Liz's Multimedia Apps and Tools Blog

 Week of October 5, 2021. This week we focused on creating e-portfolios on Google Sites. This was easy, after last week when we created websites on a different platform. You can find my e-portfolio here: https://sites.google.com/view/lizrobertsonmerritt/home   We were also given the opportunity to learn about webware, freeware, and apps.               Webware is software that is used entirely online. Unlike downloadable software, the user does not have to have a specific computer or operating system for the program to work. Canva.com is one example of webware, when used on a computer. This type of software comes in handy when a user only has a small amount of storage space on their computer, wants to be able to access the program from more than one computer, or has the wrong operating system for a downloadable version (Mac vs. Windows). The major drawback, is that the user needs to have internet access t...

       This week in Multimedia Apps and Tools, we designed and published websites through either Weebly or Wix. I chose to use Weebly because their subscription prices were lower than Wix’s prices.               I have worked with a couple of different web or blog design programs, and I have to say, Weebly is probably my favorite. I have used Blogger, Google Sites, and a private program, through Consolidated Funeral Services (CFS), designed specifically for funeral home websites. Blogger and CFS both have very specific purposes, so the customization options are relatively limited. Google Sites and Weebly, on the other hand, are supposed to be useful for a large variety of businesses or private uses, and they definitely give users enough options to make that happen.               While Weebly and Google Sites are very similar, there are...

       Before I get to the topic of this week’s blog, I want to share my other assignment for the week. I was tasked with creating a 960x200 pixel banner. I used canva.com and was able to create a new banner for my work website.   As far as our primary topics, this week we focused on RSS and Social Bookmarking. According to Tyler Lacoma in his 2021 article: What is an RSS Feed , RSS stands for “rich site summary” or “straightforward syndication;” it is an easy way to compile information from your favorite websites and news sources so you don’t have to waste time searching various places for new information. RSS feeds have been replaced in most areas of the internet; the primary sources of updates are now Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. Google doesn’t like to support RSS feeds anymore because it is a relatively outdated tool (Lacoma, 2021). That being said, there are still a number of quality feed readers for those who want to simplif...