Creative Commons

The following is a free creative commons photo that I got from Flicker.com. The photograph, found via the link was posted by CasparGirl who at one point posted a wide array of exotic fruit images. As someone whose taste buds came from Asia, I adore these fruits. I miss it quite often since they are not readily available in the United States. This photograph fits perfectly with the overall theme of my blog. It provides an example of further healthy fruits options you may have not tried before. There is definitely more to the world of fruits than bananas, strawberries, grapes, peaches, plums, blueberries, etc. Some of the fruits in the picture are horned melons, dragon fruits, mangos, kiwis, grapes, and pomegranates. In fact, one of my all-time favorite fruit is a (Caribbean) papaya. To put it in perspective, the papaya is about the size of a football and I can easily devour half in one sitting!  I particularly love this image because it reminds me of home.

At first, I was doubtful about using creative commons material. I thought that it would hinder the quality of my posts because I would not be able to find exactly what I was searching for. However, to my amazement, I actually found a lot of the free online material! I am able to use this picture in my blog because it fits the requirements for a creative common license (Purpose: Comment, Nature: Important to favored educational objectives). Overall, I am excited I was able to learn something new.

 

Screencasting

This was my first time creating a screencast video review. I thought the whole process behind it was fairly simple. However like any software I download from the internet, I was hesitant because I worry about viruses and Trojans. Despite my worry, I couldn’t find an alternative solution so I downloaded Jing and began to record my video. What I found difficult about this project was timing. The issue with the site that I chose was that the hyperlinks were taking me forever to download. My solution for this problem was to click the link 3-4 seconds before I wanted to go on that page. It was a bit of a hassle, because it took me a few tries to record and get it right. I ended up rerecording my video for about 20 minutes, but I worked around it as best as I can. Although I wished there wasn’t so much lag in this video, I am still happy with my results. After I made my video, I embedded it onto my WordPress blog. All I did was copy the link from Dropbox and pasted it on here!

I’m not sure when I will ever have the need to create a screencast video. I think a screen capture will be of more use to me. I know for my internship when I had to make a PowerPoint to teach someone how to use a program or fix an issue, the screenshot became an invaluable tool. Screencast would definitely be of use in an online class. I think it’s great to use for recording PowerPoint presentations. I personally believe screencast is great for creating tutorials; sometimes words are not enough. Using a visual accompanied with writings can be an effective method for teaching someone how to use a program or even how to solve a math problem!

On the whole, this assignment was interesting. I do hope to be able to use this program in the future.

Checkout my screencast! 

Creating the Header

Creating the header wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I had previous photo editing skills so transitioning that onto Pixlr was fairly easy. I wanted my header to be able to summarize what I wish to write about. Therefore the images I used were of cooking and fitness; both of the images I obtained were from zazzle.com. I made a collage out of the images and spent most of my time playing around with the design and effects. Did I want to use a border? Should I blur some images? Do I want to include texts? Ultimately, I decided to include words that I believe are important for an individual to be fully balanced. Health, body, mind, and soul is a mantra I like reciting. After saving the image as a jpeg, I proceeded to upload it onto my WordPress dashboard.

I would say I am not at all 100% satisfied with the header. As time goes on, I might consider changing it. The reason is because it seems too simple. But then again I may just have too high of an expectation. What I do know is that I must start looking into Photoshop. I need an image manipulation program in my life. If my classes don’t require them, my organizations and Fraternity that I am apart of certainly do. Every so often I am required to make a flyer or a banner or edit photos. It takes me longer trying to manipulate certain pictures so that they are aligned correctly. Learning how to use Photoshop would just be a more effective and efficient tool that I can surely incorporate in my everyday life. However for now, I will just have to live with using Pixlr as my go-to photo editing program. Pixlr has been of great use to me over the years, and I am excited to have the opportunity to re-familiarize myself with it for this project.

Starting the Blog

I always had the intention of starting a blog but never got around to putting my plan in motion. My hectic schedule as well as the time, effort, and commitment it takes to maintain a blog led me to delay this project.

Fortunately, my Strategic Presentation class has given me the extra motivation to get started. I must say I had no idea what I was doing after I clicked the “Get Started Here” button. My computer had a few technical issues so generating this blog took longer than I expected. However, the process of adding images and making new posts were easier than I imagined. I noticed that everything was laid out for the average user to use. I’m glad that WordPress is a user-friendly interface.

I’m looking forward to modifying my blog throughout this semester. It will be a unique experience sharing my passion for cooking and clean eating with my classmates.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 😀  via sparklette.net

A photo about how I felt like as I started this blog via Google