Journal of Learning Experience
In this portion of my project, I think I should first mention that I am as much a beginner with computers and the Internet as it gets. Four months ago I got on the Internet for the first time. I became familiar with it by taking a beginning Internet course from Dale Burnett, Ed 4769. Here I am, a few months later, feeling confident enough that I am producing my own websites. Fusion has been easy to work with and certainly is efficient enough that beginners like me can create quality web sites in a fraction of the time than I would have been able to in Netscape Composer or a dozen other web authoring packages. It took me about 50 hours to move through the entire program and familiarize myself with the tools and options that Fusion provides. Once I felt confident with Fusion I set out creating my website. It took me 68 hours to create input and edit my site and turn it into an attractive meaningful professional site. In just over 100 hours we have what a year ago would have taken much longer for the beginner. I feel like this has been a great accomplishment for me and I am pleased with the final results. I hope it will have meaning for LDS teachers and leaders that can use this information to compliment or enhance their teaching in the future.
There are both pluses and minuses in Fusion. I have attempted to log my experience from the first of the year up to the present time as I used it. Here I have included, what I have done, my feelings about what makes Fusion an effective tool for web authors, and the improvements I feel should be made in the product for future users.
January Log
Tuesday - January 5, 1999
I came in today and began what I anticipate will be a difficult experience. I feel somewhat intimidated by the whole idea of creating web sites with technology I am unfamiliar with. Heck, I'm not familiar with much technology so I guess it's about time I dived in. What I am most worried about today is the idea of learning this all on my own. I will have some contact with Dale, but I need to learn most of this on my own. Fortunately I have this text, called "Net Objects Fusion 3.0 for Dummies." I hope it'll help. I've never done anything like this before.
Today I spent about 3 hours going through the first 2 chapters and getting familiar with how to set up an initial site and move pages around. It looks like Fusion allows you pretty simple site management. If it does what it says it can it sure will be a lot better than Nets cape Composer.
Wednesday - January 6, 1999
Today I am still feeling overwhelmed, but I'll give it another try. I've decided to go through the entire text and become familiar with all of the tools that Fusion 3.0 provides before I try to create anything on my own. I'll do practice web sites as I go through the text to make sure I have tried the tools they suggest. Then once I have gone through it all, I will begin to create the web site I want for the Church and the final project.
I spent about 3 hours tonight going through chapters 3 - 4 in the text. These two chapters discuss templates, styles and converting old web sites from other programs into Fusion 3.0. Fusion has created about 40 different styles you can choose from to create your own site or to mix and match to make your own style. This is a good feature I like.
Thursday - January 7, 1999
I'm feeling a little more at ease as I move into this learning experience. The textbook is pretty specific and answers most of my questions.
Tonight I spent 3 hours in chapter 5. This chapter discusses hanging and floating palettes and page layouts. Floating Palettes is a nice feature, but I'm finding them annoying and in the way. I would suggest Fusion use a tool bar on the top and bottom instead of floating palettes. These tool bars could still change and contain all of the features that the palettes contain. I had some trouble tonight editing and creating my own master border. Is it simple or am I missing something? I look at it again tomorrow.
Friday - January 8, 1999
Yesterday was quite frustrating with the creation and editing of master borders. I kept messing up and not knowing why, this made things more frustrating for me. I have decided to move on with the hope of figuring it out later.
This afternoon I spent 4 hours in Chapter 6 of the text. Here issues are discussed like getting text out on your web page, using the formatting options that are provided in Fusion 3.0, and using special characters such as symbols and logos on your web page. I found this section pretty basic, it much like a basic word processor. No major setbacks. I think I can really do this. I also spent some time reviewing the previous chapters I had already studied.
Tuesday - January 12, 1999
Tonight I spent 3 hours in Chapter 7, and part of 8. This chapter covers converting graphics, using graphics properly, adding special image effects and adding text to graphics. It also talks about using lines, rules and regional slants. I don't understand regional slants. How to use these and why you would want to. Putting graphics into your site seems simple enough to do.
Wednesday January 13, 1999
Another 3 hours in the office on the computer and in the textbook. Tonight I spent a long time practicing the suggestions that are given in chapter 6-8. Chapter 8 has a ton of information I think I'll be using. Here they talk about internal links, smart links, external links, file links, anchors and nav bars. Nav Bars are their best feature. It makes managing your site so simple. Especially if you use this in your master border area so that you have navbar buttons on every page with only having to create them once. Chapter 8 also discussed image maps and anchors which confused me somewhat. I am unsure what anchors are and what you use them for. I have a question about Nav Bars in Fusion. Can you create Nave Bars from an image of your own, or just from options they have given you here?
Thursday January 14, 1999
3 more hours in the office. Tonight I spent the time I had in Chapter 9 and 10 learning about multi media options fusion lets you play with as well as creating tables. I am really enjoying my experience learning at my own pace. This isn't as hard as I originally anticipated.
Chapter 9 covers sound files, animation, java based programs, and using shockwave and active x controls. I am lost here. What is Java and ShockWave. Is this part of Fusion, or some other program I have to be familiar with in order to use these tools. Where do I find information about shockwave? What is QuickTime? I'll have to talk to Dale before I try any of these suggestions that they have. How do you make sound and movie files?
Chapter 10 covers information on creating tables, adjusting space within a table, changing a tables background, and resizing tables. Tables seem like good stuff, but adjusting cell sizes are difficult to do. I don't know if I have a need for tables in my site.
Saturday January 15, 1999
4 hours covering Chapter 11 on interactive forms. I talked with Dale and he said forms are complicated in Fusion 3.0 and after moving though this section I found that what he says is true.
I spent some time today reviewing and practicing some of what I have learned in the first 10 chapters. This isn't so hard for beginners like me. I have been saving everything I have been doing the past few weeks as practice sites.
Wednesday - January 20, 1999
3 hours - Chapter 12 - Their bag of tricks. This chapter contained information on a lot of excellent features that is provided in Fusion 3.0. I learned how to create dyna buttons, ticker tape messages that can fly across the page, site maps (I like this feature, I think it one of the most important sites a web author can use in web creation. Probably something web authors should include in the master borders on all pages of their site. This is definitely a convenience for browsers. Also this chapter discussed message boards, forms, and cool effects with pictures like rotating graphics. The component tool bar in Fusion is full of exciting features that add spice to the web site with relative simplicity.
The drawback that goes with these components is that they cannot be viewed in preview but only once you have actually published your site. Fusion should change this feature if possible, so that you can view how everything looks and works before you ever publish.
Thursday - January 21, 1999
3 hours - Chapter 13 - 14 Having Fun with Frames and Data Publishing. I went through both chapters and found that frames were an interesting feature for a web site, but still seems complicated for the beginner and is not supported on older web browsers. I don't think I would recommend this feature until it becomes more common for the average user on the Internet to have updated systems. It definitely is something to consider for the future if Fusion can simply the process of creation of frames.
Data publishing also seemed complicated for the beginner. My questions were, what useful purpose would data base, data list and data publishing have for me. Currently I wouldn't use it, but it obviously is important enough to be a feature some have sought after.
Friday - January 22, 1999
4 hours - Chapter 15 - DHTML and Actions. Creating actions for objects on your page seems interesting and enticing to me. It is something new and captivating. I couldn't get more than two actions to work at one time. What I wanted to do here as I experimented was to have a front page with nothing on it, but a button that says click right here. When that happens, suddenly, the whole screen comes flying on with, banners, nav bars, text, and pictures. But I couldn't get it all to work and I don't know why.
I've spent a lot of time practicing different things and it just isn't working. As I practice using this feature I can't understand why my home page is disappearing and not showing my items when I try to implement actions and then preview it.- I'll try again after I talk with Dale. I like this feature and want to get competent at using it on my pages.
Saturday - January 23, 1999
4 hours - Chapter 16 - Styling with Style View - creating your own styles. This is very simple and straight forward, but very time consuming considering all of the different options you have to consider with backgrounds, banners, primary buttons, secondary buttons, highlighted buttons, and style lines. I spent the entire evening coming up with three of my own styles after previewing everything that Fusion offers. I am presently using for this web site a style I created on my own. The one draw back that Fusion has in this area is that it does not let you manipulate and stretch the size of your banners and buttons like you can a graphic or text box. This should be included in future updates of Fusion and should be a simple option provided to webauthors. I found not being able to do this very frustrating. I was also surprised with the flexibility that Fusion allows for in other areas of ones web creation, that this was not also included as a feature.
Tuesday - January 26, 1999
3 hours - Actions - I spent the entire evening in Fusion 3.0 playing with and experimenting with different actions available for me to choose. I can see how complicated something like this could become. I spent three hours on this before I finally put it away.
Wednesday - January 27, 1999
3 hours - Site Styles - Backgrounds - Banners - I spent a significant portion of this evening designing several more site styles that could be of possible interest to others. I also played with actions again and learned nothing, but had a lot of fun.
I also looked at chapter 17 which talks about organizing your file assets and managing link assets. This is something I know I won't be using unless I was needing to constantly update my website...
Thursday - January 28, 1999
3 hours - Chapter 20 - 21 - Ten designs tips for any web author and Ten elements every website should include. The suggestions I gained from these chapters are the following:
1. Make layouts throughout website consistent
2. Avoid graphical gluttony
3. Avoid multi media mayhem
4. Plug visitors in.
5. Be a crowd pleaser
6. No web counters
7. Be a merciless editor.
8. Say no to scrolling
9. Make it easy to move around in.
10. Nav Bars and Site Maps a must.
11. Provide contact information such as e-mail address.
12. Devote a page to related links,
13. Date stamp your site that shows date of latest modification.
Friday - January 29, 1999
5 hours - Chapter 18 -19 - Getting that darned thing online - Publish View - Setting the Stage - Lost everything.
After reviewing what I had created over the past month I decided to try to publish several of my sites. As I put my zip disk in the machine it started making a clicking sound and nothing was happening. I had to get a proctor from the lab to help me because I couldn't even get my disk out of the computer. All files, all graphics, all borders, banners, and backgrounds, all styles I created as well as all of my practice web sites I have lost. The proctor called it the "zip disk click of death." I've never heard of this before. He could not recover any material on my disk except the name of the disk. I am angry, and discouraged. I learned a terrible lesson tonight about backing up all computer work. I estimate I have lost over 60 hours worth of work, because I have not made a second backup. Everything is gone. I will not make this mistake again. I can only be grateful that this happened now before any substantial information is lost. I am going to make it a practice to save all of my work three times so that I can't possibly lose it all again. Maybe this lesson though discouraging will be the best lesson I learn through my entire project.
I am guessing, but I hope that I can recover most of what I have lost in a fraction of the time it took initially to obtain it because I am more efficient with these computer tools now. I guess I will wait to see whether this is true.
Total hours on project as of the end of January - 54 hours in office on Fusion 3.0
Journal of Experience
 |
 |
 |
