Back to blogging! For this week, I'd like to begin by reflecting/venting on the knowledge-sharing assignment. First, as I noted in my presentation, I learned quite a bit from the assignment, specifically about how Twitter analytics work and why they are useful. I also learned that while I come a long way technology-wise, there is still much to learn. For example, when I tried to add voice narration via Voicethread it produced separate audio files that were not in sync with the slides. Very frustrating! I consulted several sources to locate a solution but was ultimately unsuccessful. In the end, I decided that the best thing to do was to forgo Voicethread's audio features, and instead use PowerPoint's audio function. However, I had already recorded the audio files and didn't really want to repeat the narration, so I downloaded each audio file from Voicethread, renamed them so they would correspond to the appropriate slides, and used an online file converter to ensure compatibility with PowerPoint's audio requirements (I was quite proud of myself for making it work, haha). Finally, I have skimmed (but not yet commented on) my classmates' presentations and - to say the least - I am impressed and now wish I had the assignment to do over again! Some folks were able to link their work to more than one format, and I really wish I had thought of that! Oh well, I think I have late-semester malaise, but I truly am impressed by the outstanding work everybody contributed.
One of the distinct advantages of Web 2.0 is that it has helped not only in democratizing art but also facilitating its creation. As a (former) musician, I adore that people now have the technology to create music irrespective of temporospatial boundaries and without onerous financial investments. Musicians can now live in disparate parts of the country or world and still make music together thanks to file-sharing and reasonably-priced software. Another outgrowth of this phenomenon is the culture of mash-ups. To give a brief bit of background, mash-ups are essentially additions to or the manipulation of previously recorded material. One of the earliest and most notable examples of mash-ups was known as 'The Grey Album," which was released by an artist named Dangermouse in 2004. The Grey Album combined previously recorded music by the Beatles and Jay-Z. Predictably, EMI, the owner of the Beatles recording copyrights balked and distributors of the Grey Album were sent Cease an...
I am so sorry you had trouble with Voicethread. Congratulations on coming to a solution. This is often me - my IT department says I should wear magnet bracelets. :)
ReplyDelete