreamweaver and always edit your html files in Dreamweaver. Each group’s site has a folder located on the FIMS intranet at: S:\intranet\courses\journalism\732\2003 and you must work only within your folder.
2. The templates (found in your team’s folder) can be used to create the pages within your site. When you open a template, use the Save As feature as not to write over the original template.
3. Use the style sheet (styles.css) to format your text in order to keep consistency throughout the site.
4. Stick to the following file naming convention: Team name_studentname_mmdd_version.htm
5. Save images, sound clips, and video clips in the appropriate folders located in your team’s folder.
6. Edit (resize, crop, etc.) images using an image editor such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Do not resize or crop your images using Dreamweaver.
7. When inserting your images or adding links to your videos, sound clips, and html pages make sure to use relative links. In Dreamweaver there is an option to link to the file relative to the document or relative to the site root. You must select “Relative to: Document” so that when the site is moved all of the links will work.
8. Add your external hyperlinks (http://www....), anchors (i.e. top of page link), and e-mail links as you are working. Leave the links from your team’s homepage to the individual stories until you have finished and determined the final file name for your story pages.
New Media Project Rules
1. Define your site (team folder) in Dreamweaver and always edit your html files in Dreamweaver. Each group’s site has a folder located on the FIMS intranet at: S:\intranet\courses\journalism\732\2003 and you must work only within your folder.
2. The templates (found in your team’s folder) can be used to create the pages within your site. When you open a template, use the Save As feature as not to write over the original template.
3. Use the style sheet (styles.css) to format your text in order to keep consistency throughout the site.
4. Stick to the following file naming convention: Team name_studentname_mmdd_version.htm
5. Save images, sound clips, and video clips in the appropriate folders located in your team’s folder.
6. Edit (resize, crop, etc.) images using an image editor such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Do not resize or crop your images using Dreamweaver.
7. When inserting your images or adding links to your videos, sound clips, and html pages make sure to use relative links. In Dreamweaver there is an option to link to the file relative to the document or relative to the site root. You must select “Relative to: Document” so that when the site is moved all of the links will work.
8. Add your external hyperlinks (http://www....), anchors (i.e. top of page link), and e-mail links as you are working. Leave the links from your team’s homepage to the individual stories until you have finished and determined the final file name for your story pages.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
I liked how the site included things like pages from the chiropractor's colouring book. To me, it clearly symbolized the whole issue. The internet really allows people to see extra materials if they want to, or ignore it if they don't have time. For me, this extra material was what made this site unique and valuable.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
I liked that the Spin Doctors site included "Hear more in Real Audio" links. I couldn't actually hear the sound files -- which highlights why audio can be problematic -- but I imagine that they give the reader the chance to get more information, straight from the speaker's mouth, that didn't fit neatly in the text.
I also liked that a list of the sound files and their contents was included at the bottom of the page.
On the downside, some of the text was not chunked or broken up in any way, which made it a bit hard to read. "The Forgotten Death" was much more difficult to get through than "York Flunks," which had subheads.
I also liked that a list of the sound files and their contents was included at the bottom of the page.
On the downside, some of the text was not chunked or broken up in any way, which made it a bit hard to read. "The Forgotten Death" was much more difficult to get through than "York Flunks," which had subheads.
