Before we get started, I would like to share a little bit about the format of the material here and some of the tools I will be using.
The Blog – This is my personal/professional blog. I’ve had the domain for almost ten years, but have been using it as a blog for about a year and a half. I use WordPress as my blogging platform. You can download the software to install on your own domain or get your own wordpress blog hosted on their site.
The Wiki - I will put some resources on a wiki. I use wikispaces out of habit, but there are many great wiki sites we will talk about later. I’ve started a Glossary here for us to use to define terms that are unfamiliar. I tend to overuse jargon, and this will be a good way for you to help me recognize when I do it. Simply visit the site and Edit to add a word you don’t understand. If you can help others with the definitions, please feel free to jump in!
Bookmarking – I use
delicious to bookmark links and have created a
tag and tag bundle (more on this later) for the onramp. I also use the social features of delicious.com to send links to others. If you have an account, feel free to
add me to your network.
Creative Commons – I will probably reference CC quite a bit, so you may want to look into it before we get started. This site is licensed with an
Attribution – Noncommercial – Share Alike license. You can reuse and remix the content, provided you link back to me and license your new content with the same terms. I also request that you share your content back by providing a link in the comments here so others can use it as well.
Embedding – I will be embedding content from other sources. Essentially, I just cut and paste a code that plugs the media right into my blog post. The embedded content is subject to it’s own copyright licensing, which is one of the complications with remixing. If you want to reuse something I’ve embedded, try clicking through to the item to find the copyright. We’ll talk more about embedding later.
The Gear – I use a MacBook Pro with an additional monitor so I can really spread out my work. I’m fairly new to Mac and am just beginning to explore the potential. There is an onboard camera and it seems to work well with the mic without feedback when I use it for live conferencing. I have also used an inexpensive logitech headset with the laptop. I am connected to a home wireless network with cable service.
Browsers – I alternate between
Safari and
Firefox. Even when I’m on a PC, I don’t use IE.
Skitch – I use Skitch and Skitch.com for my screen shots. I believe it’s still a Mac only product, but it is a beautiful thing. I can easily capture what’s on my screen and post it to the Web with one click.
My Public Library – I am a bit obsessed with placing books on hold at my local library. What an amazing resource!
Dominos Pizza – I publicly acknowledge I’m addicted to putting the pizza together online and watching the timeline. I don’t love the pizza, but the process gets me every time!
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for sharing Skitch! I look forward to playing around with the possibilities!
As an alternative, have you ever tried using SHIFT COMMAND 4 ? If not, hold all three keys down at the same time and watch the cursor change into a cross. When this happens, you can highlight any part of the page you are viewing, drag to select, then let go of the left mouse button. A .png image file will be waiting for you on your desktop
From what I understand after watching the video demo, Skitch allows you to edit the image you create from your screenshot (kind of a “SHIFT COMMAND 4″ + Photoshop combo).
N.B. This only works on Macs.
Katherine, thanks for the keyboard shortcut. I had forgotten it! I love Skitch because I can click and send the image right up to the web. Then it gives me code for sharing the page, the link or embedding it. I can also control the privacy of the images. Good stuff!
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