Digital Everything

I remembered that when I was in Junior College, digital media were used in our classrooms and around us all the time. I was in this CCA called: New Media Arts, which helped us to learn more effective through the use of digital media. There were courses that we could take in our classes where we have to create videos and each video are done based on lessons in sequence. Then, our videos will be used to be taught as part of the course. In my CCA, we are taught to use various software where we could use the same technology and digitalized our learning materials and aid us in learning effectively.
www.adobe-eduapac.com/issue15/pdf.pdf

I think it is really important to have a well-designed digital media experience for effective learning.

Here are some ways that we can enhance the learning experience:

• Make use of technology around us : Gadgets, such as ipad, which appeals to us can provide innovative learning opportunities. Attraction and interest can boost our learning.

• Interactive learning: Powerful channel of 3D animation videos to explain concepts- We can't bring concepts such as formation of volcano, so creating it can help students understand better and allow students to see thing differently than just words

• Incorporate learning in student's world: The virtual world appeals attracts the most students than boring books. Second life in Innova Junior College in Singapore.
  

Ideas such as digital whiteboard is possible with the developments such as Microsoft Surface Technology. Such technology is common but using it to teach is not an easy task. No doubt that it does make lessons interesting and enhance learning, but the call for an effective teacher is important as well. No point in having technologies in classroom but the absences of teachers who are will to venture and create and design lesson that work well with the technologies. It's like simply calling e-learning, reading notes online.

Another idea that could be used in the classroom could be the audience response systems where students can response to the teacher instantly and data could be collected to evaluate the understanding of the lesson. This could enhance learning and teachers could address the problem as soon as possible.


Here's a video to the future:

E-marketing is NOW!

Success in E-marketing plays a huge part in the success in business. It is important to have a good web design, web coding, pushing relevant visits as well as easy to navigate. To ensure the success of e-marketing, one must also take note of the rising trends around us. Below are 2 important factors that affects E-marketing.

1. Taking note of trends: Take for instance social networking sites.

• Fastest growing online marketing development- 13% a year
• Facebook, MySpace, Youtube,etc
• Online word of mouth networks can spread rapidly
• However, there is no control over what is said, regardless good or bad

2. Know your audience better

• Based in book by James Surowiecki: The Wisdom of crowds
• Is it that large groups make better decisions?
• We also need to rebrand in order to reach out to lost audiences and potential new audiences
  
  

With the rise and wide access to Internet, marketing has changed over the years. From marketing comes a new sub genre called, E-marketing. E marketing makes use of Internet to create awareness or advertise for products or services. It has been gaining popularity Internet Age and had changed how businesses work. Below are some examples methods of e marketing which is commonly seen.

• Affiliate Marketing: paying another website for new business opportunities it refers to the site ( eBay Affiliate's program)
• Search Engine Marketing/ Display Advertising: banner advertisements based on your behavioral data (DoubleClick)
• Blog Marketing : advertising on blogs, especially popular ones (Technorati links the advertisers to the blogs
• Email Advertising: Most people considered it spam, it requires mailing list

Email marketing is one of the methods where it affects people the most. This method is cost-friendly and it reaches a large group of potential customers. Instead of the conventional way of advertising through direct mail, email marketing is not really welcomed by people. Majority doesn't even read those adverts and just simply refer it as spam. Here's a story from TIME which tells of excessive spam: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005018-1,00.html

Other resources:

http://www.emarketingmatador.com/the-4-pillars-of-internet-marketing-success

CouchSurfing: Travelers' Networking Site

Couchsurfing (http://www.couchsurfing.org) is a social networking platform where travelers and the locals of the community that they visit socialize. Membership is free but you are welcome to make donations to CS to maintain its survival. The main function of this website is to provide travelers with potential hosts in foreign countries and traveling info or any tips. The members provide most of the information (Web2.0) on the web through forums and testimonials. Members can decide if they are interested in hosting or meet up, which allow them to socialize with people from all over the world. The survival of this site is based on the donation made by members when they verify their addresses.

Main Concern: Security
Members will have to verify their address by doing it online (optional but lack of credibility if you don't) and make a little donation, which is how the company profits. At the end of the process, a postcard will be received and you will have to verify your address. However, not everyone might be comfortable to provide his or her address online. Other than that, there are not many concerns except for the character and reliability of members, which is impossible to judge given the existence of anonymity in cyberspace.

What can CS do for you?

• Find ways to surf or host
• Inform you of social events that are nearby
• Allow you to find people whom has the same interests as you
• Provide you with opportunities to meet new people, broaden your social network beyond your home country
• No more socializing through a computer screen
  

It is not as sophisticated as what Facebook offers but still, basics are there, targeting a specific group of people. Those basic functions are good enough to facilitate any arrangements between the hosts and the travelers as well as information that any traveler would need to ensure their safety or enhance their traveling experience.


Overall, it is a rather useful website as it allows people from all around the world to meet and give a whole new experience to travelers as well as the locals. It helps to make people feel home as they travel and see the different countries from the perspective of a local rather than a tourist. It is definitely a whole new experience where you actually meet people and socialize face to face, which is not what many sites can offer.

Social Media Empowers Us

In my opinion, social media is one that allows 2-way communication. It has the ability to empower individual. There is no prerequisite needed in order for one to be involved in the social media web community. Anyone, regardless of their education qualifications, financial status or networking, can be part of the community where their participation is valued.

As the Internet becomes more accessible, it allows the development of freedom of speech, where individuals are able to leave a free expression of their own in the cyber world. Such platforms or social media websites are popular and there are plenty of them in the cyber world catering to the varying needs and expectations of individuals. We may even find ourselves frequent users of the websites!

With social media, we find ourselves expressing, communicating and learning more as we get more involved in the social media sphere. Hence, it makes everyone that participates in the social media sphere relevant and influential. In 2006, Time’s Magazine Person of the Year turns out to be ‘YOU’. (See the article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html) This was when social media was on its way to the peak. The social media sphere is made up of us. We are the contributors, responders and the on lookers that form the fundamentals of social media. We are empowered by social media for we know we are the ones who have developed the culture of social media, where participation is what counts as.

Here’s a few websites that became so successful because of us:

•Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
o Socializing: Groups, comments, discussion

•YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/
o They make people popular in their own right
o User generated content

•Wikis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
o We add articles, create the content and hold the power to edit the content as and when we want
Therefore, it is indeed true that social media is empowering us! We are moving towards a culture where free expression is very much sought after. For starters, it might be impossible in Singapore but there are definitely platforms in Cyberspace that allows that!