I think this semester was wonderful and informative. The course was great in that it was well presented. I liked that we could go along with Chienen and follow through his instructions of Flash and Dreamweaver. I am more of a visual learner, so it helped tremendously watching him do it for the first time. I also enjoyed the learning environment. Through presentation and discussion we were able to share our thoughts and present information found on the web. I felt the weakest part of the course was there was too much information in such a short amount of time. At times it felt overwhelming since I was completely new to this. But, all in all, it was well organized and a great learning experience.
Before attending this course, I had no idea of how to use Flash or Dreamweaver. I think this has really opened new concepts for me that I would have never imagined. It also encouraged me to continue in my pursuit of learning web programming and design, and it has allowed me to become more creative in presenting music through technology. In order to continue my further learning I will use the online tools and resources presented in this class and incorporate that knowledge to further develop my site.
Everyone enjoy your summer!
Friday, May 4, 2007
And the winners are...
My three favorite student sites were:
Maria's: Her design is simple yet elegant. Along with her used of color, I also like the animation she used in her bio and the "loading" animation she incorporated in the audio page. All in all, a great site.
Ying-Ying's: I think her concept of an online tour of the city is wonderful. It is easy to navigate through the site and visually appealing. Once she has all her pages updated, I think it will be a great site.
Catherine's: The main thing I like on her site are the games she created. This semester, I've had an interest in simple game design was glad to know someone in our class created a few. Once she finds an ending to the games, I think it will be a cute game for kids (or maybe the guy in his cubicle not wanting to work)
Maria's: Her design is simple yet elegant. Along with her used of color, I also like the animation she used in her bio and the "loading" animation she incorporated in the audio page. All in all, a great site.
Ying-Ying's: I think her concept of an online tour of the city is wonderful. It is easy to navigate through the site and visually appealing. Once she has all her pages updated, I think it will be a great site.
Catherine's: The main thing I like on her site are the games she created. This semester, I've had an interest in simple game design was glad to know someone in our class created a few. Once she finds an ending to the games, I think it will be a cute game for kids (or maybe the guy in his cubicle not wanting to work)
My accomplishments
I came to this class with very little knowledge on web programming and wanted to learn enough to start my own professional web site. With this in mind my goal was to become familiar with Flash and Action Script. To my satisfaction, I learned more than I expected. Now that I understand the main concept of Flash and Action Script, I am able to work independently and continued to learn through trial and error. Although it is not much, I am pleased to start my journey of web design and continue to learn this year.
About Flash....
For general web authoring, Flash is useful because it allows the designer to have more freedom in designing a site, but at the same time I feel that too much flash can make a web site crowded and visually overwhelming. If used correctly, it can give a site a beautiful yet simple professional look.
For the performing artist and music educator, I think Flash brings a more interactive presentation to the classroom. Rather than just playing a song on the stereo, students can become involved in more ways than one through Flash. For the performing artist, it gives them the freedom to present their work in a creative style through different mediums online and having it available to the internet community all over the world.
For the performing artist and music educator, I think Flash brings a more interactive presentation to the classroom. Rather than just playing a song on the stereo, students can become involved in more ways than one through Flash. For the performing artist, it gives them the freedom to present their work in a creative style through different mediums online and having it available to the internet community all over the world.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
fizzlebot
Recently I've been interested in creative and unique online games. Last week I came across a website that posts games from Fizzlebot's CasualGameplay Design Competitions. These games are usually puzzles that require logic. One of my favorite games from this competition is "Sprout," an adventure puzzle game which placed 1st in the competion. The unique artwork for a Flash game has a paper-cut appearance that resembles a storybook. Its soundtrack fits the atmosphere of the game with nature sounds that change to accompany the different scenes.
The game begins with a small green seed stranded on an island. This seedl has the ability to learn to grow into different plants. For example, stuck on the island with no way to cross the water, the palm trees teach you how to grow into a coconut. With a click of the mouse you transform, and then watch the story unfold.
Different situations calls for different transformations, and you cannot always be sure what effect growing into one form can have. Becoming a coconut might help you move forward. It could also cause you to roll back to where you began. Making mistakes and testing the environment are integral parts of the experience.
There are many games posted on the site that are unique and beutiful in its own way. Take a look and enjoy!
Game Competition #1: http://fizzlebot.com/gdc1/
Game Competition #2: http://mirror3.cgdc2.fizzlebot.com/
The game begins with a small green seed stranded on an island. This seedl has the ability to learn to grow into different plants. For example, stuck on the island with no way to cross the water, the palm trees teach you how to grow into a coconut. With a click of the mouse you transform, and then watch the story unfold.
Different situations calls for different transformations, and you cannot always be sure what effect growing into one form can have. Becoming a coconut might help you move forward. It could also cause you to roll back to where you began. Making mistakes and testing the environment are integral parts of the experience.
There are many games posted on the site that are unique and beutiful in its own way. Take a look and enjoy!
Game Competition #1: http://fizzlebot.com/gdc1/
Game Competition #2: http://mirror3.cgdc2.fizzlebot.com/
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Stumbel.com = great procrastination
This weekend I decided to surf the web Stumble.com style. As I "stumbled" through my music, online games, web development, photography, and science topics, I came across what is now my new addiction: Pandora. Created by the Music Genome Project, this online music site allows users to created their own radio stations by finding their favorite artists or songs ranging from popular to obscure music. The amazing thing about this site is it looks for music similar to what you requested and you can give feedback on whether you like what it picked for you or not. Through your feedback, it begins to learn what to look for, and eventually becomes your favorite station! (at least it did to me) Once you become part of the Pandora community you can share your station with other users, or even find other stations with similar musical interests. I encourage everyone to check out the site: www.Pandora.com
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