Website Design Plan.

Plan of action

Statement of Purpose

I am going to create a website to promote my Mother’s business and to help her increase sales through the website. I want to do this by making my website as interesting as I can make for a person who is going to be learning about web design along the way. I also want to include a way to have an online ordering system. I am thinking I may set this up through pay pal or some other third party.

Audience

My audience will be the local population who currently have access to the internet and want to buy my mother’s products. This site will, mostly, cater to those who are not as technologically advanced, because that will probably be my mother’s costumers. This is because mostly older people are interested in homemade goods and she is starting her business by going to craft shows to sell her product.

Medium

I chose to use a website for this project, because it is a beginning business, so she does not have a shop or a phone. This will allow her to be able to promote and sell her product much more. This will also allow her to cater to her customers, because they will be able to get her product all year round.

Arrangement

I plan on this being a very simple website. I want it to be four pages. I want one page to be the welcome page and say what the business is and what kind of product they sell. This is so people who find the website online will know who they are and what they are selling. I then want to have another page with their products and a description. That way the costumers will know exactly what the product is. I will probably have another page for ordering with an order form on it. This is because it will make it easier on me, so I do not have to worry about getting the order form and products on the same page. It will also make sure that the page with the products and order form does not end up getting too big. The last page will be a contact us and who we are page. This way the costumer can contact us if they have any problems or if they need something specific.

Description of completion

I will be making this website on Dreamweaver. I will be learning this as I go along. One of my friends has made websites before too and I plan on receiving some help from him on how to do some of the more complex tasks in Dreamweaver.

Testing

I plan on asking fellow classmates to test my website before it goes up so I can improve on it and help it become a better website. I want to be able to show this to my mother before I put it up if I can show her it, or afterwards and hopefully I will still be able to edit the website.

Resopnse to Wysoki and Lynch

The most useful part of this reading that I encountered was the part about the statement of purpose. This is something I have problems with, because I usually have too much I wish to argue. Reading through this part made me think of exactly what I want to argue and how to go about refining the argument. The step by step directions were really helpful. I do not have a purpose statement quite yet, but it is helping me figure out exactly what I want to do my project on.

One of the biggest things I saw in this text was the emphasis on testing your material. It seems like in all steps of creating any rhetorical argument, you need to test it out before you let it loose. After testing you need to refine and test again. This needs to be repeated until the best argument that you can make. I usually do this when I am writing a persuasive paper, but not to the extent it seems like creating a visual rhetorical argument is. Looking at these chapters I think that this project is going to be a lot bigger than I originally thought it was going to be.

Teacher Technology

So this happened....

This is absolutely crazy! I mean of all the things that could happen when you play with an ipad in class. Quite honestly this brings up the fact that teachers need to know how to work the technology that they are using in their classrooms.

This is a problem that is not so easily fixed. How do we get teachers of all levels up to par on all technologies? Do we take one day out of the year to teach the teachers how to use new technologies? Is that enough? There are so many questions about how to teach teachers technology without interrupting the learning process for students.

I think the best solution to this is to require teacher development for at least 2 weeks at the beginning of the school year. That way teachers are not intimidated by the technology and have the capabilities to use it. It also allows the teachers to stay up-to-date with new technologies so they can monitor the activities students are doing and making sure they are not distracted by new technologies.

Response to Bitzer

Okay so I do not have this article online but in a PDF form. It is called The Rhetorical Situation by Lloyd F. Blitzer.

Quite honestly I find the most interesting part of this essay was the part on situational rhetoric. I haven't really thought about rhetoric as situational. When I think about it though it makes a lot of sense. I talk differently when I speak to my mother as to a friend of mine. I quite honestly do not mind laughing at dirty jokes with my friends, but with my mother it is super weird.

Really really weird.

I also would never even think about a swear word in front of my mother. It would be scary (Mainly because I am still afraid of getting my mouth washed out with soap). I also respect my Mom a ton. Not saying I don't respect my friends, but it is a different level of respect.

I also would be a lot more willing to be very immature in front of my friends than in front of my mother. I think that is because my friends are also immature, while my mother is on a whole new level of maturity.

The last thing is that this applies to the digital sphere as well. I censor myself a lot more on facebook than I do in front of my friends or my mother. Everyone can see what you post on facebook, so I don't want to be posting things that I know will make people upset. It does not mean I will not post my thoughts, but it will make me post them in a manner that does not offend people.

Windows Movie Maker

So for one of my classes we need to make infographics. These infographics can be graphics or videos. Well I wanted to get a good grade in this class so I went above and beyond and made a video. I used Windows Movie Maker. Which, I guess, isn't very good for video making. I think it is fine, but I am a novice video maker. I like that it is so easy to operate. I like that I don't have to search for things. It is just easy. It isn't all flashy, but it works and that is what I need.

The only thing I have a problem with is that I can't figure out how to add music to the video quite yet, but I want to learn how. I have become rather intrigued with video editing. I want to be able to use some more advanced video editing programs, but it seems like that will be a little bit too hard quite yet.

I was told to try imovie. I don't know how to work it, but I might try it next time I want to make a video. It seems like a far more efficient way.

Library access

I work in the library. One day I was helping a friend doing some research. She thought I could add insight and help her use the library equipment. I was surprised to learn that there are some people who do not know how to use library technology. I guess that since I work there I have a better understanding of these things. It still surprised me thought that she did not know about Husky Fetch or how to use the catalogs. I use them almost every time I go to work and regularly for projects and papers.

I found it hard to believe that there is so much that people do not know about the technology that is right in the library. I mean there is a lot there. I've found most of my research for projects through the library's website and they're technological resources. Husky Fetch is a god send for when you are researching on campus. There is an unbelievable amount of information at your finger tips when you log into your Tech ISO. I honestly don't think people understand that this very well could be one of the easiest ways to obtain academic journals.

Internet Access in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Internet Access in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

                It seems now a day that the internet is a need for social and educational purposes, but what happens when one is denied access to it? It may seem like a shock, but there are still places in Continental America where internet access is denied, because of remote locations. The Upper Peninsula is one of these areas. There are many areas that are denied conventional ways of obtaining internet access, because it is far too expensive to run cable lines out to these areas. This causes many of the residents to be unable to be able to access many services while being at home. This is a problem for various reasons and should be solved as quickly as possible.

                The use of the internet nationally has been growing at a fast rate along with usage of cell phones. 63% of Americans have broadband service. This number includes people who do not wish to have internet, or simply cannot have the internet, because of distance, money, etc. It is something many people prioritize. About 84% of broadband users said that high-speed is important to them for: knowing what is going on in their community, communicating with health care providers, contributing to economic growth, or sharing their views on key issues. With so many reasons to have the internet it is not surprising that access has been growing. It has almost become essential to have in daily life.

There is a large amount of residents in the Upper Peninsula do not have internet access and it seems, unlike the nation, it is access is not growing quite as fast. There are 20,229 households in the Upper Peninsula who have no access to the internet. Even more that cannot afford internet, because of the great cost to obtain it in their area. The large gap between internet accesses in the Lower Peninsula vs. the Upper Peninsula is quite astounding. The gap for DSL, cable, and mobile is almost 20%, while fixed wireless is at about 3% and fiber at less than 1%. This is not okay. Some counties in the Upper Peninsula have only 55% of their residents who have access to the internet. No county has above a 92% of its residents who have access to the internet. There are even some counties that have no access to fixed wireless internet or cable internet. The amount of mobile internet in some counties can be as low as 22%.

One of the biggest reasons why this is not okay is, because research shows that use of the internet helps the brain. The research has shown that there are many benefits to having access to the internet. When searching the internet for information it causes the brain to do complex activity. This exercise of the brain has been known to help improve brain function and reduce the effects of aging on the brain. Research has even proved that searching the internet is more effective to keeping the brain working, even more than reading. When this is considered access to the internet is not only essential to knowing what is happening around the world, social connections and information finding, but also to cognitive development throughout life and help maintain brain health.

The cognitive development with students specifically relies on the use of the internet and computers. Computer literacy goes hand in hand with internet literacy. To be computer literate you need to be internet literate and vice versa. Schools have been trying to develop these literacies, because they result in higher standardized test scores. It can help students catch up in various subjects. This also helps combine the student’s cultural literacy with the school literacy, because computers can be used for the use of creative, inquiry based projects. This makes it important for students to have the internet at home. How can they work on these projects if they do not have the internet? How can they research and explore in a new age way? How can students excel without the internet?

A solution to this is to invest more money in expanding satellite internet and also to find a way to make satellite internet more affordable. This type of internet can be reached in the most remote locations, even in places where there are no phone lines, because it relies on space and not on cable lines. It is even possible to access the internet through satellites when travel across the world. Of course this still needs to be developed more. Satellite internet is not as fast as DSL or cable, but it can be faster than dial-up. It can also be fairly unreliable, because weather can interfere with access. Latency is also experienced when using satellite internet, so many providers do not encourage playing time sensitive games. It is able to support video games.

It has become essential to have the internet in this high tech world. Access has been growing at a fast rate, but the Upper Peninsula of Michigan still does not have internet access throughout the area. It has been seen that the growth of access is going at an extremely slow rate. The Upper Peninsula has an extremely low access to the internet compared to the rest of the state. With the cognitive benefits of the internet it has to be a priority to have in the home. It is not only good for students to have internet for their cognitive development, but for everyone to have internet access for their brain health and cognitive development. Satellite internet can solve this problem, once there is research to make it more reliable, affordable and faster. With those improvements internet access can finally be had by all of the Upper Peninsula and the rest of the world as well.

Work Cited

"BBC NEWS | Health | Internet use 'good for the brain'." BBC News - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7667610.stm>.

"Broadband in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan." Connect Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <www.connectmi.org/sites/default/files/connected-nation/Michigan/miupbroadbandbriefingdocument_final.pdf>.

Horrigan, John. "Summary of Findings | Pew Internet & American Life Project." Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/10-Home-Broadband-Adoption-2009/1-Summary-of-findings.aspx>.

McGrath, Jane. "HowStuffWorks "Introduction to Satellite Internet Receivers"." HowStuffWorks "Electronics". N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/satellite-internet-receivers.htm>.

Williams, Kate. "Literacy and Computer Literacy: Analyzing the NRC’s “Being Fluent with Information Technology”." Literacy and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <www.literacyandtechnology.org/volume3/literacy.pdf>.

Response to Literacy and Computer Literacy: Analyzing the NRC's Being Fluet with Information Technology.

Literacy as power. Think about that for a second. Have you ever thought about that? What gives you power in this world. Is it money? Well if you have enough yes. But what matters most is literacy. Literacy of a two things is extremely important: language and technology. Language is needed to have any kind of say in this world. It is how ideas are explained and communicated between parties. It is impossible to function without the use of language. How is it that one can explain needs or wants or ideas to another without the use of language? Language is not only is a main component for power, but also for who we are. Without our ideas being communicated and other ideas impacting us, then who would we be? We'd be depressed, because we wouldn't be able to tell others who we are and how we feel. We'd be one-sided, because we'd only see one side. Language is so much more than power.

Technology is what really gives us the ability to express our power of language. It shares our ideas not only with close friends, but also the world. The power that technology has given us is amazing! A great understanding of technology can also make us even more powerful! Just take the group Anonymous for example and look at everything they have done. It is quite amazing how a group of people who have never met and have no idea who each other is can accomplish so much! Just an understanding of technology and cause is what makes them successful.

It is quite extrodinary.

Even revolutionary.