Developing+an+Online+Journal


 * [[image:scan0001.jpg width="281" height="293"]] || ﻿Hello to the Hannah, Emily, Alyssa, and Neno,

This is the basic page for your group and for the work you will be doing on the Watershed journal during this semester. It is the place you will deposit all work so that it is accessible to both your group members as well as the rest of the class. It is my hope that you will find the use of this wiki advantageous as well as effective. I will be talking more about the use of the pages in class today. As you can see at the left, there is a page for each group. This allows you to see your own group's work as well as look at the rest of the class also.

Thanks,

Michael ||
 * || October 18th . . ..

Dear Group Members,

Thank you for your strong start here. I think you have some very strong persona documents and the Gantt Chart is fundamentally strong. I am looking forward to the third persona and I believe that each of you has a very essential role in the process. Emily, I think as the user experience person, you have done some thoughtful work. Hannah, the one thing I might note about the Gantt Chart is it might have been helpful to color code each person and change the colors for each specific job to the person who is primarily responsible for them. Allysa and Neno, I hope things are going well for you also and I am looking forward to your input here too.

Thanks to you all.

Michael ||

[|Persona 2.docx]




 * Dr. Martin and Group**: Julia Marano from the Friends of Shikellamy State Park finally got back to me. I completed the persona for her, and found what she said to be very helpful. I will post the paragraph summarizing all of the personas early this week. Also, since I had to interview her via email, there is no picture. In her email, she also expressed interest in submitting works to the journal and asked who/where to send the works. I gave her Jerry Wemple's email address, since obviously, the website is not up and running. But it did make me think about how important the website is going to be for those who are interested in submitting work. I just wanted to let you all know what was happening. :) --Emily

Hey Emily: So I talked to Professor Wemple about people to interview for the personas. He said the best way to go about it was to become a "friend" on Facebook of //Watershed//. There's a list of sixty-some people you could just pick from, email, ask questions, etc. He also said the best person to contact who is a friend of Shikellamy State Park can be reached at julia.vision@gmail.com.

Hope this helps!

So as you can see, I posted a second persona. I emailed the contact you gave me above, Hannah, and she is going to get back to me this week. I emailed Dr. Martin about it to make sure it was okay that I didn't post the third persona until she gets back to me. I just wanted to let you all know why there isn't three personas! Emily

Professor, that's the main problem with the gantt chart I created: you cannot change the colors. Each bar must be the exact same color as the other bars. Also, as far as I can find, there is no way to change the font color of the tasks. In these ways, the graph maker on Excel is extraordinarily limiting. I'm wondering if I should go the more difficult route and recreate the chart by hand--meaning filling in each individual cell with information and color coding each bar shape--the way the Podcast group seems to have constructed theirs.

Hey everyone, I redid the chart in the hopes of making it more functional, visually. Let me know if there is any due date confusion or you want me to change something.

This is the link to the Kairo's poem example: http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/7.1/binder.html?features/walker/text/index.html

Well, when I think about my portion of the project, I am a little concerned. I have been trying to play with dreamweaver, but I am so confused about how it works. I have not put in the time to watch more videos on Lynda, or the time to talk to my boyfriend, who is a code-monkey. I actually have to make another website, an e-portfolio**,** so I am trying to learn what I can. It is really hard because I am 18 other credits, plus my activities outside of class, and now, some medical issues. So I recognize there is time constraint for me, and I recognize that I need to buckle down and really work on dreamweaver and getting this website together. So far, I have nothing, but by the end of this week, I plan to have the beginning of the website together. Another problem that I do have is, I don't have all the content that needs to be put on the website. So once that comes to me, I know it will all come together.
 * Alyssa's Little Blurb**

I am the user experience person and I have completed three personas. I still have to write a summarization of the personas and post it on here. This will allow us to actually use the personas to our advantage and think about what those three individuals are looking for in the site. I hope to have that paragraph up by tomorrow, but I also have a lot of other classwork to do (17 credits). Even though I have a lot of classwork, and extracurriculars, I am good at managing my time. Once I write that, I will focus on helping the group in other ways. Once we get the actual content from Wemple, I think we will be able to actually start creating the website. We should probably meet several times, outside of class, to put everything together.
 * Emily's Little Blurb**

I know that my portion of the project involves less actual content design than collaboration with the web designer to decide how content will be displayed, but there are some things I am still responsible for creating, such as an editor bio of Dr. Wemple and introductory texts to the website. I plan on interviewing Dr. Wemple sometime in the near future to obtain information that will be used in the editor bio section, and once Hannah receives the files containing the actual texts of Watershed, I will be able to assist in developing the content for the website.
 * Nino says:**

My role as group leader is integrating very well with the rest of my course load. Because I am heavily involved within the Creative Writing major I frequently talk to Professor Wemple in various settings; I am familiar with his office hours and visit them often, I am enrolled in one of his classes and sometimes talk to him at its conclusion, and last week there was a poet reading we both attended which enabled me the opportunity to ask him various questions concerning the project. I believe that the regularity of this dialogue will help me more accurately interpret his vision for the project, provide him with a stronger voice in the production process, and ultimately lead to client satisfaction.
 * Hannah's Little Blurb**

11/11 Hey, just adding one more content thing (see short story document below) that I just found in my email:
 * CONTENT DOCUMENTS**
 * I've posted below the poems/fiction/non-fiction pieces Wemple has sent me thus far. He sent along a few pictures too, but I can't figure out how to save the photographs he sent me. Hopefully somebody can show me how tomorrow during class.**
 * I've posted below the poems/fiction/non-fiction pieces Wemple has sent me thus far. He sent along a few pictures too, but I can't figure out how to save the photographs he sent me. Hopefully somebody can show me how tomorrow during class.**




 * NENO: All author bios are already written and are available in the back of the two journals. If you need a copy of them, see Professor Wemple and he'll provide you with them. Another copy-and-paste break.**


 * FOOTNOTE ABOUT THE PHOTOS:**
 * I don't know if these are distorted in size. Attaching them here as a file is tricky. If you need the original, I will save it on my email.**

11/2 Update: Right now, I have lots of things in the works. To get the __website space__ allotted to the //Watershed// publication, Professor Wemple has to make the help desk ticket request. He is doing so, but it's probably going to take a week before they create the official space for us. As for __copyright issues__, thus far I've talked to Conner Printing. Our contact, Dennis, said that the company was perfectly fine with us using any and all materials we wish for the website because, the way they see it, it is an extension of the publication and therefore the materials are going towards the same purpose, just in a different format. This permission extends even to the unique //Watershed// logo design the retired David Conner designed for the journal.

Alyssa: stay posted for soon-coming information regarding the website space and instructions on how to set it up (Bloomsburg has a how-to set of instructions, apparently). Also, stay posted for the soon-coming files for the logo, fonts, and designated color scheme.

--Hannah

11/8 Stuff: Alyssa: I am attaching here the logos of Watershed. You have permission to use both (one is color, as seen on the cover, the other in gray scale, as seen inside the journal) in any way you wish on the website. They are in PDF form. If you need them in a different program, please let me know ASAP. It takes Dennis about three days to get files to me so the sooner the better.

Concerning design stuff, the blue color is PMS 548 (that's so specifically printer-lingo that I dunno if it helps you any, but per clients request please keep as close to the color scheme as possible).

Alyssa AND Neno: The font used in the publication is Garamond Book Condensed. Please use in all content, per request of consistency from Professor Wemple. The printer provided me with a zip file of the font for both Mac and PC uses if your versions of Word do not possess it naturally.

--Hannah


 * Dear Group Members;**


 * Let me commend you on the good work here. I think you have worked hard to manage the project and worked with some logistically issues that are common when you are posting to a "template" required site. Working with the university, and managing the project inside their parameters, is always an interesting task because it requires you to give up some creative license. You have that issue on two fronts as you are not developing material from scratch, but working to create a site that used pre-determined material. The issue of font that Hannah raises is one such case.**


 * Again, thanks for your work.**


 * Michael**


 * 11/9:**
 * Guess what?! We now have a webpage for Watershed, officially!**

http://orgs.bloomu.edu/watershed/I'm also cutting and pasting the email Judy Ohl sent me concerning the appropriate way to set up the website. Apparently there are specific instructions and everything.

Hannah, http://www.bloomu.edu/technology/web After you get the site access you need, go under Tutorials on the above page. Use the tutorial called Set up your site in Dreamweaver – follow the instructions for setting up an __organizational website__. There are other dreamweaver tutorials on the above web page, including a Reference Manual. Good luck with your new web sites! Judy
 * Dr. Martin and Group:** Here is a brief overview of all three of the personas. I think it will help in creating the site.

To complete my three personas, I actually took three somewhat different approaches. For the first persona, I chose a college freshman. I tried to think of someone who was affected by the Susquehanna River, and also appreciated the arts. I also made sure I chose someone who did not live in the Bloomsburg area, or attended Bloomsburg University, because I thought we should have a range of personas. Before interviewing Travis, who is also my good friend, I considered him an informed user, since he was familiar with the river and the arts. After interviewing him, I was sort of surprised that he would go to the site in his free time. I finally determined that the site must be easy to navigate, and pleasant to the eye, so people do not get bored and drawn away from the site.

For my next persona, I chose Cj Shultz, who attends Bloomsburg University and is somewhat influenced by the Susquehanna River. Although he is not as familiar with the outdoors as Travis, he is more interested in writing than Travis is. I felt like between the two of them, there would be a lot of useful information. I figured Cj would be more interested in the stories, since he enjoys writing. After interviewing him, though, I was surprised to hear how much he stressed the importance of aesthetics. He not only wanted the writing to attract him to the site, but the photographs, as well. He also recommended a search bar, which I found to be a helpful suggestion. He said a search bar would help him find stories that interested him.

My last persona was with a woman named Julia. She is a part of the Friends of Shikellamy State Park, and Jerry Wemple gave our group her name as a reference. I expected her to be the final persona in our range of users, since she is an adult, and is extremely interested in the Susquehanna River. I interviewed her by email, and her answers were very helpful and surprising. She said she would actually be hesitant towards the idea of a website, because she enjoys reading the journal in print. In order to attract her to an online form, the website must be filled with equally satisfying content. I found this interesting, and I thought her interview could help us incorporate a person who was not very technology-inclined into our site.

Overall, the three people gave different responses, but stressed a lot of the same points. Easy navigation and layout of the site are extremely important if we want to attract users. Features such as search bars and photographs will also attract people to the site. Finally, the design should not replace the content, since some people will expect the content to be just as fulfilling as the content in the printed journal. I think all of these points are definitely things we need to think about when creating this site. I think by interviewing a range of people, we received some helpful information.

Alyssa's Progress: So far, Hannah and I were able to create the index of Watershed. We sat down for about two hours and created a page that we are both really proud of, with the help of Tim Morrell, my boyfriend. What helped was drawing out the idea that we wanted. I did this with the rest of the pages will will be added, with the exception of the pages that will include the literature and artwork. I think I need more input from my group mates to create those pages.

Nino's Progress: I have received most if not all of the content for the online Watershed and trascribed it to Garamond Book Condensed, the preferred font; these can be found above in the 'Content' section with the annotation 'GBC.' I received a copy of the editor bio from Professor Wemple, transcribed it to GBC, and posted it to the site. What remains to be done are the author biographies, which need to be transcribed from the hard copies of Watershed, along with certain editing and other fine-tuning matters.

11/16: --Hannah

11/16 (evening):

Alright, there's a lot we need to get done ASAP.


 * Nino: all content must be completed by Thursday. See further information concerning content below: **

Run down on content:

Font issue: The printer can't offer any troubleshooting help because they only use Macs. Apparently the zip files they send around for fonts their customers don't have work 50% of the time, so they said the best solution is just to use one of your own fonts that is as similar as possible. Professor Martin suggested using the exact font, sans serif.

Editor's Page: Professor Martin wants more information to be included within it along with a photograph.

During your interview with him this week, make sure that you get enough information to compile the content for: 1. Submissions page 2. Ordering subscription page 3. About page--what is the purpose behind the journal, inspiration, focus, etc.


 * Emily: ** are you willing to help out with designing a few Dreamweaver pages for Alyssa? We can design them using the version of Dreamweaver available on the school computers and then send them as a zip file to Alyssa. She needs a template, abiding by the design we discussed at the end of class, and several pages combining the template and the content for individual pages.

Which would you be interested in doing? I can make the template and then send it to you to tailor for individual pages or visa versa.

Hannah

Content Stuff:

11/18/2010 ALYSSA: SEE THE EDITED AND APPROVED-BY-WEMPLE "ABOUT" DOCUMENT BELOW --Hannah

UPDATE:

Well guys, I haven't done anything to the website since we last worked on it. I had to set up my own for a grade on Wednesday December 1st. However, that leaves the rest of my break to work on our website!

I lied... I (and by I, I mean my wonderful, amazing, perfect boyfriend, Tim) got the website up and running on Hannah's space: http://myweb.bloomu.edu/hkj78122/

Now, here's the other thing I need to discuss and get an answer ASAP. One thing that the oh so wonderful, amazing, almost perfect boyfriend has said to me. The website might not be able to hold all that information, since it is so image heavy. Basically, the slide show that we want to put on, might not fit on the space we are allotted.

The wonderful, amazing, not so perfect boyfriend suggested we have the slide show HOSTED on another site, such as Flickr. That way, we'll provide the hyperlink, and when the user clicks over the hyperlink, it will take them to the hosted space, and allow them to click through the slide show without our memory being used up.

Ok. I need some thoughts and input as soon as you guys can, I don't want to do anything that you guys don't want me to do. But I really think the poem needs to be up, somehow, whether it be hosted, or we crash the space we are given. I think it's one of the most important parts of the entire website, since it cannot be placed in the journal anyway.

THANKS! XOXOXO I hope you are stuffed with Turkey and everything yummy from Thanksgiving!!

Alyssa.

11/27: Just so everyone else is on the same page, I want to let everyone know that Judy Ohl was not in the office this week so we have to wait until Monday to sort out the university URL issues we're having. Until that time, the website will continue to be hosted on my webspace.

As for the image issues, Alyssa: is there a way to make it less image intense by perhaps making the pages the powerpoint poem is on a black background, naturally, then we could format it to look like the powerpoint slides? By this I mean instead of each page being a very large .jpeg, could we make it a normal webpage, and then simply insert each drawing sketch on the page. Would that reduce the image heftiness problem? I'm a little hesitant to post the poem in another, less secure webspace that is uncontrolled by Bloomsburg. Also, do we know the copyright rules with publishing/posting stuff on Flickr?

Hannah

What you are saying is, type up the actual poem, and then insert the drawings provided? Hm... that might possibly work. I understand the concern on hosting it on another website. I can try that, and see if it all loads. Also, I won't be available until tomorrow evening, so if we can get together then, let me know, because transferring the files to you should be done through an external hard drive since the website is so huge. If you want, we can use mine, since it is not really in use at the moment, and I can hand it to Dr. Martin, and have him return it to me in Thursday's class.

Alyssa.

11/28: Yeah, that's basically my suggestion. You know how all our other pages are default white background? Would there be a way of making the various Cousin poem pages default black background?

As for turning it in, I think it would be a good idea to put it on your own flashdrive and then Dr. Martin can copy it to his own files. For the purposes of the Beta Project due date (EVERYTHING needs to be done and posted for Tuesday), we also have to have it posted on the Wiki, so I'll just post the link. Do you really need to meet up for any other purposes? I work 4:30-6 and 9-midnight at the library, so if you just need to drop by to talk quick, I'm allowed to. Otherwise, for a real group meeting, I'd have to meet in-between those two shifts.

Does it work in Internet Explorer yet?

Hannah P.S.: So I'm looking over the website and it's looking really good. All the links seem very tight and the design is consistent. The only page I have concern about is the Literature page: the columns are uneven and the photograph column is incomplete. As for the mysterious Jason Godeck artist for the Cousin poem, I'm going to email Professor Wemple right now for a bio about him.

No, Actually, I don't think I need to meet up. I forgot to bring home the Watershed journals, so I will finish up artist bio's tomorrow evening, but I'll work on the rest this evening. I am not sure about internet explorer yet. As far as I know, Tim hasn't helped me make it work in IE yet.

Ok - back to work I go! Alyssa

11/29 (way too early in the morning...) ALYSSA! I JUST SAW THE COUSIN POEM!!!! It looks aaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing!

Here is the completed website: http://myweb.bloomu.edu/hkj78122/index.html

We have some issues about getting it onto the correct url, so it has to stay on Hannah's for now.

12/1:

So, I have to call the Help Desk because Judy called me back and informed me that it is not in her realm to assist with, what she is assuming is, password problems.

The two mysterious photographs were taken by Jerry Wemple himself.

And I am attaching here the author bio for the artist for the Cousin poem:.

And yey for having one of the usability tests done! Roggenbuck still hasn't emailed me back so I emailed Lawrence. I know she's in her office right now so hopefully she'll email back before the end of the night.

Hannah

Emily
 * Hannah,** is there a time you want to meet tomorrow to work on the report?

Hey all - check out the website. Try all links. Find typos, and let me know what doesn't work. Alyssa

11/6: Alyssa: 1. the links on the first page of the Cousin poem are still dark blue. 2. the Jason Godeke bio does not link to his name.

3. all the pieces of fiction and non-fiction look fine--no typos I caught--but upon review they ARE excerpts. To indicate this, maybe do a [...] at the end of each story and a little note on the bottom that to read the rest of it, order the _whatever issue it's from_ on the ordering page (and link to the ordering page). 4. (Emily said she'd do poetry, but I was just flipping through the Cousin poem and just thought I'd say): 1. On the second slide, it's "bury," not "burry" 2. On the 5th slide, the stanza needs to be left justified 3. On the 6th slide, it's "uniting" instead of "united" 4. On the 6th slide, "filthy streets" is on the same line as "Johnnie Da Mitch" 5. On the 9th slide, "cemetery" is on the tale end of the line before it. 6. On the 9th slide, "faster" is on the tale end of the line before it. 7. On the 9th slide, the word "the" before "wages" needs to be deleted 8. On the 9th slide, "Italians" is on the line before it. 9. On the 9th slide, "Polacks" needs to be on the line before it. 10. On the 10th slide, the comma at the end of the first slide needs to be a period. 11. On the 10th slide, "stay there" needs to be on the end of the line before it. 12. On the 10th slide, "Cugino," "coal," and "full dinner pail" each need to be on the lines respectively before each. 13. On the 11th slide, "weather" needs to be on the end of the line before it 14. On the 13th slide, "Puertorigquenas," and "Dzien dobry, kuzyn. Gene Autry!" needs to be italicized 15. On the 15th slide, the two stanzas need to be left justified.

Hope this helps! Good luck finishing, Alyssa!

It is officially on http://orgs.bloomu.edu/watershed/index.html Also, whoever posted the stuff up about the Cousin poem, about words being on the wrong lines, I think it's the computer you are using. They are on the correct lines on my computer. But all the other stuff, thank you!

12/7:

I am posting the usability report here. I am not putting it in the drop box yet because I am having trouble scanning the permission forms etc.

HANNAH: Here is the usability report, with the scans in it. I put them in as images so let me know if it looks okay, and isn't messed up when you open it up on your computer.

POWERPOINT (make 2 slides) : 1. Individual Roles & Process- How did the process and project management work together? How did these affect the outcomes? 2. Individual Learning Moments

Slides: 1. Hannah introduces and does first half of overview. Alyssa does second half of overview (techno-rhetoric). 7. Emily and Nino do editing slide. Emily talks about design editing, Nino about textual editing. 8. Hannah does Group Communication slide. 9. Emily talks about usability testing (include persona experience) 10. Alyssa does usability recommendations (list of usability experiences) 15. Nino talks about professional writing slide (how this project affects us as professional writing) 16. Alyssa talks about final product, shows homepage.

UNCOMPLETED POWERPOINT, FOR REFERENCE:

From Alyssa!

From Hannah:

COMPLETED POWERPOINT (WITHOUT NINO'S SLIDES):
 * Nino, please post your slides...tonight?[[file:The+Watershed+Journal.pptx]]**

Nino's slides: Sorry about the delay. I forgot.

Emily -- Looks good!

Just the presentation, and WE ARE DONE! :D

--I got your slides, and added them, Nino. Thank you! I'll bring the PowerPoint on a flashdrive tomorrow, but I am going to email it to Hannah, as well, in case of technical difficulties. -Emily