Fig. 2.5 Repsonse:
XKCD's comic college campus lists of "things people go to the site looking for" is near accurate. Having gone through the rings searching and applying to four-year Universities, I had a similar checklist of items when looking at a University's site page. What I came to notice is that much like the army web page, university web pages had a clutter of flare, be it pictures of students chatting in the halls, engaging in fun activities/ interacting with faculty or a story of past accomplishments. It was sometimes difficult to just find a link to the university's department/ course list on some sites or student aid page to find out if this institution is for me, and is affordable. Given the audience the University's are trying to attract, they seem to have this assumption (based on their web-page) that incoming students are attracted by the more flashy, well-known institutions. When in most cases the student is looking for the infrastructure of the university, though the name of the school does have a big influence on the choice.
Dissecting Western Washington University's web-page:
Western Washington University has to have one of the most user friendly webpage. It address's information in a clear and aesthetically pleasing manner for both future and current students. WWU's webpage loosely follows the patterns listed in the XKCD comic. It is visually organized and not to chaotic, in the sense that the majority of the page is filled with text. Having placed a single still image in the center helps to segment the texts and links on the page. The author of WWU's page has addressed the needs of any, if not all, possible audiences. There are clearly labeled sections for jobs at Western, applications, financial aid calculators, events, and much more. From an initial glance at this page we can extrude that the purpose of this page is to inform any audience member, while retaining a strong emphasis towards student and faculty members. I feel that WWU was able to include everything on the XKCD comic list into one page, and make it work without being to cluttered. Visually the author spent time in orienting the information in a manner that can be easily read and used. My overall take on Western Washington University's webpage is able to dissolve the web designs "competition with the site's purpose and the audience's genre expectations"(CH 2).
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
5 structures of multimodality & its relation to multimedia
Multimedia and multimodal are two differing functions in the purpose(s) of relaying information. Multimodal is the various combinations of modes (form of communication) to convey or produce a particular message. We use multimedia such as: television, radio, newsprint/magazines, internet and phones to spread these modalities. Linguistics, visuals, aural, spatial, and gestural are the five modes.
Linguistic Mode Response:
This message comes across sincere and uplifting, "our thoughts and our prayers..." enforces the ending statement concerning the rebuild and recovery of Japan. Though at first read, the statement seemed insincere and that without the direction of our president America would be unable to lend assistance to Japan. The overall tone of the statement is comforting and portrays Americas willingness to aid Japan in anyway.
Visual Mode Response:
Color and profile pictures are two visual differences I notice between the profiles. I can't really understand the person going off the profile color choice, though judging by the profile pictures I feel that Fig 1.4 is more personalized than Fig. 1.3's, which has a more basic and general visual look. We have a partial mug shot of the person we can assume manages the profile in fig. 1.3. Whereas we have a panda toon image for fig. 1.4's profile. In addition, when looking at the text, it appears that Fig. 1.4's profile has a more personal use, and Fig. 1.3 is used for academic purposes. As of right now, I currently don't have a twitter account.
Aural Mode Response:
In the creative commons advertisement, there were musical and vocal aural elements. The music became ambient to the vocal message, and had this soothing zen affect which was broken up once in awhile by bass beats. This ad had an abstract and current tone emphasized by the aural elements. the speaker sounds like a fellow student or partner, emitting this sense of teamwork and togetherness. Bluegrass or country wouldn't fit with this mode, both tend to have a depressing tone.
Spatial Mode Response:
Washington State's homepage seems dominated by a circulating picture band located at the center of the page. Each image frame consist of subjects that are easily identifiable yet don't get in the way. I feel this site deters viewers from the smaller text bar below the picture, as well as smaller text links and search bar located above. After some tinkering with the home page the person may find out that you can click on the alternating images to unravel more links and information regarding the three key subjects: Learning, research, and community. Without further play of the homepage, I feel the arrangement could be fine tuned better so that the viewer doesn't need to discover that the center pics fold out to provide more info. Though it was a cool way to consolidate the information, I felt if the center images and content were expanded, the site would be much better. Also, if the content on the bottom were switched with that above it, there would be a better flow of information as we see smaller text and gradually scroll down to the larger.
Gestural Mode Response:
President Obama's gestures aid his speech, in that it helps to emphasize key points and topics. These gestures help in identifying these key issues in such when does a downward fist-point, he's making the associated words big and bold. When he does his double open handed motion it seems to relate with an action such as coming together or moving forward. I feel this helps to visualize what the president is addressing. Plus it works much like a conductor and helps the speaker and the viewer/audience hear and retain the tempo of the speech/message.
Linguistic Mode Response:
This message comes across sincere and uplifting, "our thoughts and our prayers..." enforces the ending statement concerning the rebuild and recovery of Japan. Though at first read, the statement seemed insincere and that without the direction of our president America would be unable to lend assistance to Japan. The overall tone of the statement is comforting and portrays Americas willingness to aid Japan in anyway.
Visual Mode Response:
Color and profile pictures are two visual differences I notice between the profiles. I can't really understand the person going off the profile color choice, though judging by the profile pictures I feel that Fig 1.4 is more personalized than Fig. 1.3's, which has a more basic and general visual look. We have a partial mug shot of the person we can assume manages the profile in fig. 1.3. Whereas we have a panda toon image for fig. 1.4's profile. In addition, when looking at the text, it appears that Fig. 1.4's profile has a more personal use, and Fig. 1.3 is used for academic purposes. As of right now, I currently don't have a twitter account.
Aural Mode Response:
In the creative commons advertisement, there were musical and vocal aural elements. The music became ambient to the vocal message, and had this soothing zen affect which was broken up once in awhile by bass beats. This ad had an abstract and current tone emphasized by the aural elements. the speaker sounds like a fellow student or partner, emitting this sense of teamwork and togetherness. Bluegrass or country wouldn't fit with this mode, both tend to have a depressing tone.
Spatial Mode Response:
Washington State's homepage seems dominated by a circulating picture band located at the center of the page. Each image frame consist of subjects that are easily identifiable yet don't get in the way. I feel this site deters viewers from the smaller text bar below the picture, as well as smaller text links and search bar located above. After some tinkering with the home page the person may find out that you can click on the alternating images to unravel more links and information regarding the three key subjects: Learning, research, and community. Without further play of the homepage, I feel the arrangement could be fine tuned better so that the viewer doesn't need to discover that the center pics fold out to provide more info. Though it was a cool way to consolidate the information, I felt if the center images and content were expanded, the site would be much better. Also, if the content on the bottom were switched with that above it, there would be a better flow of information as we see smaller text and gradually scroll down to the larger.
Gestural Mode Response:
President Obama's gestures aid his speech, in that it helps to emphasize key points and topics. These gestures help in identifying these key issues in such when does a downward fist-point, he's making the associated words big and bold. When he does his double open handed motion it seems to relate with an action such as coming together or moving forward. I feel this helps to visualize what the president is addressing. Plus it works much like a conductor and helps the speaker and the viewer/audience hear and retain the tempo of the speech/message.
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