Learning with Digital Media

How can learning be made effective through the use of digital media?

Students in Singapore go through learning with books and writing materials. Digital media is only recognized as part of learning in the recent years where students are encouraged to use the Internet to explore and find out what they really want to know. In my learning experience, the education that I was put through in primary school to college years, I seldom use the digital media to enhance my learning except for projects (a very small portion in our curriculum). It is only now, in my university years, that I have to use digital media for learning and research. It is quite a drastic change for me because I was so used to using books to study and for reference. However, this change was for the better because I get to learn more than what I already know. It encourages me to have a curious mind in using digital media to explore and have a better understanding of a concept.

How will the future digital media classroom look?

A middle school on Chicago's South Side is using digital media to prepare its young people for a 21st-century workforce. With the help of an innovative program called the Digital Youth Network, students learn the skills of digital media production, from robotics to game design.

Microsoft Surface Technology

• Codename: Milan
• A multi-touch product from Microsoft
• A software and hardware combination technology
• Allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of gesture recognition
• A surface computing platform that responds to natural hand gestures and real world objects

(Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Surface)

Do you think this technology will be successful in future?

I think that it will be successful because this technology appeals to users' five natural senses. This will help to make it more user-friendly. This is because the four main components in this technology are catered to users...

1. Direct interaction
2. Multi-touch contact
3. A multi-user experience
4. Object recognition

Therefore, Digital Media can be researched into so that it can be incorporated into education. It will serve better as a learning tool for students. Students will find learning activities more interesting and they will move towards innovation and creativity in their learning styles. Digital Media will give a different outlook to learners and educators.

E-Commerce

What is E-Commerce?

E-Commerce involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals.

10 Key Factors why some e-commerce succeeded:-

1. Don’t reinvent the wheel, or, in other words, don’t make the same mistakes as others have.

2. Pay extra for a quality design. Uniqueness counts.

3. Set up a real-time payment gateway. ­ Do not accept credit card payments online unless one have a secure merchant gateway to a bank.

4. Keep prices competitive, but concentrate on the value-added products and services.

5. Keep audience/customers informed.

6. Viral marketing is the key. One will receive more business through word of mouth than any other advertising medium.

7. Employ affiliates to promote one's website.

8. Keep inventory levels to a minimum.

9. Provide customer testimonials. Do not fake it! Only provide those that are believable.

10. Don’t wait! The Internet is evolving at a rapid pace, most businesses realize that obtaining a Web presence is essential, fewer realize that the window of opportunity is decreasing quickly.

*Retrieved from http://www.webreference.com/authoring/ecomm_steps/

Website Hosting

Website Hosting needs strategies to help boost the success to boost one's website. The most important factor is to stay competitive and have the appropriate products and reasonable prices. Spreading of one's website by word of mouth is still the strongest and most helpful way in boosting website's reputation. Hence, e-commerce can be a very successful business and yet a tough job to maintain.

Facebook Versus LinkedIn

Facebook and LinkedIn are social networking sites. It is known that Facebook is the most popular social networking site. LinkedIn may not be that popular but it is another social networking site which is more for the working professionals.

Here's a video of LinkedIn...

LinkedIn is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network. This social networking site is more for those who are looking for jobs or employees.

And here's a video of Facebook...

Facebook is a platform for users to use their true identity and connect with their friends. Users are usually able to find their long lost friends on Facebook and users are able to update themselves about their friends. It is a way for people to socialize on a "mega-network" and it is way to keep people connected globally.

How are these social networking sites different?

1. LinkedIn is more for working professionals to connect together whereas Facebook is for users' personal usage.
2. LinkedIn is a site for working professionals' contact details and it is restricted to who the user wants it to be given to. However, Facebook's contact details may not be restrictive as users have the freedom to reveal as much as they are comfortable with on Facebook.

Since Facebook has fewer restrictions and more applications, it seems more user-friendly to users and it seems more restricted in LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn comes in very handy when people need to get into the working circle. Both social networking sites have their advantages and it appeals to different categories of people.