Internet tools are among the most useful of inventions

Email makes it possible to conduct much business online. In my desktop publishing business, it’s rare that I have physical contact with my clients. They send me information for newsletters and I send a completed draft back to them. After a couple of back-and-forth iterations, I send them a PDF file that is ready to print.

I began my desktop publishing career in the mid1980s on a Mac Plus. (Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/schlaus/926911366/)

Good experiences on the Internet include

· Email improves speed and ease of communication.

· eCommerce facilitates finding just what you want and buying it with a button click.

· Searching the World Wide Web, one can find information on almost any subject.

· The power to influence via blogs has been demonstrated in many political and ideological campaigns.

· Using FTP, it’s possible to share movies and other large files with business or personal contacts.

There are downsides of course.

· Without visual and voice tone cues, it’s easy to misinterpret emails or fail to respond to the real meaning of inquiries. Since feedback isn’t instantaneous, frustration or misunderstanding can result from email exchanges.

· ECommerce makes it almost too easy to shop, and impulse buying becomes a real risk.

· Information posted on the World Wide Web is as likely to be biased or incorrect as any published information, yet people often seem more likely to accept it uncritically.

· The power to influence via blogs has been demonstrated in many political and ideological campaigns (a negative as well as a positive!)

· As we share large file, we tend to clutter and fill up our hard drives, saving even more “junk” than we do in the physical environment.

Cluttered desktop

I use WebShots to rotate family pictures on my computer desktop. The current view is a photo that includes most of the family, taken in summer 2007. You can see by the icons that I have a lot of files or shortcuts on the desktop for ease of access.
I’ve also stored this image at Picassa.
My physical desktop is usually cluttered with little piles of "to-do's," also arranged for easy access.

Exploring the Possibilities

I have been an adjunct faculty member at Mesa Community College since 1999, teaching Business Computing and Desktop Publishing. For two years I have worked with other staff and faculty in the Maricopa College District on a Digital Visual Literacy Project under a grant from the National Science Foundation. We have created a total of 12 instructional modules, and I developed the six modules which teach graphic design principles and the application of these principles while using the many tools in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, to create visually effective business communications.

I have many years of experience in desktop publishing, creating computer documents that will be printed to hard copy. CIS237 is a great opportunity to get acquainted with more Internet tools for publishing and sharing information.

For several years I have used WebCT (Blackboard) to teach my on-campus courses, and have been satisfied with the tools available in WebCT. Now I’m having to reach out beyond my “comfort zone” and learn more about the amazing technologies that will allow me to make my class richer in resources and more interesting in content. I’m excited at the prospects!