Category: Installing/Creating New Things

Today, I created a subsite using Sites@UMW. I made my subsite about pigs because they are my favorite animals, and it is almost National Pig Day. National Pig Day is on March 1st in case you were wondering. If I had to describe the difference between Sites@UMW and DoOO, I would say that Sites@UMW gives users less freedom in the creation of their sites in comparison to DoOO. Sites@UMW is more structured which means it may be easier for new users to create their sites, but they also have less creative control. For example, there are only 26 themes to choose from using Sites@UMW which makes it less overwhelming for new users but also limits their creativity in the design of their site. For someone totally new to web design, Sites@UMW may be the better option to get started on. As they get more comfortable though, I would recommend using DoOO.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on making a trailer for the ADC (Analog Disinformation Center). The first step in this process was making my storyboard. I was inspired by the book, 1984, to create my storyboard. I also used Canva to make and edit it. Through this process, I learned that it is okay to change and even start over your projects. At first, when I was making my storyboard, I had a very dramatic theme. After working on it for a while, I realized this theme just wouldn’t work for the project, so I had to pretty much start over from scratch. It was annoying, but at least I hadn’t begun videoing my project yet. As a result, I switched the theme of my project to be happy and inviting. It is a trailer for people to visit the ADC after all!

After the storyboard was finished, I began videoing my project. Arden and Ally helped me learn how to use the tripod kit, audio kit, and video kit. Lee, Katy, and Oli also helped in the creation of my project by being actors. I now feel much more confident in using the microphones and the DSLR camera. I have never used either before (besides my first day of training), so I learned a lot! I can’t wait to show everyone my trailer and to see everyone else’s trailers. But first, I have to go edit my videos together!

Today, I learned about designing a website to be accessible. One thing I learned is that text should be at least 16 px or larger. I knew that text should be easy to read, but it’s useful knowing the exact size which it needs to be. Additionally, I learned about linking using descriptive text. This means that when you link a site, you can’t just say “click here”. Instead, you need to describe the site which you are linking. One thing I have a question about is writing alternative text for gifs. I tried looking it up and writing code for it, but I think I was doing it wrong. I’ve never coded before, so I had no idea what I was doing. The accessibility checker gave me a warning about my gif, but again, I couldn’t figure out how to solve the issue.