Description of Design Project
Sherrill Simmons is a university English instructor. She would like to find new ways to engage her students through her university website. She decided to explore incorporating podcasts, FaceBook, and Twitter. She spends several hours looking at at other websites to help her get started.
- The next question is about the FBI website: http://fbi.gov
- Browse through the site and locate the link to "Podcasts & Radio". What are the options they have provided for their users to download and listen to them?: The podcasts are arranged into four groups; each group represented by an image that has two links below it - the current show and the archived shows.
- Navigate to the U.S. Navy website at http://navy.mil
- Describe how the Navy is using Web 2.0 technology. What do you think their purpose might be for incorporating each application?: Yes, there are links on the homepage to Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/USNavy, Twitter ( https://twitter.com/USNavy ), the Navy blog ( http://navylive.dodlive.mil/ ), Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/user/usnavy ), Flickr ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy ), Pinterest ( http://www.pinterest.com/usnavy/ ), and Instagram ( http://instagram.com/usnavy ). These are Web 2.0 technologies for sharing information. By accessing these technologies, the Navy is getting free PR coverage.
- Which Web 2.0 applications would you include on your website if you were Sherrill?: I would include Tumblr; http://www.tumblr.com/ . The Navy website used Facebook; me too, but I would also include a like button so people visiting my site could boost the "popularity" rating of my site. The same for Yelp; Yelp has their own type of "like" button.
- Describe how you would use each one of them to engage her students.: All three websites I listed are blogging sites. The visitors to my website would be engaged by blogging about their visit to my website. The Facebook like button and Yelp review button would help boost the popularity of my website by letting new visitors see that I do get visitors who like my website. Those new visitors would be drawn to the blogging sites, and would become engaged by creating new blogs, repeating the cycle. Tumblr is a blogging site, but it's primary aim is to allow visitors to post pictures about their blogs, and those pictures get tags attached to them that allow them to be found on searches by those tag labels. Tumblr would spread the word about my website to other interest groups on Tumblr.