Rampac Blog and Pictures

While still working on the research aspect of my project I have begun to put together my pictures and blog. The blog will allow player, coaches and fans to communicate with one another and feel as though they are all part of one team. This is a chance for fans to talk to players to get to know the players they are watching. I will make it clear that there is no talk about how the players perform or how the coaches coach. I was thinking that the first blog post will be an introduction and explain how they can set up an account to participate and I will go from there. I will also have my teammates log on and introduce themselves. Within this blog I will incorporate pictures of the team. This is all a part if the beginning process of putting my idea out there and trying to make them happen.

Senior Capstone Research

I have been thinking of ideas for getting more people to the games and also adding to some of the strategies that we already have in place. For example, the other night was "Greek Night." Our goal was to get more students to the game but also have contests for the fraternities and sororities to compete against on another while supporting the school. Part of it was a success because we did get more people out to the games but there were no activities. So for next year the planning will begin earlier and there will be things like making signs, shirts and other spirit items that they wish to bring. There will be contests at halftime like a shootout or relay. This will be supervised by an administrator. This plan will help for one game but to get people to keep coming back there has to be give-a-ways or halftime activities which is what I am currently working on.

Ebay Case Study

Well, I am now an eBay user! Navigating through eBay to set up an account was just like any other site. I had to change my username three times until I found one that it accepted, created a password, and typed in a security code among other things. A conformation e-mail was sent to me and although I couldn't click on the link, there was another option for me to get my conformation code and click on the other link if the previous one wasn't working. This is something that most other sites when dealing with email do not have. I then proceeded to search the site for something worth following. Happily to say, everything I searched I found which was a nice change. Maybe the items I was searching for were relatively popular but it was still refreshing. Once I found an item, I easily clicked on the icon that allowed me to follow the item, overall nothing too complicated. Downloading Flex was the easiest download I have done so far. It literally took all of 50 seconds to complete and there is now an eBay tab on my Safari page. I find that the quick link is very easy and allows you to view the items that you are following with ease. Both Flex and the eBay page were easy to navigate. For those avid eBay users I can see that this sidebar is very easy and convenient. The navigation portion of the sidebar is easy being that you can buy the item and watch it without having to load the eBay page. It gives you the basics without all the hassle of loading a page. I think the sidebar is a great thing to have if you are consistently buying things on eBay, its a quick organization tool that allows you to access what you want fast.

Usability 101

Using the web for some people can be very challenging. But there is a difference, at least in my eyes, as to using the web and being able to use the web. Confusing? Let me explain. If a website isn't user friendly, it won't survive. The web is supposed to be fast, if someone can't search for what they want and find it with ease, the web has failed them. Most sites have different layouts. Once the user has figured out how to navigate the site, they can perform their tasks quickly. The challenge is making your site user friendly. Every page of your site is important, like the article says, if your homepage doesn't say what the site has to offer then it'd not giving off the right information the user wants to know right away. The most frustrating thing is not finding what you want on a site but if your site is user friendly you shouldn't have any problems.

The Web is Dead

The web is used all day, everyday, but they say it's dying. For me thats hard to believe. How is something dying that people use everyday? After reading an article about how and why its dying, I have come to realize that there are other means of using the internet. Apps seem to be taking over the world. Using apps help you get what you need. I learned that they bypass the searching and go directly to getting. This is something that Americans will rejoice over. No one in todays age wants to sit down and search for what they need. They don't have time for that. I want to get things done in the most efficient way possible, and thats through apps. Although a lot of the article confused me as to I am not up with all of the internet/web terms, I do for the most part agree with it. American's wait for the next technological advance. And with that advance comes an entire new meaning of how people communicate and get what they need. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are taking over but connecting people at the same time. I use the web everyday as do most people. The most common sites I use are checking my Email through a school server, Facebook, and the Apple site. For me if the internet were to die and it went to all apps I would be able to manage. Just as I think other American's will do. The web may die but people will not die without the web.

"Real Education"

Along with my prior blog, to get more into the sports side of it, I played sports my entire life and it taught me so much. For example in basketball, I have learned how to be able to work with other people and think strategically. This has carried over into my everyday life. Now some may be thinking...how does this deal with education? Well in my opinion, education is not just what you learn from a book, its all the life experiences you have that teach you different values. These are the things that a person should learn outside of school, kind of like walking. Sports makes you set goals, allows you be competitive, you make good friends, and act as an escape. All of these things are key factors to helping educate yourself. Not only is this found in sports but also in all other activities. You might disagree with me but I no that participating in these activities has taught me so much.

Non classroom education

Education comes in many different forms. Yes it it obviously found in the classroom but as I discussed earlier, it is found in video games and in board games. As I think about how else I have learned in my life I think about all of the activities and sports I have played. Getting kids to interact with one another allows them to learn about how to play with other people. For example, a simple game like tag teaches a child how to have a competitive edge but also a soft approach. The goal of tag is to run around and not the tagged by the tagger. If you do you have to run and tag someone else. Simple enough. But the thing that it teaches kids is a strategic value of how not to get tagged but if you are the tagger you can't go push someone. Sometimes kids will get frustrated with themselves because they can't catch anyone and when they finally do they have to have enough self control to not go push someone over when they finally reach them. Some may think this is a stretch as to a learning game but when I think about it, you can learn from anything.