Research Project

As I begin to put the final touches on my research project I realize how much I have learned. At first I wasn't really that interested in the Web 2.0 and how it affected non-profits. After I learned about the many different companies, websites, and ideas I became more interested. I really like the way Kiva works and I'm amazed that for only $25.00 you can help an unlimited amount of people. I also think its interesting how twitter also helps and the causecast site has a lot of original interesting content. I'm glad I decided on this topic.. it really opened my eyes.

Audacity Vs Garageband

After having such a hard time dealing with Audacity I decided to take to my blog to vent my frustration. My first attempt at a podcast with Audacity made me want to rip my own hair out. It was not user friendly, and I had to download a LAME file in order to export into a mp3. I'm lucky enough to have a macbook and so I decided to use my garageband instead. This experience reinforces my love for mac products. I taught myself how to use the program in 5 minutes and any questions I had were easy to answer. Within a couple of minutes I had created an opening, recorded a fade out into an introduction, and read my script and then created an exit. I exported into an mp3 with no extra files and had it posted to blackboard within a half an hour. Never again will I deal with Audacity!

Audio assignment

Listening to the other audio files from classmates it gave me an idea of the different things that you can do with audacity. I was at first intimidated by using audacity, but getting over the basics of it made it less intimidating. As I listened to other files I learned what else I can do with this program. Now that the initial recording has been done I am feel more comfortable exploring the different features of the program. When I first heard about doing a podcast I was nervous, but now that I've found out that audacity is user friendly I am less nervous about the assignment.

Wednesday's Activity

I really enjoyed the discussion we had regarding citizen journalism. It was interesting to be in a classroom that was completely silent except for the rapid tapping of keys while everyone typed responses. Also, it was less intimidating to convey your ideas in written form than it was to raise your hand and respond to the questions aloud. We also got a bit of entertainment by way of the drawings that were being posted as we had our conversation. It felt like more people contributed to the exercise than they would have if they were expected to speak in class. A lot of people made some very interesting comments. I would enjoy having another discussion in that forum because of the contributions of everyone in the class as well as the entertainment that was provided.