Firefox Portable and Zotero

The second CM class was about Firefox Portable and Zotero.

I was really surprised and bothered because Zotero that was installed on my Firefox Portable became not to be able to use in the class.
However, the problem was solved when I used another computer after the class.

One weak point of Firefox is it often come to running trouble. Firefox portable usually run slow, and often fail to read web page.

Zotero and other addons are very useful. Therefore, I hope Firefox develops and becomes more convenient.

The First CM class of Winter

We reviewed what we learned in the fall term.
And, learned more deeply about Zotero. I think Zotero is extremely useful for us, so I want to be an expert to use Zotero through more practices.
I want to lern how to synchronize Zotero's bookmarks between online one and portable one in the next class.

Google Form survey

I and Sawako investigated how the classmates spend the autumn holiday.

I knew that many classmates plan to and interested in travel through the survey. Most classmates think the autumn holiday is too short and they want to enjoy their holiday to be expected. However, some of them want to get driver's license instead of playing and traveling.

I think Google Form is so useful because we can make questionnaires easily and distribute and collect them quickly and widely by Gmail. Moreover, Google Form creates a spreadsheet and summary immediately. Google Form will help us both in and out of the school.

Google Docs Presentation

I think this function is useful especially for group presentation. We can make the document online and share it. In other words, every group member can edit the slides at anywhere and anytime they want. This saves our time. However, since the group members are not necessary to meet and talk when they edit, the presentation can lose the consensus. But, it is still very useful.

Another benefit of this function is that we can post the presentation on our blog page. I was amazed with this function in today's class. We will be able to explain more about what we post with our presentation.

Contents of our presentation will improve in other classes, and skills of using these functions will support us powerfully then.

Presentation Slideshow

Please enjoy it.

Firefox Portable Add-ons

I got some kinds of Add-ons and tried them. My recommendations are Web Mail Notifier and Personas. Web Mail Notifier gives information about how many new messages you received with a small mark of the right bottom on the Firefox window. So, you don't need to check your Email every time by yourself. Persona is an Add-on about appearance of your Firefox window. We can choose a favorite window frame from various kinds of designs produced by Personas.
I also tried some Add-ons for translating and searching words or languages. But, I could not find much good Add-ons. If anyone knows useful and quick translator or search tool, please teach me about that. I really want to use that function.

About entire Firefox Personal browser, I think it does not work so fast. I tried my Firefox Portable at the library and my home, the browser does not work fast in both situation.
I think the functions of Firefox is very useful. So I hope my portable browser work faster at everywhere.

iGoogle

I customized my iGoogle homepage, and I found the sweetest stuff!
That is Countdown to Christmas!!! I strongly recommend this gadget for you, it will take you a trip to wonderful Christmas time all the year around☆lol
http://www.google.com/ig/directory?url=noyesair.googlepages.com%2Fc2cv3.xml

Please check the homepage above and add the gadget if you like Christmas.
*Countdown to Christmas is only useful to free us from our stress.

Google Reader & Blog Search

I could not use the functions of Google Reader so well, I apologize guests of this blog about my shared items are confusing.
However, if you have time, please click ウエディング and Vienna Boy's Choir. Both these two links Austrian National Tourist Office's website. The former links Japanese homepage, and the latter links English homepage. Then, please compare the list of "(Home>Plan>)People & Tradition" , in Japanese "人と暮らし." You will find the contents in the lists are different. I think this difference can be an evidence of how information is selected and slanted (Birk1,2).
If you are interested in or writing about Culture Shock, I recommend you to click By:Amy. At the top of this homepage, an American woman who lives in Germany shows cultural shock in Germany. She explains details of her experiences, but this article is easy to read and interesting.

Lastly, I think Google Blog Search and the main function of Google Reader that telling us about new items of many blogs are useful for us. But, the function of sharing items is not so much useful. I do not know how to make folders in Shared Items, how to change item's names, and how to share the whole blog (not only items) by that function. If we can do these works by Google Reader, I really wont to know how to do that.

Search Tools

In last CM class, the best tool I was interested in was Wonder Wheel. Wonder Wheel gives related words and shows relationship of the words visually, both of these functions are useful.

After the class, I tried some search engines from recommended 100 search engines. Then, I found Quintura. Quintura can search academic articles like Google Scholar, and it also has the function to show related words visually. Furthermore, we can see related words list and search results at the same time. I think Quintura is excellent in function and appearance.

I knew first about academic search engines in CM class. I have been suffering from the meaning of "polychronically" in McDaniel's article ,but I could find good article of defining it by using academic searches. I am really happy to know how to use the search tools before I write my essay.

Ways of giving examples

I found some points to discuss through reading Barna, Fisher, and McDaniel.

Barna use examples most effectively in those three authors. The examples given by Barna are easy to understand and appropriate to support her arguments.

However, Fisher's examples are sometimes subjective. He gives many clear visual examples, but other examples are often based on his own experience. Using authors own experiences many times are possible to be thought subjective by readers, and weaken the evidence of the essay.

On the other hand, McDaniel's examples are little hard to understand. He gives examples only in a few sentences and uses some difficult words in it. Since it is academic writing, it is necessary to use formal words. However, roles of examples are not only proving, but make the argument more clear and easer to understand. I think that authors should use easer and more familiar words when they give examples.

Thus we should pay attention to sources of examples and way of writing.

By the way, I think the biggest problem for most of us is the amount of reading.

Do you know how many pages must we read in Shipman's article (No.12)?

28 pages! I am crying right now because of our unavoidable reality......

Nice to meet you!

Hello. I am May Oda.

I am in section AL. I belong to this section since this autumn, but my classmates are very friendly and I feel so nice in AL.

I like cooking and making crochet lacework.
If you interested in, please send me some comments.