Back on the mainland!

Wow. I knew that the remainder of my summer was going to be a bit chaotic, but I do believe it's edging on ridiculous! I just got back from the cruise with mi madre...which was preceded by a family camping trip departing (literally) the day after I got back from NJ. So apologies first off that I've been somewhat out of the loop, but I just spent the last 40 minutes or so catching up on all of your lives with this blog (Krystyna...your idea ROCKS!) -- and I must say it's made me miss you all a lot more than I already was, which is saying something as I missed you already.

Thank you all for your reflections and inspirational stories. Coming off of the past two weeks it's a great reminder that we are all still in this together. Like most people have been saying, it's been a challenge for me coming back to "reality" on a lot of levels. Along the way though, little reminders have popped into my life to keep me on the right path (the advent of texting on my phone has helped! haha) A few key moments of the past two weeks that have drawn me to thinking about this summer, and all of you:

*When we were camping, the guy in the cabin next to us would play his violin every night. Usually it was Amazing Grace...then one night it was "Here I Am Lord." That song in the morning service always got me when the kids would join Nick in the chorus together -- one of my favorite morning prayers. I got very caught up in listening, thinking of you guys and watching the campfire (not as big as your Tumnus, but nice nonetheless).

*As Dayna mentioned, the constant turning out of lights, off of water, etc. -- drives the family crazy, but hey, it's the small things.

*As you may guess, the cruise was an interesting "challenge." Please don't get me wrong, it was hands-down the best vacation I've ever been on, but seeing the amount of people able to just up and vacation (and drink like fish...oooohhh man) brought thoughts of TASK every now and again. Like many of the kids would say on Thursday, I don't know that we need to absolutely deny ourselves of things all the time (or do we?) -- moderation moderation moderation. It was just some definite food for thought.

*That being said, I took Aiden's advice about getting to know the staff, and heard the most INCREDIBLE stories from everyone from our waiters to the cruise director staff to our stateroom attendant to our tour guide in Mexico. It's amazing the amount of time they all spend away from their families just to bring money home (most of them are from countries such as India, Jamaica, and obviously Mexico). They were beautiful people, and getting to know them, along with fellow cruisers, was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It's all about the human connection my friends. That's all there is in life.

*SPEAKING of the human connection: at our port in Key West I suddenly saw bumper stickers everywhere declaring "One Human Family" -- apparently this is the town's motto "because all humans deserve equal respect and love." So uh...let's all move to Key West? They seem to be on the right track! haha. Regardless, I definitely thought of all of you...pictures of a beautiful one human family mosaic will grace facebook soon!

*The sunrises/sunsets on the ship and general grandeur of nature left no doubt in my mind that God is present everywhere and driving through Mexico (I will have to show you the pictures) I was reminded (as if I needed to be, really) that, as a sign in the Franklin Food Pantry proclaims, "The Poor don't get a vacation." Yet the pure joy on the faces of the children we passed...and the amusement on the faces of the few people I made feeble attempts at Spanish with also reiterated that, again, it's the human connection that counts.

*Finally, after having missed mass the Sunday we were camping with the family and realizing that there was no actual mass on the ship, I got my mom up at 8am to go to the interdenominational service. One other person, and the girl leading it, showed up. The experience was much like a long version of our community prayers -- a song, a reading, a reflection, sharing, a story, another song, the end. During the service we learn that the three of us that were not the staff are all Roman Catholic. I'm not going to lie, this was a very pleasant surprise for me! I'm used to going to those services as the only Catholic...and it was reassuring that of a ship of 3000 people, three Catholics took time from the morning to pray. The girl leading the service was awesome too ... 23 year old from Oklahoma (woot woot Shel!) who's done a lot of youth group work. She sort of gave a real brief witness talk and mentioned how she sees the most important evangelization as simply doing your job with all of the joy and love you can knowing that God has given you those talents to share for a reason and that your joy will shine to others, perhaps leading them to ask why you're so joyful -- enter perfect opportunity to share the faith (tent-building, right Mike?). I was so glad to hear that perspective bounced back to me, because it's definitely my take on things. I shared that thought, and a bit of our summer experience, when she asked us all to share. My mom also shared a bit about her journey. Nothing intense...but it was nice to discuss it with her and pray with her. The two of us actually had a few discussions over the course of the trip about the state of the world, poverty, faith, etc. -- it was great! So, while I am really looking forward to mass (in Kentucky next Sunday....ahhh!) I feel like I've managed to stay very connected to my faith which, as you all know, was a fear that I had leaving. So here's to keeping that up! (and I feel it will only get easier)

Well, this has gone on long enough for now. Best of luck to all of you starting back to school this week!! Enjoy and kick some butt on those campuses! To the rest of you, keep doing what you're doing and know that you're never far from my thoughts and prayers. I may be swinging in and out of touch as I'm packing off to join you southerners this coming Friday, but that doesn't mean I forgot ya! Does anyone else find it incredibly reassuring that we pretty much have a prayer line up and down the eastern seaboard--JUST from our community? Pretty sweet.

Hugs to all!

Overview of class

Over the course of the semester, I have learned the basics of creating a simple Web site, a bit about the different Web writing genres that exist, and about how to create simple portfolios and company pages for the Web.

I've learned that Web writing is much more clear and concise than other types of writing, in order to get the point across to an audience with a shorter attention span. I've also learned what is a "good" set up for a Web page (for example, where the navigation bars should go, how to scroll the screen etc.)

Overall, I've become more familiar with the Web and Internet at large and feel more comfortable using it as well as producing writing for it. I also find that I have a more critical eye when viewing other authors' web writing.

Web site uses

I think that the most accessible things on this site need to be the buttons that lead to information on auditions and classes. These are how the company continues to exist and therefore it is important that people be able to get to this information easily. (and also know where the information can be found). Checking that users can easily locate this information will be a large part of the user-testing for the site, as well as making sure that our other buttons are more or less clear as to which direction that they lead.

Qualities of Web text

I don't know that other forms of media are changing to be more like Web writing as much as they are changing in order to keep the interest of a faster-paced society. I've noticed that newspaper articles inparticular remain the same length, including all of the important information, but they are sure to highlight the main points in the very first part of the article. It seems as though writers of these mediums are well aware that their readers' attention span is more likely than not short, and thus get all of the important facts out immediately. However, unlike Web writing, which would condense information and merely leave it at that, it seems as though news writers still go into detail later on in the article.

A key difference in the writing of magazine articles after the advent of the Web is the inclusion of Internet terminology without explaination. In magazines such as People, which average Americans read on a daily basis, there are multiple references to AIM, blogging, online polls, etc. These are things that, prior to the popularity of online writing, would have been explained in depth if used in an average writing medium. Likewise, magazines for teens (such as 17 and YM) use AIM abbreviations much more often without explanation. In many of the editorials, as well as even some of the less sophisticated articles, it isn't rare to see an "lol" or "j/k" written with the assumption that all readers understand what is inferred.

I feel that these things are the key changed in the writing of other mediums since the advent of the Web. I don't know that newspaper and magazine writing will ever change to be more like Web writing so long as they remain in print format, because as long as they do they remain a separate genre of writing. It's almost like different forms of music ... with the advent of rock and roll, jazz and country didn't die out or totally become rock, they just changed a little bit for a time. I think that any evolving media will have similar changes.

Site Navigation

I think that the most important thing for effective navigation on a Web site is to make the navigation bars and tabs easy to locate, understand and use.

The font needs to be large enough and clear enough that readers can see and understand it at a glance. Also, the navigation bars need to be in a location that is accessible no matter what part of the page the reader is at. For example, if a reader has scrolled far down to the bottom of the page, he or she should be able to locate navigation tabs at the bottom of the page instead of having to scroll all the way back to the top.

Also, the navigation bars shouldn't contain an overwhelming amount of information. The site should be broken down into a few simple, easily recognizable categories so that the reader is not overwhelmed by choices and also so that the reader is able to easily find the page he or she would like to navigate to.

I think that all of these techniques are easy enough to remember to use for our group's Web site. Hopefully, they will make the site easier to navigate and more user-friendly.

Persona

I believe that the persona of most viewers of this site would be mothers (and/or fathers) of students of the Niagara Falls elementary and middle school systems. These people work during the days while their kids are at school, and possibly into the night and are therefore looking for a program to keep their kids busy into the evenings. This program promotes creativity that children thrive upon and thus is an exciting extracurricular opportunity for their children. Better yet, it's free, so they don't need to worry about cost at all.

Another persona that would view this site could be someone interested in the arts in the Niagara Falls area. This is the type of person that could happen upon this site as a result of a search of performing arts in Niagara Falls or the like. This persona would be interested in the dates of the shows that the program performs, as well as ticket pricing information, location of the shows, and possibly the names and histories of people who work with the company.

I think the final persona that might view this site would be high school and college students with an interest in theatre looking for audition opportunities. They would look to this site to find audition information such as locations, times, dates, and what they need to have prepared. They would also look to see what types of productions have been put on in the past, and what people they would be working with if they were to do a production with the company.

Web Site Ideas

I think that a site for the Niagara Fine Arts Program Inc. would be useful. The organization caters to a lot of the youth in the Niagara Falls area, and a Web site would make their work more known, so perhaps more students could get involved.

The site would need to advertise for the organization's upcoming shows and productions, as well as provide information on the history of the organization, the schedule of upcoming events, and ways to contact those in charge. It might also include audition dates for those who were interested in becoming part of a production.

3 Important Aspects of Web Page

I think that the three most important aspects of a Web page include bold and catchy headings, visuals, and solid content.

I think that when people are "surfing" the Web, the first thing that would catch their eye and lead them to remain on a page would be a large bold heading. This heading must have (in a few short words) the key meaning of the site within it. Doing this will catch the readers' attention, and draw readers interested in that topic to the site.

Once a reader is on a site, I think that visuals such as photographs and graphics, are what will help to keep them there. Many people reading material on the Web find it difficult to focus on just text. Therefore, if there are images to help reinterate the ideas being presented in the text, the idea is much more likely to come across to the reader and to remain in their head.

Finally, I think that solid content is key in a Web site. Even if a site is bold and flashy in catch lines and graphics, if there is weak content the reader will not remain at the site and will not take the site seriously. The text must be written professionally, have a personality behind it that will attract people to reading it, and also be free from gramatical errors (which will cause readers to disregard it almost immediately).