I'm so glad I finished my Google Site on time!
But I just realized that I forgot to post this blog.
Today we learned about google trends.
Comparing coke and pepsi was fun.
I looked up Japan to find how much people searched about Japan after the earthquake.
The number was high of course, but then on the right side of the screen it said that the reason for it was because a new android was made on the March 11th. I thought that was pretty silly. I'm definitely sure the cause of the high rate is not the android:)
THen Rab asked us if we should have google chrome installed in all of the computers in ICU.
I think we should. There must be a lot of ICU students who are attracted to the speed of chrome.
Before Sophomore class I already had made my mind to choose Rab's class, and I think I made a really good choice.
I was one of the person wo wanted to communicate with the classmates, but aside from that the class was so interesting and informative. I learned so much about useful technologies and tools, and plus I am now about 70 percent ready for my theme writing class. There are many parts about my essay that I have to fix, but anyway it was important for me to be able to choose a topic, because most of the time that is what takes up so much of my time.
It was fun to learn something new and useful. The things I learned will help me a lot in University and the life beyond. Thank you so much Rab!!:)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
6/13/2011
Today we worked on our google sites.
Rab introduced us iTunes University, which provides free recordings of classes in famous universities like Harvard. It also has various videos and recordings that are not academic. For example I found some antique commercial videos of a cerial called sugar crisp. It was really cute.
I was one of the person who said in the survey that I wanted to communicate more with my classmates, and I think having an introduction class outside or getting into groups is a good idea to get a chance to talk with others. However I think getting seku-cons are hard even though we are now experts in online communication and can use technology to set up opportunities like that. I think there is a need for us to talk in person and know each other before communicating online. But its okay because I am really satisfied with what I gained through class and I really liked this sophomore class because it helped me so much on TW and other works in university. I'm sure it will also help me in life afterwords.
Oh and I was talking with one of the three Kana's today and she was having troubles with Zotero. I was just working on mine and it seems like I have the same problem. When I try to sync with the online zotero, it shows an error saying that there is "empty response from server". I looked up for solutions and tried emptying the trash and so on but it still doesn't work. The last time I synced was four days ago and it worked fine. I'm really worried because I have to show my zotero information to Rab on Wednesday. Anyways for the time being I'll just wait and believe that the problem has nothing to do with me and that the server is in maintenance or something.
Rab introduced us iTunes University, which provides free recordings of classes in famous universities like Harvard. It also has various videos and recordings that are not academic. For example I found some antique commercial videos of a cerial called sugar crisp. It was really cute.
I was one of the person who said in the survey that I wanted to communicate more with my classmates, and I think having an introduction class outside or getting into groups is a good idea to get a chance to talk with others. However I think getting seku-cons are hard even though we are now experts in online communication and can use technology to set up opportunities like that. I think there is a need for us to talk in person and know each other before communicating online. But its okay because I am really satisfied with what I gained through class and I really liked this sophomore class because it helped me so much on TW and other works in university. I'm sure it will also help me in life afterwords.
Oh and I was talking with one of the three Kana's today and she was having troubles with Zotero. I was just working on mine and it seems like I have the same problem. When I try to sync with the online zotero, it shows an error saying that there is "empty response from server". I looked up for solutions and tried emptying the trash and so on but it still doesn't work. The last time I synced was four days ago and it worked fine. I'm really worried because I have to show my zotero information to Rab on Wednesday. Anyways for the time being I'll just wait and believe that the problem has nothing to do with me and that the server is in maintenance or something.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
6/6/2011
Today we learned about the various blogs that you should follow to keep up with the new technology skills.
gmail blog
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/
almost everything about google
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/
google labs -they try out new things. you can check them from gmail but then you can only browse the new labs for gmail.
http://www.googlelabs.com/
lifehacker(this is the Japanese version)
http://www.lifehacker.jp/
We also made our accounts on Diigo, and learned about it.
The good thing about Diigo is that you can highlight texts on the web, put memos on it, and bookmark it online.
You can also take snapshots of the web page and share it with people, but you have to become a premium member.
gmail blog
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/
almost everything about google
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/
google labs -they try out new things. you can check them from gmail but then you can only browse the new labs for gmail.
http://www.googlelabs.com/
lifehacker(this is the Japanese version)
http://www.lifehacker.jp/
We also made our accounts on Diigo, and learned about it.
The good thing about Diigo is that you can highlight texts on the web, put memos on it, and bookmark it online.
You can also take snapshots of the web page and share it with people, but you have to become a premium member.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
5/30/2011
Today we learned how to use iPhoto.
It was really fun! I like editing images but I never knew iPhoto had so much intelligent tools.
I especially like the Enhance button which make the color contrasts more vivid. The picture I uploaded was a picture of knockerbocker glory, and the enhace button made it look even more attractive.
After that we learned about skitch.com.
Skitch enables you to edit pictures and upload them on on your computer, on twitter and even on facebook. You can also upload your own drawings that you created on skitch. The tools for drawing are well developed and easy to use. You can only use skitch on mac computers, and there are some versions in skitch; Skitch lite which is free, and the normal skitch which costs money, and skitch plus which costs more money. I want to download the free version on my home computer.
Next class we're going tolearn about how to use iMovie. I am really looking forward to it:)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
5/25/2011
Today Shantonu and Saori taught us how to use Prezi.
I was in the same group with Shantonu when we actually presented about dependence on technology in Chris's class, so I was already a fan of prezi before the class.
Prezi presentations are really fun and cool, but the thing is you need to get use to it because there are techniques in using Prezi effectively. Our presentation in Chris's class went fine, but after watching popular Prezi presentations online(you can see them by clicking Explore), I feel there were some things that we might have improved.
For example, placing keywords clockwise and showing them one by one might a good way to get advantage of Prezi because in Prezi you can turn around the words and even the whole screen.
Oh and I decided to change my essay topic form energy in Japan to marriage in Japan.
I know that it's completely different, but I was not satisfied with my topic these days and I thought there would still be chance to change it.
Energy in Japan is an interesting topic, but I felt that there are many people who are going to write something similar to it, and I also thought that through my research that I can't conclude my essay with the kind of thesis I had in mind(I wanted to end up by suggesting a new way to generate electricity..).
I'll have to try hard to catch up with the others and collect many sources.
I was in the same group with Shantonu when we actually presented about dependence on technology in Chris's class, so I was already a fan of prezi before the class.
Prezi presentations are really fun and cool, but the thing is you need to get use to it because there are techniques in using Prezi effectively. Our presentation in Chris's class went fine, but after watching popular Prezi presentations online(you can see them by clicking Explore), I feel there were some things that we might have improved.
For example, placing keywords clockwise and showing them one by one might a good way to get advantage of Prezi because in Prezi you can turn around the words and even the whole screen.
Oh and I decided to change my essay topic form energy in Japan to marriage in Japan.
I know that it's completely different, but I was not satisfied with my topic these days and I thought there would still be chance to change it.
Energy in Japan is an interesting topic, but I felt that there are many people who are going to write something similar to it, and I also thought that through my research that I can't conclude my essay with the kind of thesis I had in mind(I wanted to end up by suggesting a new way to generate electricity..).
I'll have to try hard to catch up with the others and collect many sources.
5/23/2011
Today we first learned about Grammerly(which used to be called Sentenceworks)
I had forgotten my account(like Shantonu), so I made a new one.
Grammerly is really useful to check for any mistakes in your essay, but you have to be careful not to follow all the corrections because some of them might be fine the way they are.
I always have about 80 to 100 mistakes.X(
Then we learned how to make a website using google sites.
It's really easy because all you have to do is to make a title for the web and you can easily change the colors and the fonts of the letters. You can also put images and videos and create background images and all those.
I exchanged my site with Haruka. The title for the site was "energy in Japan" and I had an image of Redbull on my site, and after sharing the site Haruka had made it a REALLY energetic website.lol
It's like I'm going to present about Redbull itself^^
I had forgotten my account(like Shantonu), so I made a new one.
Grammerly is really useful to check for any mistakes in your essay, but you have to be careful not to follow all the corrections because some of them might be fine the way they are.
I always have about 80 to 100 mistakes.X(
Then we learned how to make a website using google sites.
It's really easy because all you have to do is to make a title for the web and you can easily change the colors and the fonts of the letters. You can also put images and videos and create background images and all those.
I exchanged my site with Haruka. The title for the site was "energy in Japan" and I had an image of Redbull on my site, and after sharing the site Haruka had made it a REALLY energetic website.lol
It's like I'm going to present about Redbull itself^^
Sunday, May 22, 2011
5/18/2011
Today for the first time I learned how to use Keynote.
I was aware of the icon with the table on apple dock, but I didn't know that it was such an intelligent software.
Keynote makes presentation slides more artistic and attractive. I should have used it from the first time because I happened to have Keynote on my home computer.
Rab said that we only learned the basic things today about Keynote such as uploading pictures and using different texts, but it already seemed great to me.
I've got to check out the apple video guide to learn more about Keynote!
I was aware of the icon with the table on apple dock, but I didn't know that it was such an intelligent software.
Keynote makes presentation slides more artistic and attractive. I should have used it from the first time because I happened to have Keynote on my home computer.
Rab said that we only learned the basic things today about Keynote such as uploading pictures and using different texts, but it already seemed great to me.
I've got to check out the apple video guide to learn more about Keynote!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
5/16/2011
Sorry for being late for class...I totally forgot that today was C-Week!;;
Today we learned how to record ourselves so that we could see our facial expression and gestures during presentation.
When I made a short speech in front of my class, Rab said to us that looking up or looking sideways should be avoided.
I always tend to look up when I am trying to remember something, so I should be careful.
I also learned that the word "intensive" is a good expression to speak academically.
I heard so many people using it :)
Today we learned how to record ourselves so that we could see our facial expression and gestures during presentation.
When I made a short speech in front of my class, Rab said to us that looking up or looking sideways should be avoided.
I always tend to look up when I am trying to remember something, so I should be careful.
I also learned that the word "intensive" is a good expression to speak academically.
I heard so many people using it :)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
5/11/2011
Sorry I forgot to post the blog for the class on 5/11 so I'm quickly going to post it and move on today's post.
Today we learned how to record our presentation.
It always feels weird to hear your own voice:P
I want to be able to talk more smoothly and with a bit more passion.
I need to reduce the words on my slide so that people can understand it in less than 5 seconds.
I want to have a lot of blank parts in my slide so I'm planning to use images with white background.
Today we learned how to record our presentation.
It always feels weird to hear your own voice:P
I want to be able to talk more smoothly and with a bit more passion.
I need to reduce the words on my slide so that people can understand it in less than 5 seconds.
I want to have a lot of blank parts in my slide so I'm planning to use images with white background.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
5/9/2011
Today we first learned about Google Format.
this tool can easily make surveys and send it to people.
it also automatically makes a summery and chart for the replies.
Then we learned about Google Presentation.
Most of the things I already knew, but I didn't know you can insert shapes and drawings in a slide so that was new to me.
I want to make my slides simple and interesting:)
this tool can easily make surveys and send it to people.
it also automatically makes a summery and chart for the replies.
Then we learned about Google Presentation.
Most of the things I already knew, but I didn't know you can insert shapes and drawings in a slide so that was new to me.
I want to make my slides simple and interesting:)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
5/2/2011
First we looked at a page with many useful search engins, tools and databases.
I knew some of them, but most of them were new to me so I need to have a good look through the page.
Then we looked at several sites that teach us ways to use the internet with efficiency.
For example, using AND, AND NOT, OR helps filter information to get exactly the ones that we want.
We also learned about Wonderwheel, but I think this tool needs to be improved a little more. The idea is wonderful but the content was not as well. The keywords that Wonderwheel suggests keeps coming back, and the more I move to a new keyword the more I tend to move away from the main points of my topic.
Then Rab introduced us Flickr.com, which is a site that provides free images provided from individuals and institutions. We can use photos on essays and presentations without copyright. It is simular to Picasa but the difference is that Flickr has images provided from institutions.
After that he showed us Xmarks, which is a really useful tool that syncs bookmarks and other datas(except for applications and add-ons) between Mac, Windows, Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox and many other browsers.
I've got to download that on my computer:)
If you want to carry around add-ons, the only way would be to use Portable Firefox.
Why did we have school on the April 29? and May 2nd?;;
I remember that there were a lot of holidays in ICU High School..
Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful golden week!
I knew some of them, but most of them were new to me so I need to have a good look through the page.
Then we looked at several sites that teach us ways to use the internet with efficiency.
For example, using AND, AND NOT, OR helps filter information to get exactly the ones that we want.
We also learned about Wonderwheel, but I think this tool needs to be improved a little more. The idea is wonderful but the content was not as well. The keywords that Wonderwheel suggests keeps coming back, and the more I move to a new keyword the more I tend to move away from the main points of my topic.
Then Rab introduced us Flickr.com, which is a site that provides free images provided from individuals and institutions. We can use photos on essays and presentations without copyright. It is simular to Picasa but the difference is that Flickr has images provided from institutions.
After that he showed us Xmarks, which is a really useful tool that syncs bookmarks and other datas(except for applications and add-ons) between Mac, Windows, Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox and many other browsers.
I've got to download that on my computer:)
If you want to carry around add-ons, the only way would be to use Portable Firefox.
Why did we have school on the April 29? and May 2nd?;;
I remember that there were a lot of holidays in ICU High School..
Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful golden week!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
4/27/2011
Today we learned so much things:):)
But we learned sooo much things that I'm sure I won't be able to write about them all:)
I'll just pick up several things from today's class.
www.freedocumentaries.org
This is a site where you can get free online videos. The videos on this site have general information and high quality.
Media Education Foundation
This site also has free online videos. Compared to Freedocumentaries, the information is more deeper into detail but with lower quality.
The great thing about this site is that you can get more information about the video by reading Materials&Resources.
For other video sources, you can use Google Videos which can sort videos by length, and YouTube which can make you add videos on favorites and even add the channel page to get new upload notices, and Veoh which is also a video providing site.
In sites like Youtube, you can find sources that are not shown in Japanese TVs such as the nuclear ginza problem.
Finally, Rab warned us how dangerous facebook could be. Because the privacy settings change often without letting us know, the information which we think is private could become public. After class I quickly checked my facebook profile settings... Nothings seemed to have changed so far.. But I need to keep on checking:P
Rab told us that it was hard to get your personal information out of facebook once you made an account on it, and that made me scared a bit. But considering that this is nearly my only way to connect to friends in other countries, I think I'll keep on using facebook.. with a little more care. I wonder if other services like mixi also have the same kind of risk.
Today's class was another informative sophomore class and I really enjoyed it X)lol
But we learned sooo much things that I'm sure I won't be able to write about them all:)
I'll just pick up several things from today's class.
www.freedocumentaries.org
This is a site where you can get free online videos. The videos on this site have general information and high quality.
Media Education Foundation
This site also has free online videos. Compared to Freedocumentaries, the information is more deeper into detail but with lower quality.
The great thing about this site is that you can get more information about the video by reading Materials&Resources.
For other video sources, you can use Google Videos which can sort videos by length, and YouTube which can make you add videos on favorites and even add the channel page to get new upload notices, and Veoh which is also a video providing site.
In sites like Youtube, you can find sources that are not shown in Japanese TVs such as the nuclear ginza problem.
Finally, Rab warned us how dangerous facebook could be. Because the privacy settings change often without letting us know, the information which we think is private could become public. After class I quickly checked my facebook profile settings... Nothings seemed to have changed so far.. But I need to keep on checking:P
Rab told us that it was hard to get your personal information out of facebook once you made an account on it, and that made me scared a bit. But considering that this is nearly my only way to connect to friends in other countries, I think I'll keep on using facebook.. with a little more care. I wonder if other services like mixi also have the same kind of risk.
Today's class was another informative sophomore class and I really enjoyed it X)lol
4/25/2011
Before posting a blog about today, I have to finish my post for the class before this:P
I already knew about Zotero because we learned it in Freshmen ELP.
I remember making a portable zotero on my USB, but I hadn't used it because portable zotero takes so much time to connect online. So I hadn't used zotero for a long time.
I didn't know that there was a zotero online and that you can simply sync your home zotero to the online version.
There were tools that I didn't know on zotero that makes research more efficient. For example, you can use tags to instantly filter your source, instead of making a file for each.
Zotero groups will also be useful in classes(maybe not in TW) when there is a need to share source and information.
Then Rab introduced us some useful database on library in W3.
LexisNexis, JSTOR, Pubmed, etc.
You can choose the best database for the type of information you are looking for.
Now I'll move on to the post for today:)
I already knew about Zotero because we learned it in Freshmen ELP.
I remember making a portable zotero on my USB, but I hadn't used it because portable zotero takes so much time to connect online. So I hadn't used zotero for a long time.
I didn't know that there was a zotero online and that you can simply sync your home zotero to the online version.
There were tools that I didn't know on zotero that makes research more efficient. For example, you can use tags to instantly filter your source, instead of making a file for each.
Zotero groups will also be useful in classes(maybe not in TW) when there is a need to share source and information.
Then Rab introduced us some useful database on library in W3.
LexisNexis, JSTOR, Pubmed, etc.
You can choose the best database for the type of information you are looking for.
Now I'll move on to the post for today:)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
4/20/2011
I already knew about google books because Rab introduced it to us in the freshmen ELP, but I realized I had never gotten the best from it because I hadn't used the Library tool. You can save google books with full view, and create shelves as well.
"Reader" in Safari was a fascinating tool because it can get rid of all the advertisements and weird formats of online texts.
This way it would be like reading a sheet of paper and I can concentrate on my reading .
Instapaper is similar to reader except it can save and sort texts to Unread, Like and so on. You can browse it from any computer with internet access.
Then we got used to evernote. This is also simular to instapaper, except the great thing about it is that it can save not only texts but also videos, and photos. Moreover, evernote can search texts on PDFs and photographs. This will make it more easier to research. Evernote has a home computer version and an online version, and they can sync so that when you add something on online evernote, it is also saved on the home computer evernote.
Then Rab introduced us google reader. I already had a CB folder, but I had forgotten about it. I made a new sophomore folder and added all the students' blog on it. On safari, if there is a page with RSS button after the url, it means you can add the page on google reader. I added Professor Inaba's blog:)
Today is ORCA's shinkan day. I'm still scared of 15 chan.. I'll have to try my best to be friendly and talkative:P
Anyways see you all in next class!
"Reader" in Safari was a fascinating tool because it can get rid of all the advertisements and weird formats of online texts.
This way it would be like reading a sheet of paper and I can concentrate on my reading .
Instapaper is similar to reader except it can save and sort texts to Unread, Like and so on. You can browse it from any computer with internet access.
Then we got used to evernote. This is also simular to instapaper, except the great thing about it is that it can save not only texts but also videos, and photos. Moreover, evernote can search texts on PDFs and photographs. This will make it more easier to research. Evernote has a home computer version and an online version, and they can sync so that when you add something on online evernote, it is also saved on the home computer evernote.
Then Rab introduced us google reader. I already had a CB folder, but I had forgotten about it. I made a new sophomore folder and added all the students' blog on it. On safari, if there is a page with RSS button after the url, it means you can add the page on google reader. I added Professor Inaba's blog:)
Today is ORCA's shinkan day. I'm still scared of 15 chan.. I'll have to try my best to be friendly and talkative:P
Anyways see you all in next class!
Monday, April 18, 2011
4/18/2011
Today Rab introduced us igoogle, which is a personalized google page that you can edit in any useful way. You can add and delete gadgets on the page to suit you.I liked the turtle and the hamster gadget (but I am sure to get bored with both of them soon).
Then he showed us Tinyurl, which can make long urls shorter to paste on twitter or buzz.
After that he showed us Picasa, which is a site that you can upload images.
Then, he briefly introduced us different internet browsers, such as Opera, Onlymac and
Google Chrome. I only knew Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome, and the one I usually use at home is Google Chrome because it is fast. So it was my first time to hear about Opera and Onlymac. Opera can exchange datas between other Operas so there is no worry even if your computer breaks down. Onlymac is a browser that only mac users can use and Rab says it is useful too. I'd like to know more about them so that maybe I can download it at home.
Firefox Add-ons
1.Easyaccent
This add-on can enable you to type accented characters easily. It might eventually be useful for me because I am taking French now and I could use when I have to type something in French. It has many accented characters so it also works for Spanish and some other languages too.
2.Wikilook
With this add-on you can look up a word you don't understand on a website in Wikipedia or Wictionary instantly without opening a new tab. Recently, thesaurus is also added. This tool works for more than 70 languages. It can make your research more instant and convenient.
Then he showed us Tinyurl, which can make long urls shorter to paste on twitter or buzz.
After that he showed us Picasa, which is a site that you can upload images.
Then, he briefly introduced us different internet browsers, such as Opera, Onlymac and
Google Chrome. I only knew Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome, and the one I usually use at home is Google Chrome because it is fast. So it was my first time to hear about Opera and Onlymac. Opera can exchange datas between other Operas so there is no worry even if your computer breaks down. Onlymac is a browser that only mac users can use and Rab says it is useful too. I'd like to know more about them so that maybe I can download it at home.
Firefox Add-ons
1.Easyaccent
This add-on can enable you to type accented characters easily. It might eventually be useful for me because I am taking French now and I could use when I have to type something in French. It has many accented characters so it also works for Spanish and some other languages too.
2.Wikilook
With this add-on you can look up a word you don't understand on a website in Wikipedia or Wictionary instantly without opening a new tab. Recently, thesaurus is also added. This tool works for more than 70 languages. It can make your research more instant and convenient.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sophomore Class! 4/13/2011
This blog used to be the one I used in my first ELP class with Rab.
I'm so happy to be in Rab's class again and moreover,some of my CB section mates are still in the same class for Sophomore:)
I'm also glad that some of my other friends are in the same class as well.
Today we first got into pairs and talked about google ninja.
There were quite a lot of things I didn't know, such as Archive, Filter, Buzz, Labels, Themes and Labs.
There tools and settings would not only be convenient in our school life, but it would also be really useful once you graduate university and start using gmail for work.
After that Rab showed us how to google chat.
Chatting on google would make it easier to communicate instantly than just replying.
Although I thought it might be hard for the chat to succeed because the other person might not be online at the moment or might not realize that he is being invited to chat.
Then, Rab introduced us some add-ons on Safari.
I usually use firefox or google chrome as internet browsers, so I didn't know there were add-ons for Safari as well.
Awesome Snapshot was a tool to take digital pictures of the screen. This is similar to screenshot, except I think it's easier to save the image or to send it online.
He also introduced us an extension called Cool Iris, which is a really cool add-on that helps you display images and videos in 3D. It can work as a browser and it can also search your computer data, so you can also display presentation slides. It is sort of like iPod where images of CD jackets are displayed on the screen and you can scroll through them.
When I get home I am sure to go and look for more add-ons on Safari and also on Firefox to make my research more convenient and efficient.
I'm so happy to be in Rab's class again and moreover,some of my CB section mates are still in the same class for Sophomore:)
I'm also glad that some of my other friends are in the same class as well.
Today we first got into pairs and talked about google ninja.
There were quite a lot of things I didn't know, such as Archive, Filter, Buzz, Labels, Themes and Labs.
There tools and settings would not only be convenient in our school life, but it would also be really useful once you graduate university and start using gmail for work.
After that Rab showed us how to google chat.
Chatting on google would make it easier to communicate instantly than just replying.
Although I thought it might be hard for the chat to succeed because the other person might not be online at the moment or might not realize that he is being invited to chat.
Then, Rab introduced us some add-ons on Safari.
I usually use firefox or google chrome as internet browsers, so I didn't know there were add-ons for Safari as well.
Awesome Snapshot was a tool to take digital pictures of the screen. This is similar to screenshot, except I think it's easier to save the image or to send it online.
He also introduced us an extension called Cool Iris, which is a really cool add-on that helps you display images and videos in 3D. It can work as a browser and it can also search your computer data, so you can also display presentation slides. It is sort of like iPod where images of CD jackets are displayed on the screen and you can scroll through them.
When I get home I am sure to go and look for more add-ons on Safari and also on Firefox to make my research more convenient and efficient.
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