On a final note

On a whole I thoroughly enjoyed this module. 

I felt as though the information was presented very well and the lecturer kept us on our toes with discussions on the topics during lectures. I found this interesting as we could listen to other peoples opinions on the future of social media for example. 

The group project was enjoyable. We all communicated well with each other. If we were unhappy with anything we were all honest enough with one another. This helped with the progression of the app. I could also link some of the lab work in with the group project as myself and another member made a prezi. This was the first time I had made a prezi. 

The day without social media was a learning curve. I hadn't realized how dependent I was on social media and how exposed I felt being out of the social loop. This taught me a lesson in a way and since then I've kept all social media apps off my phone (apart from Whatsapp). I also don't use my phone until 11am. I still struggle with this and at times give in!

I found that the quiz was quite difficult to study for as the lecture notes weren't available on Blackboard. However the quiz itself wasn't as grilling as I thought it would be. 

I dont think I'd make any changes as I thought everything had a purpose in the course.

Prezi

Prezi was a very important lab for myself on a personal note. I had never used it before and had always imagined it to be a very complicated way to present information.

However after the instructions during the lab I soon found out that it was a very straight  forward way of expressing information. It offered a wider range of colour, font size, graphs etc. in comparison to Microsoft which was far more complicated in my experience

Prezi was important to me as myself and another group member were given the task of promoting our app as part of our group project.

Week 7 Mashups

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zhNZ5VqfS82g.ktYYSaZgOvfA


The aim of this task was to 'visualise some information using google maps'

The class created individual mashups using the instructions given on Blackboard.

'Heritage oak trees of Ireland' was the name of the mashup given.

step 1. I ensured that I saved everything as I went on.

2. I clicked 'Make a Map' and started the project

3. I then went on and followed the instructions given.

4. I went on and made the mashup public

A day without Social Meida

A day without social media

When we were told to spend a day without social media, I thought this would be an easy enough task. I deleted all of my apps (Facebook, Instagram, Whats App, and Snapchat) off my phone. I also said I wouldn't text anyone either as it was another way of communicating with others.

I started my day without social media @9am. I had an 11 o clock class so I was on the bus for 9.30am. At this point I would have logged onto the Dublin Bus Wi-Fi and checked my Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. But instead I listened to music. I noticed straight away that I had become more observant, looking out the window, noticing other people on the bus. This was a good start until it hit lunch time. Usually at this point my WhatsApp would be filled with messages with arrangements to meet for lunch. But I could only go for lunch in the hope that I’d bump into one of my friends. I couldn't find any of my friends so I ate lunch on my own. Half way through my lunch one of my friends from class (who I rarely meet up with) joined me. This was a nice change and probably wouldn't have happened if I had met up with my usual group.

I’m also a keen rower and usually we make plans to train together depending on our schedules. At this point I really had the urge to use social media and send just one Snapchat to see if anyone was around. But I held off. I went up to the erg room chancing that some of my team were up training. One girl was up about to start her session but it was only by luck that she was there.

After training I went on up to the library to study. Usually, after about an hour and a half I’d get distracted by social media and would disrupt my train of thought. But knowing that I had no social media I kept studying on and had a much more productive evening in the library than I normally would have. When going home (about 8pm) I’d have done the same thing as I would have done in the morning. Again, I was much more aware of what was going on, on the bus.

I really enjoyed my experience but it was an eye opener at the same time. I realized just how dependent I was on social media and how it was taking over my life and my studies. There were times where I really needed it but in reality it was more of a want than a need looking back on it. 

Week 3 MIT App inventor

http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu/#6302245286051840

During our first lab, we had the opportunity to create an app. The steps I took are as follows:

1. sign into appinventor.mit using the ucd email address

2. My projects are up on the left hand. I started a new project using the instructions our lecturer had given us. I could choose different sounds, properties, components etc. to help create the magic 8 ball

3. When complete, the ball worked.


This exercise helped us when we were working with our group on our own app project